Resources

A̱ka̱la Society is a land and water-based non-profit operated by a group of Musgamagw Dzawada̱’enux̱w people. Their purpose is to create land and water-based educational opportunities for Musgamakw Dzawada̱’enux̱w citizens. In this webinar, Julia will share with us about A̱ka̱la’s approach to community engagement and the summer paddle programs they are running.

A presentation from ‘Cúagilákv (Jess H̓áust̓i) on how Qqs Projects Society and Koeye Camp came to be, what they look like now, and how Heiltsuk First Nation connects the ideas of stewardship and youth engagement and the importance of those two things.

A presentation from Jason Dayman, principal of ?Ehtseo Ayha school, on the work happening in Délı̨nę to connect youth to land/water and increase the cultural relevance of education.

Across the Northwest Territories (NWT), Indigenous land-based programs have been developed and implemented by leaders, teachers, and learners for decades. This webinar will explore how land-based programs, like on-the-land camps, are important opportunities for building relationships between youth and the Land and empowering young leaders in the North. By sharing youth photographs and stories from several on-the-land camps in the NWT, Steph will highlight the ways on-the-land camps create a space for youth to see themselves as part of the Land and empower them to be land-based leaders.

A presentation from Norman Yakeleya about the Canol Trail Youth Leadership Hike. During World War II, the Canol Trail was used to supply crude oil from Norman Wells to Whitehorse. The Sahtu Dene and Mé​tis people were key in blazing the alpine trail through the Mackenzie Mountains. Since 2005, guides from Tulita and Norman Wells have been taking young people ages 13 to 21 out on the trail to connect with the land and the people who walked that ground before them. Norman will be sharing with us about the Canol Trail Youth Leadership Hike, as well as a bit about the history of the Canol and Dene Laws. His presentation will touch on themes of reconciliation, remediation, land claims as a tool for both, and the role of youth leadership and on the land learning.

The Online Warrior Toolkit created by the Nuu-chah-nulth Youth Warrior Family launched in February 2024. It is an online resource created to support Nations and/or Indigenous groups interested in launching their own model of the Warrior program. For more information on how to access the Toolkit or start an indigenous youth leadership program in your community, contact the Warrior Family.

Learn about community mapping with Alison, senior manager of Canada Programs with the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada and a member of our Community of Practice. This workshop is designed to both build out your own capacity as a facilitator to manage relevant and impactful initiatives, as well as learn how to train youth to engage in community mapping for their own projects.

Thank you to Sunrise Lockhart for presenting on Ni Hat’Ni Dene, youth leadership, and Łutsël K’é Dene stewardship of Thaidene Nëné, including how youth are involved on the land in Guardian work and training in Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation in NWT.

Join Shea Henderson (Land-Based Education Coordinator for Frontier School Division – working with 40 schools and communities across the province of Manitoba) to learn about approaches to supporting schools as a helper/connector, meeting schools where they are at, and supporting their programming vision. Shea will share examples of pilot project work that that has informed curriculum and policy development, teacher PD and resource creation. He will also share about an upcoming division-wide Land-Based Gathering (an effort to establish a division-wide network of champions) and an environmental scan about the work going on in FSD and future goals.

Goliah Makletzoff-Cazon, Program Coordinator, Northern Youth Leadership (NYL) will share with us about her journey from camper to camp leader to steering committee member to program coordinator in NYL’s programs. She will also share about NYL’s programs and the exciting trips they have planned on the land and water with youth this summer. Goliah (she/her) is a Dehcho Dene woman originally from Łı́ı́dlı̨ı̨ Kų́ę́ that has lived in Yellowknife on an off for the last few years. She had been involved in NYL for over 10 years, starting as a participant and working her way up in the organization in various roles. Outside of NYL Goliah is a professional White Water Canoe Guide and has traveled throughout the country working. She has grown up on the land hunting, fishing and trapping with her family who worked with schools and youth on the land, which is where her passion for on the land programming and education started. She looks forward to inspiring and sharing her experience with youth in the North.