This year, Yúusnewas, in collaboration with Drawing Wisdom (LINK TO DRAWING WISDOM WEBSITE), are gathering on the traditional and unceded lands of the Boothroyd First Nation at Blue Lake Lodge from March 16^th-22^nd. (LINK TO LODGE WEBSITE)

A group of Indigenous youth from across the province will have the opportunity to learn about decolonizing health, harm reduction, and with Drawing Wisdom learn the fundamentals of film and create videos around the theme of Storytelling. This is a youth driven creative approach where the youth will be encouraged to use their voices and express themselves and their imagination in whatever way they choose. Narration, music, short films and poetry are just some examples. During First Directions, we will be providing two-days of decolonial views on wellness, the history of storytelling, modernizing storytelling and 3-days of filming-related activities.

Extracurriculars included this year include: Opening fire ceremony, Nintendo switch games, music jam nights, hot tub, walking trails, crafts, access to water (a lake), and more! *The Spring Equinox is on March 20th @ 2 AM*

First Directions is FREE for Indigenous youth ages 16-30 years old! Funding for travel, accommodations, and meals are provided. If you think you or an Indigenous youth in your community would be interested in attending, please fill out the registration form below, or contact [email protected] !

LOGISTICS AND POLICIES:

We welcome Indigenous youth of all genders, sexual orientations, and abilities to participate in our programming. We aim to create a safer space* for all our participants, therefore discrimination of any kind (i.e. gendered discrimination, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ageism, ableism, fatphobia, lateral violence, terf (trans-exclusionary radical feminist) and swerf (sex worker exclusionary radical feminist) ideologies, etc.) is not accepted in our space.

To us, a ‘safer’ space is a supportive, non-threatening environment that encourages open-mindedness, respect, a willingness to learn from others, as well as physical and mental safety. While we do our best to foster a safer space, we acknowledge that harm may still happen. As an organization we are committed to harm reduction, in this context we are committed to mitigating the harm that may happen in our spaces and learning from such instances. We strive to work together as a community to keep each other safe and to hold space for our various and intersecting identities. We strive for accountable spaces.

ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCES POLICY:

We understand that everybody is on their own journey, and we would love to meet you where you are at. However, to make this a safer space we will be drug and alcohol free besides medicinal use.

There will be a designated smoking, vaping, and medicinal cannabis area away from the communal gathering spaces. 

PARTICIPATION POLICY:

We are an opt-in space. If you join us, please meet yourself where you are at. No pressure to show up in the same way every day. However, we do ask that you check-in if you’re going to opt-out for any gatherings.

This is a closed retreat. If you want to bring anyone with you, please have them fill out a separate registration form. In accordance with our policies and keeping everyone safe, we know that participants may have friends and relatives nearby. They are not welcome to visit us on-site, however email [email protected] to work together to accommodate an off-site visit.

COVID 19 MEASURES

To support safer access to our programming for all in attendance in consideration of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we have implemented a few important measures that we hope will help create a safer environment for us to learn and build community together.

• All sessions will be held either outdoors or in well-ventilated large rooms with capacity well under 50%
• Hand-washing stations and hand-sanitizer will be made available throughout the program
• We ask all attendees to be fully vaccinated (4-doses) for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)
• Masks are optional and will be available on site for those who prefer to use them

We know that for many of us, some these additional measures like wearing a mask, can feel a bit exhausting, especially after living through this for the past four years. We really appreciate your cooperation as we all figure this out together. Your participation is so important to us, your safety is so important to us, your presence is so important to us – you are so important to us!! As a community, let us endeavor to keep each other safe! 

THINGS TO BRING:

• Blanket/sleeping bag and pillow. The lodge has bed frames with mattresses, but they ask that we bring our own bedding (please reach out for any accommodations, we will try to bring extras
• Swim-suits and towel (there’s a hot tub and lake nearby)
• Musical instruments (please be prepared to travel with it) *One of our facilitators will be bringing an acoustic guitar, keyboard, microphone/recording equipment, tambourine, rattle, cajon, and hand drums
• Filming Supplies (Any personal/cultural/meaningful objects/outfits you want on film)

*If you forget, we will have extra sanitary/personal items for youth!

APPLICATION CUT OFF: FEBRUARY 28TH

REGISTER HERE: [LINK] *15 min form