'A place where kids can have community': mobile skate park visiting First Nations
A team of Indigenous skateboarders is using the sport to teach youth how to navigate life’s twists and turns.
The non-profit group 'Cousins Skateboarding' tours Treaty 7 reserves with a mobile skate park, giving kids a chance to develop their skills.
“What we're doing is we're helping to provide a place where kids can have community,” Executive Director Stuart Young said. “They have something to look forward to, it's consistent. They know that this is a safe place. Our hope, ultimately, is that skateboarding empowers them the same way it empowered us.”
There are no skate parks on any Treaty 7 nations. To address that, Cousins Skateboarding bought a mobile skate park from Calgary.
They tour Southern Alberta, including visiting Tsuut'ina First Nation.
Young skater Miles Rabbit loves being able to board on his home turf.
"Sometimes we would have to go into a town’s skateboard park and we are not really used to meeting random people,” Miles said.
For youth like Miles, this skate park is a place to test themselves, to grow, and to do it without judgment.
“What we see here is just a sense of belonging and a sense of encouragement to push their boundaries, and to just feel accepted seeing other Indigenous kids participate in stuff,” Program Coordinator Riel Manywounds said. ”I think youth, they don't think about reconciliation, they just participate.”
Reconciliation is on the minds of the crew from Cousins Skateboarding, who say they drew inspiration from the story of Joe Buffalo. Buffalo is a residential school Survivor who became a professional skateboarder, an actor, and an advocate for inclusion.
“Including everyone by making sure it's an inclusive space. If those things happen, reconciliation becomes a natural by-product,” Young said.
The crew at cousins say skateboarding is a metaphor for the kind of resilience Indigenous youth need in today's world.
“These kids are hitting the ground, they don't really care what's going on before this,” co-founder CJ Cutter said. “They don't care what's going on after this. They just care about getting up and trying it again, if they can, but we're always there to pick them up.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.