Pushing to uplift Indigenous youth, artist voices in Saskatchewan

For Saskatchewan creator Shawn Cuthand, uplifting Indigenous voices is simply a calling.

Cuthand is simply a nehiyaw (Cree) and Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) writer, comedian, producer, histrion and director.

This week helium begins his clip arsenic the University of Saskatchewan’s Indigenous storyteller-in-residence.

“I would conscionable similar to promote students that if they privation to get into the amusement concern that it really is imaginable to bash successful Saskatchewan.,” Cuthand said.

During the adjacent 12 weeks, Cuthand volition beryllium sharing his acquisition and expertise with students portion balancing his drama and continuing his enactment with the satirical newsgroup, ‘The Feather News.’

“With america successful The Feather News, we really program to support our location successful Saskatchewan and assistance the movie concern here,” Cuthand said.

The Feather, which precocious won the APTN/ImagineNative web bid transportation competition, volition aerial for a 2nd play connected APTN successful June 2025.

As portion of Cuthand’s residency, helium plans to stock his cognition of writing, producing and directing a amusement for television.

And portion helium lone started astatine the U of S this week, helium is already arranging meetings with students.

“It tin beryllium hard to privation to enactment your communicative retired determination into the assemblage for radical to work and perceive to,” helium explained. “I conscionable privation to promote students to not beryllium excessively frightened of that.”

Across Canada, Indigenous leaders are moving to uplift not lone younker artists, but the Indigenous assemblage arsenic a whole.

Recently, Deloitte Canada released their last study successful its Voices of Indigenous Youth Leaders connected Reconciliation series.

Within the last volume, insights from Indigenous younker place 4 precedence areas for enactment successful advancing Indigenous sovereignty: Indigenous Peoples and Land, Self-Governance, Nationhood and Truth-telling and Learning.

When asked what they anticipation the aboriginal would look similar if Indigenous sovereignty were to beryllium afloat realized and respected, the younker identified the pursuing arsenic cardinal experiences:

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• Indigenous Peoples unrecorded successful a nine wherever they consciousness comfy successful their identity, capable to self-express and actualize their afloat potential,
• Indigenous nations are exercising effectual governance and authorization to conscionable assemblage needs, resulting successful their radical healing and thriving,
• Sustainable Indigenous-led decision-making and onshore practices are successful spot and respected by governments and landowners successful a cooperative, collaborative way, and
• Indigenous nations are interacting with governments connected an adjacent nation-to-nation ground with power connected outcomes.

“Indigenous younker are calling for meaningful enactment successful 4 cardinal areas wherever their authentic identities are embraced, their taste values are respected, and their communities’ sovereignty is upheld,” said Byron Jackson, the manager of Nation Building Advisory Services and a subordinate of the Piikani Nation.

“Sovereignty is being much defined by the younker leaders present arsenic relationships with the onshore and truly everything that is atonement and thing that has a beingness force.”

Jackson said it’s important for radical to proceed to stock Indigenous stories and values of each kinds, including artists.

As for Cuthand, helium hopes helium tin play a tiny relation successful promoting intercultural knowing and communicative sharing successful Saskatchewan.