Indigenous youth from all over Treaty 7 came together last month at the GRAND Theatre to share stories of resilience, authenticity and passion.
The event, A Youth Explosion (AYE), was hosted by Canada Bridges and featured stories shared in an artistic way through music, singing, poetry, dance and so much more. The Indigenous youth created a safe space together with Canada Bridges to highlight how important and impactful every single story is.
AYE is an annual event for Indigenous youth from the ages of 13-30. The planning committee is completely made up as Indigenous youth as well. It is community oriented and the youth go through workshops, mentoring structures to support them before their big debut on stage.
Disa Crow Chief, the co-creative director of A Youth Explosion says it’s important to provide a space and encourage Indigenous youth to use their voice. This can help youth feel grounded and connected to their communities and help them see that they are a part of a larger vision and they always have unique perspectives to share.
“AYE is about celebrating and spotlighting Indigenous youth across Treaty 7 and bringing light to what they experienced in a good and healthy way,” says Crow Chief.
This event can be a really empowering process and allowing youth to speak their truth is transformative not just for themselves but for others. As the process unfolds, youth see that their voices can make a difference.
Kayla Carrillo, is a motivational and educational speaker. She learned about AYE from the HOWL experience program. She talks about her involvement in gang exploitation and wanting to create safer spaces.
Growing-up in Forest Lawn, Carillo says she faced a lot of struggles in her childhood. Carrillo was introduced to a program called HERA, which is an alternative education program for girls experiencing involvement gang exploitation. She says that the HERA program saved her and gave her a new positive outlook for her own future at the age of 14.
“They gave me hope that I could be a somebody in the future,” Carrillo says.
Since then, Carrillo has been working towards her own action goal in creating a non-profit organization for gang prevention — for girls experiencing involvement in gangs, sex trade and the drug trade.
“I want to create an organization called K-Light, for gang exploitation education,” Carrillo says. “I am sharing all the lessons I’ve learned up until now and what I can share with somebody experiencing what I did as a child.”
Mikayla Ridesthegreyhorse showcased her culture by dancing women’s jingle. She talked about how important it is to celebrate her culture — what that means and why that matters.
“It is a good way for non-Natives to see how we express ourselves because there are still stereotypes around Natives,” says Ridesthegreyhorse. “It is a good opportunity for them to learn and share with other people to come to events like this.”
Cultural preservation and cultural engagement is important to help protect the well being of Indigenous youth and developing a strong sense of identity and self-worth.
“The youth aren’t our future they are our present,” says Crow Chief.