Indigenous Youth Call for Meaningful Action on Reconciliation: Alberta, Step It Up! ¶
By: AleciaSkye on Nov. 7, 2024, 10:28 a.m.
A new article on CBC discusses how Alberta Indigenous youth calls for more meaningful action on reconciliation in Alberta. The article outlines that 39% of Alberta's Indigenous youth feel nuetral on the provinces efforts to reconcile, while 22% believe the province is committed. One youth say that he is frustrated with the Alberta government's prioritization of resource development over the well-being of Indigenous communities. The youth call for more long-term action to address historical injustices and system barriers in contemporary situations. The article really discusses how more reconciliation efforts are needed for indigenous communities to be empowered and healthy, and an emphasis on basic needs being met. Despite the challenges, the article highlights that Indigenous youth find that there is hope for the future of reconciliation and when driven by compassion, reconciliation and embracing of culture that the barriers hindering growth for Indigenous communities will crash ultimately, leaving more pathways for individuals to thrive in their communities, and in the province.
We see things such as mental health struggles, addiction, resource deficiency, child-care costs and accessibility to education as significant barriers to Indigenous communities and within our local communities for our Indigenous populations. In response to this call for action, the Alberta government has acknowledged the report and claimed they have made progress in economic reconciliation, education and health within these communities, however, youth like Logan Longchamp have rebuttled to this by saying that there is still a huge lack of these resources in plenty of Indigenous communties in Alberta, and say that we need more commuity-based job opportunties for Indigenous people. Even though the response to the youth's call to action brought about a consideration and response from the Alberta government, the youth stress that for true efforts, we need to go beyond and make real efforts to reconcile such as access to education, mental health support and job opportunities. In order for our Indigenous communties and people to thrive, we need to ensure that we are making sustainable efforts towards reconciliation.
I find this article compelling because it highlights a crucial issue that the Alberta government cannot, and must not continue to falter in its efforts toward reconciliation. The government's response, albeit claimed progress, falls short of addressing the real concerns raised by the youth calling for action. If we are genuinely committed to reconciling the long history of cultural genocide, we need to put these efforts (and claims from the youth) at the forefront of our efforts. Without change, we are reaffirming the need for change without actually acting on this premise. Echoing emptry promises to these communities without bringing forth access to healthcare, education and meeting basic needs we perpetuate the system barries posed on Indigenous communties fueled by colonial narratives and turning a blind eye to the inequalities that continue to harm Indigenous communities.
Here is a link to the article https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/indigenous-youth-alberta-reconciliation-1.7372026