Living in Saskatchewan: Youth Storytelling Project
in collaboration with the Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op (CYNC)
“Living in Saskatchewan” took place in Saskatoon from 2018 to 2021. Our aim was to invite newcomer, Indigenous and settler youth (ages 13 to 21) to document stories from their families or communities and share them through the arts. Local professional artist mentors supported youth to craft a story with an option to share publicly at a final storytelling event.
Throughout the process, we invited youth (and sometimes parents) to participate in evaluating the project and identifying desired outcomes for their storytelling experience.
We created a Zine Storytelling Toolkit for this project, based on our learnings and what we heard from youth!
“Living in Saskatchewan” aimed to train youth in:
Oral history and the performing arts
Sharing stories through art forms such as music, spoken word, film, visual arts, dance, and theatre
Helping members of their families or communities explore and share their stories through interviewing techniques
Learning the skills to create their own community storytelling projects
Joining a community of storytellers and artists
Public performance
Training and guidance was provided by professional mentors including Curtis Peeteetuce, Wanita Singing Bird, Marcel Petit, Danica Lorer, Mackenzie Dawson, and Elder Elizabeth Ahenakew.
