Aboriginal Next Steps

Aboriginal Next Steps II©The McCreary Centre Society, 20103552 East Hastings StreetVancouver, BC V5K 2A7Tel: 604-291-1996Fax: 604-291-7308Email: mccreary@mcs.bc.cawww.mcs.bc.ca978-1-895438-08-6The McCreary Centre Society is a nongovernmentnot-for-profit organizationcommitted to improving the health of BCyouth through research, education andcommunity-based projects. Founded in1977, the Society sponsors and promotesa wide range of activities and research toidentify and address the health needs ofyoung people in the province.

McCreary Centre Society | iiiProject TeamAnnie SmithExecutive DirectorSherry SimonProvincial CoordinatorDuncan StewartResearch AssociateCarly HoogeveenResearch AssistantAdditional assistance for the project wasprovided by Stephanie Martin and Alison Murray.Evaluation for the project was providedby Dr. Maya Peled.Community OrganizersBella BellaCindy Neilson, Jacqueline George& Cherish MasonCourtenayAnn Marie Kraft, Alanna Mitchell& Tabatha WebberCranbrookDebbie McPhee & Bonnie ScottHazeltonAndy de Boer, Thomas Smith& Joeseph BowdenLyttonNoni McCann, Gabrielle Kingston& Forrest SampsonNisga’aAmber McKayPrince GeorgeCandice Monai, Billy Rowin,Pierre John & Theresa (Indya) SamPrince RupertDebbie Leighton-Stephens, Carla RourkeSandra Carlick, Miguel Borges,Anne Smythe & Tiana AlbertSkeetchestnCandice Simon, Amber McDougall,Eden Billy, & Jalyssa PhairWestbankTrent Pontalti, Emily James& Zane KnaflichAcknowledgmentsTo all the youth, supportive adult allies andcommunity members, thank you for helpingmake this project possible.Cover art by: Tania Willard, Red WillowDesigns. An artist and designer from theSecwepemc (Shuswap) Nation in the Interiorof BC.Funding for this project was provided by:The Crime Prevention Action Fund (CPAF)provided the McCreary Centre Society (MCS)with funding to conduct the Aboriginal NextStepsII in nine communities.A tenth community was funded by theMinistry of Public Safety and SolicitorGeneral.The views expressed herein do not necessarilyrepresent the official policy of the funders.Sugested citation: Simon, S. (2010) AboriginalNext Steps II, McCreary Centre Society,VancouverThis report is available as a free downloadablePDF from the McCreary Centre Societywebsite.

iv | Table of ContentsTable of ContentsIntroductionvVision of Youth EngagementviANSII IntroductionviiANSII OverviewviiiBella Bella 1Courtenay 3Cranbrook 5Hazelton 7Lytton 9Nisga’a 11

Table of Contents |Prince George 13Prince Rupert 15Skeetchestn 17Westbank 19Nexus Youth Leadership 21Lessons Learned 22Youth Response to ANSII 23ANSII Evaluation 24Acknowledgements 26Additional McCreary Resources 27

vi | Aboriginal Next Steps IIA Personal Vision of YouthEngagementSince 1994 I have been dedicated to working withurban and rural Aboriginal communities, includingwithin my own Secwepemc Nation. I have learnedthat co-creating sustainable models for communitydevelopment does not only take an understandingof the systemic barriers and personal challenges facingAboriginal youth - it requires creative strategiesthat are flexible enough to grow with their particularneeds over time. All ten communities involvedwith Aboriginal Next Steps II (ANSII) successfullycompleted their youth-led programs with amazingresults and McCreary Centre Society (MCS) wassubsequently awarded the Solicitor General Award(2009) in recognition of its outstanding contributionto community safety. It is an accomplishmentthat would not have been possible without thesteadfast commitment of MCS’ Executive Director,Annie Smith. She was a tireless advocate andally who translated ongoing growth to our fundersand board during (what I can only describe as) theevolving metamorphosis of a project that ended upreaching the lives of over 500 Aboriginal youthacross BC. I often remark to youth that alliancewith others who will respectfully share power, is akey to making the big changes they want to see. Iam grateful for my allies; therefore, I aspire to alwaysbe an adult ally that young people will chooseto work with.At the heart of this ANSII model is a vision ofyouth engagement. MCS and other researchindicate that successful youth engagement ofteninvolves: meaningful participation for youth, opportunitiesfor youth to take responsibility andleadership, and as noted, partnership with supportiveadult allies.With this in mind, I purposefully designed ANSIIto be as youth-led as possible. Youth participantshad the opportunity to be key decision makers, organizers,researchers and co-writers of a grant thatsecured $5000 for their projects. They were asked toidentify their ‘adult allies’ and a ‘supporting organization’(i.e.: school or band office) that would holdtheir grant, but the youth were fully responsible fordeciding where every penny was spent. Therefore,ANSII was uniquely different in each community.From the evaluations, we learned that the youngpeople who participated fully were impacted themost. Many of these youth did not self identify as‘leaders,’ but when provided the opportunity theystepped courageously into the role with notableintegrity and wisdom. Some also joined the ANSIIprovincial Youth Council, so they could take on anadvisory, decision-making role and connect withother like-minded youth across the province.Whenever possible, I combined experiential learning,expressive arts-based facilitation and cooperativelearning in programming to strengthen theyouth’s leadership capacity and tools for communityaction. I was continually gifted with the passion andenergy of young people, whether so-called ‘at- riskyouth’ or ‘A students’, who had the desire to speakout on issues that really mattered to them.Kukstec-kuc (thank you) to all the incredible youthand supportive adults who made this a success. Iam inspired by your wholehearted dedication to thefuture health of our communities and your willingnessto work together for positive change.All My RelationsSherry SimonProvincial Coordinator

McCreary Centre Society | viiANSII IntroductionSince 1992 Aboriginal youth have participated inthe Adolescent Health Survey (AHS). Followingthe release of the second AHS (1998) whichincluded 1,710 Aboriginal youth, McCreary CentreSociety (MCS) worked with Aboriginal communitypartners to create the report entitled Raven’sChildren, which looked at the health of Aboriginalyouth in grades 7-12. In 2003, AHS III included2,478 Aboriginal youth and again MCS collaboratedwith Aboriginal communitiesto release Raven’s Children II.The Aboriginal Next Step (ANS)workshop series (2001) was firstdeveloped to give Aboriginalyouth an opportunity to respondto the Raven’s Children II reportby developing recommendationsfor improving the health of youngpeople in their community.Aboriginal Next Steps IIBuilding on the success of the ANS workshop series(2001), ANSII was designed to cultivate a positiveand sustainable approach by nurturing the creativepotential and innovation of Aboriginal youth.Through the project, young people (aged 13 to 18)in ten communities across the province participatedin workshops to discuss the current status ofyouth health, identify priority issues associated withsubstance use and other youth health issues, andcreatively share their ideas about improving youthhealth with their school and community. Inspiredto transform their ideas into action, youth and localadult allies were supported by MCS in developingand delivering youth-led community projects.ANSII community project’s highlights include:international award winning claymation films; creatinga youth council to work with the local schoolboard to reduce the percentage of youth droppingout of school; developing a multi-school photojournalismand traditional language project;and designing conferences and campsto ‘build bridges’ between youth andlocal Elders.Protective FactorsMcCreary’s research indicates thatprotective factors promote healthyyouth development. Young peopleneed positive relationships and caringsocial environments to grow andthrive. For example, research hasshown that youth who feel connectedand safe at home, at school and in their communityhave better health, take fewer risks and have highereducational aspirations, even in the presence of riskfactors such as substance use or depression. Otherprotective factors include: creating opportunitiesfor mastering creative skills, artistic expression,teamwork, health-enhancing social activities andfor making a difference in their community throughvolunteer work. ANSII aimed to foster these protectivefactors among Aboriginal youth.

viii |Aboriginal Next Steps IIANSII OverviewWhether it was a collaboration between key communitypartners, an adult advocate for the youth,school space, a community hall, or a multitude ofother forms of support, community commitmentwas essential for this project to be successful. Astrong component of ANSII was the idea of partnership,stemming from our belief that sustainablecommunity development depends on growth fromwithin.An adult Aboriginal advisory committee wasformed to select the communities and assisted inguiding the project. Two Aboriginal youth in eachcommunity were also invited to take on an advisory,decision-making role by joining the project’sprovincial Youth Advisory Council (YAC).Aboriginal Next Steps IIANSII was a two year project that was accomplishedin phases. The aim in phase I was to increaseAboriginal youth’s understanding of health riskbehaviors (e.g.: substance use), to develop trust, toteam build, and to connect with key stakeholders.During phase II participants were able to transformresearch and ideas into community action.Phase I: Workshops 1 & 2In the beginning, youth participated in workshopspertaining to substance use and other Aboriginalhealth issues. Participants were able to discussthe current status of youth health; dispel negativestereotypes; identify priority issues associatedwith substance use; and to explore innovative ideasfor improving the health of young people in theircommunities. Participants created action plans toaddress issues related to substance use and youthhealth that they cared about.During workshop 2 the goal was to integrate theirnew knowledge, while gaining skills through creativetools, in this case, film making. Reel Youth, anot-for-profit media empowerment program (www.reelyouth.ca) partnered with us on this part of theproject and assisted youth to make short claymationfilms about the Adolescent Health Survey resultsthat they felt were most important in their community.The youth then presented their films andaction plans to their school and/or community at acommunity dialogue event and film premiere.Phase II: Workshops 3 & 4In the second phase of the project, YAC membersand participating youth developed and delivereda sustainable youth-led community project. Inworkshop 3 participants designed their communitybased,youth-led project by developing a projectidea, preparing a budget and evaluation plan, andcompleting a draft of a grant application. MCSprovided grants up to $5000 to fund the youth’ssustainable project ideas which had been identifiedin Phase I and developed and formalised throughworkshop 3. MCS offered support to local youthwhile they delivered their community-based project.In the final workshop of the series (workshop 4)youth evaluated the success of their communityprojects and created a sustainability plan to ensuretheir projects continued after funding and MCSsupport had ended.

McCreary Centre Society | Bella BellaBella Bella is located halfway up the coast of BCon Campbell Island, nestled in the “Great BearRainforest.” It is home to the Heiltsuk Native Band,which is the largest community on the CentralCoast. The Bella Bella Community School takesgreat pride in their heritage and they strive to teachstudents through both modern and traditional ways,including Heiltsuk cultural activities such as singingand dancing into their school program.Since March 2008 the youth who participated inANSII were dedicated to doing a youth-led initiativethat integrated these values. They called theirproject ‘Building Bridges’ because they wanted tostrengthen the connection between youth, adults,and elders in the school and the community.Peer EducatorsFrom the beginning, the youth were adamantabout using existing spaces to create a safe environmentfor young people to engage in a multitude ofcreative activities. They also identified the need foryouth to educate each other and the communityabout youth health issues, especially those related tosubstance use.During the first workshop, they organized intothree planning groups to address the youth healthissues of their community. The first group’s film “BigWall” highlighted the importance of youth who feelalone reaching out to each other and breaking downthe walls that keep them apart. Through the film “AJob WELL Done,” the second group shared a positivemessage with the community; that statisticallyAboriginal youth are making healthier decisionsand overall substance use has decreased. Groupthree created “No Glove, No Love,” a film thatencouraged Aboriginal youth to continue makinghealthy decisions. This film was shown at both theVancouver Film Festival and the Bangkok HarmReduction Film Festival.Building BridgesBy the time the youth met again for the projectplanning workshop, the original planning group haddoubled in size. They organized a conference to notonly strengthen the relationship between the adultsand youth, but to inspire youth in Bella Bella tobegin doing things for themselves.Their goals included:♦♦♦Help youth explore creative ways to intertwineurban and traditional cultures;Bring adults, youth, and elders together tobridge the generation gap;Reduce drug and alcohol abuse by showing thatyou can have fun while learning healthy alternatives.In May 2009 they hosted their conference and invitedall the senior youth. They had workshops fromboth local service providers and guest facilitators.Topics included harm reduction, photojournalism,true colors personality types, theatre, turntablism,

| Aboriginal Next Steps IIHeiltsuk traditional cultural values and culturalawareness mixed in with poetry/spoken word. Theysuccessfully created a safe place for the youth to engagein creative expression, developed critical skillsand reinforced positive values. Participants learnedhow to express modern youth culture and ‘still beinvolved in traditional culture too’. During the lastnight they invited the community to the school foran open mic and shared their art, poetry, performances,and a youth-made Zine that was a mixtureof youth culture and traditional Heiltsuk words,images and values.At the end of June, the youth had a follow up photojournalismproject and created an additional Zinecalled Vision. Transformation. Inspiration. in BellaBella that focused on the positive things youth coulddo as alternatives to drinking and doing drugs. Theyare planning to continue to create their own media.“It was back in October when I first met Sherry and shecame to us with a proposal. There was many amongstus in the room and it took time for the youth withinthe room to open up. You have to respect children andyouth just as you respect Elders. Why? Because theyare just as important, their voice is just as strong, andtheir feelings matter. Like everybody else in this worldof ours, you have to gain trust and respect.Working alongside Jackie and communicating withSherry almost daily is why our youth conference wasa success. That is where our commitment came in; itwas not just one person who did it all, we all contributedalong the way with the support of many others.It was hard work, but me and Jackie were determinedto bring greatness into the community for our youth.Anything is possible, you just have to believe andactually want it.”Cherish Mason, Bella Bella Youth“Well I guess that I was with Sherry from the start. Itall began when she came to Bella Bella. We started bymaking short videos. My group’s film made it into thefilm festival down in Vancouver, which I think was prettyexcellent. I was happy to have gotten the chance tobe able to make a difference in my community. We areputting a conference on for the youth in our communitywhich I am happy to say will have a great impact.My group and Sherry have kept in contact with oneanother for the whole process of applying for a grantand whatnot. It has been very exhilarating. So far I’mlearning how to apply for money, plan out a conference,what it takes to do something as grand as this, and wellI’m learning time management.All these things I can apply to my life, soI guess that these are life skills thatSherry has shown my group. Insteadof just standing around and waitingfor something to happen, my group isgetting up and doing things forthemselves. I’m glad to beworking with her on thisproject.”Jacqueline GeorgeBella Bella Youth

McCreary Centre Society | CourtenayCourtenay is on the east coast of Vancouver Islandand located within the traditional lands of theK’ómoks First Nation. In April 2008, youth fromthe Nala’atsi Alternate school program that washoused in the Wachiay Friendship Centre Societycompleted the first two workshops of the ANSIIproject. Perhaps due to direct experience and asense of belonging within the Friendship Centre,the youth were most interested in the informationabout inclusive community and education. Fortheir community project they decided to focus onfostering community in Courtenay.Fostering CommunityThe youth organized into three working groups tocreate their films. One group created a film to drawawareness to the struggles of youth homelessness.The second focused on the possible consequence ofthe choices of the decisions we make around sexualrelationships. The final group’s film “The Centre’”focused on how connecting Aboriginal youth tocommunity services such as a Friendship Centre canmake a positive difference.Some of the youth used the film “The Centre” aspart of their presentation to the school board toadvocate for the students who did not want theNala’atsi program to be moved from the FriendshipCentre. The school board eventually did move theprogram, but to a larger building only a block away.With increased confidence in their ability to organize,the youth decided to maintain their partnershipwith ANSII while creating their own group: FutureLeaders of the World (FLOW). FLOW decided tohost their own leadership retreat at the end of summer.They intended to use the event to recruit moreyouth, create a springboard for discussion and findsolutions for addressing community issues.During the months leading up to the retreat, theyouth presented at community meetings, local highschools and gatherings to recruit new members andgain support for their project.F.L.O.WTabatha,co-writers ofmembershipamount of com-their cultur-that summer.Two super youth, Alanna andbecame key organizers andthe grant. FLOW increasedand gained a significantmunity support. They heldally-rich, outdoor retreat

| Aboriginal Next Steps IIThey were also very thankful to experience havingfun in both structured and unstructured ways,without drugs or alcohol.In the months that followed FLOW held a well attended,follow-up event at the friendship centre.“At the beginning of our planning sessions we didn’thave a clear goal. After looking more closely at theunderlying problem, we realized that there just wasn’tenough youth leaders in the community to accomplisheverything we felt needed to be changed – and ourpurpose became obvious.One of FLOW’s priorities was to invite elders tothe retreat to bridge the generation gap, as they feltthey were the two groups that could learn the mostfrom each other and help both “belong more to thiscommunity and the people in it.”The elders were invited to tell their stories, shareknowledge, sacred objects, histories and ‘good laughs’with the participants. They created skits together,discussed issues, explored traditional knowledge andpractises, played games and had fun.Some of the workshops offered were:♦♦♦♦♦Drum making and how to build a sweat lodgeBeatboxing and poetry for non-poetsDream interpretation and meditationLearning about the land and medicinal teasJournaling, writing and collage artFLOW received positive feedback via participantevaluation forms and several phone calls in theweeks following the event. All the participants saidthey benefited from being a part of the event.For many it inspired them to become more involvedin their community, allowed them to meet new people,learn new skills, and gain useful knowledge.Our community needs strong, young leaders topower the change we feel is necessary – why limitourselves to addressing one problem, when we couldteach a relatively large group of youth how to addressany problem they ever come in contact with,and persevere through it with pride and honor.Each person’s personal empowerment is the sustainablechange we want to see. Using art, dance, music,culture and traditional ecological knowledge we intendto teach the youth of today how to live positivelyin the worlds of tomorrow.”Tabatha Webber, Comox Valley Youth

McCreary Centre Society | CranbrookCranbrook is nestled in the heart of the Kootenays,located in the Columbia Valley. It is the largestcity of the Rocky Mountain region and has moresunshine than any other city in BC. Due to many ofthe youth travelling long distances into Cranbrookfrom neighbouring areas for school, the ANSIIproject was set up at the centrally located MountBaker Secondary School (MBSS).Safety & AcceptanceIn the first workshop, the group discussed numerousideas for programming and events to help youth feellike they belong, including a central and accessibleyouth centre where youth ‘feel safe and accepted andto help them make ideally right decisions.’ This centrewould also have workshops to build self-confidenceand personal growth creating more awareness abouthealthy alternatives.Once the participants had learned about the healthof Aboriginal youth though discussions of theAdolescent Health Survey (AHS) data, they splitinto groups to explore the health issues that theyidentified as most important.One group felt moved by the AHS results thatproved Aboriginal youth are making “good decisions”(the title they chose for their film) and theyso focused on substance use and abuse. For example,fewer Aboriginal youth are drinking alcohol or usingillegal drugs. They created their film working offof this question: can dreams impact youth’s decisions?This film was screened as part of the BangkokHarm Reduction Film Festival.The youth who were surprised by the higher ratesof drug and alcohol use seen among marginalizedand street-involved youth formed the second group.The AHS fact that amazed this group the mostwas learning that the number one reason marginalizedyouth reported hanging out on the streets wasbecause their friends were there. This group’s filmhighlights how feeling a sense of connection andbelonging in a community can influence youth tomake healthy decisions.A third group considered that although rates of suicidehave remained stable over the past decade, protectivefactors (such as connection with friends andfamily) can drastically reduce the risk of attemptedsuicide. Their film showed the importance of havingsupport, especially from friends with positive socialvalues, and how to ensure that ‘no one is an outsider.’

| Aboriginal Next Steps IIFollowing the completion of the film-makingworkshop, a film premiere and community dialoguenight was hosted by the St. Mary Indian Band. Theyouth were fantastic presenters, expertly fieldingquestions about the research information related totheir films.“Good collaboration between organizations. Everyonewas involved (hands on) in some way. The kids gettinga unique experience of making a film to get a messageacross. The chance to showcase some of their talentsespecially in being leaders when getting a task done.”Adult Ally, CranbrookStorytellersIn the second year some youth moved or graduated,so the remaining group reconnected after summerand recruited new members. They concluded thatthe best way to help youth feel like they belong inthe community was to first learn more about theirculture and then become peer educators.Finally, they decided to become storytellers in directresponse to learning that MBSS’ First Nations SupportWorkers were consistently getting requests topresent stories and information to younger studentsin the district.To jumpstart their project they organized andhosted a storytelling training day at their school.Two professional storytellers from the KtunaxaNation facilitated the training: Joe Pierre and HermanAlpine, MBSS Elder Advisor in Residence.Mr. Alpine shared with the youth the importanceand place of stories in Ktunaxa culture. Mr. Pierrefacilitated the training on the art of storytelling. Bythe end of the day, each participant chose a story,practiced it and shared it with the large group.The youth have ensured the sustainability of theirproject through goals that include:♦♦Ordering legend books so the youth can recordthem and make podcasts.The storytellers will listen to the podcasts ontheir mp3 players and practice with the educatorsand storytellers.Once they are ready, these young storytellers willvisit local schools to tell legends in Ktunaxa (andEnglish).“I learned about making good decisions.”Cranbrook Youth

McCreary Centre Society | HazeltonThe Hazeltons (Hazelton, New Hazelton andSouth Hazelton) have been home to the Gitxsanand Wet’suwet’en people for centuries. Namedafter the hazel bushes that adorn the river-carvedterraces, the Hazeltons are situated in a majesticsetting dominated by the rugged Roche de BouleRange. Hazelton Secondary School has a studentpopulation of approximately 75% First Nations. Ageographically dispersed community (includingHagwilget, Gitanmaax, Kispiox, Gitwangak, Gitanyow,Gitsegukla, New Hazelton, South Hazeltonand Kispiox Valley) many of the students travel atleast one hour on the bus every morning to attendschool. The ANSII project began in May 2008when we met at the centrally located HazeltonSecondary School.No Rewind ButtonEven though some of the youth were not acquainted,an inspiring level of commitment to each otherand their goals was notable from the first workshop.They were all dedicated to their project andremained in their working groups whether eatinglunch together or working out creative differences.Ideas for their community project included an ambitiouslist of fun and educational activities including:educational workshops, theatre, games nights,suicide awareness/support, and youth camps.During the film-making workshop, the first groupfocused on physical and emotional health. Their filmencouraged us to reach out to our loved ones, becausein life there is no ‘rewind button.’ The secondgroup showed us that sexual health is another importantarea where Aboriginal youth can continueto make healthy choices. The final group focused onsubstance use and abuse and promoted their visionof an inclusive ‘Cool Bean Camp - where every bean iswelcome.’The film premiere and community dialogue wasintegrated into Hazelton Secondary’s well attendedcommunity showcase. The students proudlydisplayed and discussed their work and highlightedtheir ideas for their community project.Healthy AlternativesThe planning group was determined to create opportunitiesfor youth to learn new skills and alternativesto ‘getting bored and doing drugs.’ They werevery clear that they wanted to do ‘something other

| Aboriginal Next Steps IIthan sports’ but did not know anyone in the areathat taught art or did other creative programming.They definitely wanted to keep the project withinthe school, so it could include as many youth aspossible and strengthen a positive association withschool. Thomas and Joeseph, the youth advisorsand co-writers of the grant, kept the planning atthe forefront as school began to wind down for thesummer.When the project started again at the beginning ofthe school year, they decided to provide an opportunityfor students to reconnect while learningdifferent ways of expressing themselves.media training and connect the youth to an internationalprogram. For this event they partnered withthe organization L.O.V.E (Leave Out Violence)and learned how to become photojournalists. Duringthe training they explored how to express anddocument their thoughts and feelings about whatviolence and/or substance abuse meant to themand how it negatively affects their lives. They alsoconnected with an art councilor who did workshopswithin the Hazelton area.Opening DoorsBoth workshops were held in the school’s art room,a room in the basement that most of the studentsdid not know existed. This room had been unusedfor the past few years because the school did nothave an art teacher on staff.After the workshops, the students purchased newequipment and requested that the art classroom bereopened so they could continue doing their photojouralismand film projects. The youth are continuingto collaborate with the L.O.V.E project.“For our first event, we are going to invite Reel Youthback because the feedback was so positive from thefirst workshop they did here. The youth commentedthat they now talked to other youth in that workshopin the hallway because they had gotten to know eachother more. We want to start the school year withbuilding more on those relationships.”Hazelton YouthInternational ProgramsFor their first workshop they invited Reel Youth,developed new films and learned more about usingelectronic equipment for creating their own media.After strengthening relationships between the students,they designed the second event to continue

mcCreary Centre society | LyttonBuilt on the site of a First Nations village known asCamchin, also spelled Kumsheen (where rivers cross)Lytton is at the convergence of the mighty FraserRiver and its largest tributary, the Thompson River.Lytton First Nation is located on 14,161 acres ofland divided into 56 reserves. ANSII began in Lyttonin April 2008 when I was invited by a groupof young community leaders who were part of theAmbassador Program.to foster pride, self-esteem, and goal-setting for thebetterment of themselves and their community.During the first workshop, we had time to discussand explore the impact of colonization in Aboriginalcommunities. They decided to focus their filmmakingon 1) creating a comedy encouraging youthto say “no” to drugs; 2) encouraging youth to thinkabout the consequences of their sexual choices andthe importance of being informed; and 3) creatinga message about the complex issue of perpetuatingviolence.The Ambassadors shared their films and actionplans (that address youth health issues) at a largeyouth conference in the Kumsheen SecondarySchool. They skilfully presented to a gymnasiumfull of youth and adults from four neighbouringcommunities. Over the year, some members of theoriginal Ambassador’s group graduated or movedbefore the ANSII was completed but new youthThe Ambassador ProgramFor the duration of the 10 month AmbassadorProgram the youth strived to develop interpersonal,leadership and life skills. They worked with culturalpractitioners, such as elders and community leaders,and made a commitment to stay drug and alcoholfree. This was also part of their personal objectives:

10 | Aboriginal Next Steps IIjoined the remaining organizers as they relocated tothe Kumsheen Secondary School.“I believe that this could have a huge positive influenceon the youth in this community. Thanks for theopportunity.”Lytton YouthHip Hop, Poetry, & PhotographyWhen I met with the group to support their planningand grant writing, they wanted to ensure a‘new positive influence’ for the youth because they didnot like the alcohol and drug abuse that they werewitnessing among the young people in their community.It came to their attention that there was anunused studio available where youth were welcometo record songs, take music lessons and essentiallydo whatever creative projects that they wanted.were well attended. Social services later reportedthat their workshops were among the most popularin the evaluation forms.Newly inspired youth who attended the workshopswere encouraged to use the studio time that theyouth organizers had purchased for the year. Manystudents also connected with teachers to share ideason how to use the studio time. By the end of theweek the teachers already had students planningfuture studio projects.Installation at the HallWithin a few months, the youth also completed apoetry and photography project. They decided toinstall their art and writing at the local hall, a centrallocation that hosted many community activitiessuch as the annual school parent and teacher night.“By having our art/community showcase... weare showing the adults in the community some ofthe cool, positive things that youth are doing. Wewould like this to be an ongoing addition to theirmeetings, as it will build the youth’s confidenceas they continue to find creative ways to expressthemselves and create community awareness.”Lytton YouthThe first step, they concluded, was to inspire youthto get involved, including utilizing the studio. Theyalso wanted to strengthen a positive relationshipbetween the youth, the school and the rest of thecommunity.To reach these goals, they partnered with localhealth services and organized workshops on hiphop, poetry and photography. They co-organizedand offered their workshops at a large youth conferencehosted at their school. Over 200 youth attendedthis event and both of the youth’s workshops

McCreary Centre Society | 11Nisga'aThe Nisga’a live in the Nass River valley of northwesternBC. Their name comes from a combinationof two Nisga’a words: Nisk’- “top lip” and Tl’ak’-“bottom lip”. This term was used because K’aliiaksimLisims (Nass River Valley) is so bountifulthat many living creatures come to it to feed. TheNisga’a saw that every living creature used its Nisk’and Tl’ak’ to eat, therefore... Nisga’a!The Nisga’a Nation is represented by four Villages:Gitlakdamix (New Aiyansh), Gitwinksihlkw (CanyonCity), Laxgalts’ap (Greenville), and Gingoix(Kincolith). Students from the four communitiesattend Nisga’a Elementary Secondary School(NESS), which is located in the Village of NewAiyansh. In September 2008 they came together forcreative community action.During the first workshop, after the group exploredthe facts about Aborigional youth health, they splitinto four action planning groups. After developingtheir four action plans, they organized themselvesinto three groups to create films. One of the filmswas about sexual health and was accepted into theBankok International Film Festival. Even thoughthey were a large group, and from different communities,the youth were excellent at listening to eachother’s ideas and including everyone in the process.A common theme was how important communitywellness was to them. The youth were committed toproviding more options for youth through job training,affordable housing, travel and education.The film premiere was hosted in the same auditoriumin New Aiyansh. A special thank you to PaulMercer and the Nisga’a Lisims Government forproviding the meal and to all the adults who sharedtheir words of encouragement and support to theyoung people.Community PartnershipsThe success of ANSII in Nisga’a was largely dueto the enthusiastic dedication of local 12th graderAmber McKay. When I met Amber she had alreadytrained as a peer educator because she was determinedto increase awareness among the youth. Sheimmediately saw ANSII as another opportunity toaddress youth health issues in all four of the communities.Amber decided to job shadow me at twoyouth conferences to gain experience in differentmodels of youth engagement. At school she heldmeetings and surveyed the youth for additionalideas. Consistently, the young people wanted toincrease youth awareness and skills. To complete the

12 | Aboriginal Next Steps IIproject, we formed a partnership with the Nisga’aElementary Secondary School (NESS), Nisga’a ValleyHealth Authority (NVHA), and Nisga’a LisimsGovernment to realize the youth empowerment/leadership conference called The Spirit of Hope.With a strong community collaboration and Ambervoicing the suggestions of previous youth’s planningsessions, as well as providing her own input, theconference was an incredible success and attendedby 100+ youth!“We will encourage youth during our event to takethe skills they learn and continue them in the schoolincluding using the new radio station the school willhave for this year. Also to encourage the youth to jointhe Youth Advisory Councils and help plan with NVHAfor next year. We want to inspire them.The youth will be able to hang out with each otherin a safe environment, try new things, stretch theircomfort levels, practice leadership skills and socialize.For them to get along and have fun without drugs andalcohol is important. Also to practice using their voice.It’s important for the youth to talk with each otherand the adults of our community. “Amber McKay, Nisga’a YouthThe Spirit of HopeThe conference combined the strengths of localservice providers with guest facilitators to offera unique mix of workshops in photojournalism,media, theatre, personal development, substance useawareness, writing, and traditional culture. On thesecond day they invited all community members totheir energetic and fun open mic. Finally, the thirdday was dedicated to cultural activities and providedan opportunity for youth to reconnect with elders.In feedback forms and talking circles the youth expressedoverwhelming gratitude for such a positiveexperience.“[This project can help address substance use by]giving young people something else to do other thanalcohol or drugs.”Nisga’a Youth

McCreary Centre Society | 13Prince GeorgePrince George is situated where the Nechako Riverjoins the Fraser River near the center of BC. ThePrince George Native Friendship Centre (PGNFC)was established in 1969 by a group of young Nativeactivists who held the vision of providing a communityresource base for the Aboriginal population inPrince George and the surrounding area.The Friendship Centre has since grown; in additionto The Gathering Place on third avenue, PGNFCmaintains several safe house locations for youth athigh risk. Their goal is to provide a safe, stable, supportiveenvironment for youth undergoing positivelife-style changes. It was at this central hub that Imet with a group of young people in October 2008.Dreamcatchers Youth CommitteeWhen the youth first got involved in ANSII, theyformed an organizing committee to develop theirsustainable community project and called themselvesthe ‘Dream Catchers Youth Committee’ orDCYC.“We are a group of Aboriginal Youth ranging in agefrom 13 to 19 years of age. We all currently live inthe city of Prince George, but many of us are from thesurrounding reserves. Our common bonds with eachother includes we are all First Nations Youth, havebeen in care of the government at one point in ourlives, we are survivors and we are looking forwardto the future. We all participated in the Claymationworkshop hosted by The McCreary Centre Society.The group felt that many aboriginal youth living inPrince George have not had opportunities to learn andpractice their culture. The group decided the projectwould be to creating a cultural learning opportunitythat would give youth a starting point to begin orcontinue learning and practicing aboriginal culture.”DCYC Prince GeorgeCamping with CultureDCYC hosted a three day cultural camp called‘Camping with Culture’ at Camp Friendship. Thetraditional practices were mentored and supportedby attending community elders, who also providedcultural teachings and guidance at camp. Traditionalpractices included: smudging, circle talks, makingdrum bags and storytelling.The camp also included workshops that focused onAboriginal identity and provided an opportunity forthe youth to learn new tools for self expression suchas writing, drawing, improvisation and performingarts.

14 | Aboriginal Next Steps IIPart of the youth’s sustainability plan includedstrengthening DCYC so they felt confident inorganizing ongoing events at the Friendship Centreand Camp Friendship throughout the year. Thecommittee concluded that once the core group wasstrengthened it would become self-sufficient andsuccessful in creating future youth events.Positive Self IdentityThis event was indeed a platform for growth, positiveself identity, self-awareness and healing. Withguidance and support, DCYC has continued to helpnurture and strengthen young people in the communityby providing input into youth events, organizingyouth activities themselves and by activelypreserving their culture.They also planned to maintain a relationship withthe elders so that future events would continue tobe supported and attended by them. They aimed tobuild on the communication developed during thisgroundbreaking event.Their goals included giving the youth the opportunityto:♦♦♦♦Be free from drugs and alcohol while promotingand creating positive change within themselvesand amongst their peers.Develop the skills to make healthier choices intheir everyday routines.Build meaningful relationships with local communityelders and learning about their traditions,culture and healing.Strengthen their confidence as individuals andas a group to organize future programming.“I like that we are all given the opportunity toraise consciousness within the group + eventuallyon a community + perhaps provincial+ a nationwide scale. I am thankful for youractivism on a topic of such great importance.”Prince George Youth

McCreary Centre Society | 15Prince RupertPrince Rupert is situated on Kaien Island, just northof the mouth of Skeena River, and is located in thetraditional territory of the Tsimshian Nation. Theyhave one of the best collections of standing Tsimshianand Haida totem poles in the north. The AN-SII project began in Prince Rupert in April 2008.Even though some of these youth did not knoweach other, they were notably respectful as theyworked together duringthe first workshops andas they completed theirfilms. Teamwork and considerationwas reflectedin their city wide actionplans. The youth’s goalwas to reach out to thePrince Rupert community,inspire everyone to getinvolved in creating safespaces, and provide extrasupport and activities foryouth and their families.Community PartnersEven though the first few workshops were well attendedand the planning workshop made significantprogress, the project could not maintain its coregroup once they separated. The organizers suspectedthis division was related to larger community issuesthat took priority.Thankfully, as the year progressed, Debbie Leighton-Stephens(District Principal of AboriginalEducation) guided the project back to solid footingagain by initiating a creative community partnership.Hoy sis ts’al {Putting on a Face}Youth and supportive adults from Charles HaysSecondary School, Pacific Coast School and AboriginalEducation Council of SD 52 collaboratedto keep the ANSII project in Prince Rupert. Inthe initial planning workshop, the youth sharedthoughts about young peoples’ relationships and thechallenges often associated with growing up. In thisworkshop, the youth identified three central themes:harassment, bullying, and substance abuse.With teachers, guest facilitators and elders onboard, the youth explored how to document theirthoughts and feelings about harassment, relationshipsand how substance use affect their lives. Theyorganized media, art and writing workshops designedto increase their skills and provide support asthey constructively and creatively voiced their views.Through multiple mediums they were encouragedto report on youth culture from their own uniqueperspective. They also aimed to incorporate theirtraditional language and eventually invited an elderto assist in the project.

16 | Aboriginal Next Steps IISustainability in ActionThe group intends to sustain the project by gettingthe participants to train and work with next year’sparticipants. To support those future endeavours,they purchased additional supplies and digitalequipment.After the first workshop, the youth explored manytechniques to create material for their projectincluding writing, photography, audio recordings,graphic design, and drawing. During the secondworkshop they worked together to combine the rawmaterials.In the end, they produced a multi-media art installationcalled “Hoy sis ts’al” (Putting on a Face). Itincluded some of the ‘superficial qualities’ of societyand friendship, such as ‘people pretending to besomething that they are not’ and ‘the lack of honesty wesometimes seem to be faced with.’“[I liked] planning out workshops we’re going to bedoing and choosing the topics that were interesting tous.”Prince Rupert YouthThere will likely be no shortage of interest in futureprogramming, as was evident from the number ofyouth who felt they had ‘missed out.’ During theworkshops and especially the construction of the artinstallation, students who missed the initial call-outfor participants lingered around the school asking tobe involved. This was something the school Principalcommented he had ‘never seen before.’The youth’s multi-media project has been displayedat three locations in Prince Rupert and has receivedfurther requests for showings.“[I liked] planning everything that we were going todo to reach out to the youth... all the things we coulddo instead of substance use.”Prince Rupert Youth

McCreary Centre Society | 17SkeetchestnThe Skeetchestn First Nation is a member of theSecwepemc (Shuswap) Nation, located in the centralinterior region of BC. As part of their initiativetoward future self-reliance, the Quiq’wi’elst (Blackstone)School officially opened in 1996. One of itsgoals is to integrate a quality education programwith Secwepemc language instruction and First Nationsawareness.Skeetchestn’s youth joined the ANSII project inSeptember 2008. After developing their communityaction plans, they organized themselves into twogroups to create films. Their films reflected theirinterest in the impact of substance use and physicaland emotional health.When the youth came back together, a commontheme emerged in their planning - they wanted tolearn new ways to create safe, drug and alcohol freeevents where youth are engaged and feel inspired.They wanted the participants of their future eventsto experience feeling supported in making healthierchoices.Once the filmswere completeand youthwere set ontheir communityprojectidea, the filmpremiereand communitydialoguenight was hosted in the centre of the Skeetchestncommunity. The presenters did an amazing job ofexplaining their films and talking about their plansto increase youth awareness.“With the project we have chosen we will be able tobe more healthy and be able to understand what itmeans to be healthy.”Skeetchestn YouthYouth Leadership TrainingIn this community, the young people were geographicallyspread out and had diverse interests, soone of the main goals was to bring them togetherand strengthen their identity as a group. Similar toother communities, the best central meeting placewas the school. They decided to host a youth leadershipretreat at the end of summer, to reconnect theyouth before school started and to build skills forthe students to be part of the youth council.

18 | Aboriginal Next Steps IIUnfortunately due to circumstances beyond theircontrol, the youth retreat had to be rescheduled forOctober. However, it gave the youth time to connectwith the school’s new staff and identify adult alliesfor the project.Destined to Make ChangeIn the middle of their two year project, the mainadult ally for the youth was elected to band Councilor.Thankfully she kept this project a priorityas the community was not able to re-hire a youthworker and there was a significant turnover of staffat the school.Youth Advisory CouncilAfter meeting with the school staff and the youth, itwas clear that the best strategy to move forward wasto support the school not only with youth leadershiptraining but through supplies and resources, sothey could build on the momentum of the projectfor the rest of the year. Currently, the teachers,principal and the youth are working together tocontinue arts-based programming in the school.“We talked at the end of the training about how tostrengthen the youth voice in the school through theYouth Advisory Council but also in our community.The youth training was an amazing three days wherethey learned so many creative and healthy outlets. Itgave them the opportunity to express themselves.They created a Zine called “Destined to Make Changeor DMC” that was printed to share with the community.This project brought together several youth andgave them a safe, healthy, encouraging and drug andalcohol free environment. This alone could impactthese individuals beyond what I hope for them.”Candice Simon, Band Councillor

McCreary Centre Society | 19WestbankLocated in south central BC, the Okanagan Valleyis home to the Westbank First Nation (WFN), oneof seven Aboriginal communities that belong tothe Okanagan Nation. WFN is comprised of fivereserves, a few that are in close proximity to theCity of Kelowna. In April 2008 WFN youth joinedthe ANSII project and we did our first workshop intheir beautiful Wellness Centre.The youth first learned about Aboriginal youthhealth from Raven’s Children II and then theydecided to focus on the physical and emotionalhealth, substance abuse, and street-involved/ marginalizedyouth information for their films. Theywere a contemplative group, thoughtfully presentingtheir films at the premiere and community dialoguenight. Not only were they very supportive of eachother, they took turns sharing amazing insights withthe large audience. The event and community dinnerwas hosted by the Westbank First Nation.Due to staff change over, the second phase of theproject was in partnership with the Mount BoucherieSecondary School and organized by an enthusiasticgroup called the Adventure Committee.Adventure CommitteeWith MCS’ research on protective factors in mind,members of the Adventure Committee decidedkayaking was the perfect activity to strengthen arelationship between students, the school and thecommunity. The youth organizers also learned froman adult ally that Aboriginal youth who drop outof school, tend to do so within the first year asthey transition from middle school to secondary.In response, the Adventure Committee decided toadd a ‘buddy system’ where grade 9 participants werepartnered with older high school students so that“when the grade 9’s come to high school they will have abuddy to help them and give them support through everything.”Emily and Zane, ANSII Youth AdvisoryCouncil members, successfully incorporated thegroup’s ideas as they co-wrote the grant and securedthe funds for the project.Camp DiscoveryIn June and Septembers five discovery day campswere organized to connect students from ConstableNeil Bruce Middle School and Mount BoucherieSecondary School. Their goals included: learningabout Aboriginal culture, building relationships, anddeveloping skills and knowledge to work togetherand support one another. The day camps were heldat three locations on Okanagan Lake, all within a20 minute drive from the school.

20 | Aboriginal Next Steps II“This project would be beneficial because it allows theopportunity to talk about the problems that youthface.”Westbank YouthLearning About The LandThe youth also wanted the participants to learnmore about their heritage and about the history ofthe land. To assist, they contracted cultural facilitatorLenord Raphael to guide the youth who werenot in kayaks on naturewalks.They learned about differentmethods of harvestingand medicinal uses of localplants. At the end of theworkshop they made eachother tea.“We know that our project will be success if the youthbecome inspired to do other positive activities orhobbies, continue supporting their buddies in school,if the younger youth become peer mentors, if all theyouth feel like they learned a new skill.”Westbank Adventure Committee“I learned about the traditional uses of many nativeplants and I am looking forward to making differenttypes of tea! (yarrow, etc.)”Westbank Youth

McCreary Centre Society | 21Nexus Youth LeadershipAs the funding for the ANSII project came to aclose in December 2009, youth travelled from acrossthe province to attend McCreary’s ANSII NexusYouth Leadership Retreat. It was created specificallyfor youth from the 10 communities to connect,share their experience as young leaders and build anetwork of support for their future endeavours. Thetraining combined experiential learning and expressivearts-based facilitation; it focused on workingtogether to strengthen their leadership capacity; andwas designed to increase self awareness, motivation,social and emotional literacy and self-efficacy.The first day of the retreat focused specifically onstrengthening team-building and communicationskills. Our guest speaker was Andrew Robinson, theAssociate Deputy Representative from the Office ofthe Representative for Children and Youth.The second day highlighted the potential of fusingimagination and leadership. Youth learned aboutinterpersonal relationships and understanding groupdynamics through a series of exercises. They alsodeveloped various tools of expression including:writing, drawing, spoken word, singing and physicalmovement (e.g.: theatre, improv, etc).On the final day the youth participated in visioningexercises and explored how to utilize their skillsin their community. They had the opportunity toshare their experiences of being part of this projectand support each other’s future plans through goalsetting, problem solving and brainstorming concreteactions for each other in small groups. At the endof the retreat they shared their incredible work andperformances in a showcase.Incredibly, the youth spontaneously took over theretreat after the final break. They separated theadult staff into another room and in 20 minutescreated detailed scenarios about their experiencesover the weekend including idiosyncrasies andsignature work of each of the facilitators. It was themost amazing recapitulation and utilization of thework we (the staff ) had ever witnessed and it spokevolumes to the participants’ abilities and confidencethat had been expanding since the first day.Overall, the retreat exceeded our expectations.Not only had the youth shared their experiences,strengthened their creative leadership skills andbuilt a network of support but we have since learnedthat many are using the tools to enhance programmingand are working with adult allies on futureprojects in their communities.Keep up the good work!

22 | Aboriginal Next Steps IILessons LearnedAs with all large scale projects this one faced manychallenges and there were many lessons learnedduring the course of the two years. Some challengeswere expected such as unpredictable weather,accessing remote geographic locations and theknowledge that two years is a long time to keepyoung people focused on a goal. Some challengeswere unexpected, such as the sudden and unexpecteddeath of a youth in one community and theloss of a key community adult ally in another, butthrough support and perseverance all 10 communitiesexperienced success. In every community therewere many youth, adults and organizations thatwere dedicated to doing something positive. Whatwas surprising was that they were not always awareof each other or the possibility of working together.Building TrustMCS research indicates that young people needpositive relationships and social environmentsto grow and thrive. Caring relationships withsafe adults that had positive expectations for theparticipants’ growth was an essential componentof this project. From feedback and evaluations welearned that young people who engaged fully fromthe beginning of the project benefited the mostbut all youth seemed to get something out of beinginvolved, even if their involvement was only for ashort while.In some areas, staff turnover was high; therefore itwas essential to have multiple community partnersso that whenever possible the youth were not leftwithout local adult support. It was also important tofind adult allies who were able to balance guidancewith allowing space for the youth to work throughthings on their own. Often at the beginning theyouth were suspicious of the project and the adultswithin it, expecting that the adults would not takethem seriously or do the things they promised.Some adults reported that initially they did notknow how to bridge the communication gap andget the youth’s input on their activities or events,but a lasting legacy of this project will be that manynow report that gap has been bridged.A key component of the success of the project wasthat it was always as youth-led as possible, whichincluded the youth identifying their own adultallies. We also learned that when working on amulti-year project it was necessary to find successorsfor older youth who graduated and thatmomentum could be lost over holiday time so it wasimportant to regroup quickly after a break. We werealso mindful that some youth had multiple commitmentsso it was occasionally hard for them tocomplete their tasks. Therefore it became importantto be proactive by staying in touch with partipcantsconsistently, providing skill-building opportunitiesand maintaining group motivation.Overall, we are grateful to the adults and youthwho honoured the commitments they made toeach other, who strived to build trust through openand honest dialogue and were open to new ways ofworking together including collaboration as equals.

McCreary Centre Society | 23Youth's Response to ANSIIA formal independent evaluation of ANSII wascarried out to see if the project met its goal ofreducing substance use and improving communityconnections for Aboriginal youth (see pg 24 formore details). As part of the evaluation, youth wereasked for their feedback about their expereinceswithin the project and the effect that it had on theirlives.Aboriginal Next Steps IIWhat affect will your experience with ANS IIhave at home, community, or school?“It will give me more opportunities, goals and itgave me confidence that I can be a leader!”“I think it’s going to change how I feel about mycommunity.”“In the end, the presentation helped me truly evolveand come out of my shell and my shyness.”“Taught me to be confident in myself, not to beafraid to show my sensitive side, anythings possible.”“This was over all just a great experience and wouldlove to do it again.”“I had so much fun and will participate in anyupcoming event and help plan them and a great bigthanks to the staff and everyone else that helpedand participated.”“I had so much fun. I really want to do this again ithelps you find your inner self and your personality.Did a lot of activities that were mind setting.”“My next step would be to encourage the city tomake more opportunities for youth, such as cheaperactivities.”“I feel that I now know what I want to achieve andhow to do it. I have hope.”Nexus Leadership RetreatNexus participants were also asked to completeevaluation forms about their experiences.“They showed me how to lead kindly.”“[I will] share the knowledge I gained today withmy friends and family.”“Step out and invite and encourage people to joinme in stepping out of my shell.”“How to build other’s self confidence.”“I would say I can go home and be a true leader.”“I loved doing the last skit with no planning at first,for the facilitators, best part of this weekend.”“I now know how to choose allies.”“I now know how to build a very strong group.”“Thank you for this incredible experience. I lovedeverybody. The improv and spoken word wereamazing. ”

24 | Aboriginal Next Steps IIANSIIEvaluationThe ultimate goal of this project was to reduce criminaland health risk behaviours, including substanceuse, among the Aboriginal youth who participated.The expectation was that community involvementand participation in meaningful youth-led projectswould reduce Aboriginal youths’ risk factors forengaging in criminal and high-risk behaviours andwould bolster protective factors associated withhealthy development. Evaluation of this project wasconducted by Dr. Maya Peled.Evaluation Design OverviewQuantitative data from youth self-report questionnairesand from youth and adult feedback formswere used. In addition, qualitative information wascollected through open-ended questions on thefeedback forms and from interviews with caregiversand feedback from adult mentors.To measure short-term outcomes, feedback formsand a brief quiz at the end of Phase I workshopsassessed the degree to which the workshops increaseAboriginal youths’ awareness and understandingof substance use and associated health risk andcriminal issues.In addition, youth self-report surveys were administeredat the start and end of the project to assess ifpositive short-term and long-term outcomes (e.g.,reduced substance use and criminal activity, andincreased connectedness and hopefulness) occuredas a result of participating in the project.Outcomes Evaluation Findings♦♦♦♦♦Participants’ feedback and quiz performance inPhase I indicated increased awareness and understandingof youth substance use and relatedhealth risk and criminal issues.Most youth participants who had engaged inrisky behaviors indicated that participation inthe project helped to reduce their substanceuse (92% of youth), criminal behaviour (92%),thoughts about suicide (100%), and self-harmfulbehaviour (100%).The majority of youth participants reportedthat their involvement helped to increase theircommunity connectedness (69% of youth), peerrelationships (87%), and school connectedness(63%). Most (60%) also reported that theirinvolvement helped to enhance their familyrelationships.Youth also reported improvements in their selfesteem(81%), sense of meaning in the activitiesthey engage in (81%), and hope for their future(94%).Feedback from youth and adults indicated thatyouth participants felt empowered and satisfiedas a result of planning the sustainable youthledevents. They also gained skills that will helpthem now and in the future. Further, somereported that this experience was a life-changingone for them.

McCreary Centre Society | 25♦♦♦♦The attrition rate for YAC members was verylow although it was a challenge to establish continuityin participation among other Aboriginalyouth across the two-year project. The two-yearduration of the overall project highlighted thechallenge of keeping youth engaged for thislength of time.Feedback from adult supports (i.e., communitysupports/mentors) and youth participants highlightedthe importance of having clear commitmentsfrom a sufficient number of local adultstaff at the start of the project. This commitment(and low staff turnover rates) greatly contributesto the smooth-running of the project and tohelping youth participants stay engaged.Caregivers pointed out that there should be collaborationwith school administration to ensurethat students’ attendance records are not affectedby participation in project-related events ormeetings that take place during school time.This project resulted in an increased capacity fornot only planning but also sustaining youth-ledcommunity initiatives, including crime-reductionprojects. Many of the youth participantshave specific ideas for future workshops andevents they are interested in organizing. In somecommunities, youth are continuing with theirprojects in a similar format as was adopted duringthe ANSII. In others, youth are seeking newfunding to expand and develop their projects.SummaryYouth participants reported that their overallinvolvement in Aboriginal Next Steps II enhancedtheir leadership skills, sense of connectedness totheir community and school, their peer and familyrelationships, self-esteem, and sense of hope.They also reported reduced substance use, criminalactivity, suicidal ideation, and self-harmful behaviour.Additionally, youth participants reportedfeeling inspired to organize similar projects in thefuture and felt capable of doing so given what theyhad learned from this experience.Youth reported feeling proud of their accomplishmentsand were grateful for the opportunity to havea voice in their community.An adult mentor in one community wrote, “For theAboriginal community it has started a ripple, whichwill only grow with time and with more similarprojects.” Another youth stated, “Most amazingexperience of my life. Something I’ll never forget.”For more information or to learn more aboutMcCreary Centre Society’s program evaluationservices, please visit our website www.mcs.bc.ca orcontact MCS at (604) 291-1996.

26 | Aboriginal Next Steps IIAcknowledgementsThank you, ANSII Aboriginal Advisory Committee:Sarah Hunt, Sueann Phillips, Jaret Hunter,Preston Guno, Megan Hunt, Daniele Hurley, Kimvan der Woerd, and Ginger Gosnell for your wisdomand direction.Healing Our Spirit - Special thanks to Anna Sooleand Bambi Tait from our partnering organizationHealing Our Spirit for joining us and providingyouth with additional information such as illustratingthe connection between substance use/abuseand HIV/HCV. www.healingourspirit.orgYouthCO Aids Society - Thank you for your support,guidance, and amazing youth friendly resources!www.youthco.orgThank you Mark Vonesch & EricaKøhn. RY is a not-for-profit,media empowerment programsupporting young people to createand distribute films about their visions for a morejust and sustainable world. www.reelyouth.caAndrew D. Robinson, the Associate Deputy RepresentativeAdvocacy, Community and AboriginalRelations from BC Representative for Children andYouth. Thank you for your support & stories.Specialists in program design & facilitating transformation:Nadia Chaney, Michael Derby, JarrettMartineau, Rupinder Sidhu, Hari Alluri, SaraKendall, and Bill Pozzobon. Your work is innovative,heart-centred and truly meaningful. Thank you!www.byanydreamsnecessary.comAdditional Thanks to:Bella Bella: Josh Carpenter; Tom Kero; Bella BellaCommunity School; Hailika’as Heiltsuk HealthCentre; Heiltsuk Tribal Council; Pamela Reed/Pacific Coastal; Dorena Mason; Patricia Turner.Courtenay: All of Ann Marie Kraft’s communitycontacts!; Wachiay Friendship Centre Society.Cranbrook: Mt. Baker Senior Secondary SchoolHazelton: Barb Janze; The kitchen crew @ H.S.S;Hazelton Secondary School.Lytton: Kumsheen Secondary School; Lytton FirstNation.Nisga’a: Nisga’a Lisims Government; RychardPaszkowski; Nisga’a Elementary Secondary School;Nisga’a Valley Health Authority; Cherie Mercer,Sammy Azak; Janice Stephens.Prince George: Prince George Native FriendshipCentre; Reconnect Youth Services.Prince Rupert: Treena Decker; Northwest CommunityCollege; Tom Rooney Playhouse; ThePrince Rupert Daily News; Restorative JusticeSociety.Skeetchestn: Skeetchestn First Nation; SkeetchestnCommunity School; Chrystal Simon.Westbank: Westbank First Nation; Mount BoucherieSecondary School; Karen Chase.

McCreary Centre Society | 27Additional McCreary ResourcesFor any of these, or other materials by the McCreary Centre Society, visit our website www.mcs.bc.caA Picture of Health: Highlightsfrom the 2008 BC AdolescentHealth Survey (2009)The Adolescent Health Surveyhas been conducted in schoolsevery 5 years since 1992. The2008 survey asks questions aboutphysical and emotional health,and about factors that can influencehealth during adolescenceor in later life. This report highlightstrends in the health statusand risk behaviours of BC youth.Moving Upstream: Aboriginalmarginalized and street-involvedyouth in BC (2008)This report analyzes the experiencesin nine BC communities ofhomeless, inadequately housed,street-involved and marginalizedAboriginal youth. The report isa further analysis of McCreary’sMarginalized and Street-InvolvedYouth Survey.A Seat at the Table: A review ofyouth engagement in Vancouver(2009)This report focuses on youthengagement in civic and communitydecision-making. The reportaims to offer a better understandingof the continuum of youthengagement and to show thedifferent ways that youth can beinvolved in decisions that affecttheir lives.Against the Odds: A profile ofmarginalized and street-involvedyouth in BC (2007)The lives of marginalized andstreet-involved youth are complexand filled with challenges,dangers and opportunities. Thisreport summarizes the results ofsurveys with marginalized youthin the North, Interior, FraserValley, Vancouver Island andVancouver.Making the Grade: A review ofalternative education programs inBC (2008)A review of alternative educationprograms in BC, involving youthattending alternative educationprograms for “at-risk” and “highrisk” youth across the province,and adult stakeholders. Thereview documents the positiveimpact of these programs foryouth.Voices from the Inside: Next Stepswith youth in custody (2007)The Next Steps is an interactiveworkshop series that gives youththe opportunity to respond tothe results of McCreary’s youthhealth research. It was adapted togive youth in custody the opportunityto respond to the results ofMcCreary’s 2004 survey of BCyouth in custody.