Indigenous young people from across Canada will soon have a chance to have their voice heard on Parliament Hill.
Youth Indigenize the Senate gives Indigenous young people the opportunity to testify before the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples.
Rae-Anne Harper is a member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation who is currently living in Edmonton and participated in the initiative in 2018.
“I think it’s a really good opportunity for young people to get their voice heard at the national level,” says Harper. “It really boosted my confidence.”
Harper is the president of the National Association of Friendship Centres’ Aboriginal Youth Council.
Nominations are now open for the fourth annual Youth Indigenize the Senate.
“I encourage people to nominate young youth, says the chair of the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples, Lilian Dyck. “It’s really an opportunity for them to step forward and show leadership in a different way. One of the objectives is to help leaders achieve even greater success.”
Canadians can nominate people between the ages of 18 and 35 for Youth Indigenize the Senate until April 12.
Dyck says one of the main qualifications for people to be chosen for the initiative is leadership.
“It’s really just showing the level of involvement they have in their community. What sort of leadership have they shown?”
Youth Indigenize the Senate 2019 is taking place from June 4-6.
(PHOTO: Senators and Indigenous young people at Youth Indigenize the Senate 2018. Photo courtesy of the Senate of Canada, Facebook.)