Youth lead the way: Native Montreal launches anti-discrimination campaign

The sound of drums beating kicked off Native Montreal’s Aboriginal Youth Against Discrimination Campaign at Place des Arts on March 22.

Native Montreal provides services to the diversified urban Aboriginal community of Montreal. Their campaign aims to eliminate racial discrimination by informing Aboriginal youth of their rights and options dealing with the issue.

“No one is born with discriminative tendencies,” said organizer Leslie Anne St. Amour. “It’s learned through social interactions. No one should feel bad for looking different.”

Setting up the first event was tough, according to St. Amour, who was also one of the stars of the short movies that were presented at Place des Arts Salon Urbain.

The campaign is backed by various organizations, such as Amnesty International, the Quebec Human Rights Commission, Montreal Youth Council and Quebec Native Women. These organizations are helping Native Montreal achieve its vision of fighting against Aboriginal youth discrimination.

“By uniting the youth we can move towards the future,” said Mohawk Elder Kevin Deer, who said the opening prayer at the event.

“In our original teachings, we were taught to respect each other,” said Deer. “Not to legislate over each other. Peace, friendship and good mind. We are brothers.”

The event had two opening acts, KZO, an Aboriginal electronic dance music artist, and Barbara Diabo and her hoop dance troupe.

“The youth are the leaders of tomorrow,” said Diabo, a Mohawk dancer and dance instructor from Kahnawake. “They lead us into the new direction because the old direction hurt us as a people. They steer us into the right direction to overcome discrimination of our people.”

Melissa Mollen Depuis, a co-founder Idle No More’s Quebec branch, also attended the event as the guest of honour, sharing a few words to the crowd of about 50.

“There are extraordinary voices to be heard here tonight,” she said. “We’ve been fighting a long time to defend the rights of Aboriginal people and looking at tonight, I think we’re one step closer to our goal of fighting youth discrimination.”

Depuis shared her support with Native Montreal, stating that Aboriginal youth fighting to defend Aboriginal youth is a step in the right direction.

“I wanted to delve into the subtle world of racism and discrimination,” said McGill University student Ashley Bach, who made the short films and guided the direction of the campaign. “I face it daily – even when I’m at school. Some people try to say that racism doesn’t exist in 2016, but that’s because they’ve never been discriminated against.”

Bach is from the Mishkeegogamang Ojibway First Nation in northwestern Ontario, though she was born in Vancouver. “I joined this campaign to give back to my community,” she said. “Joining the campaign was super cool. The organizations were very helpful and set us up with everything we needed to get this event going. It’s great for networking in the city as well as reaching out to Native youth aged 16-18.”

Aboriginal youth who want to get involved in the Aboriginal Youth Against Discrimination Campaign should contact Native Montreal at www.nativemontreal.com or 514 331-6587. “The youth can make a difference in our society,” Bach said.