By Bryan Eneas

I Love First Peoples bring joy to the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation

Mar 3, 2017 | 4:00 PM

Something as small as a shoe box can bring joy, and even change the lives of the youth who receive them.

The youth of Ahtahkakoop were each given a shoebox packed full of practical goods, from a charitable organization from eastern Canada on March 3. A total of 508 shoeboxes were prepared over a three-month period.

I Love First Peoples is an Ottawa-based charity, with a mission to empower youth to succeed through education, by motivating them to stay in school. According to Josee Lusigman, one of the founders of the charity, education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.

“We also bridge Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities through the children in the schools, so that we can foster greater appreciation through different projects like the shoe box,” she said.

Lusigman said she wanted to do more for Indigenous peoples after making a shocking discovery.

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“I had worked for aid organizations that were international and very big for many years; I kept asking ‘why are we not helping Indigenous kids?’” Lusigman said. “I had discovered that World Vision was feeding children in Canada, and that blew me away.”

Five years ago, she found herself in Winnipeg where the harsh realities of life on the street as an Indigenous youth left her feeling “heartbroken.” She said she felt she couldn’t do anything because she wasn’t a politician nor was she an academic, so she asked her friends to help.

“I called all my friends and I asked them to pack a shoe box with whatever makes a child happy,” Lusigman said.

After working with a community near Gatineau, and realizing how much joy and how much change the shoe box program was able to generate, she kept the program going. It has slowly grown, and is now expanding west after stops in Rapid Lake, Quebec, and Attawapiskat, Ontario.

“We know the needs are great in Saskatchewan. We have a number of NHL alumni and players who a part of our celebrity campaign, and Fred Sasakamoose is one of them,” she said.

A phone call between Sasakamoose and Lusigman touched her heart. She said Sasakamoose filled her in on the situation in Ahtahkakoop, and asked for help.

“It’s music to our ears, because that’s what we want to do, help in any way we can,” Lusigman said.

Sasakamoose said he first got involved with I Love First Peoples about seven or eight months ago.

“One of the things I always wanted to be able to do was help these young people,” Sasakamoose said. “A lot of things have been hurting us to our communities, suicides, drug issues, HIV.”

He said he was prepared to accept the help offered by I Love First People’s because he’s seen the suffering first hand. He said he was quite surprised to hear about the shoe boxes going to Ahtahkakoop.

“I had no idea about [the shoe boxes],” Sasakamoose said. “[March 3] is a big day for us… I feel good about it, I think it’s a blessing for us, for our young people.”

The I Love First Peoples’ celebrity campaign features over 100 athletes, musicians and actors who use their voices to raise awareness about the challenges Indigenous youth face in Canada.

One of those celebrities was able to join the group in Ahtahkakoop on March 3. The Revenant star Forrest Goodluck was able to join via Skype to address the gathering in the gymnasium of Ahtahkakoop’s school. He was originally scheduled to speak in person, but he had a casting call which kept him from appearing.

Anti-Bullying also a focus for I Love First Peoples

The gathering coincided with Pink Shirt Day, the anti-bullying campaign. The school hosted its Pink Shirt day later than most because on Feb. 22, the national Pink Shirt Day date, students were on their winter break.

Bullying was also a focus of the I Love First Peoples presentations.

“In Ahtahkakoop we found bullying was a big issue of concern for the youth, which is why today we’re working on an anti-bullying campaign,” Lusigman said. “It’s actually the first of its kind, where we’re working with Indigenous and non-Indigenous schools to work together around a common cause.”

She explained the Ahtahkakoop School will be paired with students from the Darcy Sims High School in Gatineau, who have had a successful anti-bullying campaign. She said students from Ahtahkakoop will be heading to Gatineau in the early spring to learn more from community leaders.

More than just shoe boxes

Students also received two new basketball hoops; they were donated by I Love First Peoples on behalf of Dynamo Playgrounds, Traffic Tech and Jay’s Transport. According to Lusigman, the three companies were almost as excited as the kids to take part in I Love First Peoples.

“To me, that’s reconciliation in action from the corporate perspective,” she said.

Shaun Sasakamoose, principal of the Ahtahkakoop School said he was excited about the new hoops.

“We’ve got some very athletic boys here,” Sasakamoose said. “We’ve got a deep pool of raw talent, naturally talented kids here… anything they do they become the best at it in a couple of years.”

He was also very impressed with the I Love First Peoples presentations.

“That was a really positive thing to come to our school,” Sasakamoose said. “It’s just like building bridges; the more people you have that are behind your plight, the better. First Nations education, and First Nations quality of life isn’t the same as other people in Canada… I’m just glad they’re here.”

– With files from Brent Bosker

Bryan.Eneas@jpbg.ca

On twitter: @BryanEneas