Youth Reconciliation Gathering at the Akwesasne Mohawk School

On Saturday, March 16, Kanentakwas David organized the Youth Reconciliation Gathering, which was held at the Akwesasne Mohawk School. The event involved local youth as well as bringing in youth from Ottawa University and Carleton University. In all, approximately 35 youth attended the event. The purpose of the event was to bring together youth from outside the community and those within, and foster a broader understanding between aboriginal and non-aboriginals. In addition, the event served “to get a broader cultural understanding of the different aboriginal groups in Canada,” David said, and added, “We want to break down the walls between non-aboriginals and aboriginal youth, and help stop stereotypes.”

The event was structured with speakers throughout the day. After separating into groups the youth completing an ice breaking exercise where each group thought of a team name then drew a picture that they felt represents them as people. Groups included the Creative Warrior Ninjas, the Supreme Leaders, Team Awesome, and the Peace Tree Group.

As varied as the group names, so too were the backgrounds of the youth in attendance, stemming from aboriginal, or mixtures like one youth Peter, who was Lebanese, Jamaican, Irish, Canadian and was born in the Philippines.

One speaker Shady Hafas, who is Algonquin and Syrian, gave a talk on cultural identity. Noting that the divisions that come from communities and the divisions we find in ourselves can be harmful, and maybe the best way to deal with it is to embrace all parts of your heritage. Each has something positive to offer. Hafas’ message was a good one, and the event was full of them.

Going forward, David plans to hold smaller groups in the community. This was just her first event, and it was a big one. This Youth Reconciliation Gathering was definitely a success, and it’s really good to see these events happening with our youth.