RAISING THEIR VOICES
When teacher Adam Wood died in the school shootings in La Loche in 2016, his sister Caitlin Wood noted that much of the commentary about the community came from adults and outsiders. Caitlin wanted youth voices to be heard, so as part of her master’s rese
When teacher Adam Wood was shot and killed at the school shooting in La Loche in 2016, his younger sister, Caitlin Wood, was consumed by media coverage of the shooting. She realized that so much expert commentary being shared about the community came from adults and outsiders, and she was upset that youth voices weren’t being heard.
In an effort to change this, Caitlin travelled to La Loche in the summer of 2017 to speak with youth about how they viewed their community for her master’s research project in early childhood development at Toronto’s Ryerson University. She spoke with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix about her research.
Q Describe your connection to the community of La Loche.
A I am connected to the community of the Northern Village of La Loche through my older brother Adam Wood, one of the four victims to die in the school shooting that occurred on Jan. 22, 2016. My family and I met many community and staff members at Adam’s funeral — though my meetings that day remain somewhat of a blur — and again a year later at the one-year memorial service held in La Loche in 2017.
At the memorial we were comforted, consoled, and included in all parts of the service and reception. Here it became apparent that our collective losses not only bridged a gap across geographical regions, cultures, and understandings, but that a relationship built on collective healing and mutual respect had begun to take root.
Q Why did you feel it was important to talk to youth about how they view their community?
A
I have always been passionate about advocating for the rights of children and youth. Specifically, that they be provided with avenues to share their perspectives on matters that affect them and that those perspectives are heard and valued. Staff at Dene High School similarly value the voices and perspectives of their students.
After the school shooting, many major decisions were made by youth — most significantly the decision as to when to reopen the school. For this reason, it seemed logical and important in a time of healing and community transition that youth be included in the process of envisioning change in their school and community.
Additionally, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child — ratified in 1991 — states that children have the right to express their views freely on matters that affect them and that they must be given the opportunity to be heard in administrative proceedings that impact them. Similarly, the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples passed in 2007 recognizes the right of Indigenous peoples to participate in decisionmaking and to inform policy and infrastructure affecting them.
It is for these reasons we felt it was important to talk to youth about how they viewed their community.
Q How did your research work?
A The research questions that informed this qualitative study were: ‘ What is your vision for your community?’ and ‘ What should childhood look like?’ and were selected by Greg Hatch, Martha Morin and Pauline Fontaine — staff at La Loche Dene High School. To conduct this study, I spent the month of June in the community and visited various classrooms across the school to introduce myself, explain my connection to the community, and introduce the project. All interested youth were invited to participate in the study.
Data were collected within the local high school and throughout the community. The participants of this study were 11 youth between the ages of 13 and 19 who attended the local high school.
Students who participated photographed images in their community to respond to the following questions: 1) What is your life like? 2) What is good about your life? 3) What makes you strong? 4) What needs to change? and 5) What should childhood look like?
Participants later returned to discuss their photos in greater detail.
Q What themes emerged as you spoke with youth about their photos?
A Four themes emerged from the data. They were the importance of:
1. Relationships: With people (family and friends), animals (specifically their pet dogs), and the land;
2. Health and well-being: This included the importance of their own physical health, a reflexive awareness of one’s own mental health and the desire to obtain greater access to medical supports and services for themselves and their community;
3. Knowledge: Youth spoke of learning as existing within two mutually exclusive categories: learning in class — consisting of the typical subjects taught in school — and learning about one’s own culture and language.
4. Community and Culture: Youth expressed a great deal of pride and joy in their community and expressed the importance of preserving their community’s history and culture.
It is important to note, however, that these themes were not mutually exclusive but rather that they were mutually influencing and connected.
Q What do you hope people take away from your research?
A The first thing we hope people take away from the research is the profound hope that these youths have for their community and their remarkable resiliency. Much of what has been written by the media about La Loche has been through a deficit lens — focusing on challenges rather than strengths. Though I will not argue that there are specific challenges that this community faces, overwhelmingly youth reported having a great deal of joy and pride in their community and culture. This is important to know and remember.
Another important finding of this study revealed that the 11 youth participants were proficient at identifying issues of importance and relevance to their own lives. This further demonstrates that youth should not be spoken for or over, but instead be treated as competent citizens able to contribute to meaningful change in authentic ways. For this reason, I hope this research demonstrates how vitally important it is to create authentic spaces for youth to share their perspectives on matters that affect their lives.
The first thing we hope people take away from the research is the profound hope that these youths have for their community and their remarkable resiliency.
Q What do you imagine Adam would think of your work?
A Adam greatly enjoyed working in the North, working with the youth in La Loche, and providing leadership opportunities to young people. Though it is difficult for me to imagine what Adam would say to me regarding this project (we were much more comfortable poking fun at one another than singing each others praises) I imagine he would have been proud in his own quiet way.
In addition to this, I recently found an email correspondence between Adam and I that I believe works well here. I once asked Adam advice about a volunteer position I was involved with, and Adam advised me that “when our passions, our skills, and a need within the world align, then it is our responsibility to act.” I think in this way I am able to confidently say he would be proud of this work.