This is a very important topic and touches very close to home for me as many of the young people I work with are this very demographic. Many will know from my public talks that I have had many personal encounters with suicide and that ongoing tragedy is why I work as hard as I do to create hope and change systems. Please read the full report & music video released today from the Manitoba Advocate for Children & Youth.

Since the 1500’s there has been this expression “I would die for you” that people say when they want to say how they would protect the ones they love. If you know what I truly want for you, if you know what is in my heart, you would know I don’t want you to die for me - but would you live for me?

I hope that I can keep leaving comments that make people happy too - doing the same thing Ms Holmes still does for me to this day, 25 years later! I hope that my actions can fill others with happiness and motivation too.

That's the kind of teacher I want to be!

If you've ever wondered what would happen if Michael the city boy went out on the land and was asked to trap and skin his own food - this is your moment! Check out episode 6 of APTN's Michif Country to see what happens when I visited the Michif community of St. Laurent MB.

How do we organize the awesomest event in our community? Over the years I have learned about something I’m calling the 5 C’s. It includes clarity, consistency, creativity, compassion and coordination. Have a look and please feel free to share with me any other C’s that have helped you organize things in the community!

Orange Shirt Day is going to be very different this year for many reasons. For me it has to do with the holiday, the actions that (I hope) non Indigenous people will be taking and the systems change that will result from it. What are you doing to make a difference?

Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. I wanted to share some thoughts, on how urgent this situation is and how important it is for us to take action before the tragedy. Resources and links to mental health supports are included at the end.

There once was a little kid who talked too much…what happened to that little kid when they grew up? What happens when someone loves stories and speaking from a young age? Spoiler alert: that little kid was me!

What if instead of going back to normal or back to before - we re-imagined tomorrow with justice and equity informing our built environment? Jay Pitter, Community Foundations of Canada & a group of revolutionary thinkers help to inform this report and an equitable placemaking lens that everyone can use.

Everyday, aunties, cousins and relatives from every corner of our community are achieving, overcoming and winning. But the positive accomplishments rarely make headlines. We all need to work hard to change this and I have some ideas that could possibly make it so!