“We have described for you a mountain. We have shown you the path to the top. We call upon you to do the climbing.”
Chairman Murray Sinclair spoke these words when the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its final report in 2015. Sinclair’s death in November has led many to reflect on his legacy in defining Canada’s path to reconciliation through 94 calls to action.
One of those calls led to Indigenous Youth Roots receiving federal funding in 2019 for community-based youth organizations delivering programs on reconciliation. For 15 years, Indigenous Youth Roots has been providing programs, grants and opportunities designed to strengthen the voices of Indigenous young people and their communities.
Its Centre for Indigenous Policy and Research works with youth to build skills in policy, advocacy and research. Talking with youth through a range of programs has consistently revealed that 10 years after the TRC’s conclusion, young people continue to be left out of decision-making that directly affects them.
Why are their voices, perspectives and lived experiences still unheard? Why are policies and programming still being created for Indigenous youth without their wisdom and expertise?
The Indigenous Youth Reconciliation Barometer
These concerns informed the 2024 Indigenous Youth Reconciliation Barometer, a research initiative that explored how young people envision their futures and their multi-faceted communities. Youth shaped what questions would be posed in a digital survey, seven in-person sharing circles and three more online.
Some 1,125 Indigenous young people across the country extensively discussed personal and community empowerment; culture and wellness; education and meaningful work; and solidarity and reconciliation.
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All these conversations were set against factors like identity, geography, gender and disability status. Like their communities, Indigenous young people are not all the same. The barometer’s emphasis on storytelling and demographic data reflects these diverse experiences and sets it apart from other research.
An advisory circle of youth and youth advocates made sure the experiences of frequently overlooked Indigenous young people (Afro-Indigenous and two-spirit populations as well as those living in rural and remote areas) were included.
Understanding Indigenous youth hopes and barriers
The report that followed highlights differences and similarities among First Nations, Métis and Inuit youth. For example, when asked what brings them closest to their culture, almost two-thirds of Inuit youth said they felt most connected when harvesting on the land. This was one of the top three responses among Inuit young people, but not for First Nations or Métis youth. But when asked what their goals are for the future, the top response was consistent across Indigenous identities: “Living a balanced life.”
The results also recognize that sense of identity and systemic barriers vary within each of the three Indigenous groups and depend on gender, age, ability, where someone lives and other factors.
The report affirms that Indigenous young people bear the consequences of inadequate and exclusionary programs, lack of education funding, a shortage of culturally safe spaces and anti-Indigenous discrimination in the workplace. Indigenous youth also identified a lack of safe spaces for two-spirit, gender-diverse and LGBTQ+ individuals.
Youth were clear that institutions need to be innovative and flexible when creating safe work and learning opportunities. This could be achieved by providing wellness and cultural supports, creating opportunities for youth to work in and from their communities, and challenging Western ideas of professionalism.
Youth largely defined meaningful work for themselves as advocating for and improving the lives of people in their communities. They asked for more financial help and Indigenous-led mentorship programs. They also expressed the need for roads, clean water, housing and access to the internet to more successfully live, work and learn in their own communities.
Almost 85 per cent of Indigenous youth said they define education as learning through experience, while just under 65 per cent also saw it as getting a degree or diploma. Their wishes included more learning opportunities on the land (for example, medicine harvesting and language camps), more inclusive curriculums valuing Indigenous knowledge and more education funding.
Indigenous youth overwhelmingly see reconciliation as important. Some 85 per cent identified it as key toward healing and equity for Indigenous Peoples. At the same time, just over half felt optimistic about seeing their visions of reconciliation realized in the future, a sharp drop from 75 per cent in the 2019 barometer.
Youth also made it clear that reconciliation cannot be achieved by words alone. Trust must be built with leadership in all sectors. Governments and corporate entities must respect Indigenous land rights, while Indigenous leaders must work toward solidarity with communities outside their own.
A guide to be used
The barometer underscores a critical truth that Indigenous advocates have long fought to have acknowledged: No plans affecting Indigenous Peoples should be made without their leadership at every stage. Policy and lawmakers seeking to meaningfully address the socioeconomic disparities faced by Indigenous youth must first and foremost provide them a leading role in decision-making.
Reports like these shouldn’t be left to collect dust on decision-makers’ shelves. All sectors and industries in Canada can find stories and information to guide them in supporting Indigenous youth in their communities.
For many, the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission marked the beginning of an era wherein Canada confronts its colonial past and reshapes its relationship with Indigenous Peoples. The commission demonstrated that immense cultural shifts are possible when Indigenous voices sharing their experiences, their grief and their hopes are the focal point rather than the backdrop to governments and institutions speaking for them. As current and future leaders in their communities, Indigenous youth have the knowledge and vision to continue shaping more just and abundant futures for themselves and their communities.
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