In the We Matter toolkit for Indigenous youth, co-founder T’áncháy Redvers shares a video talking about how they identify as two-spirit. They explain the history (that two-spirited people were honoured and celebrated by the Indigenous people who called Canada home, and were thought to embody great wisdom). Then they talk about how difficult it was to tell their family and friends today, for fear of being rejected or misunderstood. It’s illustrative of how, in a few centuries, the slow spread of colonial ideas about puritanical propriety have now created a climate where what was once revered and embraced is now feared and stigmatized.
While belief systems tend to change slowly, sometimes progress can happen very quickly. Such is the case with We Matter, a national Indigenous-youth-led campaign and non-profit dedicated to instilling hope and healing in Indigenous youth. What started as an online campaign in 2017 – #WeMatter – soon became a charitable organization that raised money to spread the message. Not long afterward, We Matter was a national organization. Created by youth, run by youth, and geared toward giving Indigenous youth a voice and the power to create their own circumstances and outcomes.
T’áncháy Redvers and their brother Kelvin were the founders of the We Matter movement, and they are still very visible in the organization. When you go to the Indigenous Youth toolkit section of the website, you’ll see Kelvin and T’áncháy in many videos, with titles like ‘Land As Strength’, ‘Colonization and Our Communities’, or ‘Self-Care’. There is a lot of content, and a lot of depth, in the toolkit.
The toolkit is extensive, with ample resources for Indigenous youth but also mini-toolkits for very young children, a pathfinding and advocacy guide, and a two-spirit dictionary. There are also toolkits for teachers and support workers who want to increase their cultural knowledge and gain a greater understanding of the youth with whom they work.
“Our toolkits and our pathfinding guides come from the need to build a relationship with administration and support workers who work directly with Indigenous children and youth.”
Alannah McKay, the managing director of We Matter, is located in Treaty One territory in Winnipeg. She, like everyone else there, is an Indigenous youth who came to the organization after seeing the messages of hope shared through their online campaign, messages like this one:
In this #WeMatterCampaign video, #TheGrizzliesMovie actor Paul Nutarariaq invites viewers to look for the small opportunities to change their life. On #WorldSuicidePreventionDay we remind you that “I matter, you matter, we matter.” For more info visit: https://t.co/ZzFWByqrMs pic.twitter.com/0Lti0vy6US
— The Grizzlies Movie (@GrizzliesMovie) September 10, 2019
Alannah speaks very highly of the toolkits and resources We Matter has made available to youth and educators, but it is when she speaks about their Ambassadors of Hope program that she really lights up. Every year, We Matter hosts and trains up to 30 Indigenous youth, who then become the voices of the organization. They are from all across Canada, and they connect with the other youth in their communities, either through one-on-one mentorship or through communal activities.
The Ambassadors focus on the individual community where they are – whether it’s Métis Crossing in Smoky Lake Alberta, or Kwadasha First Nation in BC, or Hay River, Northwest Territories, the home of the We Matter founders. Each community has different needs and has persevered through different tragedies. The Ambassadors meet the youth in those communities where they are, connecting with them by talking about their own experiences and breaking down stigmas related to mental health or trauma. Sometimes they sign on to the Hope Pact, signalling their intention to choose hope as they move forward in their lives.
Something new that We Matter has been able to offer the past few years is granting opportunities. They are a little different than the ‘granting opportunities’ we picture when we think of money allocated for a study, or a project. Often, these grants are a few dollars so that kids can have snacks when they attend a basket-making workshop, or a few hundred dollars to increase accessibility and provide transportation to a roundtable youth discussion on hardship, hope, and healing. The grantees are all Indigenous youth between the age of 13-30, and Alannah says their projects are all about connection.
“They want to connect with each other and they want to be very land-based and cultural based, and about 80-90% of the time they’ve done their workshops and made their connections outside.”
Attendees at the 2024 CPA convention in Ottawa had the opportunity to purchase orange Every Child Matters T-shirts. This year the profits from T-shirt sales went to We Matter, where Alannah says the money is spread across Canada in a myriad of ways – but always straight to the youth.
“Donations go directly toward youth engagement and youth projects, and to the events Ambassadors of Hope hold in their own communities.”
With groups like We Matter speaking directly to the youth, there is a lot of hope that progress is can now be made more quickly, and that every day Indigenous youth are feeling more welcome, more included, and more supported within their communities and without.
“You can choose to make your community a better place. An accepting place. A respectful place. And by choosing to accept people who are different from you, you are making your community stronger.”
- T’áncháy Redvers, founder of #WeMatter