Somehow it’s already over! The Saskatoon crew boarded their plane home this morning after five days of exploring the Whitehorse area. Canadian Roots Exchange aims to to bring two groups of young Indigenous and non-Indigenous people together in solidarity to build relationships, understanding and to explore decolonization and reconciliation. If the hugging and tears saying goodbye are any indication, we feel like the exchange was a huge success.
We loved hanging out with this dynamic group of young people for the week. Just a few highlights from the agenda were: a hunting and hide tanning workshop with BYTE alumna Angela Code, hand games with Doronn Fox, a trip to Miles Canyon, a Whitehorse scavenger hunt, a day exploring Carcross, and a talent show at the Kwanlin Dunn Cultural Centre. To top it off, the back of the BYTE and Youth of Today Society’s building got an amazing makeover with a mural project that the youth helped to design, plan, and paint!
This epic week wouldn’t have been possible without help from our partners and friends in local organizations. Big time thanks go out to the Canadian Roots Exchange chaperones and facilitators for all their hard work on this project and to the YMCA and their Youth Exchanges Canada program for supporting all the logistics that get 24 youth from Saskatoon to Whitehorse and back again! The whole BYTE team would also like to thank the Youth of Today Society, Boys and Girls Club of Yukon, Doronn Fox, Kuduat Shorty, Angela Code, Clayton Keats, Youth Investment Fund, Lotteries Yukon and the Paul Yuzyk Youth Initiative for Multiculturalism for their support of this program!
Thanks to Youth of Today Society as well for the photos from the Passion and Purpose mural project.
