A new campaign is aiming at protecting indigenous youth from anti-gang violence. The focus is on connecting Indigenous youth with their culture through displaying powerful messaging at various LRT stations.
“History is a big part of our culture. If we don’t know our history we don’t know where we’re going,” explained Leroy Bull, with the Louis Bull Tribe.
The campaign was created to tackle critical issues facing the Maskwacis First Nations, by featuring messages written in both Cree and English at Edmonton’s LRT stations and on billboards across Edmonton.
“We’ve been trying for a long time to bring that language back. Like I said it’s a healing, and that’s something that we all need to do, we all need to heal.”
Edmonton’s Mayor Amarjeet Sohi added, “We see a lot of activities taking place at LRT stations. So when people see this art and the messages, they can help young people connect back to culture.”
Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, the MLA for Edmonton-Rutherford said, “Children are not born gang members. They get into gangs because they don’t the value of being loved. So let this be a reminder that we need to bring our babies home.”
Indigenous leaders spoke about the significance of having both municipal and provincial support to be able to protect Indigenous youth from the pressures of gang violence.
“When we’re trying to raise our kids, we need proper support, especially for single parents because kids matter. We do need to provide affordable mental health support for families that are struggling, especially for single mothers,” explained Chief Vernon Saddleback, of Samson Cree Nation.
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Bull added, “If we had schools, something that teaches us how to raise kids because that’s something that was taken away from us, trying to bring back that love and kindness to their homefires.”
The campaign is a collaborative effort between the Maskwacis Cree Tribal Council, the City of Edmonton, and other local and Canadian organizations.