Megan Kanerahtenha:wi Whyte

Yesterday, a colleague and I travelled to Quebec City to co-facilitate a workshop on human rights, community mobilization and youth activism as part of the Quebec and Labrador First Nations Youth Forum.

Participants visual art response to the question: What human rights are you passionate about and what is one thing you can do for yourself, your family or your community to acknowledge it?

As the media arts coordinator of the Kahnawake Youth Forum and in collaboration with the Native Youth Sexual Health Network, we put together a series of art activities and ice breaker warm ups to move the energy and activate the processing abilities of the group.

From human rights pick up lines to creating a Self Determine-Nation collage, we journeyed through the grey area, also known as Human Rights.

Circle debrief

We reminded ourselves, that Indigenous rights are human rights. They are not “special rights”.

We reminded ourselves that we are born into our language, our culture and the land. These are inherent rights and are legally binding (UNDRIP–United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People); they are not given or determined by an outside entity.

We also reminded ourselves of the work of our ancestors, like Deskaheh, who teach us how to stand up for our rights as Indigenous People and as Human Beings. He teaches us that we have a voice in the United Nations arena and that we have a voice on what affects our own lives.

Colleague Jessica Deer and I

Through the work that we do, we always reminded that changes and conversations on Human Rights do not have to start at the UN level, but can and should start in the home, in the family and in the community.

Art creates change.

Today, I reflect on the Skátne Ionkwatehiahróntie’ – “Our Families Grow Together” program in my community.

Planting through our Creation Story

It was almost one year ago, I approached a good friend of mine at the Native Youth Sexual Health Network with an idea: “I want to run a parenting program for parent’s under the age of 25. I want to address the stigma we face as young parents and I want to create a space where we learn our traditional teachings with our children. I want to do it through art”

Having a background in Circle of Security Attachment parenting as well as formal training in Art Education gave me the confidence to dream the program, but being a young mother myself gave me the courage to chase it.

As young parents, we tend to be labeled as “failed”, “irresponsible”, or “unsuccessful”; there is stigma that follows us when we leave the house that sometimes affects our own confidence in parenting. Even in safe spaces like parenting groups or support groups, our needs and experiences tend . All of the sudden, becoming a young mom meant I no longer had access to sexual education or support resources for my age.

And I know I was not alone.

Weekly reflection mural; at the end of 10 weeks, we will have a large mural full of ideas, experiences and teachings.

Together, we actively sought out funding and networking to create something unique for the other young mothers in the community; I wanted to create a space for us to grow together WITH our children–not just as people or parents, but as Kanienkeha’ka. I wanted to empower our young women and remind them of how important they are, not just to their little ones but to our whole community–to themselves.

Learning and making traditional medicine.

Making our “distress kits”–medicine bags to fill up with our own healing tools.

Fast forward two phases, each lasting 10 weeks, we now have a group of young women actively learning their language, their traditions and their teachings through our relationships to the land and our culture.

Together, we explore healthy relationships, rites of passage, parenting struggles and life struggles through cultural knowledge.

Taking our children strawberry picking and sharing their teachings in the land with our children.

Granted, curriculum planning, funding hunting and coordinating elders/knowledge keepers in the community is no easy feat, but I wouldn’t trade facilitating this program for the world.

Just hearing the young women share their stories in how they changed how they parent as well as relate to their children (and themselves!) is enough to keep the fire going.

Each of them have gifts and it is through programs like this one, that they are able to grow each of them.

Charting our moontimes through beaded necklaces

Making moontime zines and restoring traditional knowledge

Making splints to weave a basket.

Their little ones have a strong future ahead of them.

I will be curating another national art exhibition, alongside the Kahnawake Youth Forum.

Reflecting back to 2014, I worked with some youth from a neighbouring Mohawk community who were going through our traditional rites of passage ceremonies. In addition to processing traditional knowledge, myself and a colleague of mine ran through an arts-based workshop on leadership and youth/community mobilization.

We used interactive activities to deconstruct the definitions of leadership and help each youth (11-21) reapply new concepts to themselves. To finish, we facilitated the creation of 30 foot mural of leadership in Indigenous communities.

To have a workshop facilitated in your community, please do not hesitate to contact me.

After a two year hiatus from professional art making to raise my daughter, I finally have some new work on exhibition. If you are in the Montreal QC area, come for a visit.

Gallery sneak peak

I will have a meet-the-artist hour Sunday August 2nd at 1:00  pm.