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April - May 2022

YFNED is working towards the long-overdue, unified control of First Nations education in the Yukon.

Native Grad 2022

Hundreds of people are gathering this Friday, June 3, to honour the accomplishments of our 2022 First Nations High School graduates — the first time since 2019 that Native Grad has been celebrated in-person.

YFNED is proud to be able to support the event in various ways: our Education Advocates have been holding regalia-sewing workshops at the ILC, our Nutrition Program is catering the event, Melanie Bennett, our Executive Director, is delivering an inspirational speech, and we’ll be giving a gift to each grad! We’re so excited for Friday!

On-the-Land Summer Camps

The First Nation Education Advocates are thrilled to be offering four different summer-long, on-the-land, First Nations summer camps. Registration is full for all camps.

1) Atà Kú: Twenty Indigenous youth in grades 10 & 11 will participate in a land-based leadership training and cultural mentorship immersion at the Atà Kú campus, the Burns Family Trapline on the Annie Lake Road. Under the mentorship of Elders, Knowledge Keepers and Education Advocates, the youth will acquire their HEED, Wilderness First Aid, Food Safe and achieve language goals.

2) Shadhäla (Champagne Horse Healing) Camp: Advocates and Knowledge Keepers are running a summer-long land-based horse-therapy program at the Heart Bar Ranch outside Whitehorse. The youth selected for this program have significant challenges in their life but through soft and hard skills acquired at the camp, will work work towards building on their strengths and resilience.

3) Indigenous Leadership: This is a sports-and-community leadership summer program for Indigenous youth that engages them in a variety of projects and sports leadership activities around Whitehorse.

4) Watson Lake: YFNED is offering a land-based traditional day camp in Watson Lake, supporting Liard First Nation youth and Elders, and including participation in Lower Post’s Blue River Culture Camp. One Education Advocate and two Junior Advocates will be stationed in Watson Lake for the summer to run this program!

Jack Hulland Elementary School Culture Week

Over the past two weeks, Jack Hulland Elementary students have been taking part in cultural days. In collaboration with YFNED, Southern Tutchone teacher, Ms. Sherri Lafreniere organized 11 school days of cultural events. This included students getting up close and personal with fish at fish camp!

Each class got a 40 minute session with YFNED staff, knowledge keepers, and guests. They learned about salmon habitats, life cycles, ecosystems, as well as hands-on experience to fillet fish. The purpose of these intensive series of culture days is to promote awareness, knowledge and connections with community.

Bringing Bikes, Skills and Smiles to Mayo and Pelly

Our Wellness Team (and some special guests - local bike enthusiasts and mechanics) visited Mayo (May 3-5) and Pelly Crossing (May 10-12). Dozens of youth joined us to learn about bike maintenance, like how to straighten wheels, change chains, tubes, brakes and more.

The team worked on roughly 80 donated bikes (including 15 from Whitehorse RCMP), and other bikes in their communities.

We’ll be doing another session in Old Crow later this month.

If you’re interested in donating bikes to go out to the communities, contact jona.barr@yfned.ca.

Online Literacy Program Comes to Carcross

The Mobile Therapeutic Unit, in partnership with the Centre for Literacy (Edmonton, AB), is piloting a literacy project with junior high students in Carcross. A literacy instructor with the Centre for Literacy is providing virtual one-on-one reading remediation to two students on a weekly basis.

Thank you Ghùch Tlâ Community School for supporting this pilot project!

News from the Numeracy Project

Ashwin, Alex and Marie have been busy since January visiting schools and supporting students and teachers on their math journey. We have been welcomed everywhere and It has been an awesome experience in Carcross, Haines Junction, Watson Lake and at FH Collins.

We have run intensive Math Camps at Skookies in Carcross. The TE students working on their Adult Grad have completed Workplace 11 during three 3-day camps run in partnership with Marc Connell from AVS (Aurora Virtual School) and YFNED. We also partnered with Ghùch Lâ Community School to continue our work with the students in the AP program.

We are excited and have many ideas how to continue this work next school year.

Teddy Bear Picnic Celebrates Jordan’s Principle

It’s been six years of Jordan’s Principle in Canada! Six years of better access to supports and services for Indigenous kids!

To celebrate YFNED and CYFN hosted a Teddy Bear Picnic at the KDCC on May 10th.

We invited kids to bring their teddy bear stuffies to lunch in honour of Indigenous lawyer Cindy Blackstock. She always brought a teddy bear stuffy to court with her to fight Canada’s failure to implement Jordan’s Principle. She did this to remind the government lawyers and the judges who’s at stake: the Indigenous kids of Canada.

New Early Years Play Space in Old Crow

The stunning Nin K’íh Tsal Little Tracks Play Space opened in Old Crow on May 2nd, 2022. The centre provides a space for young children to play, but also for parents who are expecting, or who have babies or toddlers, to gather as part of our Early Years program.

“We really focused on bringing the outdoors inside and incorporating as much Gwich’in language and culture in the space as possible.” - Early Years Visitor Bree Josie

Early Years — June Activities

All Indigenous families, whether registered with our program or not, are welcome to attend our drop-ins. There will be snacks, activities, beading and knitting supplies, and a chance to see our space and meet the Early Years team.

If you have any questions, drop in at 207 Black Street, email
EarlyYears@yfned.ca, or call 867-667-6962 ext. 123 or check out www.yfned.ca/EarlyYears

Welcome New Staff!

Tereca Bradley (Trondek Hwechin) joins our Urban Nutrition team as a Cook.

Josh Carr (Trondek Hwechin) joins YFNED as a First Nation Education Advocate.

Ashlynn Frost (Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation) is joining YFNED as an Early Years Program Assistant in Old Crow.

Erin Loxam is our new Co-Director of Communications.

Reg McGinity (First Nation of Nacho Nyak Dun) returns to YFNED in a new role: Community Engagement Connection Worker.

Jeffrey Pigeau joins the Urban Nutrition team as a Cook.

Armil Ramos joins the Urban Nutrition team as a Cook Helper.

Nathalia “Talia” Shelley (Champagne Aishihik First Nation) joins our Urban Nutrition team as a Cook Helper.

Raul Yuson joins the Urban Nutrition team as a Cook Helper.

For full bios and headshots of all YFNED staff, please visit our Meet the Team page on our website.

NOTICE: Special General Meeting followed by YFNED 2nd Annual General Meeting

Date: Friday, June 24th, 2022
Location: YFNED Main Board Room
Time: 1pm – 2:30pm

Motion being put forward during Special General Meeting is to restrict use of retained earnings.

UPCOMING EVENTS

June 3: First Nations Grad

June 11: Family Feast @ KDCC

June 21: Indigenous People’s Day

June 23 & 24: First Nations Education Commission

June 24: AGM: YFNED

July 16: Family Feast @ KDCC

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