Metis Youth Forum, network for life skills

Delany Cunningham of the Peavine Metis Settlement hangs her sash along with other seven settlements. The hanging of the sash in front of the metis flag was a symbol of unity amongst the youth.

Jamie Haggerty, left, from East Prairie and Matt Reid, right, from Buffalo Lake are the co-chairs of the Metis Settlement Youth Network.

Angela Halverson
Spotlight

Every young person wants their voice heard and every youth needs support.

On February 20th 91 Metis youth turned out to learn life skills and gather information to help them grow into healthy members of their Metis Settlements.

The forum was held by the Metis Settlement Youth Network (MSYN) which, in turn, is supported by the Ministry of Child and Youth Services as well as the Child and Family Services Authority (Métis Settlements, Region 10).

The intent of the MSYN is to ensure that the Metis youth’s future is bright and promising and that they acquire the skills to be great leaders and decision makers who are proud of their culture.

Another intent of the MSYN is to collect the opinions of youth and put these forward as programs and services which are designed to address youth issues.

The 2nd annual Metis Settlements Youth Forum was held at The Pomeroy Inn and Suites, High Prairie.

The youth gathered there from all eight Metis Settlements which include Paddle Prairie, Peavine, Gift Lake, East Prairie, Buffalo Lake, Kikino, Fishing Lake and Elizabeth.

The MSYN is lead by two co-chairs elected by the youth themselves, Matt Reid,19, from Buffalo Lake and Jamie Haggerty, 19, from East Prairie. Each of the co-chairs has four settlements for which they are responsible.

Reid looks after the east which includes Buffalo Lake, Kikino, Fishing Lake and Elizabeth.

Haggerty chairs the west, encompassing Paddle Prairie, Peavine, Gift Lake and East Prairie.

Each co-chair is responsible for gathering information, representing and leading their four settlements as a united voice.

“I am planning on being a co-chair for the Eastern Settlements for the next two years,” says Reid. “But for me that is not where it ends. After being a co-chair, I will become a junior mentor and I will always show my involvement and support to the Métis Settlements Youth Network.”

“I plan to be co-chair until the next election is held. After that I will, unfortunately, be out of the Region 10 boundary. I will however continue to aid in any way possible with the network, hopefully as a junior mentor," Haggarty says.

They both work closely with their mentors, Louise Okemow for the west and Maurice Trudell for the east, as well as Region 10’s Joy Ohashi, who is the manager of Youth Strategic Initiatives.

Everyone involved with the MSYN is passionate about making this generation of Metis Youth smarter, better and more equipped to handle life’s challenge, says supporters such as the preceding.

The co-chairs are responsible making budgets and fundraising, including negotiating for grants and lobbying for donations. Reid and Haggarty often communicate through email and teleconferences.

“Video conferencing is nicer,” says Haggarty. “But it’s expensive and we have a tight budget.”

The forum focused on six things the youth felt were the most pressing for them at the moment. They chose teen pregnancy, suicide, bullying, gang involvement, racism and career planning.

The forum opened with gripping speeches from Metis President Gerald Cunningham and elected Secretary Susan Lamouche.

“I want all of you to be proud to be Metis,” Cunningham announced.

“And love your parents, brothers, sisters, friends because you never know when they will be gone.”

Cunningham believes the best path to safe, healthy, sustainable communities includes three things: attitude, education, and sustainable economic development.

“We need to change the way we think and do things and it has to take everyone working together. Education is the most important and we have to provide the resources necessary to ensure that our students are getting the best quality education. The third is to work towards sustainable economic development so that we can sustain our communities and provide the necessary programs and services that are needed. We have to look at this in a holistic way.“

Susan Lamouche’s speech was about letting youth know they are not alone, that there is always someone to talk to, always a way, and things are never as bad as you think.

“Every day we take life for granted,” says Lamouche.

“I have breast cancer but you don’t need an illness to wake up and take life, and yourself, seriously. We need you, as youth, to be healthy and we need you as leaders.”

Reid and Haggerty, along with other dignitaries, also gave very inspirational speeches about being good role models and members of their Settlements.

The opening ceremony ended with each Settlement hanging thier Metis Sash on a pole along with the Metis Nation Flag and the Hobbema and High Prairie cadets marching out.

On Saturday and Sunday the 91 youth attended the numerous workshops held to help them obtain the life skills necessary to overcome the challenges they will face.

“There were a lot of topics discussed at the forum,” says Reid. “And I hope that the youth understand that they are not alone in any of the circumstances.”

Each Settlement was responsible for hosting one workshop. They were to gather the information, present it and answer any questions regarding the workshop they were assigned.

The co-chairs and mentors were available to guide and assist the settlement groups in acquiring the knowledge they needed to share with the other youth.

The Kikino Metis Settlement put on a play instead of hosting a workshop.

“(I hope) to break the stereotypes that are placed on aboriginal people, creating more education about our ancestors, our culture, our heritage so we can pass it down to the newer generations,” says Haggerty.

“I want the youth to feel safe to show who they are and be proud of it, to feel safe in their own communities and to say what they truly feel or what they want changed in their lives. I want to continue to see the Metis Youth grow and develop their individualities, and continue to unify to accomplish all their future desires.“

Sunday morning the youth representatives from each Settlement were asked to speak about what they learned and how the forum affected them.

“From what we heard from the youth that have attended,“ says Haggerty, “the forum was a success and possibly even better than last year! That makes all of us involved very happy.”

After Reid and Haggerty are done their term as co-chairs for the MSYN, they both plan to go on to post secondary education. Reid plans to go to NAIT to study to be an Aboriginal Family Support Worker.

He believes that being one of the co-chairs of the MSYN will give him the necessary skills to succeed in his chosen field.

Haggarty wants to go to college, in Grande Prairie or Red Deer, for either a BSc in Nursing or Bachelor of Psychology with a minor in English.

She is still undecided for which field she will be better suited.

The Metis Youth are, more now than ever before, being presented with the knowledge and skills to allow them to become innovative and respected future leaders in both business and government.

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