Young people from across Canada are creating podcasts to share their experiences during a five-day educational program on reconciliation in Ottawa.
Fifty teenagers ages 15 to 18 are participating in Experiences Canada’s National Youth Forum, a program aimed at bringing the country’s youth together to provide leadership and learning opportunities.
With the theme of reconciliation, the group spent July 3-7 in the nation’s capital exploring cultural and historical sites and meeting with Indigenous organizations, including trips to Mādahòkì Farm and the ADAAWE Indigenous Business Hub.
They will use these experiences to produce ten podcasts covering a variety of reconciliation topics, summarizing both their own experiences and the lessons they learned in the program.
Although the youth include both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, they all hope to learn more and share their experiences.
“You would be shocked if you knew what many of these young people have been through and how much they actually have to say about reconciliation,” says Kellen Turner, outreach coordinator for Experiences Canada.
“There have been some very difficult conversations in these sessions. And I think it’s a really great opportunity to show people that youth are very clear about what reconciliation is and they know what the next steps should be.”
Emmaly Teves (left) and Jorja Creyke (right) both came to Ottawa from British Columbia for the forum. (Jenna Legge/CBC)
Emmaly Teves is from the ‘Namgis First Nation in British Columbia and hopes the podcasts will be heard across Canada – and even beyond.
“Just talking about reconciliation helps. If you don’t talk about it, obviously nothing will be done,” she said.
“Talking about it, doing this podcast and coming here to Ottawa to talk about truth and reconciliation is an attempt to solve these problems and not forget them.”
Ethan Gallays came to Ottawa from Saskatchewan. He said he was unaware that other young people in Canada were not learning about reconciliation efforts. (Jenna Legge/CBC)
According to Deirdre Laframboise, CEO of Experiences Canada, more than 150 people have applied for the program.
“We asked them questions when they applied and most of them said they were of Indigenous background but didn’t know their Indigenous roots and history,” she said.
Many students shared how surprised they were at how little they knew about indigenous cultures and that reconciliation can mean different things to different people.
They also said that when they compared their knowledge of Indigenous history and issues with that of their peers from other provinces and territories, they noticed gaps in the Canadian education system.
Ethan Gallays, a participant from Saskatchewan, said that although he learned about reconciliation in school, he is now learning something that others have not.
“They received the same education as me, just in a different province,” he said.
To prepare for their trip, participants attended four bilingual webinars in April on topics such as boarding schools, indigenous economics and culture, and language recovery.
Initial work on the podcasts then began, with recording sessions taking place in Ottawa. Once completed, the podcasts will be made available on major streaming platforms and through Experiences Canada.
