A New Memory in the Minds of our Children and Youth
Inherent Rights Storytelling Initiative & Youth and Elders Gathering
“It’s time to put a new memory in the minds of our children. Time to tell them a story of hope. Time to tell the story that our long struggle for the right to be self-governing is over, and we have won. And it is time to put into practice.” – Satsan
Seven generations have passed since the imposition of the Indian Act. Today’s youth are the eighth generation living with restrictive policies holding us back from our own governance structures, values, culture, and territories. And yet, Indigenous youth are finding creative ways to rediscover their sacred ceremonies, revitalize their language, learn their culture, and exercise their inherent rights to transform their nations.
Through the use of traditional storytelling, this year’s Inherent Rights Youth Initiative will support a diverse group of First Nations youth from across Turtle Island in an online learning space where we will virtually visit five of the communities that have partnered with the Rebuilding First Nations Governance research project to hear stories from Elders around the Centre for First Nations Governance’ five pillars of effective governance. Together we will develop a shared understanding of our inherent governance rights and the obligations we have under those rights to rebuild a collective sense of identity rooted in culture, land, language, and spirituality.
This year’s initiative will be focused on creating a new memory in the minds of our children and youth. We will envision the new stories our children and youth will tell with the resurgence of our own traditional governance systems, practices and inherent rights leadership.
Our journey begins with a series of virtual Storytelling Sessions and will wrap-up with a one-day Youth & Elder Gathering.
Storytelling Sessions:
Session 1: The People Pillar – September 15, 2022
Session 2: Governing Systems Pillar – October 27, 2022
Session 3: The Land Pillar – November 10, 2022
Session 4: Jurisdiction & Laws Pillar – November 17, 2022
Session 5: Resources Pillar – December 8, 2022
Youth & Elders Gathering: January 12, 2023 NEW DATE
Pacific: 8:00am-2:00pm (PST)
Mountain: 9:00am-3:00pm (MST)
Saskatchewan: 10:00am-4:00pm (CST)
Central: 10:00am-4:00pm (CST)
Eastern: 11:00am-5:00pm (EST)
Atlantic: 12:00pm-6:00pm (AST)
Newfoundland: 12:30pm-6:30pm (NST)
Thank you to this year’s sponsors!
