Traditional Cultural Camp

Here are some more photos from the Traditional Cultural Camp held at Rundle Mission. 

The Teepee the youth built on the first day

There were some nights were some youth slept inside!

Inside of the Teepee

I helped one of the youth to build a Teepee inside the Teepee, for her pet ladybug

The boys learned to prepare and smoke the meat for the feast held later in the week

Canoe Pictures!

Augustana and the Traditional Cultural Camp! 

Getting set up 

First group in the canoes

The other youth cooling off in the water 

The 2 groups, 1 swimming 1 canoeing 

"STROKE" 

Bringing down more canoes 

Our wonderful instructors 

A merman the kids made at the beach 

Prevailed Partnership!

Yesterday marked day 3 of the 5 day Traditional Cultural Camp that has been put together by pooled funding from 3 organizations, Maskwacis Justice Society, the Howard Buffalo Memorial Centre (HBMC) and Samson Cree Nation Justice and Legal Support. The camp is being held at Rundle Mission where about 25 youth, 5 elders, countless guest speakers and 10 Youth Workers are being hosted. The camp is highly focused on teaching the youth about the Cree culture. 

Wednesday was a day that I organized a partnership with the University of Alberta, Augstana's Outdoor Education Faculty to bring canoes and teach the youth canoeing on the lake. We met at Miqueleon Lake, where the day was spent canoeing and swimming in the water. Augustana provided us 2 highly equipped facilitators, two 10 man canoes, and two 2 man canoes, as well as PFDs and paddles.

It was a perfect day for the kids to be out on the water, it was refreshing to swim and beautiful warm weather to be on the lake. The kids really enjoyed themselves learning about canoeing and repeatedly asked to get back out on the water. 

Paula gets Published in SOS Magazine!!

Paula here at MJS did a full write up about Maskwacis Justice Society and the programs offered which has been published right in the middle of SOS magazine!!!

This editions cover

What is SOS magazine?

"At SOS Children’s Safety Magazine we pride ourselves in being recognized as a viable resource for preventative educational material in Canada. Our publication was founded in 2002 and has grown substantially over the last nine years in readership and circulation. By providing new innovative design and relevant content through hard copy and online presence, our magazine has attracted a captivated audience across the nation. Last year in 2010 we successfully delivered over 260,000 copies of the publication and received honourable mention from the country’s top political leaders, law enforcement agencies, and educational faculties.

Topics include teaching children and parents alike about bullying, peer pressure, the huge crystal meth epidemic, teen suicide and much more. We guarantee that no other publication covers more safety topics.

It is this level of reputable awareness that has enabled us to go above and beyond the boundaries of our pages by opening new doors for overcoming challenging issues faced by teens on a day to day basis. Through school counselling presentations, in partnership with non-profit organizations such as Saffron, and presenting our excellence scholarship “The Joshua Hunt Safety Award” SOS Magazine has not only created a vehicle for teens to source out answers and solutions, but also given financial support to further their post secondary education.

This is a company where we truly are “Keeping Communities Safe One Child at a Time.”  "  (www.soskids.ca). 

For more information on SOS go to their website: http://www.soskids.ca/

Paulas article! 

A Quick Clarification

     I just wanted to briefly clarify what this blog is. This blog, started as a personal account of my summer experience as an intern with Maskwacis Justice Society, however, throughout the summer it has been reshaped.

     There are some instances where the entries are specific and my own personal accounts, but there are other parts where I refer to Maskwacis Justice Society. When I am talking about Maskwacis Justice Society, as an organization, these are not things that I have done myself.

     I want to recognize that in the blog when I state Maskwacis Justice Society, I am referring to this organization, and it is work that is completed beyond myself.  It is work done my members of the organization and community volunteers. 

     The blog shifts from personal accounts, to accounts run by Maskwacis Justice Society. When I refer to the organization, it is work that is done as a whole. 

Samson Cree Nation PowWow !

This weekend was the Samson Cree Nation PowWow which was amazing to see. I was able to go Sunday evening,  where Luci and Paula taught me about the PowWow, and about some of the things that were going on. I have been to PowWow's before, but never one this large, and it was AMAZING!

Inside the Arbor, totally packed!

Alberta Health Services Come to MJS

Eating and sharing stories

Alberta Health Services brought a group out to Maskwacis Justice Society on Friday. The group came out, and were able to experience picking and learning about sweet grass from a community Elder, Norma Crane. During this time I was able to talk with some of the teens about issues they felt faced by Aboriginals in Canada. It was good to be able to exchange stories and experiences with people from other communities. A huge thank you to the community Elder, Norma Crane, who shared her wisdom and teaching with myself and the group of youth.
For lunch we had bannock tacos, and Paula taught me how to make bannock! :) We all ate together as a group and in the afternoon the group made collages about positive self-identification.

Making Bannock!! :)

Yum!