Montrealers gather for the 10th Annual Spirit Walk
Posted June 15, 2024 2:48 pm.
Montrealers came together on Mount Royal Saturday for the 10th annual Spirit Walk.
The event organized by the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) aims to raise funds for Indigenous women and children, with this year’s theme of “empowering our youth.”
“Mediators at Cabot Square who work there five days a week are heartbroken because they see these young people ending up in the park with no hope. And then they become trafficked. There are drug dealers that sort of befriend them,” said Na’kuset, executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal.
“Specifically for the youth that are aging out of the foster care system and ending up on the streets and being trafficked, we’re super concerned about that. “
Around 1 p.m. participants met at the George-Étienne Cartier monument, before walking a loop of approximately five kilometres. Drumming and singing by local community artists also filled the air.
With a fundraising goal of $100,000, the NWSM hopes to fund the creation of a new youth worker position at Cabot Square, in addition to an annual healing retreat.
“We either do nothing and let the youth just sort of disintegrate or we do something,” said Na’kuset.
“We’re gonna be having hundreds of people show up today and they’re gonna help us raise that money. And maybe by next week I can hire someone who’s gonna help the youth and that’s what we want to do. “
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According to Statistics Canada, Indigenous children represent 53.8 per cent of children in care, despite representing only 7.7 per cent of the child population under the age of 15 within Canada.
A youth worker position is urgently needed, the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal says, to advocate and connect youth with the tools, information and services they need to find hope.
“What our history has been, you have to learn from it in order to make it not happen again. […] We have to look back and we have to not be afraid of it,” said Niioieren, a Kahnawà:ke community elder.
“The spirit that is in everything is to care and to share. And one of the first things that we were taught in our creation story is, we were taught to care for one another. “
The shelter hopes their extensive programming like the Spirit Walk will also help members of the community to heal.
“Seeing people and hoping they have a better life, if they didn’t have one or they already do, it’s nice,” Na’kuset’s son told CityNews.
