TL;DR
Based out of Matsqui / Abbotsford Impact Society, a diverse team of Indigenous youth looks to foster the revitalization and adaptation of Indigenous culture for all first peoples in the BC area.
Details
To highlight the work Creation Grantees are doing in their communities, the Creation Community Grants Team sends out Q&A forms so they can share their experiences creating and carrying out their projects. Today we are featuring responses from Marcella (respondent), Helena, and Pavel of Visionary Youth Peers for Equity & Revitalization (VYPER).
Community: Across what is currently called British Columbia
Grant Type: Small Project Funding
Q: Tell us about your group and project!
A: VYPER- Visionary Youth Peers for Equity and Revitalization is a youth-governed group for urbanized and non-urbanized Indigenous youth in the provincial BC area. Based out of Matsqui / Abbotsford Impact Society, a diverse team of Indigenous youth looks to foster the revitalization and adaptation of Indigenous culture for all first peoples in the BC area. We have been operating since January 2022.
Our project is focused on creating Indigenous youth leadership teams in 5 high schools across BC – all with the goal to lead and facilitate a cultural revitalization or education initiative within their school setting.
Q: As the youth running the project, what impact do you hope it will have?
A: We hope to see an increase in Indigenous education and knowledge opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in the school districts across BC. VYPER is driven by youth autonomy; having youth not only be a part of the process, but completely lead the process is what matters the most. VYPER’s motto has always been, “We value the process of getting to a product, more than the actual product”. Meaning, we want the youth we’re engaging with to recognize that the inherent value lies within their learning journey, rather than how many people will show up to an event, or how far that event or project may reach.
Q: What is something you have learned?
A: We have learned that Indigenous Education looks very different in school districts across BC. In some cases, schools already have strong Indigenous youth leadership teams in place, so then the focus is very much on uplifting the work that’s already being done by those students. On the other hand, some schools do not have Indigenous leadership teams, and we work together to help them create one. We have learned that in order to create an Indigenous leadership team, there needs to be a whole lot of relationship-building and connecting first. A lot of us are peers, and we like to remind each other, “I come from a similar place to you. Let’s put our heads together and see what can happen”.
“Thank you so much for the opportunity to do this. Without VYPER, I would never have started dancing and having all these opportunities in my community.”
Q: What is one piece of advice you would share with other youth who want to run a project?
A: You can do ANYTHING you put your head to. A lot of us young people might question, “should I be the one to do this?” or “what if X happens?” We want to tell other youth who may want to run projects – a lot of us at VYPER began running and facilitating projects at 14, 15 years old. At 15 years old, a whole group of us planned an entire conference and had several themes throughout a day of youth-led discussions. We had over 300 service providers come and hear our stories. We truly believe Indigenous youth can do anything they put their heads to. You have the strength of your peers and your ancestral roots.
