WE Day returns to Saskatoon this week
- EFN Staff | March 13, 2017
The annual WE Day event will be returning to Saskatoon on March 15, packed with speakers, performers and presenters. The event is apart of WE – a global organization that evolved from Free The Children which continues to empower people to create change through the words of invited guests. Taking the stage will be Brett Kissel, Margaret Trudeau, team members from the Saskatchewan Roughriders team members, and much more including Saskatchewan’s own Andre Bear.
“I will have two minutes to speak and share my story and what I’m doing,” says the 22-year-old from Littlepine and Canoe Lake First Nation. “My message predominantly is going to be First Nation youth issues. The most pressing issue is pushing for a national statement of epidemic for First Nation youth suicides in Canada.”
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He says there’s a lot of ways to push this forward by lobbying with different ministries, other Indigenous organizations and governing systems. Bear said this is an issue that needs attention which should be dealt with immediately. The issue of suicide is not new to him. He describes growing up wasn’t always great for him. He had his fair share of attempts at suicide and there was a lot of addictions, alcoholism, poverty, homelessness and different adversities he faced as a child growing up both on-reserve and in the inner city of Saskatoon. But through a strong support system, culture and ceremonies Bear found himself and his voice. He hopes to empower other youth by sharing his story at the WE Day event.
“I’ve been to WE Day before and I know there’s a lot of energy and empowerment. I know there’s definitely a lot of power within the minds and voices of the youth,” he says. “It will be extremely effective to have a platform like that to speak to the youth and reach out to them.”
Bear is an accomplished young mentor as he holds the position as the youth representative of the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN), the co-chair of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Youth Council, and the special advisor for the Minister of Indigenous Affairs. In addition, he is a third-year education student at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S).
The WE Day event is expecting to have 15,000 attendees from more than 435 schools across the province. This will be the 5th year for the event which will be taken place at the Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon.