Facing the future
Youth from around the world gather in Rae-Edzo

Kim Barraclough
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 02/99) - An Aboriginal Youth Conference took place in Rae-Edzo from July 25-29.

The 87 delegates -- from all over Canada and a group from the Philippines -- gathered in the North to discuss many pressing issues facing aboriginals around the world today.

"We just wanted to bring young aboriginal people together and compare and contrast what is happening," said Morven MacPherson, youth co-ordinator of the event.

MacPherson said that the groups in attendance have many issues in common.

"All of the groups that were selected to come here are dealing with outside industry."

MacPherson said that many parallels can be drawn between issues that all of the youth are up against.

According to Gabriel Rich, who came to the conference from Davis Inlet in Labrador, the conference was a good idea.

"I enjoyed all the workshops and looking for solutions that will help me in my community," said Rich.

"Everything we talked about is really affecting me."

Rich mentioned that sniffing toxicants such as glue and gasoline is a big problem in Davis Inlet and he said the extensive talks about addictions at the conference were beneficial, but not fruitful.

"I was looking for an answer, but I didn't find one," said Rich.

"It did get me thinking though -- it was good."

For Natasha Black from Rae-Edzo, there were other aspects of the camp that were important and appealing.

"Meeting people and learning about other cultures," was what made the conference most interesting for Black.

Linda Mantla, also from Rae-Edzo, said the conference was informative, adding, "We learned that we should listen to our elders because they're wise."

Aside from learning from each other, the delegates also had a chance to listen and take part in several special presentations.

They heard from such individuals as NWT Commissioner Dan Marion, North Slave MLA James Rabesca and Fred Berhens, the mayor of Rae-Edzo.

They also attended talks by people such as Rosa Mantla, who gave her story about life on the land; Lucy Lafferty, who talked about cultural history and Bertha Rabesca, who talked about issues such as land and education.

The conference took place at the Chief Jimmy Bruneau school and delegates stayed in the residence there.