First Nations youth meetings highlight importance of education, culture

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This article was published 01/11/2007 (6560 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG – Education and culture emerged as two of the main themes at a national First Nations youth gathering that was billed as the first of its kind in a decade.

About 550 young people from across the country spent three days in Winnipeg at the National First Nations Youth Summit crafting a five-year action plan presented Thursday to Assembly of First Nations Chief Phil Fontaine.

“Education is one of the greatest ways for us to become self-sufficient,” said Brendon Johnson, a 29-year-old student from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., who is active in the Canadian Federation of Students.

Formally called the “Rebuilding our Nations Youth Accord,” the Assembly’s youth wing takes five areas – culture, economic development, politics, health and social – and creates a wish list of sorts.

The report calls for increased educational program funding, immersion classes in traditional languages, and the official recognition of First Nations languages, which could include mandatory First Nations high school courses and training for all teachers.

Theresa Point, 23, said young people have to take learning into their own hands.

“Do your research. Get your education. Go out there and learn what you can every day,” said Point, whose father is B.C. Lt.-Governor Steven Point.

Point, whose home community is the Sto:lo Nation in the Chilliwack area, said she got a job through aboriginal internship program with the B.C. government. She says some people have criticized her for working for the “white man.”

But that’s not the way she sees it.

“We’re educating people in mainstream society about what native people are, who we are, and where we come from,” said Point.

Kenny Braun, a 25-year-old from Thompson, Man., who ran for the Manitoba Liberals in the last provincial election, warned his peers to remember the thousands of young First Nations people who weren’t at the summit.

“We need to empower those youth,” Braun said.

Regina Atkinson Southwind, 27, from southern Manitoba’s Roseau River First Nation, echoed Braun’s comments, noting many young people feel isolated and even threatened in their own communities.

“There’s so much violence on our reserves. There’s so many issues that need to be addressed,” she said.

First Nations leaders need to provide support to people who leave their reserves, especially young people that move to the city as is often the case in Manitoba, Atkinson Southwind said.

“They have no sense of identity. They have nothing. That’s why they join gangs,” she said.

The report also noted the need to promote healthy lifestyles and strengthening the child welfare system, including better screening of foster families.

In a speech to delegates, who range in age from’ to 29, Fontaine highlighted some of their biggest challenges – an estimated 27,000 First Nations children in state care, a housing backlog of 80,000 homes while roughly 100 communities are under boil water advisories.

In keeping with the theme of education, Fontaine noted at the time the Indian Act was written, there were 10 First Nations university students across Canada. Current estimates put First Nations university enrolment at 30,000, he said.

“We have our own television network. That’s something we couldn’t even dream of 15 years ago,” Fontaine said.

“It’s important to be mindful of all these changes that have occurred.”