Zoey Roy, Kendal Netmaker and AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde are set to speak at WE Day. Photo courtesy we.org
Indigenous role models are taking the stage at WE Day in Saskatoon to speak in front of more than 15,000 young people.
The annual event rewards school kids from across the province who performed community service throughout the past year, featuring live performances from musicians like Brett Kissel and inspirational speeches from people who have excelled in their field.
The message behind events like this are perfect a perfect fit for Zoey Roy, who recently returned from delivering a speech The Walrus Talks in Whitehorse, Yukon. While there, she reached out to schools in the area and hosted three spoken word poetry workshops for kids.
“I’m a living example of how community working effectively can help young people find their potential. I’m a proud product of the community and I accessed a lot of social programs, I reached out to mentors and Elders and teachers in the community to find opportunities, and once I got to a place where I was able to give back, I began to give back,” she said.
Roy will be on the stage along with Indigenous role models like Neechie Gear founder Kendal Netmaker, singer-songwriter Inez Point, and Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council co-chair Andre Bear.
Netmaker said WE Day is a great chance for kids from all walks of life to meet each other and learn about Indigenous people.
“If I wasn’t exposed to non-Indigenous people – to Caucasian brothers and sisters, friends – growing up, I wouldn’t have been able to adapt to the mainstream life as quickly,” he said.
“Any kind of community you’re comfortable in and you go into the big city or a different place for the first time, it’s kind of terrifying. And those are actually healthy situations to be in because it forces you to be uncomfortable you can adapt to different environments.”
Netmaker said his big message for the audience is that a single person can make a difference, even though it sometimes seems like the only way to make change is with lots of people backing you.
Roy said the diverse group of presenters have all taken different paths to success.
“WE Day, to me, is an opportunity for children to see people’s paths, a very diverse set of paths that people have taken to become the best versions of themselves. And it gives them insight into how they got to where they are now. And having that insight for young people will allow them to see themselves as part of their community, as part of the future, and see themselves as successful,” she said.
Roy is a Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation band member, and said she’s been able to use social media to carve her unconventional path as an artist.
WE Day has incorporated First Nations culture into its Saskatchewan stop for years. They’ve opened with dancing from the Many Nations Dance group in previous years.