It takes a community to raise a child. Lifestyle, worldviews, language and cultural values shape identity. For disenfranchised youth, especially Indigenous children in foster care, living away from traditional lands and being disconnected from their traditional practices have left them adrift and at risk of losing their cultural identity.

Waterways that fed into the sea and the creatures that lived beneath those waves have been a source of life for Coast Salish communities since their inception. The relationship between the Coast Salish and the water shaped their culture, traditions and practices.

Youth are the foundation to building and carrying forward strong cultural identity and pride. Instilling traditional teachings early on is how the rich fabrics of many diverse cultures are carried forward through generations.

Five years ago, Elders living in the Snuneymuxw region, also known as Nanaimo, came together with one shared purpose – to learn to read. Many who had been forced to attend residential and day schools had left receiving limited, if any, meaningful education.

As people become increasingly dependent on technology and online forms of social connection, they feel more disconnected from one another than ever. While this impacts people of all ages and backgrounds, Indigenous youth are especially affected.

Indigenous Peoples have played essential roles in shaping communities through leadership, cultural knowledge, service, education, and advocacy. However, many of these contributions are not documented, leading to important stories remaining largely unrecognized outside of the communities in which they originated, and at risk of being lost to time.

The traditional Indigenous flute is honoured in many cultures for its calming, meditative sound and importance in traditional practices. Often blended with the sounds of the land, the rivers, rain, or wind, it connects its player with nature and their spiritual self.

Indigenous worldviews, ways of knowing, and traditions have always been expressed through art, embedded in the foundations of stone, wood, hides, clay and beads. For generations, Indigenous artists have been the safekeepers of sacred traditions during times when systems of oppression have tried to erase them.

As Indigenous communities seek to invest in the future, they are turning to the true changemakers of tomorrow: Indigenous youth. Across Canada, there is a need for culturally grounded programming to support youth in engaging in ceremony, leadership, and cultural learning to carry on sacred traditions.

The impacts of the residential and day school system continue to trickle down from generation to generation. Intergenerational trauma and forced separation from Indigenous culture has left many disconnected from their Indigeneity, language, and traditional teachings.