Youth to learn about spirituality

Cory Nicotine certainly believes in inclusiveness.

That’s why the 26-year-old from the Saddle Lake Cree First Nation has put together an Edmonton-based event called Knowledge Is Pow Wow.

The program, which is geared towards all youth, features presentations on various religions.

The event began on Feb. 20 with a night dubbed Indigenous Spirituality. The Mar. 20 session was on Catholicism. Judaism and Islam presentations will follow on Apr. 20 and May 20, respectively. A program finale, including live musical performances, will be held on June 13.

All of these sessions are taking place at the Boyle McCauley Health Centre in Edmonton.

“It’s geared towards everybody,” Nicotine said. “I set it up for everyone to learn about the different religions and the value of it.”

The Knowledge Is Pow Wow sessions are part of the programming for the iHuman Youth Society. This Edmonton-based group engages youth, who exhibit high-risk behaviours, in various arts activities, including music and theatre.

The goal is to have those in the various programs make positive social changes.

Nicotine is not keen to discuss why he sought assistance from the iHuman Youth Society several years ago.

“You can just go there to get some help,” he said of the organization. “It’s a good place to get help. They helped me a lot.  And I just want to give back now. I want to create more initiatives for youth.”

For the first night of the Knowledge Is Pow Wow program Nicotine had Cree Elder Gary Moostoos and Donavan Shirt, an 18-year-old from the Frog Lake First Nation, as guest speakers.

Moostoos spoke of the religious beliefs of Aboriginals.

About 50 youth, many of them non-Native, attended the event.

“They liked it,” Nicotine said of the reactions of those who showed up. “They found it interesting. And even the Aboriginal kids learned stuff that they didn’t know.”

As for Shirt, he’s a musician who sings and drums traditional Native music. But he did not perform that night. Instead he spoke to those in attendance.

“He came to speak about how (music) has affected his life,” Nicotine said.

Shirt, however, will perform at the Knowledge Is Pow Wow finale.

Besides wanting to inform and assist youth, Nicotine has a personal reason for organizing the program about varying religions. Some of his family members (uncles and aunts) are now practising Christians, who have abandoned their Aboriginal religious beliefs.

But it’s not just family members that Nicotine is hoping to sway through the Knowledge Is Pow Wow programming.

“There’s a need to show people about other religions,” he said. “I wanted to show them that all religions are the same.”

Nicotine, who is a senior member of the iHuman Youth Society’s Mentorship Circle, has previously been involved with some of the group’s programming.

For example, he’s participated in the Friday Night Challenge group. During these sessions he supports peers who are trying to stay clean and sober.

Nicotine has also been involved with the Uncensored program. This curriculum aims to not only educate but also train social service providers and authority figures about some of the experiences of high-risk youth from Edmonton.

Nicotine’s humanitarian efforts also included taking part in the Canada World Youth venture. He was in Tanzania in 2012 and ’13 participating in the CWY’s Youth Leader in Action program, assisting on environmental ventures.

Photo Caption: Cory Nicotine hopes to facilitate dialogue on religion with his Knowledge Is Pow Wow monthly sessions, coordinated for iHuman Youth Society.