With $100,000 from the AIP, this program will remove barriers and create opportunities for youth to learn land-based skills (such as flatwater and whitewater canoeing, wilderness medicine and whitewater rescue training); improve self-esteem, leadership and self-determination; and expose youth to potential career opportunities all while centering Indigenous languages, knowledges and bodies. Building the capacity of Indigenous youth to become wilderness guides will more equitably distribute the wealth attained through tourism in the North to the original landholders. Having more Indigenous youth building relationships with the land will create a larger network of land protectors across the Arctic.
