The L.E.A.F. Initiative is a Commonwell program to support capacity, resiliency and growth in the communities we call home.

The TRACKS tipi – A space where Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth build relationships

2505 Pioneer Rd. PeterboroughK9J 6Y1

Target Completion Date: September 30, 2022

What is this project about?

In 2021, TRACKS (Trent Aboriginal Cultural Knowledge & Science) Youth Program, in collaboration with Camp Kawartha, and local Indigenous Knowledge Holders erected a tipi at the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre. The space offers Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth the opportunity to explore the intersections of Indigenous and Western STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and math), to build relationships with each other and with Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Holders, and to engage in barrier-free (financially accessible and inclusive) opportunities to learn in an outdoor environment in a hands-on, interactive way.

Currently, the space does not have seating and requires improvements to its access pathway to make it more accessible to participants. Funding for this project would support the development of benches made by an Indigenous craftsperson, the development of a proper wood shed (we are currently hand-building a temporary fixture) for wood to be easily accessed when hosting fires at the space, as well as accessibility updates to the pathway that connects the Camp Kawartha Environment Centre parking lot to the space.

Additionally funding for this project will provide resourcing for TRACKS Youth Program staff to facilitate barrier-free programming in 2022. One of the TRACKS’ program intentions is to empower all youth to be leaders in their schools and communities regardless of age, gender or background. This funding will enable TRACKS to offer a range of seasonal programming at no cost to participants and will eliminate financial barriers to inclusion. Funding for resourcing will enable TRACKS to purchase and maintain fire keeping materials, medicines for educating and ceremony (such as sage and sweetgrass), and delivery costs/materials for programming.

Despite Covid-19, in 2021 TRACKS was able to adapt its programs to support meaningful connections with over 6,000 Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. Updates to the tipi space will enable us to continue strengthen our collaborations with First Nations and local non-profit partners to offer inclusive, educational, and interactive learning and relationship building opportunities for youth.

Why is this project important to the community?

While we do not yet know the long-term impacts of the pandemic on youth, testimony from TRACKS Youth Program participants has made it clear that access to accessible spaces, interactive land-centric learning activities, and in-person relationship building opportunities offer a valuable sense of connection that's been lost for many youth for the last year and a half due to Covid-19. “Definitely, the teachings alone made me feel so connected and I felt even more connected when we went out onto the land and actually partook in all the activities we did” - a TRACKS Oshkwazin Indigenous Youth Leadership Program participant's response to the question: Do you feel more connected to your Indigenous identity? How so? “When the instructor talked about giving back to the land it was making me think about all the things we do take from the earth, most of which are things that can take several years to come back, everyone takes from the land, I have tried to give back by doing things like planting some plants or trying to be mindful about how much plastic I use to not harm the environment but it’s something that everyone should think more about and we should give more back to the earth” - a TRACKS Education workshop participant (April, 2021) The research article "Two-Eyed Seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together Indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing" (Bartlett, Marshall, Marshall, 2012) states (P. 337), “We need to recognize that stories, songs, crafts, practices, family, community, language, ceremonies, and connectivity with the land are important in the transmission of Traditional Knowledge.” In order to support valuable connections with Knowledge Holders and opportunities for the transmission of Traditional Knowledge through intergenerational connectivity, the Peterborough/Nogojiwang community needs land-centred outdoor spaces that are inclusive and accessible.