ADSB launches Northern Indigenous Youth Council

The Northern Indigenous Youth Council has officially come into being at the Algoma District School Board (ADSB).

The new youth council will elect its chair and vice-chair Nov. 14.

Superintendent of education Joe Maurice told trustees during Tuesday’s regular board meeting that the chair, once elected, will also serve as a third student trustee for the board.

The Northern Indigenous Youth Council will consist of more than 40 Indigenous secondary school students representing most schools in the Algoma District.

“We’ll have about five representatives from each school, so it could be anywhere from 42 to 50 depending upon how many schools and how many reps there we get to the table,” Maurice said.

A meeting for Indigenous students who expressed interest in becoming a member of the council took place at Enji Maawnjiding - a gathering place for Indigenous students at Sault College - on Oct. 16.

The meeting saw mentors from Sault College, Algoma University and the Metis Nation of Ontario take part, with a number of ADSB board trustees and senior administration in attendance.

Five students vying for chair and seven students vying for the vice-chair position were given an hour to come up a two-minute speech for their peers during the meeting.

Students were also tasked with naming the council during that one-day meeting.

Maurice told board trustees that he hopes the Northern Indigenous Youth Council will eventually work with the ADSB student senate.

“As much as it’s a separate group [from] student senate, we are hoping that they’re going to work together at various times to kind of some of the same causes, and try to build that relationship,” he said.  

Maurice told reporters following Tuesday’s board meeting that Indigenous students will now have a bigger voice not only within ADSB schools, but at the board level as well.  

“They’re looking at bringing [an] Indigenous student voice to the board level, while the school teams are looking to get more student voice at the school,” Maurice said.

It’s expected that the Northern Indigenous Youth Council will hold regular meetings via videoconferencing every four to six weeks.