By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

building a foundation

Maskwacis pro skateboarder in town to teach Indigenous youth

Jul 25, 2020 | 12:08 PM

A residential school survivor and pro skateboarder from Maskwacis is visiting several Alberta communities this week hoping to connect with Indigenous youth.

Joe Buffalo, 44, of the Samson Cree Nation, turned pro in 2019 after signing with Colonialism Skateboards, a company committed to educating the Canadian public about the country’s colonial history.

With a group called Nations Skate Youth, he’s now teaching the art of skateboarding to Indigenous youth, and instilling in them invaluable life lessons to prevent them falling through the cracks.

“Skateboarding is the most positive outlet tool to have helped me navigate society after being in such a destructive institution,” he shares with rdnewsNOW. “It definitely helped prepare me for what was out there in life. It taught me resiliency and perseverance, but also determination and how to pick yourself up and dust yourself off after falling.”

Ahead of Sunday’s workshop at Industry Skate & Snow in Red Deer, Buffalo and co. are visiting Tsuu T’ina Nation, Morley First Nation, Maskwacis Samson Cree Nation, and Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation. The Red Deer stop is in conjunction with the Urban Aboriginal Voices Society (UAVS). Each workshop welcomes about 40 Indigenous youth, half beginner and half intermediate level skaters.

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Buffalo, who previously found himself caught up in drug and alcohol abuse, says Indigenous youth need to establish a good footing at an early age.

“If we build a foundation for these youth to grow when they move off the reservation, there are then so many options for them, be it in skateboarding, athletics, media, the arts, or even construction,” says Buffalo.

“We want to catch them when they’re at the age that there’s still a stoke in the fire. When I started getting the attention of other people because of my skateboarding, I didn’t trust them. It was like ‘Why are you giving me free stuff?’ I didn’t even know about big buildings, or things like area codes and buses. It was a super culture shock.”

Young Indigenous people learning from and hearing the story of someone in their culture who has succeeded brings hope, says Sarah Wild & Small, a youth worker with UAVS.

“They need to know that someone changed their situation by doing something they were good at,” says Wild & Small. “We hope this event will bring about changes in thinking, that youth will see all possible avenues to express themselves whether it be on a skateboard, playing music, art, dance, technology or building.”

It’s key, she adds, to give Indigenous youth a voice and someone who will listen to them.

“They want to be seen as individuals as well as members of a community,” says Wild & Small. “Many of our youth need support in the classroom; we asked many how their traditional teachings have an impact, for example, learning their own Indigenous language, cultural ceremonies and teachings from elders, and there was a 100 per cent sense of pride and admiration for this education.”

Wild & Small says Indigenous youth need support in the areas of mental health and navigating the emotions of adolescence just like any other youth. Folks like Joe Buffalo, artist Aly McKnight and hoop dancer James Jones, she says, are ensuring a brither future for Indigenous youth.

The series of workshops has several partners, which Buffalo notes aided in providing 90 skateboards and 45 pairs of Vans shoes to give to participants.