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Indigenous Youth Find Voice Through Drumming
30 Sep
Summary
- Young Mi'kmaw students are connecting with ancestors through traditional drumming.
- A healing lodge offers cultural programs to restore identity and purpose.
- Community gardens cultivate traditional medicines and provide food for all.
Young Indigenous students are finding powerful connections to their heritage through traditional practices. For Grade 7 student Edwin Campbell, drumming serves as a link to his ancestors, offering him a stronger sense of self and confidence.
The Sukwi'sim Healing Lodge, established in 2024 on Lennox Island, provides a space for non-clinical support, cultural programming, and wellness activities. Manager Kelly Sark highlights how reconnecting with Mi'kmaw roots is restoring purpose and identity for many.
Elders and knowledge keepers are being invited to revive ceremonies, and language revitalization efforts are seeing success, with younger generations learning Mi'kmaw and receiving traditional spirit names.
Richard Lush is dedicated to supporting youth in pursuing their interests, from athletics to the arts, drawing from his own experiences with mentorship. He is currently pursuing a Wabanaki bachelor of education to better aid young people.
Dawson Peters cultivates traditional medicines and produce in the Lennox Island greenhouse and gardens, a project with deep family roots. This work offers him a way to connect with the land and honor his ancestors' legacy, while also providing for the community.
