Nanaimo’s Indigenous youth preparing for cultural canoe trip along Vancouver Island
NANAIMO — An upcoming excursion along Vancouver Island’s rivers and coast will help Indigenous youth engage with their heritage and culture.
This year, youth from Kw’umut Lelum will canoe for two-weeks from Port Renfrew to Campbell River in August as part of Tribal Journeys 2017. It’s an annual trip designed to reconnect Indigenous teens and young adults with their heritage by visiting other bands and communities along their path.
“A lot of kids, when they come into our care, are disconnected from their community and their culture,” Kw’umet Lelum executive director and city councillor Bill Yoachim said. “This is a start of bringing the kids back…in a sensitive, beautiful experience.”
Before they leave in mid-July, the Kw’umet Lelum youth who will take to the water are building their regalia and learning songs they’ll sing along the way.