Dance program encourages First Nations youth to develop leadership skills
Participants will perform in Toronto in May
A teenager from Winnipeg says a dancing, leadership and mentorship program has helped his mental health.
"I'm going through a hard time in life," said Bryse Wood, who is from Island Lake but grew up in Winnipeg.
He added things are looking up, and he credits that to help from Outside Looking In's RBC Future Leaders Program, where he and about 30 other Indigenous youth are learning skills to prepare them for life after high school.
"It helps me move on from things I need to change and to become the entrepreneur I'm supposed to be one day," said Wood.
The Future Leaders Program is for students who have already participated in at least one year of Outside Looking In, a high school dance program for Indigenous youth. In order to participate in Outside Looking In, students need to keep a minimum grade point average and attendance.
The students who take the Future Leaders Program get to perform in the organization's annual May show in Toronto at Meridian Hall (the former O'Keefe Centre), and receive extra mentorship opportunities to help them with future jobs or post-secondary education.
Madi Ottertail, from Lac La Croix First Nation in northwestern Ontario, said the program is helping her develop her leadership potential she will bring back to her community.
"I think being here is helping me expand, learn more about myself and how I can help lead my community," said Ottertail.
WATCH | Students meet for dance program in Winnipeg:
Ottertail is meeting the other participants for the first time in Winnipeg for a week of rehearsal.
"Dancing is a form of expression," said Ottertail.
"You can express the negative and the positive with your body and it's a great way to release those emotions."
Lindy Kinoshameg, from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, is the program manager for the Future Leaders Program. He got involved volunteering as a workshop facilitator and mentor after seeing his niece perform with the program in 2015.
"This program allows them to see themselves on that stage," said Kinoshameg.
"They're the main attraction."
Kinoshameg said he is inspired by what he sees in this group of students and their ability to push through adversity despite the hardships in their own communities.
"They're still laughing, they're still smiling, they're still dancing, they're still here," said Kinoshameg.
"As an Indigenous person you see that and that just makes you cry."
The leadership program ran for a week in Winnipeg and wraps up on Friday. All of the participants from Outside Looking In from across Canada will perform on May 12 and 13 in Toronto.
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With files from Kevin Nepitabo