KAIROS bike tour champions aboriginal rights
OTTAWA, ON—A youth bike tour organized by KAIROS Canada is championing aboriginal rights. The pilot "Nation to Nation Bike Tour" will teach youth about indigenous rights issues, First Nations traditions and develop advocacy and leadership skills.
The 12 participants began the tour July 27, in the Mohawk village of Akwesasne, where they spent four days learning about indigenous culture from community leaders and elders. Following the launch, the team will travel along the St. Lawrence river for two weeks, completing the tour in Belleville, Ontario on August 14.
"We are helping to empower change makers," says Katy Quinn, program coordinator for the Indigenous Rights Program at KAIROS Canada. "This project is very much about young people coming together and learning from each other. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of indigenous rights and an increased capacity to use their leadership skills and contribute towards the [advocacy] work in their own communities."
Throughout the journey, participants will stop in aboriginal communities, forging relationships and learning about the issues facing indigenous people. They will also offer seminars in churches and community centres, sharing what they learn.
Quinn explains, "we are creating space for indigenous and non-indigenous people to strengthen relationships and identify together what the priorities are. We don't have a specific advocacy attached to this tour. We broadly have advocacy around respect for indigenous rights."
While Kairos is a faith-based organization, Quinn says participants come from many different cultural and religious backgrounds. She explains that they have not included any faith-based programming in the tour, apart from participating in a powwow and various other traditional aboriginal spiritual ceremonies.
"[Aboriginal] ceremony will be an important part of the learning and experience. For example, in Akwesasne, the community send-off will involve a [traditional spiritual] ceremony. That's part of understanding and exploring together what a nation-to-nation relationship is all about. It is about building bridges of understanding between the indigenous and non-indigenous people."
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