By Sarah Stone

National museum gives PA aboriginal youth a voice

Oct 11, 2013 | 6:54 AM

Artistic ‘spirit panels’ are being created in Prince Albert to be exhibited at Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.

On Thursday, afternoon a group of 11 aboriginal youth gathered at the Indian Métis Friendship Centre to take part in the workshop that is meant to gather concepts for one of the 13 panels being created across Canada.

“Aboriginal youth have to offer their own perspective of how they see the world in the future, how they are experiencing their world today and we are interested in understanding what they would like the rest of the world to know about their responsibilities and their rights,” said Chandra Erlendson, manager of Public Programming for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Prince Albert is the fifth stop on their cross-country project and Erlendson said this group of communities will be the first group shown in what they hope to be an 80-panel exhibit through a partnership with the National Association of Friendship Centres.

“The exhibit element in the museum has 80 spirit panels. We are starting with the inaugural opening of the museum with 13 and we look forward to populating the remaining, up to 80, with this partnership,” she said.

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Erlendson said in order to really get the truth from the youth, it’s important they go to their communities and really listen first-hand.

“[It] opens up a safe and positive forum to just talk and find out what kinds are thinking,” she said.

“We’re not stopping into town to do one thing. We hope to create a relationship and an open door, a beginning if you will, for these youth to actively contribute beyond this program to the museum.”

The evening event lasted around five hours and included a combination of creating visual arts, discussions and interviews as a way to engage youth and provoke thought on the issues they face today. Once this is done, local Métis artist Leah Marie Dorion will interpret the youth’s ideas in 36-inch-by-six-inch panels to be displayed at the museum.

Alongside the artwork, will be video of the youth and their creations, which will be captured by aboriginal filmmaker Jordan Molaro.

“My job is to document and try to evoke what human rights means to the youth,” Molaro said.

“In each community, there has been a theme of respect and courage and humility and whatnot and as an aboriginal filmmaker that means a lot to me because where I come from our teachings are our way of life and for them to be showing that and conveying that through spoken word and art is amazing.”

Molaro showed a few films on aboriginal history, talked about missing and murdered women and more which he said helps evoke conversation about gender equality, respect and rights in their lives—the main thing is to give “the youth a voice.”

“You always hear that the youth is the future but I don’t think we’ve been doing a very good job of trying to evoke that, evoke their opinion. They’re not the future of tomorrow, they’re the future of today,” he said.

One of the youth making history and giving her voice to the project is 17-year-old Wesmor Community School student Jocelyn Martin.

“I thought it was pretty cool because it’s going to be in the human rights museum,” Martin said, and added she feels she’s achieving something by participating.

For her, it is important for not just Prince Albert or Saskatchewan, but Canada to know “that [aboriginal youth] are not on the same, some of them are trying to get their school done.”

The artwork demonstrating the views and diversity of the aboriginal youth in Canada will be displayed inside a circular theatre at the museum, which will open in 2014.

sstone@panow.com

On Twitter: @sarahstone84