Celebrate strength of culture

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This year marks the seventh year the Dreamcatcher youth conference will be held at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton. This year's theme is "Dancing our Four Directions: All My Relations." The conference, which is hosted by the college's Child and Youth Care Program, will be held from Oct. 15 to 17.

"We are looking at having four youth representing the four directions at the conference in a youth panel," said conference assistant Carolynn Chartrand. "The presentation will have each of the youth bring life from each direction," she said.

The Dreamcatcher conference is the realization of the vision of Val Courchene, a past graduate of the Child and Youth Care Program. Since she was just 12 years old, Courchene, who comes from the Saddle Lake First Nation, had a dream to reach the Aboriginal youth with a message of healing and hope. She now owns her own business called Youth at Heart Aboriginal Employment and Training in Saddle Lake. She continues to be a part of the conference and encourages Aboriginal youth and adults to consider enrolling in the Child and Youth Care Program at the college.

One of the highlights of last year's conference was the increased number of delegates from the Eastern Arctic. This year, the conference will include the Northern Lights Games. The history of the Inuit, their sports activities and their culture will be the focus.

"This year the Arctic sports segment is a new highlight," said Chartrand. "We are bringing in a lot of different Aboriginal presenters to try to touch on different issues and cultures," she said.

Also included this year is an Aborigine instructor from Australia who will teach self-defense and holistic healing.

In preparation for the conference weekend, staff and organizers will be participating in traditional ceremonies and prayers to request the help of the Creator to bring strength to the conference.

"The conference has an Aboriginal committee. We already participated in a sweat and then all of us will participate in a pipe ceremony just before the conference," said Chartrand. "We just want to bring a clear sense of culture and protocol to the conference," she said.

The conference is reaching out to the communities in the hopes that they will send smoked meats and berries to the Elders at the conference.

"During the conference we have an Elders' room that the students can go to. If they have issues to discuss, they can talk to an Elder. As protocol, the gifts that Elders receive are berries and meats," said Chartrand. "We have Elders that basically overlook the conference. If there is any trouble with the youth at the conference, the Elders tend to look after the situation," she said.

A Much Music video youth dance and a round dance will be part of the conference activities. Performances are expected from Edmonton's high-energy dance group, the Red Power Squad Dancers, the Young Souls, a rap group, and Medicine Hat's Oskayisak (Teen) Society - Performing Artists. Comedian Don Burnstick will be the conference's master of ceremonies.

Burnstick, who is from Alexander First Nation, has been involved in the wellness and healing movement for the past 15 years. He has recently appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Burnstick's play, I Am Alcohol, has been seen by thousands of people across the country.