Alaina Joe Beaudin and Kyra Buckle want counsellors to remember a very simple step when a youth comes to them to discuss an issue: lock the door.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 not that comfortable,SA国际影视传媒� said Beaudin, a grade 9 student. SA国际影视传媒淪ome kids, if they see you talking to a counsellor theySA国际影视传媒檒l think somethingSA国际影视传媒檚 wrong with you. Or theySA国际影视传媒檒l go and say something to someone and it just gives you a scare of people talking about you.

SA国际影视传媒淎s soon as someone says something, everyone knows. So everyoneSA国际影视传媒檚 scared to go talk to someone because they think theySA国际影视传媒檙e doing something wrong.SA国际影视传媒�

The pair were joined by Western Arctic Youth Collective project director Alyssa Carpenter for a SA国际影视传媒渞everseSA国际影视传媒� town hall on meaningful youth engagement March 3, which was broadcast live from the Inuvialuit Communications Society as part of the Local 2 Global youth summit, which was held in Inuvik as part of a multi-year circumpolar youth empowerment effort. The summit ran March 1 to 4.

This is the second year Inuvik hosted the four-day gathering, which drew youth representatives from Indigenous communities from around the Arctic circle and attended online through Zoom. The Local2Global initiative began in 2019 and is hoped to continue through 2023, focusing on life promotion and mental health wellness.

SA国际影视传媒淲e were approached by GwichSA国际影视传媒檌n Council International,SA国际影视传媒� said Carpenter, who estimated there were about 30 youth participating locally, including 15 who travelled from elsewhere in the North. SA国际影视传媒淲e did it last March and we were asked to take on the event again to showcase and build upon workshops that were created a few years back by other youth across other Northern countries.

SA国际影视传媒淪o this is our take on what a lot of those themes the youth were sharing in those videos and we were lucky to have a the youth who did those videos here.SA国际影视传媒�

Alongside WAYC, the GwichSA国际影视传媒檌n Renewable Resource Board was also involved in programming with a SA国际影视传媒淪tewards of the Land WorkshopSA国际影视传媒� at the Inuvik Native Band gathering space, showing traditional knowledge such as skinning, butchering and drying a caribou, contributed by Anita Koe Tetlit.

A demonstration on the art was put on by Liz Jerome, Marty Kunnizzi and Bobbi Rose Koe.

SA国际影视传媒淐hief Robert Charlie and Administration provided the site location, fire set and tea - who those two we wouldnSA国际影视传媒檛 have been able to host the caribou demonstration,SA国际影视传媒� said GRRB executive director Wanda McDonald, who thanked members of the GRRB working group and contributors for helping make the caribou workshop happen. SA国际影视传媒淲e would be remiss if we didnSA国际影视传媒檛 recognize those who made the workshop a reality.SA国际影视传媒�

Traditional knowledge was at the heart of every session and lesson in the four days, as youth exchanged stories, watched topical films, learned crafts and competed in hand games. Speakers covered topics ranging from sobriety, language preservation, photography, career building and traditional tattoos. InuvikSA国际影视传媒檚 Laska Nerysoo taught a workshop on Macrame making, Rachel Schooley discussed mental wellness while Taalrumiq taught a workshop on beading, and Megan Lennie and Alexia Mirion educated youth about safe spaces and mental wellness. A food bank drive was also run in conjunction with the summit.

Connecting all the workshops was the art of storytelling, which helped express the ideas of youth, well-being, sharing and respecting the land and nature. Drum Dances were held at Ingamo Hall independently of the festivities and during the evening youth gathered at Duck Lake park for bonfires and fireworks.

Underlying the project is a goal of helping improve the capacity of youth to deal with stress, be that from school, peers, family, global events or other pressures, through storytelling, both verbal and digital. By helping youth find a way to get their voice out, the Local2Global initiative hopes to help put a stop to youth suicides in the Arctic circle. It was built on lessons learned from the Rising Sun initiative, the Sharing Hope project and Project CREATeS.

As different communities have different takes on how to best approach mental health issues, Carpenter said it was important for Inuvik to be able to contribute to the effort in its own special way.

SA国际影视传媒淎 lot of the youth have a voice, itSA国际影视传媒檚 just a matter of creating space for us to listen,SA国际影视传媒� she said. SA国际影视传媒淪ome of the most powerful pieces is the storytelling and how that is very much part of Indigenous ways of sharing and passing knowledge.

SA国际影视传媒淵outh are here and theySA国际影视传媒檙e sharing information on what helps them or their friends. Having space to have those conversations and hopefully for the people who can make these showing up and being willing to learn. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 how you do proper, meaningful engagement.SA国际影视传媒�

As for Beaudin and Buckle, they both just want people to be more mindful of how they approach youth.

Simple things like counsellors making sure theySA国际影视传媒檙e giving patients enough time to vent, or providing more opportunities to connect with mental health resources, would go a long way to helping maintain a sense of trust between parties.

SA国际影视传媒淭here are programs surrounding mental health promotion for young people,SA国际影视传媒� said Buckle, grade 11 student. SA国际影视传媒淏ut thereSA国际影视传媒檚 not really anything being done. ThereSA国际影视传媒檚 no programs that say SA国际影视传媒楬ey, come down,SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒� itSA国际影视传媒檚 more that you have to take the first step. But sometimes itSA国际影视传媒檚 hard to take the first step, you need that little push.

SA国际影视传媒淢ental Health and Wellness is something that should not be taken lightly and should be something talked about more than what it is right now, especially in the North.SA国际影视传媒�