By Nigel Maxwell

High flyer sets out to help First Nations youth spread their wings

Jan 21, 2016 | 5:28 AM

Andy Bird says he had two dreams in life — one was to become a professional wrestler and the other was to help the people on his reserve.

The 26-year-old from Montreal Lake Cree Nation now wrestles across the country, and last October set out to achieve his other dream.

Bird is the founder of the Bird’s Nest, a group home located in Maple Ridge, B.C. which provides support for First Nations youth and adults.

“How it really got started is I went online and I saw a status from my cousin AJ, and his status said he was doing nothing and he had nothing to do,” said Bird.

A short time later Bird invited his cousin to join him in Maple Ridge. His cousin quickly took him up on the offer.

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“You know he never had a true job interview or a real job either so the first thing when he came out there was we got him established with a bank account; we got him a resume made,” said Bird.

In the weeks that followed Bird helped his cousin apply for jobs and also get a learner’s license.

This past week, Bird travelled back to Montreal Lake and spoke to students about achieving their dreams.

“You know they think life is what it is, when really there’s so much more to this world that they can experience and I just want to be that support system to help them,” he said.

Bird said many First Nations people who leave the reserve struggle because they have no support, no one to show them how to make a resume or how to enroll in University classes.  The end result is they go back to the reserve.

“I was talking to one of these kids who wants to come out and I asked what is your dream, what do you want to achieve and it broke my heart to hear him say he doesn’t have any dreams,” said Bird.

The first person to try the program was actually Bird’s mother, who is deaf. 

“Her dream is to be a culinary chef and so we’ve got her lined up with a college to get into a program,” he said.

After she finishes her training she plans to help her son run the home, acting as head of household.

“She loves the mountains, she loves the nature, she just loves everything about it.  There is one thing she misses though and that’s the snow which I don’t really understand,” said Bird.

Bird said he is hoping to have more people come out to the house in the coming months.  

He added that a lot of managers and employers in the area are supportive of what he is doing and have even offered to overlook job experience in favour of offering an opportunity.

A facebook page has been created for the group and there is also a website.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell