I was very inspired by Tunchai Redver’s Ted Talk. She co-founded the We Matter Campaign, a national multimedia campaign that communicates with indigenous youth that there’s always a way forward no matter how hard it gets. It seems that these issues hit close to home for Tunchai as she witnessed addiction and violence in the communities and family she grew up in and experienced some issues herself.
I liked that she used the metaphor of a house to explain the everyday realities that Indigenous youth experience. The roof and foundation of the house represents oppression/colonialism including systemic racism, the Indian Act, and residential schools to name a few. The furniture, appliances, and everyday items of the house represent a loss of culture and language, violence, mental health issues, stereotypes, and abuse. All of these different issues are internalized and manifest in negative ways. Tunchai provides insight on how we can create an environment where Indigenous youth live and succeed. She returns to her metaphor at the end of the talk to illustrate what it should look like. In order to support our Indigenous students effectively, I think that it’s so important to understand where they are coming from.
