The document outlines the Maskwacis Cultural College's 7th Annual Youth Summit, coordinated by Jerilee Buffalo and attended by 62 participants and multiple partners. Key activities included sharing circles, presentations on identity, and discussions on youth engagement and cultural preservation. The event emphasized the importance of language and culture, encouraging youth to connect and participate actively in their communities.

1. .
RespectfullyPreparedby
Manisha Khetarpal & Jerilee
Buffalo
Maskwacis Cultural
College
2 Saddleback Rd. N
Maskwacis, AB
T0C 1N0
Phone (780) 585-3925
Fax (780) 585-2080
www.mccedu.ca
July 16, 2019.
Hosted at the Maskwacis
Cultural College library.
WORKING TEAM
Youth Summit Working Group - Darryl
Montour (Student), Jerilee Buffalo
(Summer Student), Quincey Buffalo
(Student), Violet Soosay (Culture and
language) and Manisha Khetarpal
(Supervisor)
MASKWACIS’
7TH
ANNUAL
YOUTH
SUMMIT
P
A
R
T
N
E
R
S
 MCC student services
 MCC culture and language, MCC
library
 Maskwacis Mental Health Services
 Alberta Health Services
 Maskwacis Community Health
Promotion
 Samson Community Wellness
 Kasohkowew Child Wellness
 Tobacco is Sacred group (Smoking
cessation community project)
 Summer Youth Skill development
program
 Office of the Child and Youth
Advocate
 Scotia Bank Youth Mentoring
program
 Policywise.
MENTORING YOUTH
JERILEE
BUFFALO, OUR
SUMMER
STUDENT AND
COORDINATOR
FOR THE
YOUTH
SUMMIT

2. YOUTH SUMMIT COORDINATOR FEEDBACK
“Working and coordinating the youth
summit was a great learning experience for
me. It was a lot of work to organize and set
up the event. I learned how to coordinate
an event with the help of my team. I was
glad that the event went well and very
successful. Planning and working on this
project helped sharpen and improve my
social, organizational, and professional
skills. I will take the learning experience
from this project and hopefully have more
success in planning other events like this in
the future.”
- Jerilee Buffalo, Summer student
coordinator, 2019
ENGAGING YOUTH WITH A
SHARING CIRCLE BY DARRYL
MONTOUR
Information shared in sharing circle
• My background with my family both
parents speak Cree. I am learning
slowly. I am grateful to be a Nehiyaw
iskew.
• I grew up in Ottawa. Both my parents
went to residential school and they did
not teach me Cree because they were
beaten up for speaking Cree.
• Older generation corrects us and we
find it hard to speak. I grew up in
cultural events. My mother is a Cree
speaker and my father is a Dene
speaker – however my parents did not
speak in Cree or Dene. We live in
Maskwacis and we inherited my
mothers culture. My advice is to go to
ceremonies. That’s where I am
learning. I learned from the Maskwacis
Cultural College here.
STORY IN NUMBERS
• 6 presenters
• 62 participants
• 4 displays
• 1 ACE test
• 12 handouts
• 1 youth coordinator
• 4 summer youth skills program
coordinators working with
Ermineskin, Louis Bull, Samson, and
Montana
JOIN US AGAIN NEXT YEAR IN JULY 2020
• Interested in presenting or attending
about points of contact for youth, face
to face dialogue, trust building,
shared understanding, identify
avenues to connect with youth, and
develop creative ways for youth to be
involved or give feedback.
• MCC librarian Manisha Khetarpal
• mkhetarpal@mccedu.ca
L
U
N
C
H
ELDER FROM LOUIS BULL: CREATING
SPACE AND BE RESPECTFUL.
It is our life the way it is now. I hear people say,
‘I lost my language. I lost my culture. You have
not lost. Our language is important. Our
language is sacred. Power. We don’t say good
bye in Cree. Mwestas. To go back. Don’t be
afraid to speak. If you mispronounce so be it.
Get a group or club. Some of the barriers are
technology, TV, drugs and alcohol. We can
never lose who we are. Always be proud of who
you are. Keep your head up. Not your nose up. I
changed growing up with my grandparents.
Don’t give up.
Elder’s advice: Go outside and educate
people about our way of life.
P
R
E
S
E
N
T
E
R
S
Top: Denise Montour with “Identity as
Wellness”.
Bottom: Patricia Wolfe with “Making
Connections”