MORE THAN WORDS: TRAIL FLYER

MORE THAN WORDS MORE THAN WORDS

LEARNINGS FROM INDIGENOUS-FOCUSED YOUTH-LED LEARNINGS FROM INDIGENOUS-FOCUSED YOUTH-LED SURVIVOR ENGAGEMENT THROUGH THE ARTS SURVIVOR ENGAGEMENT THROUGH THE ARTS

More Than Words is making an impact on how youth-led, Indigenous-focused, gendertransformative, arts-based activism and community research can contribute to social change.

The work of More Than Words is driven by Indigenous youth participants in Eskasoni Mi'kmaw Nation (Unama'ki, Nova Scotia), Rankin Inlet (Kangiqliniq, ᑲᖏᕿᓂᖅ, Nunavut), and Treaty 6 (the Homeland of the Métis, Saskatchewan) and responds to the specific concerns of young people aroundgender-basedviolence(GBV), colonial violence and survivor support in their communities. Youth groups use a wide array of participatory visual methods includingmural-making,cellphilming, zine-making and book publishing to connect,sharetheirlivedexperience, andadvocateforchange.

Rankin Inlet (Kangiqliniq, ᑲᖏᕿᓂᖅ) Nunavut

Eskasoni Mi'kmaw Nation (Unama'ki)

Nova Scotia

Treaty 6 (Homeland of the Métis)

Saskatchewan

Through the work of More Than Words, an Indigenous-focused, youth-led, survivor-centred national network has evolved to address the violence experienced by girls, young-women and 2SLGTBQIA+ youth. The network is sustained through the dedication of matriarchs and aunties across the country who are committed to creating youth-centred spaces within which intergenerational and intercultural mentorship and auntyship thrives and makes space for authentic relationship building and positive partnerships.

Years of youth-group work and auntyship, has supported girls and young women, in all their diversity, to become leaders who are now facilitating More Than Words work across the country. Through their transformational experience, youth leaders have developed a trail of promising practices to support a broader network in engaging young Indigenous peoples to address sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in their communities through arts-based methods. We invite you to join this network and walk the trail. Let us introduce our guiding principles and promising practices for supporting Indigenous, youth-led, social change...

More Than Words More Than Words

More Than Words More Than Words

GUIDING PRINCIPLES GUIDING PRINCIPLES

These guiding principles have emerged over years of work and learnings from community leadersandacademicsupporters and form the basis of ongoing work and relationships with Indigenous youth, Elders, and advisors. These guiding principlesunderlieandinformthe MTWtrailofpromisingpractices.

PROMISING PRACTICES PROMISING PRACTICES

Promising practices are approaches, interventions, and ways of working that have been tried out through community-based research projects and have produced positive change. The promising practices of More Than Words focus on approaches that have been successful at engaging Indigenous youth in the exploration of complex topics like gender-based violence, colonial violence and what it means to be, and support, survivors. A key consideration of the promising practices is the sustainability of work that is making a meaningful difference in the lives and communities of the young people involved.

YOUTH GROUP MODEL 1

Why work with youth in groups?

Why work with youth in groups?

Youth groups create spaces for young Indigenous people to come together in relationship with their peers to address topics that are important to them, and to engage in activism around social justice issues. Indigenous youth-led work is the strongest when it connects youth with each other. Working with young people in groups (rather than 1-on-1 or in pairs) helps to centre youth voices in ways that can be culturally specific and safe, as well as being place-specific and relevant to a particular community. Sometimes entirely youth-led and sometimes facilitated or supported by adult allies, this model fosters social connectedness and friendship by encouraging young people to be with their peers, build broader social connections in their communities, and also connect with other youth groups engaging in social justice activism. Through MTW youth group work, we see clearly that when young people come together, they become more empowered, more confident and more involved in their communities and take on mentorship and leadership roles.

2

Participatory visual methods for social change

Participatory visual methods for social change

Participatory visual methods (PVMs) use creative tools and processes to co-create knowledge with Indigenous communities and catalyze grassroots social change. Whether working with drawing, collage, zine-making, photovoice, cellphilming, beading, or mural making, PVMs invite young people to make art as a way to explore and take action on issues that matter to them. PVMs situate the power with youth, creating opportunities for creative freedom and authentic expression. Arts-based work provides an accessible space for youth to engage with complex topics like GBV, that can be challenging for young people to talk about, especially survivors and youth who may be missing the language to speak about those topics. PVMs can be adapted to meet the needs and interests of young people as well as to local and cultural contexts. Where appropriate, artwork produced through PVMs can also be made accessible to community members and other stakeholders, prompting discussion and engagement with wider audiences.

MENTORSHIP, AUNTYSHIP & YOUTH LEADERSHIP

3 Matriarchs of Matriarchs of today, matriarchs of tomorrow today, matriarchs of tomorrow

Mentoring relationships are central to work that empowers Indigenous youth to make positive changes in their communities. Kinship with Indigenous peer mentors and aunties supports youth to build stronger connections to culture and traditional knowledge, which can in turn foster a greater sense of belonging, self-love, and confidence. Aunties support community connections and facilitate the involvement of community role models and access to culturally relevant learning opportunities. Positive mentoring relationships cultivate safe spaces for youth to explore their passions, take on challenges, and build leadership skills. Through MTW, we see mentorship providing opportunities to build intergenerational and intercultural bonds and where frameworks are modelled for youth to step into leadership and peer-mentor roles when opportunities arise.

AMPLIFYING YOUTH VOICES

4 Defined roles for adults Defined roles for adults

Amplifying youth voices means supporting youth in bringing their work to new audiences and spaces, where their messages, artwork, and calls for change have wider potential for impact. Respecting the ongoing and informed consent of young people in the amplification of their work, this practice follows the principles of “nothing about us, without us,” as it supports young people to have their voices heard by audiences they might not typically have access to, including networks of people who have the power and ability to make decisions that can directly impact youth. Amplifying youth voices means finding appropriate mediums, avenues, resources, funding, logistics and support for gaining greater reach and impact for the work that youth are doing in their communities.

An ongoing process of documenting impact in action

An ongoing process of documenting impact in action

Evaluation generally looks at the impact or outcomes of a project and is often thought of as a time-consuming and externally-required process of justification. However, studying change can be re-imagined through an organic evaluation approach, and become a genuinely helpful process during Indigenous youth-led work. An organic evaluation approach studies change by “catching” the impact as it happens, creating an ongoing narrative on ‘what difference’ is being made. Nothing is too small to note in this narrative, comments from event attendees, social media reactions, and other candid community moments are at the core of organic evaluation. These traces of real-world feedback can be collected by youth themselves and/or adult allies and can be compiled in simple and accessible charts. Critical to this approach is the process of Indigenous youth coming together to reflect on their work and the organic traces of impact. This process of reflection is most powerful when grounded in the same creativity of the youth group work, whereby youth create and curate exhibitions of their work and responses to it.

PARTNERSHIPS & NETWORKS

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Why partnerships and networks are so crucial

Why partnerships and networks are so crucial

Developing and maintaining meaningful relationships and partnerships is crucial to supporting young Indigenous peoples in their communities. This promising practice recognizes the array of experience, skills and expertise youth need access to in order to create, sustain, and amplify youth group work. These resources are sometimes available within the community and it can be helpful to build relationships and partnerships across communities and sectors to strengthen a network of individuals and groups with shared passions and commitment to supporting Indigenous youth-led work. In MTW these networks have been essential for knowledge sharing, preventing burn out, and opening up opportunities for youth to connect with other youth and adult allies. The authentic partnerships between community scholars, youth, and universities have been particularly impactful for the MTW youth groups.