Îyarhe Nakoda Youth Program
Through a holistic and cultural approach, the Îyarhe Nakoda Youth Program (INYP) empowers Stoney Nakoda youth to support healing, growth, well-being and community connections.
INYP works closely with community Elders and knowledge keepers, for program development and implementation. Elders are brought in to engage directly with the youth to ensure that the services delivered are culturally appropriate and to create generational connections.
Featured programming includes hosting youth-focused events such as round dances and pow wows, online after-school tutoring classes that provide culturally aware educational support and summer youth camps to positively impact identity, self-worth, skills and a sense of belonging.
Gabriel Young, Honouring Life/Youth Programs Coordinator
Gabriel is the programs coordinator for the Youth Program, a Registered Social Worker and a proud member of the Stoney Nakoda Nation.
Gabriel has cultivated his knowledge and experience through youth work, substance-use prevention and well-being programming. He is an advocate for adequate service delivery for Indigenous Peoples.
Gabriel works with a holistic approach and holds traditional teachings and values at the forefront, merging those important practices with contemporary social work tools.
His passion is to work with individuals, families, and communities progress towards overall wellness and healing.
Danielle Lefthand, Youth Outreach Worker
Glowing Rainbow Woman, also known as Danielle Lefthand, lives and works in Mînî Thnî and fluently speaks both Stoney and English. She's worked and volunteered with several Stoney-based organizations, seeking out roles that allow her to give a voice to and impact education: as board members with the Stoney Education Board, Chief's Office of Education and currently, Making Treaty 7.
She draws on these invaluable experiences in her current role as youth outreach worker with Stoney Health Services. A role she loves, in part, because she is able to create programs for youth that boost their self-esteem, build confidence, capacity, and identity.
She is a passionate advocate for community youth and feels honoured when she is able to gain their trust. Danielle noted, "It warms my heart to see our youth interested in learning more about our culture and traditions and most importantly our language. Witnessing them learn and work hard makes me realize that is how we stop the intergenerational trauma ripple effect and start to heal from it."
She's heartened by the positive feedback that the team has received through their community-guided programs, noting that youth have expressed feeling safe in the space provided and enjoyed learning more about Stoney People's history and past.
On the personal side, Danielle is a former senior Chiniki Princess. Along with her fellow Mînî Thnî Two Spirits, she was one of the first Treaty 7 groups to participate in the Calgary Pride Parade.
Earl Makinaw-Labelle (fondly known as Joey), Youth Outreach Worker
As a youth outreach worker, Earl focuses as a school liaison. He is responsible for creating relationships and programs with several schools in Mînî Thnî, Exshaw and Canmore where the Îyarhe Nakoda Youth team regularly leads sharing circles and traditional knowledge teachings to community youth - in all grades, including those who are high risk - right in the classroom.
Working with youth is clearly a career-long passion for Earl. He claimed such pride in seeing many graduate high school and proudly embrace their Stoney Nakoda heritage. It's obvious that he approaches and views his role as an honour, as he shared that he will continue to share knowledge and help others on their learning journey when asked.
Outside of work, Earl enjoys dancing, singing and attending pow wows, playing instruments and spending spare time doing traditional crafts like beading, sewing and working with raw hide.
Carlene Stevens, Youth Outreach Worker
Carlene is the newest edition to the youth team brining years of prior experience as a child support worker with the daycare and Eagle's Nest to her role as youth outreach worker. She, like her team, is Mînî Thnî-born and raised, guided by strong Stoney Nakoda traditional and cultural values that she practices and teaches to her own family - her husband and her five children.
So far, her time over the summer involved joining youth in outdoor activities, recreation and cooking. In her words, she views her position as, "connecting with children and youth to set and model a respectful, positive and fun experience."
If she had to give a title to her life, "Always on the go. Winging just about anything into situations while adjusting my crown."
When asked to provide a fun fact, Carlene mentions an inclination to trip on her own feet. Editorial note: Hmmm..sounds familiar. Welcome Carlene! Your enthusiasm, wit and humour are a fantastic addition to the youth program and Stoney Health.