“It doesn’t matter how long or which path you took to complete your goals all that matters is that you did it! Walking in two worlds is not an easy thing to do but I believe that we as Indigenous peoples are so resilient and we have so much to offer even to those who are teaching us at post-secondary.”

“Remember everyone around you at post-secondary is experiencing the same things so don’t be afraid to reach out to them. Make some new friends or try a new activity, don’t be afraid to expand your horizons and be yourself.”

“My favourite part of post-secondary is gaining the knowledge and skills I will need to be a strong legal advocate for our communities. I would like to start my own practice helping in the translations between Canadian Law and Indigenous Law to aid in reconciliation efforts and carve out jurisdiction for our peoples to sustain ourselves and create optimistic circumstances for the younger generations to come.”

As we move toward the winter solstice, I’d like to share some thoughts on one other aspect of snuw’uy’ulh that is so important to our work: xwunuts’amaat uw’ muqwstem—interconnectedness.

“One piece of advice I would give to Indigenous youth from my community would be to stay in school. Education opens so many doors and can help build confidence. With education, you can achieve personal and professional goals. Education is the key to change for Indigenous people.”

“The Kw’umut Lelum Indspire Award has allowed me to pour my heart and soul into my last year of internship and take massive stress off by easing the financial burden of unpaid internships. The gratitude that I have for this Award is not something I can sufficiently express through words, but I hope to convey it by giving back to my community in the near future.”

After graduating from college, I discovered writing, and it changed me. I found something that felt worth dedicating myself to for the first time. I realized I was, and always had been, in the wrong stream of schooling.

“One piece of advice I would give to Indigenous youth from my community would be to stay in school. Education opens so many doors and can help build confidence. With education, you can achieve personal and professional goals. Education is the key to change for Indigenous people.”

Truth and Reconciliation Panel Conversations are now available on the KL Foundation YouTube channel.