One Day Leadership Workshop 

Storywork

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The Aaron Roote Memorial Youth Centre is located along the highway that runs through Saugeen First Nation, an Anishnaabe community nestled between Lake Huron and the Saugeen River in what is now called Ontario. The Centre was bustling by 9:00am as our host youth facilitators set up the space for the workshop. They moved with a sense of purpose and confidence, double checking details and greeting people as they came in.

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I was given the important task of picking up Ningwakwe George, the wonderful Elder who volunteers her time with the group of youth who came together to form the Saugeen Youth Council. Once she was with me, we continued on to pick up two youth who needed a ride to the workshop. The first young man we picked up lives quite far from the youth center, down a dirt road canopied by beautiful, large trees brimming with brilliant crimson, gold and amber leaves. The young man greeted us and Ningwakwe commented that he is living in a different area. They chatted about this, and she inquired after his mom and family. I didn’t know the young man or how well he and Ningwakwe know one another, but it was easy to see that he respects this kind woman and appreciated her asking about his life. Next, we picked up Leigha’s younger sister, who seemed a little shy but quietly chatted with the young man as we made our way back to the Youth Centre.

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We arrived at the Youth Centre with just minutes to spare before the workshop was set to begin. The young man and woman were greeted warmly by our youth hosts, Anthony & Leigha and were directed to the sign-in table to get their participant bags containing a water bottle, facemask, hand sanitizer and workshop handouts. Another youth pointed them to a table filled with all kinds of breakfast goodies, coffee, and juices. Food is always a great icebreaker and a few of the youth stood around the table filling plates and catching up with one another.

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Anthony and Leigha invited everyone to come and sit in the circle to start the day.  The invited elder, Lori, moved around the room, smiling, laughing, and greeting everyone. Anthony and Leigha called for everyone’s attention and then proudly introduced themselves and invited Lori to begin our time together in a good way. Lori has a special energy which was felt as soon as she entered the space.  She introduced herself and acknowledged Karri-Lynn and I, spoke briefly about what she had learned about the Going the Distance project and offered greetings to the other community members supporting the workshop. Lori lit sage and brought it around the circle while sharing teachings of smudging. She spoke about cleansing; clearing the space of any negative energy, to cleanse our minds and bodies and most importantly, to bring our spirits together in this space. After Lori shared the smudge with each participant, the space felt more relaxed as participants visited with one another.

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There was some nervous laughter and friendly teasing as Anthony introduced himself to lead the icebreaker session. He invited his friend Sadies (Mercedes), another member of the Youth Council, to join him in leading the group in an introduction activity. This served to set the tone for the day and made everyone comfortable with one another. This activity was fun and involved each participant having to “introduce” the participants who spoke before them, ending with their own name. This quickly evolved into more laughter and teasing as those that were near the end of the circle had many names they had to remember and recite. Next, they invited participants to join them in a Connection Activity. Anthony directed participants to listen to statements he read aloud and stand if they agreed with it. The statements included, “I like bannock”; “I enjoy reading”; and “I have siblings”. Participants were encouraged to look around to see who was standing with them after each statement. This activity demonstrated the connections they have with others through shared experiences, interests, and values.

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Anthony’s leadership qualities shone during the icebreakers. He was humble and used humour to make everyone feel at ease and connected. Sadies, a quiet leader, whose kindness and caring was evident in how she encouraged participants without putting them on the spot or calling attention to them.

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I haven’t yet talked about the youngest participant in our midst! Shelby, also a member of the Youth Council, brought her beautiful one year old daughter to the workshop. Having this little one there brought special medicine to the space, and it was amazing to see this young mother care for her child while engaging in the activities throughout the day. Other participants (and facilitators!) were quick to recognize moments to support Shelby with her baby so that she could more fully experience and participate in the exercises. There was never a moment where it felt disruptive or distracting to have her baby with us in the workshop.

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Creating a Community of Care

It was important to create a safe space where participants felt a sense of belonging and engagement. Karri-Lynn led the group in an activity to help them focus on being present in the space. The Tuck Away activity was a way to “check-in” with participants and provided them with an opportunity to identify things that may be distracting or bothering them by writing it down and putting it out of sight. Once the youth “tucked away” their distractions, they were given post-it notes to write down their learning and personal goals. The post-its were put on the wall under the corresponding headings and were referred back to throughout the day. Right away, we were impressed with how everyone in the group engaged in these activities- even those that some thought would not want to participate.

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The Community of Care was an opportunity for participants to share with the group what they needed for a safe space. We went around the circle and participants identified things like “Respect one another”; “Listen to one another”; “What is said in the circle/workshop stays here”; “Listen without judgement” and “be open to the experience”. Some of the adult community members who were supporting the day shared at the break that they were surprised to see a few youth who normally wouldn’t have participated in something like this.

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Ningwakwe shared the following when asked about her observations of Leigha and Anthony: “My impressions - as a youth, Leigha exhibits leadership skills that many leaders (adults) could learn from.  I observe the group using - actually using - the consensus approach.  I firmly believe that the caring Leigha and Anthony show to members of the group made the difference in who came out that day, participated and stayed.” 

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Seven Grandfather Teachings

The Youth Council identified early in the workshop planning that they wanted to have Lori teach the Seven Grandfather teachings and have participants engage in a cultural activity while she spoke. The youth were provided with paper, canvases, paints, and markers and were encouraged to paint or draw whatever came to them while they listened. It was amazing to see the beautiful artwork that evolved during this session. It also opened up conversation around art and a few participants shared that they had personal goals of having their own art shows or finding ways to sell their work. One young man, Ziib, caught the attention of Lori and Ningwakwe who had been talking about an artist opportunity Lori was involved with. Lori connected with Ziib and well, we recently heard that he will be having his very first art show in the near future!

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Strengths and Gifts- Body Mapping

The Body Mapping activity was the most impactful to observe. Karri-Lynn and I walked around while the youth worked on their body maps and were touched by some of the conversations taking place. There were a few participants who were hesitant or shy to get started and it was awesome to see others encourage and help them. A few of the youth paired up and did the activity together, using different colored markers to show which statements belonged to who. The youth really allowed themselves to be vulnerable by sharing responses that were honest and open. We were pleasantly surprised to see that everyone created a Body Map- even the one or two that we thought would not like the activity. There were two young women who came to video/photograph the workshop and ended up becoming active participants when this activity started!

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Personal Leadership Journey: How do you see yourself as a leader?

The youth council invited their community member and mentor, April John to speak to the workshop participants about personal leadership. The connection they shared with April was evident throughout the day as many of the participants sought her advice and feedback on their various activities such as Body Mapping and artwork. April knew the youth and asked about their families, engaged them in conversations about their goals and offered them guidance during the action planning session.

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The final exercise before certificates were presented was an “Appreciation Activity”. Everyone had a piece of construction paper taped to their back (facilitators included!) and each person was to write something positive about that person. One of the best moments of the whole day was watching their faces light up as they read what others had written about them.

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As a facilitator and observer, I witnessed this group of young leaders encourage, support and inspire the participants who came to the workshop that day. They were humble and kind while modelling confidence, leadership, and vulnerability. I watched the shy and quiet participants connect with others and emerge from their shells. I saw the pride on each face as they were handed their workshop certificates.

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Leigha summed up the day with a beautiful post on Facebook, where in true community leadership, she acknowledged all of the people that contributed to the success of the day. I share it here, as this truly captures the impact this project had on the youth of Saugeen First Nation.

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The Further Education Society of Alberta (FESA)’s Going the Distance project, in partnership with Coady Institute’s Circle of Abundance provided this opportunity for youth leadership to emerge. The youth, guided by Elders and supported by their community members, inspired their peers to explore their dreams and encouraged them to engage in empowering exercises to turn those dreams into plans!