Michael on APTN InFocus on Indigenous Youth Organizing
From organizing rallies and walks to creating platforms for Indigenous people to speak out – young Indigenous youth are on the move and their actions are put InFocus.
Original air date: October 25, 2023
Michael’s interview begins at 12:36 and concludes at 25:15! Please have a listen to all the voices on the episode if you can!
Our next guest joining us here is Michael Redhead Champagne he is a community leader from Winnipeg's North End and is constantly working towards a more building a more compassionate and welcoming world. He joins us now. Michael thank you so much for being here today, we really do appreciate it and I know you're you're busy with a lot of different work and initiatives. This show is all about young Indigenous people becoming the faces and voices of activism; more and more are starting to come which is great to see!
How important is it for young Indigenous people starting to use their voice and starting to do the work that some of their predecessors were doing, how important is it that Indigenous people becoming the faces and voices of activism?
I believe that it is essential for Indigenous young people take up the mantles that our former Generations have fought for. Even for me being here on this show today it's important for me to say that I'm not here to speak over youth voices I'm an advocate for children youth and families and so I make space for young people that have that lived experience in different systems so that they can have a say in the solutions that impact them. Too often Indigenous young people have systems or people or decision makers doing things to them or deciding things for them and so I've been working really hard over the years to develop models strategies and tips and tricks so that we can empower Indigenous young people to participate in some of these system systems that have historically harmed them their communities or their families and give them the tools that they need to be able to lean into their teachings and their culture so that the Indigenous knowledge and science in all of our histories and backgrounds can help inform the way that we move forward in a good way.
Was there a certain point, something happened or have you just always been speaking out and and sharing your mind?
It's been a long time for me! I've been speaking out since I was probably 10 years old and I think a lot of our listeners and Indigenous young people know the moment when you're sitting and there's a big group of people that are all maybe listening to somebody talk and then somebody starts saying something that you disagree with or maybe it's something that you're offended by or it feels disrespectful to you. And what do you do when you're a kid? You put your hand up and so from the time I was 10 years old and I first put my hand up and I said “I don't think that this is kind”, “I don't think this is respectful”, “let's do what we can to take care of everybody”', I've been on this trajectory of trying to be a helper. In our language, in Swampy Cree, N dialect, Ininew we say “oscapewis” it's that “helper”.
You're trying to do a really great initiative with trying to bring Swampy Cree to some of the youth in schools, can you talk a little bit about that work?
Yeah! I found that the learning my language and learning my culture has been essential for me in understanding who I am and so teachings and phrases like “mino bimadisiwin” which means the good life or teachings like “wahkotowin” which talks about the law of kinship, inform me in the work that I'm doing. I often say, especially when I'm working in non-indigenous systems I'm not working towards reconciliation - I'm working towards mino bimadisiwin and the good life for everybody because for me, in mino bimadisiwin, we don't have to break our hearts as Indigenous people in front of non-Indigenous people just to say that we're human beings. In mino bimadisiwin, we get to be our full authentic selves we get to laugh loudly, we get to joke, we get to smile, we get to visit, we get to share food and we get to share language and culture! At the St John's library in the North End of Winnipeg, those librarians already have a great relationship with many of the students that are struggling with child welfare. Even in their education, maybe even in the justice system as well and many of those children could benefit from learning their language. This past summer we were able to create the Ininimotan language Nest at the St John's Library where we were able to meet once a week to talk about the language and learn how to introduce ourselves. We had a CD player, we called her grandmother kokum on the CD player, who was teaching all of us beginning language speakers how to speak, then we would share that with one another and that's how we approached it. We are trying to just take advantage of the tools and resources that our knowledge Keepers left for us and try to use that use that knowledge to live a good life.
You're out in the community constantly, your boots on the ground type of of work a lot. What are you seeing in the community some of the needs (or lack thereof), some of the things they (young people) need?
One thing I see constantly that indigenous young people are asking for and this maybe as a Manitoba phenomenon because of the high rates of child welfare that Indigenous young people are experiencing here but I often see indigenous youth talking about the importance of connecting with their family and building a strong network of kin. We've even heard it already on this show about how important kinship is and I think that that's the number one thing I'm seeing from indigenous young people saying that they want strong families, they want to be able to take care of their relatives but they also want to be taken care of as relatives too. Too often, systems don't ask young people what they want and so my hope in the work that I do is that I can empower Indigenous youth to speak up in those places and be a helper in those moments where maybe they're uncertain about what to say and they maybe just need a bit more encouragement. Sometimes what they need is a little bit of system knowledge; “this is how the system operates”; all you have to do is be yourself, share your suggestion and then there are a lot of helpers out there that want to empower Indigenous youth that will figure out the details later! What we need from the Indigenous young people is their energy, their spirit and their heart!
How can Indigenous youth get out there more and speak up more if they don't know how the system works? How can they start to use their voice and become you know advocates themselves?
One thing that is important for all young people is to be able to identify what your skill sets are. A lot of young people will talk negatively of themselves and they'll think “I'm not good at things” and so a big part of the work I do is trying to motivate and encourage young people to identify and understand what gifts they carry. When you are able to identify and be honest about the gifts that you carry, not only are you going to be able to practice those gifts on a regular basis (that will improve your mental health and your confidence) but it also will skill you up to the point where you're now able to share that gift in a constructive way. At one point I was the kid who talked too much, now it's my job to be a public speaker! I want to encourage those kids out there that maybe they're a little too much, maybe they talk too much (like I did), maybe they got too much energy, just too much! For those kids that are too much: you're not too much, you just have a big heart and we need to find the places to put your energy and your gifts. I think that often activism is a great place for those young people, if only they have the adults and the supporters to guide them in a good direction and make sure that as they are sharing their suggestions, energy, ideas, enthusiasm and their impatience (!) because let's be honest we all know young people! [If only] they are supported and they have the knowledge and the mentorship they need to make constructive decisions that allow them to live that good life we were talking about!
Have you seen more Indigenous youth/young people speaking out, like have you seen more young activists coming out and speaking out over the years? I mean I know there wasn't a ton, a few years ago but I think I've seen more. Have you seen more, especially around the Winnipeg area?
I think what we're really seeing now, is Indigenous young people are are applying their leadership skills in many different sectors and so yes we are seeing a lot of Indigenous youth that are leaders in activism. We are also seeing Indigenous young people that are leaders in culture, in dancing, in singing, but also [leading] in non-indigenous systems as well, we're seeing Indigenous youth that are pushing at the forefront to improve health care for young people, we're seeing Indigenous youth that are pushing so that parents are supported when they're working to bring the children home in child welfare and that young people that are aging out of CFS and often struggle with homelessness or housing insecurity have the resources and supports that they need. So, I'm really encouraged by the depth of Indigenous youth leadership that I'm seeing across Canada right now because it's not just activism, it's in media and many other places as well.
I know you you have a children's book I wanted to touch on on this children's book you have coming out are you able to share with us a bit of this this book that you have uh it's supposed to be released to the new year right uh without giving away too too much are you able to share with us what what this project of yours is?
Yes! So, the book that's coming out is called We Need Everyone and it's for Kids 2 to 6 years old; it's illustrated by Tiff Bartell and published by HighWater Press; it's coming out January 30th, just in time for I love to read month; pre-orders are available now! What this book does, is it accomplishes two things: first, it provides an instruction manual to kids to be able to identify what their gift is; the second thing it does, is it celebrates the multitude of gifts and helpers that we have in our communities. Whether you're an athlete, an artist or even a gamer you're in the book to make sure that your gift is being celebrated; so that's exactly what We Need Everyone is hoping to accomplish! Not only do I want to share this as my first kids book that helps to empower young people to find their gifts, I want to make sure that this book can get into the hands of kids and families that are struggling with their mental health or access to resources in isolated, rural and remote communities as well, so that those families and those communities that are struggling and feel alone in mental health crises or dealing with suicide are able to have additional resources that are age appropriate for kids. We can really send that strong message to the children in First Nations, Metis & Inuit communities across Canada but everywhere across Canada that we really do need everyone.
Well I know I for one I'm looking forward to to this book and I'm sure a lot of other people are uh but Michael just before we let you go given everything we've talked about and and um some of the things that you've seen where do you sort of see young indigenous people and and um young young people as a whole I suppose going with you know being leaders in in all of these different fields and being activists and speaking up where do you see all this going or where do you maybe hope to see it go in the future here?
I talk a lot about the importance of revolution and when I say revolution what I'm talking about is eliminating whole systems and replacing them with entirely new systems that are based on love equity and Justice. What I see from young people today is an impatience and an unwillingness to accept the status quo and that makes me have a lot of hope that we are going to eliminate some of these harmful systems that separate families and hurt children and we are going to see beautiful Indigenous leadership. [Leadership] that is compassionate and generous and human and laughs and shares and is connected to their heart but also makes constructive choices with their mind that are collaborative in nature and welcomes all of the different perspectives that are sitting at the table to contribute to that solution. I really see whole systems being being eliminated in the coming years and the buildup of brand new ones from Indigenous young people that are listening to the knowledge and wisdom from our ancestors.
