Waterways program aids Indigenous youth

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This article was published 04/08/2020 (1883 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

James Lavallee says he found himself on the water and he wants to help Indigenous youth do the same.

Lavallee is one of five directors of Waterways Canada, which recently received a $1,000 grant from RBC’s Random Acts of Canadian program to expand its programming designed to create spaces for Indigenous people to connect with the land while strengthening their community.

When he was growing up in North Kildonan, Lavallee said he struggled in school and learned he had dyslexia and ADHD. His frustration grew and he began acting out. Lavallee’s parents tried to keep him busy in different activities but nothing helped — until he discovered competitive paddling.

“It changed my life and was an outlet for me to channel my frustration,” Lavallee said. “My grades began getting better. It was the first activity I saw myself getting better in.

“I felt at home on the Red River and discovered more about myself and my identity as a Metis man.”

Lavallee took quickly to the sport, making the Canadian national team in 2016, a year before he got to compete in his hometown during the Canada Summer Games and won the Tom Longboat Award as the top Indigenous male athlete of the year.

While further competition beckoned, Lavallee was pulled in a different direction. His life had been changed by canoeing and he wanted to give Indigenous youth the same opportunity.

He teamed up with Sam Anthony, Dennis Lavallee, Tristan Schneider and Mo Crossman-Serb to start Waterways Canada, a Manitoba based organization which works with schools, community organizations, bands and Metis locals to teach canoeing and outdoor skills.

Their work began in November 2019, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

Lavallee said his team figured they could channel their efforts into starting up in 2021, but Southeast CFS contacted them earlier this year to see if they could deliver programming for Winnipeg and eight First Nations communities. The group had five weeks to prepare.

“With 12-plus hour days of full-time work, we were able to organize and plan summer programming in five weeks, a task that typically takes nine months,” Lavallee said. “Since our launch, requests have been pouring in.”

Lavallee said kids love the program and everyone comes back again. A spiritual connection arises when many paddle. They’re in nature and doing something physical. The senses are engaged and that opens up the spirit.

In some communities Waterways Canada visits, there are plenty of canoes and people live right on the water, but the children do not know how to safely paddle. Now they can engage with their roots and experience many of the old traditions. That opens up possibilities to delve into their language, culture and history.

“There’s that instant connection,” Lavallee said of the reaction many children have in the program. “You can see that spark in their eyes.”

The RBC grant will allow Waterways Canada to expand their programming and maybe even hire a grant writer to pursue additional funding opportunities.