Nations Skate Youth is an Indigenous-led organization that uses skateboarding to empower First Nations youth to preserve their language, culture and traditions.
The non-profit group has held skateboarding workshops in nearly 20 First Nations communities, partnering with footwear company Vans and skateboarding retailers across Canada to provide kids with shoes and skateboards.
They are also collaborating with The Squamish Nation Training & Trades Centre (known as Nexw7aystway), which prepares students for apprenticeships or jobs in the trades, to build skateboard ramps in Kamloops, B.C.
Founded earlier this year by avid skateboarders Rose Archie, Joe Buffalo and brothers Dustin and Tristan Henry, the group aims to support youth mental health and invest in leaders of the future through the common interest of skateboarding, but also art and storytelling.
Participants say they’ve seen firsthand how Indigenous youth can find creativity and connection by getting involved in the sport.
Ms. Archie, 39, of Canim Lake, B.C., would hitchhike to her local skate park at a young age. For Mr. Buffalo, 45, a residential-school survivor from Maskwacis, Alta., skateboarding offered a path to heal from trauma.
Photographer Jill Schweber visited one of Nations Skate Youth’s recent workshops at Sumas First Nation in Abbotsford, B.C. to capture a group of community kids learning to ride a board for the first time.
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