By Jeremy Appel
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Alberta Native News
The Senate Standing Committee on Indigenous Peoples heard testimony on Oct. 30 from young Indigenous leaders representing communities from British Columbia to Nova Scotia.
The testimony was split into two sittings, with the first occurring from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. and the second from 6:45 to 8:45 p.m.
Participants were aged 18 to 35 and selected based on the leadership role they’ve taken “in driving meaningful change in their communities,” explained committee chair Sen. Brian Francis of Prince Edward Island, who is the former chief of Abegweit First Nation.
Breane Mahlitz, a health policy advisor to the Métis National Council, told the committee that Métis people need “distinction-based health legislation that reflects our right to health as section 35 rights holders,” referring to the section of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that upholds the rights of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples.
“The co-development of health legislation has to address our holistic and distinct cultural needs, acknowledging the experience of Métis people and closing health status gaps between Métis and other Canadians,” said Mahlitz.
She brought a copy of the Métis Vision for Health—co-written by representatives of Métis organizations in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario—which she presented as a guide for culturally specific Métis health policy.
Bradley Bacon, an Innu translator from Unamen-Shipu, Que., brought his daughter with him to the hearing.
Bacon expressed concern about “rising individualism” in his community leading to a loss of Inuit values.
“Every time I talk about it, I get emotional. It hurts me. Respect doesn’t exist anymore,” Bacon told the committee.
Sen. Judy White of Newfoundland, who is Mi’kmaq, asked Bacon to elaborate on the perils of excessive individualism.
Bacon recalled how in February 2022, his uncle froze to death after spending three hours outside by himself. “That’s why I’m afraid that individualism is taking over,” he said.
Bacon added that he doesn’t think what happened to his uncle would have occurred in a previous age, because neighbours would have gotten in touch to let him know his relative was outside in the cold.
“I want these values to come back,” he said.
Faithe McGuire, a photographer and filmmaker from Paddle Prairie Métis Settlement in northern Alberta, told committee that growing up on a Métis settlement gave her a “place in the world.”
She said her father used to take her to “museums, junkyards and graveyards” and explain the history behind various objects, which instilled in her the “curiosity to begin my own journey of storytelling.”
In 2021, she enrolled in two Indigenous-oriented programs that were immensely helpful for her career path—the Empowered Filmmaker Masterclass and Reach for the Sky Métis Women’s Leadership course.
“The knowledge empowered me to understand the feelings of shame and insignificance I have felt was something that could be overcome,” said McGuire.
Through her art, she hopes to cultivate “an urgency for all Métis and Indigenous people to take part in the documentation of these historic times.”
“There are stories from our people that are still waiting to be heard,” McGuire added.
Reanna Merasty, an architecture student at University of Manitoba from Barren Lands First Nation, used her allotted time to emphasize the importance of “authentic, Indigenous-led” representation in architecture.
“I continuously reflect on how much more confidence I would have gained in my identity as an Indigenous young person if I saw myself and my community celebrated in the buildings that I entered, and, subsequently, if my community was fully engaged in the process,” said Merasty.
She said there needs to be more “projects that prioritize Indigenous voices,” with Indigenous architects, designers and advisers working on projects from start to finish, “and are not just a checkmark.”
Merasty suggested a regulation that a certain percentage of federal building projects’ budgets be dedicated towards Indigenous architecture.
She noted that a program already exists that requires between 0.5 and 1.5 per cent of every government building project be set aside for art.
“All public buildings, regardless of Indigenous ownership, should require some form of Indigenous representation of the territory and community they reside upon,” said Merasty.
Indigenous representation should also be reflected in the names of places, she added.
The first speaker of the hearing’s evening portion was Ethan Paul of Membertou First Nation in Nova Scotia, who founded the Membertou Youth Network.
In June, Paul attended the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development as a youth delegate with the United Nations Association of Canada and met with Ambassador Bob Rae, to whom his delegation emphasized the “urgent need to end the genocide in Gaza.”
Paul also highlighted his role in founding the Shaylene Johnson Memorial Regalia Lending Library, named after his cousin who died in July, whom he described as “a true cultural ambassador for our nation.”
The lending library enables local Indigenous people to borrow ribbon shirts and skirts, and other regalia to enable their full participation in powwows, ceremonies and other community events.
“My vision for Indigenous youth leadership is straightforward. Youth need to be represented at every level, not just in youth councils but in boards [and] decision-making bodies to prepare them to advocate for mentorship, pairing youth with community leaders and Elders,” Paul explained.
Indigenous youth require “real opportunities for internships, job placements and access to conferences, where they can connect, network and learn.”
Crystal Starr Lewis, a British Columbia Assembly of First Nations Youth Representative from Squamish Nation, described the painful decision she made as a nine-year-old to cut ties with her mother, who was a sex worker on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside suffering from drug addiction.
“When I was younger, I held a lot of resentment towards my mother, but as I got older, and when I turned 16, what allowed me to forgive and let go was realizing that if things had been different, I wouldn’t be who I am today,” she said.
Between 2008 and 2013, she lost her mother, brother and sister to fentanyl overdoses.
Starr Lewis’s advocacy has taken her to the international stage, where she’s spoken to the UN about the need for free anti-human trafficking training in Indigenous communities and broader “cultural safety training,” as well as preventable action to protect Indigenous youth in care from being taken to multiple foster homes.
She told the committee she told the UN “it’s time” for Indigenous Peoples across the world to build their own UN-like organization.
“By standing together and working collectively together in unity to address the issues within our Indigenous communities, and by helping one another, looking out for one another, building together in solidarity, without borders and without division, together we can collectively pave the way forward as one entity and as our own self-determined system in alliance with the United Nations,” explained Starr Lewis.
Justin Langen, a Métis youth advocate from Swan River, Man., who leads the non-profit O’KANATA, described his appearance before the committee as a “testament to the sacrifices of my ancestors, who fought to preserve our culture, our rights and our place in this land we call Canada.”
“Too often, discussions about reconciliation focus solely on acknowledgement of the past. While this is necessary, it is not enough,” said Langen.
“True reconciliation requires action, a commitment to dismantling the barriers that have held our communities back and building a future that uplifts our voices, our traditions and our contributions to Canada’s social fabric.”
From working with his non-profit, he’s seen how access to education, mental health supports and traditional knowledge “can transform lives.”
“Yet many of these opportunities remain inaccessible due to systemic barriers, neglect and lack of a genuine commitment from those in positions of power,” he said.
One way to overcome these barriers, Langen said, is for Indigenous youth to have a seat at the table, where they’re welcomed as a “powerful driving force for change.”
“We are not just the future, we are the present,” he noted.
Brett Recollet, an Two-Spirit Anishinaabe Indigenous support worker from Whitefish River First Nation on Manitoulin Island in northeastern Ontario, spoke about education.
“I am not here to advocate for the division between Western and Indigenous education. Instead, I believe in integrating both approaches to enrich our understanding,” Recollet said.
He noted a “clear gap in how Indigenous knowledge and history are represented, not only in K-12 education but also in post-secondary programs.”
While Indigenous-oriented courses and programming are widely available at many schools, Recollet said “it is imperative that all students, regardless of their field, are provided with foundational knowledge on Treaties, residential schools and Indigenous history.”
“Nurses, lawyers, teachers, dentists, geologists and more are all professionals. At some point in their careers, [they] will be engaged with Indigenous communities,” he said. “How will they do so respectfully and effectively if they are not exposed to this critical education during their training?”
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #62 calls on all levels of government to work with Indigenous leaders to “[m]ake age-appropriate curriculum on residential schools, Treaties, and Aboriginal peoples’ historical and contemporary contributions to Canada” a mandatory requirement in K-12 education.
Recollet called this Call to Action “vital,” but noted its “implementation remains inconsistent.”
He said he’s seen from experience that many non-Indigneous educators are afraid to bring these topics up in class out of fear that they might say the wrong thing.
“However, instead of avoiding the topic or relying on Indigenous staff to take on this burden, I encourage these educators to embrace discomfort. Growth happens when we step outside of what is comfortable,” said Recollet.