Resources in chapter Involve Youth

Each year, the NWT On the Land Collaborative Fund features several projects and shares the positive outcomes resulting from their work. These stories provide information and evidence that point to the benefits of engaging youth in on-the-land / water programming. You can navigate through the menu bar (under stories > featured projects) to view success stories from 2016 - 2020 including descriptions of and outcomes from each program.

First Nations in the Great Bear Rainforest and Haida Gwaii regions of British Columbia are actively revitalizing their cultural traditions through programs that transfer knowledge from Elders to youth, protect and document oral histories, incorporate language and traditional place names, and support stewardship activities that leverage traditional ecological knowledge. By working to sustain traditions, First Nations are supporting their community members’ multi-generational retention of unique knowledge that supports long-term stewardship of their lands, ocean, and culture. This webpage provides some information on outcomes related to cultural vitality from programs that facilitate the transfer of Elder knowledge to youth.

The SEAS Toolkit: A Resource for Planning Your On-the-Land Indigenous Youth Program was developed by Nature United and their community partners to help support and strengthen land-based education programs for Indigenous youth. It was created to provide ideas, suggestions and guidance to anyone working on developing and delivering these kinds of programs. This toolkit is for anyone who is interested in starting or strengthening a land-based education program for Indigenous youth. 

This program is a collaboration between Northern Youth Leadership, the Arctic Research Foundation and Nature United. In 2019 and 2020, high-school aged youth climbed aboard the Nahidik research vessel on its expedition to the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. Youth from across the NWT learned about the science operations of the boat and climate change in the North while living aboard the Nahidik vessel and participating in the research crew's scientific activities. 

Ni Hat’ni Dene is a network of Łutsël K’é Dene First Nations members, ​young and old, who serve as the stewards of Thaidene Nëné.​ They assert the Łutsël K’é Dene First Nation's Indigenous rights and authority in Thaidene Nëné through their presence and activities on the land and water. Ni Hat’ni Dene crews practice a traditional subsistence lifestyle, maintaining the integrity of cultural sites, conducting environmental monitoring, and interacting with visitors to Thaidene Nëné. 

SEAS uses educational experiences to help First Nations youth connect with the landscape and culture of their traditional territories. Each program is uniquely suited to the community's priorities, needs and opportunities for engaging youth in stewardship learning and activities. Programs integrate traditional and cultural knowledge with western science approaches, and typically have both a school component and a summer internship component. Interns are often paired with Guardian Watchmen for some portion of their summer training.

A Heiltsuk First Nation nonprofit organization supporting youth, culture and environment. Koeye camp is an innovative Heiltsuk youth science and cultural camp program that takes place every summer in the Koeye River valley. The camp’s mandate is “to open the eyes of our children to their responsibility as stewards of the land, culture and resources”.

Bushkids is an on-the-land learning initiative based in Yellowknife, NT. Developing healthy relationships with ‘ourselves, each other, and the Land’ is one of the primary principles of Bushkids. To support this, children learn in their natural environment using an inquiry and play-based approach. Bushkids also offers mentorships to teachers, with their students, to help them to feel comfortable implementing on-the-Land learning into their pedagogical approaches delivered in the public school system.  

The Land and Language Based Learning Program can be found at Ladysmith Secondary School. It was created by Coast Salish elder yutustanaat (Mandy Jones) and William Taylor. It’s a combination of learning hul’qumi’num, gaining hands-on Coast Salish cultural experiences, and learning to care for the Earth. We deliver BC Ministry of Education approved Curriculum through traditional Coast Salish teachings and ways of learning.

The Warrior Program began in the summer of 2015 in the Yuułuʔiłʔatḥ community of Hitacu on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Today the program model is hosted in many Nuu-chah-nulth communities, weaving traditional and mainstream leadership and wellness teachings and practices together on the land to build capability, cultural pride and confidence in young men. It has come to teach survival in three ways: wilderness survival skills if you get lost in the woods; how to survive and lead in emergency situations; and strategies to survive life in today’s society.

The UUQMIS (fun) Tla-o-qui-aht Language and Culture Program prepares Tla-o-qui-aht youth to take care of each other and the land through experiences with traditional canoes, the territory, biodiversity and Cultural Lifeways, to develop a strong sense of Tla-o-qui-aht identity. Program activities include canoe trips, hiking adventures and culture camps.

This is a Nunatsiavut program that focuses on bringing together youth and harvesters to enhance a community freezer program in Nain. The program responds to priorities in Nunatsiavut while addressing outcomes of the Inuit Health Survey. The overall goal is to help build the resiliency of youth in the face of widespread social, environmental, and cultural change. It is about building connections (social and environmental) and reaching out to youth to enhance the mental, physical, and spiritual health of youth through intensive, long-term engagement and programming.

The NWT On the Land Collaborative is a collective of diverse organizations that supports land-based programs through funds, resources, and expertise. Each year the Collaborative features stories of programs that have received funding. You can click through programs featured between 2016 and 2020 under the Stories > Featured Projects tab in the header menu bar. Projects featured in 2020 include on the land activities at the  Łútsël K’é Dene School and the Decho​ Paddling Leadership Program. 

NYL runs remote wilderness programming for youth aged 11 – 17 from across the NWT, with some programming open to youth from across the territories and Inuit Nunangat. Their programming helps youth to develop leadership skills, life skills, emotional resilience, and to challenge themselves through positive risk-taking. In addition, NYL runs a Leadership Development Program which is a youth employment program that includes mentoring, training, and paid employment opportunities. 

Misipawistik Pimatisimēskanaw (“life path”) is a program that was created to revive the nēhinaw way by offering culturally relevant teachings to help Misipawistik Cree Nation (Grand Rapids) youth reconnect with their culture, rebuild connections to their ancestral land, promote healthy living, and provide an education. The ultimate goal is for the youth to grow strong (ta-sokikapawi-t) and know who they are, to understand their strengths, weaknesses and responsibilities in life.

Riparia is a Canadian registered charity that works to connect young women (including non-binary, Indigenous and other youth) and science on the water. With a team of guides, scientists, and Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, participants learn about and experience different ways of doing science, thinking about water, and learning from our environment. Participants receive access to exciting tools, like underwater drones and portable microscopes and leave the program with robust outdoor skills, lasting friendships, and the know-how to protect fresh waters for life.

Take a Hike's mission is to empower vulnerable youth with the skills and resilience they need to graduate high school, build healthy relationships, navigate the challenges of young adulthood, and achieve success - however they define it. They do this by engaging youth in intentional and continuous clinical counselling, regular outdoor adventures, and supporting youth in a safe and caring community. Their theory of change is available on their website, as is a report summarizing the social return on investment from their programming.

Kinship Rising is an Indigenous-led research project based in British Columbia, guided by a strong inter-generational and land-based focus. Kinship Rising works with communities and organizations to conduct art- and land-based workshops with Indigenous youth of all genders including 2spirit and LGBTTQQ youth. They support young people’s dignity, healing and strengths as they challenge and restory sexualized and gender-based violence, honouring the link between land sovereignty, decolonization and body sovereignty. 

For more than 25 years, Outward Bound Canada’s programs for Indigenous youth and adults have provided an opportunity for First Nation, Métis and Inuit participants to come together to experience Outward Bound. Through the Open-Enrolment Programs, Indigenous participants from diverse communities are given the opportunity to challenge themselves, share knowledge, and gain skills in a new environment. Through the Custom Group Programs, Outward Bound Canada collaborates with Indigenous communities and organizations to develop inspiring and valuable programs that combine the philosophy of Outward Bound and the goals of the communities involved. 

The Take a Kid Trapping Program is designed to introduce school age youth in the Northwest Territories to the traditional harvesting practices of hunting, trapping, fishing and outdoor survival. The program is delivered through schools and Indigenous organizations, in co-operation with the Government of the Northwest Territories, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (ENR). The program is funded by the Departments of ENR, Municipal and Community Affairs (MACA) and Health and Social Services (HSS).

Dechinta is dedicated to creating a future of Indigenous cultural revitalization through a reconnection with the land. They also aim to increase the accessibility of land-based programming for school aged youth, young adults transitioning out of high school and into post-secondary employment, and their families, as well as parents, youth, women, and 2SLGBTQIA+ people. Take a look at the field guide and documentary from their Łiwe Camp (fish camp) which provides information on what an Indigenous land-based university looks like in practice. 

Deh Gáh is the only school in the NorthwestTerritories to operate on a year-round basis and offer extensive experiential land-basedprograms, immersion programs and multi-day on-the-land trips. By makingfundamental changes to the scheduling of the school calendar year and adjustments to the curriculum, the school has been able to create a land-based program through which every student spends four to six weeks on the land during fall, winter, spring and summer. By the time a student graduates, they will have spentfifty weeks on the land. This experience grounds students culturally by connecting them to the land and community - knowing who they are and where they come from.

Bringing youth to the great outdoors to help them connect with the land and Cree traditions for the purpose of recovery, personal growth, and fun!

The K’ómoks Guardian department prides itself in undertaking significant outreach throughout K’ómoks territory. Each season the team spends time at local schools teaching them about the Nation’s historic and current relationship to its lands and waters. The amount of time the Guardians have spent interacting with schools has created significant interest from youth. The Guardians have been so successful in inspiring K’ómoks youth that they have been able to hire all their existing staff from its summer student program. Guardians connect Elders and younger generations so youth can learn traditional ways of hunting, gathering, and processing foods.

This website contains a database that holds tons of recorded video stories about Indigenous education initiatives. Many of these initiatives involve land and water-based learning. You can search through the database by education topic, level (e.g. K-8, 9-12, post-secondary), province/territory, and language. You can also search by keyword and could type in "land" or "water" to search for on-the-land/water initiatives. 

The Canadian Outdoor Leadership Training Program is based out of Strathcona Park Lodge on Vancouver Island and tailored to students who want to improve their outdoor skills for personal purposes and for those interested in becoming outdoor educators and adventure guides. This could be a potential training opportunity to explore for youth in communities to further develop skills that can facilitate them spending time on their lands and waters. 

Dehcho K’éhodi means ‘Taking Care of the Dehcho’ in Dehcho Dene Zhatié. The Dehcho K’éhodi Stewardship Program is a regional on-the-land program for stewardship activities in the region. The foundation of the stewardship program is to (1) to be guided by the Dene Laws & Values; (2) to support & strengthen the Dene language; and (3) to enable youth-elder mentorships, so future generations of Dene can learn their culture and how to be on the land.

Hooksum Outdoor School provides quality outdoor and environmental education with an emphasis on Hesquiaht knowledge.  Hooksum hosts school, youth and adult groups and offers an annual 28-day outdoor leadership training program that includes certifications in wilderness first aid, lifesaving, and sea kayaking.  The School also offers customized programs for a variety of groups. Hesquiaht culture and worldviews are incorporated in all aspects of Hooksum Outdoor School’s operation.

This programming is the  first ever land-based education program on White Bear First Nations, a community of Nakoda, Dakoda, Cree and Saulteaux peoples in southeastern Saskatchewan. Students explore Indigenous practices and traditions and gain school credit. Some of the skills the students are learning range from tipi-raising, canoeing, trapping, hunting, preparing the meat, tanning hides, picking berries, and harvesting traditional medicines.

Envisioned as a dual-purpose, world-class eco-tourism lodge on the Hada River estuary during the summer, the project will deliver traditional healing programs and teachings in all aspects of the Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw  language and culture for the balance of the year, largely sustained by profits from the Nawalakw Lodge and Healing Village to fund programming. This multi-phase project will create presence and environmental stewardship in our traditional territory and create pride in our people. Our initial focus will be a Culture Camp for youth in grades 5-7, who have already had some exposure to kwak̓wala in their Band and Provincial Schools, though we plan to expand our focus over time and as Covid-19 retreats.

The Ditidaht Places Project is a student-led research initiative that helps Ditidaht students investigate places in their territory and the history associated with those places. This website is a project of Ditidaht Community School, which is located in the village of balaac̓adt, on Nitinaht Lake, in Ditidaht territory. Ditidaht territory is located on the west coast of what is now called Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

The Stqeeye’ Learning Society (Stqeeye’ is pronounced STAH-KAY-AH) is a charitable non-profit with a mainly Quw’utsun board based on Salt Spring Island. The central goal of Stqeeye’ is to strengthen cultural relationships to the land and water at Xwaaqw’um Village (aka Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park) and beyond through delivering cultural and ecological learning opportunities to Quw’utsun, Hul’q’umi’num and other indigenous youth and community and fostering reconciliation through the building of cross-cultural relationships, delivering educational opportunities for school groups and organizing cultural gatherings open to the public.

The purpose of Supporting Wellbeing is to provide tools, resources and tips for people who deliver land-based programming that will better prepare them to mitigate and respond to mental health challenges in remote environments. This curriculum was developed in response to an identified need in the Northwest Territories to equip on-the-land program leaders with tools to support mental and emotional wellness on the land.

The NWTRPA is a resource for and champion of community-directed on the land programs. They support people who lead and support land-based programs through training, advocacy, and networking opportunities. The NWTRPA works with people leading and supporting land-based programs to identify and deliver relevant training opportunities that support the whole person (i.e. physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing). The NWTRPA also provides Wilderness and Remote First Aid, and Paddle Canada courses.

WAYC was created in 2020 by Inuvialuit and Gwich’in youth, for youth with connections to the Beaufort Delta region of the Northwest Territories. he first collaborations took place in 2019: a youth gathering at Midway Lake in August, and a hide culture camp at Project Jewel’s campsite in Gwich’in Territorial campgrounds in September.  WAYC strives to create opportunities to prepare and support ongoing development to improve the lives of youth ages 18-35 years old. The purpose of this collective is to empower youth to be changemakers by providing a platform of youth-led collaborative initiatives and partnerships in their communities. 

The Sahtú Youth Network is a platform for youth across the Sahtú Region to find innovative and contemporary ways to learn about their culture as a whole, as well as to be inspired to create their own DENE TS'ĮLĮ. We want to thrive together, and that means having a say on what we want for our future. 

This initiative is led by the Centre for First Nations Governance. It helps youth explore cultural identity and enables them to ground their understanding of the inherent right to self-government through language, art, history, and the land. IRYI is about advancing good governance, language, culture and effective leadership. It is about reclaiming what inherently belongs to the youth and bringing together Youth and Elders to develop a new generation of inherent rights leaders.

The Land Guardians program is a partnership between Environmental Youth Alliance (EYA) and Urban Native Youth Association’s Cedar Walk and Aries alternate school programs for Indigenous youth. Through hands-on activities guided by EYA Indigenous youth educators and visits from Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers, youth build relations, make medicines and prepare foods with native plants of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories.  They also help to steward the environment by growing native plants from seed to seed, removing invasive plants, restoring habitat, and monitoring wildlife. Through the program, youth have an opportunity to connect with nature and cultural teachings while building life skills and growing as leaders in their communities.

With a goal of developing Nation Builders through education, Treaty Education Alliance continues its development of a Learning the Land model based on a vision of an Indigenous education system based in Inherent and Treaty Rights. Through a process of inquiry-based learning, each student is given the opportunity to define themselves as Nation Builders. Learning the Land is more than an outdoor education program; it is about learning from the land and understanding our connection to it. 

Tundra Science and Culture Camp (TSCC) is an immersive, 10-day educational program for high-school-aged students, and educators, from the NWT. The program is delivered by leaders in Indigenous culture and environmental science who collaborate to provide a unique, on-the-tundra cultural and multidisciplinary learning experience. These leaders include Tłı̨chǫ elders, GNWT experts and educators in their fields, environmental stewards, and on-site graduate student researchers. Participants learn about Indigenous knowledge, the Tłı̨chǫ language, human history, along with other science-based disciplines such as archaeology, geology, wildlife biology, and aquatic ecology through engaging land-based sessions. Participants also learn about decision-making, resource management, and environmental impact using real-life examples in this diamond mining region.

The TETÁCES Revitalization Project will help restore the WSÁNEC Peoples’ historic connection with the Southern Gulf Islands, known as TETÁCES in the SENĆOŦEN  language. This project will provide a series of five educational videos highlighting WSÁNEC traditional knowledge and the role that TETÁCES plays as part of WSÁNEC homeland — ÁLENENEC. The videos will highlight excursions of WSÁNEC elders and youth to the three southernmost islands:- S,DÁYES/ Pender; S,KTAK/Mayne and TEKTEKSEN/Saturna on Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s 66-foot research vessel the Achiever. These five videos will be owned by the WSÁNEC School Board and will be used in the tribal school curriculum to support the TETÁCES revitalization initiative.

ÁLEṈENEȻ ("homeland in the SENĆOŦEN language) was a curriculum development research project created and delivered by the Saanich Adult Education Centre as an extra-curricular course in 2006. The intent of the pilot project was simply to bring people and place together and to learn from those experiences. Centered on culturally significant place-names within W̱SÁNEĆ territory, participants learned through direct experience by visiting cultural places. For the first 3 years, the program ran in May and June for half days Tues-Thurs and a full day on Fridays, allowing for long-term intensive experiences in home places and out on the land for participants. Guest speakers and organizations from within and allies outside of the W̱SÁNEĆ community shared their teachings with participants.

The Canadian Mountain Network is training the next generation of land guardians and researchers who will dedicate themselves to enhancing our understanding of environmental, economic, and social changes across the North. This summer land-based learning camp is an immersive education experience that takes youth onto the land to learn place-based knowledge from elders, knowledge holders and researchers. The program is hosted on the homelands of the Sahtú Dene and Métis (based at the Drum Lake Lodge) for Indigenous youth aged 18-34 from the Yukon, NWT, or Nunatsiavut.

In 2021, a summer science camp for Indigenous youth was held at the Treaty 4 Governance Centre in Fort Qu’appelle, Saskatchewan. This camp was a shared partnership between First Nations University of Canada, University of Regina’s Faculty of Science, FHQTC (File Hills Qu’appelle Tribal Council) and IPHRC (Indigenous Peoples’ Health Research Centre). The aim of the camp was to provide youth with a blend of cultural and scientific tools to inspire their education and careers paths, including learning about traditional and scientific methods for monitoring water quality, important lessons about the significance, traditions, and practice behind sweat lodges, tipis, connection to land and water and one’s identity as an Indigenous person.

Howl offers transformative programs for youth that cultivate empathy, resilience, and leadership. We enable Howlers to embrace life’s challenges with unwavering optimism through unique experiential and community building activities in affirming, safe, and supportive learning environments. Our programs range from 10 day Explorations in the Rockies, Yukon and Maritimes to an 11 week intensive Semester in the Rockies focused on community enterprise.

At Charles Hays Secondary School, geography 12 and specialized sciences 12 (fisheries) teachers are working closely together to get students out on the land and in the water as much as possible. Students learn about the territory and their local environment from an array of regional experts and professionals (e.g. Gitxaala Territorial Management Agency). One field trip to the hooligan run helped students learn about the region's natural food resources. The courses have also aimed to tie in Tsimshian language, such as when identifying and labelling endemic flora and fauna. 

Webinar # 1: Tour of the Indigenous Guardians Toolkit: Chapter 14 - Involving Youth

Thursday March 3, 2022

Description: During this webinar, Nature United will provide a tour / overview of the youth chapter in the online Indigenous Guardians Toolkit (https://www.indigenousguardianstoolkit.ca/chapter/involve-youth), which has recently been updated to include some new resources to support youth on-the-land/water programs.

Webinar # 2: Facilitating Mentorship in Indigenous Youth On the Land / Water Programs

Friday April 2, 2022

Description: Thoughts on how to create the conditions for mentorship within youth on the land/water programs (both between adults and youth and between older youth and younger youth).

Webinar # 3: Curriculum Connections in Indigenous Youth On the Land / Water Programs

Monday June 13, 2022

Description: creating mechanisms for youth to be able to get school credit for their participation in on the land/water programs, developing curriculum, linking on the land/water learning activities to existing curriculum, etc.

Webinar # 4: Wellness On the Land/Water: Mental Health and Indigenous Youth Programming

When: Thursday, Oct 27, 2022 10:30 AM Pacific

Organized by: Nature United Emerging Leaders Program (www.natureunited.ca/emergingleaders)

Description: Please join for a conversation on wellness in youth on-the-land/water programming for both participants and staff. We can shape the discussion to fit the needs of those who join the conversation, but some topics we might address are: * Sharing with each other what we have noticed about mental health needs on the land in our programs * Any lessons we have learned through our experiences for supporting individual and group wellness * How we take care of ourselves in the work that we do * Any useful resources folks have come across to support wellness in these programs * Restorative justice in youth on the land/water programs In addition, Rachel Cluderay has generously offered to share with us about her work with the NWT Supporting Wellbeing Project (https://makeway.org/project/supporting-wellbeing/). Supporting Wellbeing is an emerging training program that aims to provide tools and resources for people who deliver land-based programming that will better prepare them to mitigate and respond to mental health challenges in remote environments.