More Than Words Spring Retreat
Tiohtiá:ke
2023
Introduction The More Than Words (MTW) spring retreat brought together young Indigenous people and their supporters including community leaders, academics and aunties from the three project sites: Eskasoni, Treaty 6 and Rankin Inlet at McGill University in Tiohtiá:ke (Montreal), Quebec. The purpose of the retreat was to bring youth from the three communities together connect with one another, celebrate the work they are doing in their communities as part of the project and contribute to the creation of a Trail of Promising Practices. The Trail of Promising Practices builds on the work of MTW as a set of resources that outline the foundational elements and promising practices of the project to help others who are interested in supporting young-Indigenous peoples in their communities. This report fondly remembers the three days we spent together. The report begins with an introduction to the MTW project, then the different activities of each day of the retreat are described and it finishes with the next steps
More Than Words MTW is a 4-year project, funded by WAGE Canada. The project investigates and learns from the use of Indigenousfocused youth-led survivor engagement through the arts, looking at the impacts on the producers themselves (young people) and on their families and communities in relation to their experiences of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). MTW works with young Indigenous peoples from three groups: Break the Silence: Be The Change from Eskasoni, within the Unama’gi district of Mi’kmaq territory Nova Scotia. Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia from Treaty 6, the Homeland of the Métis, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Girls Expressing Themselves Through Art, Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
Youth from MYW, pose with Dr. Claudia Mitchell on the medicine walk in Kahnawá:ke.
Day 1: Coming Back Together and Visiting Kahnawá:ke
Coming Together & Situating the Work To bring us all together, a room in the Participatory Culture’s Lab at McGill University was filled with artifacts from More Than Words and Networks for Change: books, posters, Girlfesto, pictures, zines, drawings, posters and more. This room was the group's home base for the retreat. As everyone arrived, they were invited to look around the space and pick an item that spoke to them. After everyone had chosen an item, the group introduced themselves and discussed why the item they picked was important to them. The group talked about fond memories they had of creating art in groups and asked each other questions about their contributions to different pieces. Next, the Trail of Promising Practices was introduced. The Trail of Promising Practices is a document that is being created to provide other people with the tools to create groups or spaces similar to the ones created in Eskasoni, Rankin Inlet and Treaty 6 as part of MTW. Big posters lined the walls with the different elements of the Trail of Promising Practices on each poster: monitoring and evaluation, auntyship, leadership and mentoring, participatory visual and arts-based methods and youth-group model. Everyone was invited to reflect on the different elements, using sticky notes to add different ideas and thoughts to the posters. We discussed the different ideas that were added to each poster and thought about ways to create and deepen a shared understanding of these elements. The discussion highlighted how important participating in MTW was for everyone. We talked about the growth the youth noticed in themselves and positive changes and growth the adult supporters and group leaders noticed in the youth and the relationships between the youth and the adult supporters. The morning activities reminded us how important it is to come together and intentionally create space for young Indigenous peoples to connect. After spending the morning together, the group piled into cars and drove to Kahnawá:ke.
Visiting Kahnawá:ke Kahnawá:ke is a Kanien’kehá:ka community located on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River, across from Tiohtiá:ke. The group arrived at the Kahnawá:ke Survival School to meet Kwawennawi Diabo, Kahentinéhshon Alfred and Kaniehtenha:wi Jacobs. The Kahnawá:ke Survival School provides culturally based education for Kanien’kehá:ka youth living in the community and outside of it. In the forest behind the Kahnawá:ke Survival School, Kwawennawi Diabo, Kaniehtenha:wi Jacobs and Kahentinéhshon Alfred lead the group on a medicine walk. The group learned the history of the Kahnawá:ke Survival School; in 1987 in protest of language laws, parents, students and community members from Kahnawá:ke came together to create their own education system, on reserve that as centred on language and culture. On the medicine walk, the group encountered many plants at various stages of their life cycles. The early April rain signified that lots of life was about to bloom in the springtime. One of the highlights included finding a patch of kahrhakón:ha á:non’k (wild onion).
Medicine walk behind the Kahnawá:ke Survival School.
Learning about Kanien’Kehaka beadwork with Kahentinéhshon.
After the medicine walk the group gathered around the fire where Kwawennawi poured everyone cups of maple water. The group was offered a taste of strawberry corn mush, made with white corn and strawberries. In front of the fire, Kahentinéhshon set up a display of Kanien’Kehaka beadwork. She explained the unique raised style of beading while showing work created by different artists across generations, including her own. After spending time by the fire, a drive around Kahnawá:ke brought the group to the Wolf’s Den in town for some shopping and Saint-Frances-Xavier Mission. Saint-Frances-Xavier Mission has a shrine to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Indigenous Saint. People from around the world make pilgrimages to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha’s shrine. Finally, the day ended with a big dinner at Robbie’s Smoke House in Kahnawake before returning to the city.
Scenes from the day in Kahnawá:ke.
Day 2: Getting Curious & Critical
Creating Cellphilms The day opened with a sharing circle, where everyone in the group shared their favourite parts of the day before. People talked about what plants they liked the best, the joy of being together again, how hard they laughed, being inspired to spend time with the land back at home and the different roles of leaders in their communities. Next, the group moved into cellphilming (cellphone + film). Cellphilming is the process of making short films using easily accessible technology like cell phones. The group was first introduced to the concept of cellphilms, including how to create a storyboard, different techniques for filming and visual ethics. Next, two prompts were introduced. The youth were asked to make cellphilms responding to the prompt: Why are youth-groups or youth-centered spaces in the community important? A group was formed of adult supporters, creating a cellphilm responding to the prompt: What is the role of adults in creating or supporting youth-groups or youth-centred spaces? Two groups of young people worked together to created cellphilms and one group of adult supporters. The groups worked on storyboards and started filming before lunch.
Adult supporters from MTW brainstorming for their cellphilm.
Scene from cellphilm “Tongue Tied” byt youth from Eskasoni.
Critical Campus Tour Inspired by a critical campus tour at York University that Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia participated in, in November at their book launch, Leann Brown from the McGillbased implementation team of MTW created a critical campus tour for McGill University. Emilee Bews led the tour, stopping First Peoples House, Hochelaga Rock, and the Iroquois village site at the corner of Peel and Sherbrooke Street, providing deeper context to the space McGill University occupies. The tour also included the Inukshuk statue outside of the McCord Museum, Julia and Haily-May from Rankin Inlet let the group know that while the Inukshuk on Sherbrooke Street was artwork, Inukshuks have many different uses up North, including pointing to hunting camps or home and being food stashes.
Starting the critical campus tour on McGill Campus.
“My favourite memory of the trip I would have to say is, when we took our tour, and everyone was walking with everyone and we were all talking and laughing, and just getting to be around everyone and being able to connect with more than the people you travelled with was so fun”- Andie Daniels, YIWU
The Critical Campus Tour from the Spring Retreat has been further developed for the McGill Community. You can engage with the complete tour online here and learn how to develop a critical campus tour for your own institution here.
Indigenous Voices Of Today: Knowledge, Trauma and Resilience The group was so lucky to get a private tour of the exhibit “Indigenous Voices Of Today: Knowledge, Trauma and Resilience” with the curator Jonathan Laney. The exhibit is a project that sheds light on Indigenous knowledge, explores an often-traumatic shared history, and celebrates the incredible capacities of Indigenous resilience, through many different stories with video, audio and around 100 different objects, including beadwork, Inuit sunglasses, drums and a Mi'kmaq Peak Hat. One of the objects on display is a drum from Andie Daniel’s. from Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia, home community or Mistawasis Nêhiyawk. Seeing the drum on display was a reminder of what cultural objects and items have been taken from Indigenous communities. Conversations with Jonathan Laney made us hopeful about the possibility of the drum travelling home after so many years in the museum.
“Indigenous Voices Of Today: Knowledge, Trauma and Resilience” at the McCord Museum.
Drum from Mistawasis Nêhiyawk.
Day 3: Screening, Creating & Celebrating
Cellphilm Screening
Starting the Youthfesto
The final day started with a sharing circle, where the group reflected on what they had done the day before and what had spoken to them in the exhibit “Indigenous Voices Of Today: Knowledge, Trauma and Resilience”. Next, the group gathered together to watch the three cellphilms that had been created the day before. The two cellphilms created by youth highlighted how youth groups and safe spaces for youth are important to meet the immediate needs of youth as well as how these groups and spaces can have positive impacts on young people over long-term engagement. The cellphilm by the group of adult supporters showed the behind scenes of what goes on to support or create youth spaces in the community. After watching all the films, the group discussed what they saw, and what was similar between the films. what was different and which audiences would benefit from watching the films. As a trilogy, the cellphilms spoke to why youth groups and youth-centred spaces are important for communities.
After watching the cellphilms, the group moved into the next activity, creating a Youthfesto. The Youthfesto activity was based on the Girlfesto. The Girlfesto was produced in 2017 when youth from across the globe came together as a call to end violence against women and girls. Some of the youth and adult supporters present at the retreat had helped create the Girlfesto. Building on the original Girlfesto and the conversations over the retreat about the importance and impact of youth groups and youth-centred spaces, the group started to build the foundations of a Youthfesto. Flip charts were set up around the room with different prompts or call to actions: Our Vision is …. To Realize This Vision We Need To…. We Urge Stakeholders To…. As Youth We Commit To… As Adults We Commit To…
The group was first introduced to the idea of a manifesto and the Girlfesto was used as an example of a youth-driven manifesto. After each prompt was introduced, the group moved around the room reading each prompt and adding post-it notes of different ideas, calls to actions, dreams, commitments and more. As the flipcharts started to fill up, the group gathered to read each flip chart and start to identify connections between the calls to actions, commitments and the conversations and art that had come out of the retreat so far. The group agreed on the next steps to create a draft document of all the ideas that could be circulated and shared with everyone.
Creating the Youthfesto.
You see can the MTW Youthfesto here and follow this activity plan to create your very own here!
Community Connections To finish off the retreat, folks from the MTW network at McGill University and the community in Tiohtiá:ke were invited to join the group for lunch, art-making and to celebrate the work of the youth from MTW. Over the course of lunch people created collages about connections, drawings about relationships and contributed to the adult commitments of the Youthfesto. The work from MTW was celebrated with a series of readings and singing. Firstly, Haily-May and Julia from Rankin Inlet performed throat singing. Next, Hanna Battiste from Eskasoni read from her poetry book Out Of Darkness, followed by Andie Daniels reading from the self-titled Young Indigenous Women’s Utopia book, and Zachary, Andie, Harmony and Melody from Yong Indigenous Women’s Utopia reading from their book KÎYÂNAW OCÊPIHK. Finally, Nichelle from Eskasoni reading from the Healing With the Seven Sacred Teachings colouring book. As the event was wrapping up, attendees were expressing how happy they were to have attended and how much they were looking forward to seeing what else was to come from MTW.
Haily-May and Julia throat singing at the Community connections event.
Youth from MTW.
Conclusion The Spring Retreat was an important event to connect and re-connect the youth from MTW and the adults who support this work. The event highlighted just how much amazing work has happened in each community as part of MTW and what amazing work can happen when youth have a space to come together. After the retreat, the Youthfesto was finalized and the Trail of Promising Practices continued to be developed. Stay up to date with the work of MTW:
Project Website: mcgill.ca/morethanwords/
Principal Investigator
Project Coordinator
Dr. Claudia Mitchell claudia.mitchell@mcgill.ca McGill University
Leann Brown leann.brown@mcgill.ca McGill University
Acknowledgements We are grateful to the girls and young women in Eskasoni, Treaty 6 and Rankin, as well as their community leaders, families and academic supporters for sharing with us their stories and art-work. Thank you to Leann Brown, Angela MacDonald, Grace Skahan, Ramy Gorgis and Emilee Bews for their support in hosting this event. Special thanks to Emily Booker for compiling this report. More Than Words is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), The Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation and Women and Gender-Equity Canada.