Youth camp ‘to learn and unlearn’

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This article was published 26/06/2022 (911 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On 160 acres of former farmland about an hour north of Winnipeg, efforts are underway to create a place for Indigenous youth to get back to their roots.

“I’m from the North End and a lot of the kids in my neighbourhood lacked the opportunity to build a relationship with the land, connect with Mother Nature and learn our ancestral ways. Our mission is to address that,” Rylee Nepinak said.

At 26, Nepinak is determined to be a leader in his community.

He co-founded Anishiative, a grassroots Indigenous youth organization, alongside Kristyn Boubard and Justine James in 2020.

Anishiative works to connect youth to land-based education, inner-city outreach opportunities and provide wellness programs for northern communities. It recently announced one of its biggest projects to date.

Last year, the organization debuted a land-based leadership camp at Cedar Lake Ranch, where youth volunteers participated in workshops for teepee building, traditional Indigenous games and values, drum-making, somatic breathing exercises, survival skills, history of Indigenous people, Canada and complex trauma, and kinship and creation stories.

That success gave Nepinak ideas on how to expand the program. Then came a stroke of luck. In Fraserwood, Man., he found the perfect location to establish a permanent home for future youth camps.

“I found somebody who used the land for farming and was looking to get rid of it because they couldn’t maintain it. I found them at the right place and right time and they presented the opportunity for me to acquire it,” he said. “I told them my vision for the land and we were able to make it work.”

Now with a location for the Anishiative camp, which will have an official name next month, the building process begins.

“It’ll be some heavy lifting. There will be some volunteers to help build and plant, artists to express themselves, kokoms to cook, elders to pass knowledge and healers to run sweats and be a part of the creation,” Nepinak said. “We want this project to be built by youth for youth. When you put the tools in the youths’ hands, they can do amazing things that will blow you away.”

When completed, the camp will have cabins and teepees for campers to sleep in, and follow a grassroots, traditional camp experience.

“We’re working to create a space where the youth can make long-lasting friendships, tell stories by the fire, plant, pick and preserve wild medicines and endangered plants, play games like capture the flag and hop in a sweat lodge. This is a place where we want a lot of creativity and connection to happen. Our future generations deserve this.”

Nepinak hopes to host the first camp next spring, with multiple groups of 20-30 youth each coming for a few weeks throughout the spring and summer.

“We’re in a place where we’re able to provide a unique opportunity. This is a perfect thing for Manitoba with its large urban Indigenous population,” he said. “This will be a place to learn and unlearn, nurture the spirit and get back in touch with our roots.”

Long term, Nepinak will look to expand on the camp and build on traditional education. One way he will look to do that will be by obtaining buffalo, which he says symbolize the reclamation of their roots.

“I want to get buffalo on this land, because I feel we have to get back to the ways of the buffalo,” he said. “The buffalo was a part of us, our clothing, our teepees and our food. Everything we needed for life came from the buffalo’s body.”

Nepinak said he’s grateful for those that have helped the non-profit organization reach its goals.

“Everything we do is community driven. A lot of our supporters have been with us since Day 1 and have gotten to watch our growth. They are a big reason we have this opportunity.”

Volunteers are equally important. Cierra Roulette has been volunteering with Anishiative for over a year and attended last year’s leadership camp. She’s looking forward to helping at the new site.

“I learned a lot last year and it was a great learning experience. Rylee does a great job as a positive person in the community. The camp will help a lot of the youth who are struggling right now,” she said. “There are a lot of opportunities you can’t get anywhere else and I’m excited to be part of it.”

Volunteers looking to contribute to Anishiative can reach out through social media or by email.

bryce.hunt@freepress.mb.ca