Canadian Aboriginal & Writing Arts Challenge

Attention Métis Youth!

 Contest open to Aboriginal Canadian between the ages of 14-29

Submit your writing or artwork to the Canadian Aboriginal &Writing Arts Challenge!
Showcase your talent and creativity, have your work reviewed by the foremost Aboriginal storytellers! You could win cash prizes and even have your work published in a national magazine!

Showcase your Aboriginal identity like Métis storyteller Gloria Bell.

What Can you Win?

• 1st Place Winners in each age category and artwork category will receive:
  • a $2000 cash prize
  • an all-expenses paid trip for two to a major Canadian city to receive his or her award at a special reception with a group of esteemed Aboriginal leaders and authors
  • an excerpt from his or her story published in Canada’s History magazine.
• 2nd Place Finalists in each age category will receive a $1000 cash prize.
• 3rd Place Finalists in each age category will receive a $500 cash prize.
• 4th to 10th Place Finalists in each age category will each receive a $100 cash prize.
• All Top Ten Finalists in each age category will have their story published on the contest website, and receive a copy of Our Story: Aboriginal Voices on Canada’s Past (Doubleday Canada, 2004).
• All participants will receive a Certificate of Participation acknowledging their hard work and participation in the program.
• Group entries (ten or more individual submissions) are eligible for a special classroom prize

The deadline for the Challenge is March 31, 2011.

Click here for more details: http://www.our-story.ca/wc
Click here for contest guidelines: http://www.our-story.ca/wc/guidelines

Good Luck Everyone!
Max and Renee

Please VOTE (until Nov 5) - Metis Youth Gathering - Aviva Fund

The second round of voting has begun for Aviva Community Fund projects. Please log in and vote for our Métis Youth Gathering idea – you will have 10 votes for this round (until Nov 5). You can use 1 vote per day per idea, so if you want to use all 10 for the Métis Youth Gathering, please log in each day and vote at htt...p://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf5741

Call for Workshop Facilitators - Gathering Our Voices - March 2011 in BC

METIS YOUTH - This is a GREAT opportunity to organize an ISPAYIN workshop!

GATHERING OUR VOICES ABORIGINAL YOUTH CONFERENCE has put a call out for facilitators - they are looking for individuals/groups to facilitate interactive workshops for the 2011 conference, to be held in Prince Rupert, BC from March 21-24. This year's theme is "A Vision of Our Future". Compensation is available (travel, meals, accommodation, honorarium). Deadline for applications is NOVEMBER 19, 2010.

For full details, see: http://cahr.uvic.ca/nearbc/documents/2010/Call-for-Facilitator-Gathering-our-Voices-2011.pdf

GOOD LUCK, and let us know if you are thinking of applying!

Renee and Max

Honouring Life Network Contest

Hello Métis Youth! How do YOU Honour Life? 

This contest is open to all First Nations, Inuit and Métis youth between the ages of 17 and 30. The Honouring Life Network wants to hear how YOU honour life, and is encouraging youth to submit an entry in one of three categories: multimedia, visual or written.
 

Your entry should represent creative expressions, experiences, thoughts and initiatives on how YOU honour life and approach suicide prevention and awareness in your community.

The top five entries from each category will be showcased on the HLN, and the winner from each will be awarded a Flip video camera!

The contest is open until November 10, 2010, so send your entries and consent form to info@honouringlife.ca.

For more information go to: http://www.honouringlife.ca/youthCorner/videoContest

Good luck everyone!

Max and Renee

ISPAYIN article on MNO website

Check out the article written by two Metis youth who facilitated a workshop on Metis youth identity at the MNO Annual General Assembly in August! Nice work, Benny and Ginny!

http://www.metisnation.org/news--media/news/ispayin---what%27s-happening-metis-youth.aspx

Food and Diet: Let's talk Nutrition Labels!

Has anyone ever wondered what's the deal with nutrition labels?Well, so have we. In our research we have discovered that reading the nutrition labels on  food packages is actually quite important to make sure that you can make healthy choices and feel good! Paying close attention to the type of food you put in your body will have short and long term effects to your overall health and well being!

We learned at foodandhealth.com, that you can still make some key mistakes when reading food labels, such as:

1. Ignoring the label altogether!

2.Forgetting to check the number of servings in a package- often we assume that a small package includes only one serving.

3. Not taking note of the sodium content.

4. Not understanding that sugar free or fat free does not mean calorie free

5. Relying on the package descriptions- often these sound healthier than the facts.

For more information visit:
http://foodandhealth.com/blog/2010/06/5-mistakes-of-label-reading/

Health Canada has a great interactive tool that teaches you the basics of reading nutrition labels.
Click on the following link to take the Health Canada's Interactive Nutrition Labeling Quiz!

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/nutrition/index-eng.php

These tools can help you learn more about reading nutrition labels.  They teach you about portions, fat grams, calories, fibre, sodium intake and much more!

Write in to the blog and tell us what you have learned. What are some challenges you face when thinking about healthy food and diet?


Renee and Max

Culture: How to Make Bannock in Michif!

Taanshi  Everyone!

While camping at Back to Batoche Days Festival we had the opportunity for ISPAYIN youth member Dale to teach us how to make bannock over the campfire. He also did the tutorial in Michif! 

Click on the following links:

ISPAYIN - Bannock Making Video - Part One
ISPAYIN - Bannock Making Video - Part Two

(You have to turn up the volume on these.)

Do any of you have a favorite recipe or story about cooking on the campfire that you would like to share? What is your favorite bannock topping? We love Saskatoon berry jam on ours!

Thanks for sharing, Dale!

Renee and Max

ISPAYIN Metis Youth Videos Online!!

Taanshi Metis Youth!

The ISPAYIN DVD clips are now online! Check them out at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3bLmco3li0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgRVwF4w3Z4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XILMg4PpQSc

To find out more about our ISPAYIN Metis Youth Express Yourself! project and download the Discussion Guide, see http://www.metisyouthexpressions.ca/guide-e.php

You can also let us know if you'd like a hard copy of the DVD and Discussion Guide at metiscentre@naho.ca

Share these videos with friends and let them know what it means to be Metis.

Hope you are all having a great summer.
Renee and Max

2010 Back to Batoche Days Festival

Hello Métis Youth!
We are back from the Back to Batoche Days festival! The festival was an 8 day event held in Saskatoon at the historic site of the Battle of Batoche. This year's festival was bigger than ever to mark the 125th anniversary of the Métis Nation.
We had an amazing time with the Métis Centre of NAHO's youth group and staff.
We camped out right on site to ensure that we would not miss any of the great activities!
There were beading and capote making workshops, bannock bake offs, fiddling, jigging and square dancing performances, a rodeo and much more!
It was a great week that showcased Métis pride and culture!
Were you at Batoche this year (or in other years)? If so, please write in and tell us about your favourite Batoche memory.
This picture is at the front entrance of Batoche on the second day of the festival. There was a Metis in Motion 5 km walk/run that we participated in. It was a great activity to tour the historic site!
Stay tuned for more pictures of the Batoche!

Thanks for tuning into our blog!
Max and Renee

Welcome to the ISPAYIN-Métis Youth Express Yourself! Blog

Welcome Métis Youth!
Our names are Max and Renee. We are proud Métis Youth! We are going to be blogging about what's happening with Métis Youth accross Canada.
We would like to introduce you to the ISPAYIN-Métis Youth Express Yourself! project. This exciting project, led by the Métis Centre of NAHO is to build awareness about Métis youth idenity, health and well being.
The project sought out artistic submissions of youth singing, speaking, fiddling, jigging, rapping and dancing at gatherings held accross Canada. They were also encouraged to submit videos of artwork, stand-up comedy, poetry and other forms of artistic expression. A DVD has been built around these images. An accompanying Discussion Guide was also developed. This interactive package showcases Métis pride and can be used as a cultural competency tool within mainstream and Aboriginal organizations, in communities and schools across Canada, and elsewhere. We want people to learn about who Métis Youth are!
The DVD and Discussion Guide are available free of charge, please contact us at metiscentre@naho.ca to order a copy.
Did you know what ISPAYIN means?
Ispayin is a michif term that means ‘happening’. We used it for this project to articulate the focus of this project: ‘What’s happening’ with Métis Youth today.
We look forward to getting to know all of you!
Max and Renee