Jonny (left) and Nolan (right) at Britannia Beach ready to head out on a cultural boat trip they led around Átl’ka7tsem in August 2019.
This year the Howe Sound/Átl’ḵa7tsem Marine Reference Guide was grateful to have Jonathan Williams and Nolan Rudkowsky, members of the Squamish Nation, join our team as Indigenous youth project leaders. Jonny is currently a student at SFU completing a First Nations Studies program, and Nolan is working at the youth centre in Squamish. Having both spent their youth around Átl’ḵa7tsem (Squamish Nation place name for Howe Sound), fishing, swimming, running on the shores and canoeing, Jonny and Nolan connect deeply to this region and understand the need to protect it in the face of growing pressures: “It’s a beautiful area and should be cared for,” Jonny once said. These internships were supported by the Vancouver Foundation’s Youth Level Granting program.
As Indigenous youth project leaders, Jonny and Nolan worked with community and project mentors to outline strategies for elevating Indigenous youth voices and participation in marine stewardship and spatial planning, while acknowledging and respecting the confidentiality and cultural sensitivity of Indigenous knowledge and values. During their internship, Jonny and Nolan participated in regional workshops and events, including a community forum, a workshop on sustainable development goals, an ethnobotany workshop, and a salmon release event. They also chaired monthly meeting with Squamish Nation mentors, and led three incredibly meaningful activities that increased Indigenous youth engagement and connectivity with Átl’ḵa7tsem and ocean health. These included a canoe journey to and shoreline clean-up at Kwum Kwum (Defense Islands), a boat trip to culturally important places in Átl’ḵa7tsem, and a workshop to discuss the roles of Indigenous youth in championing regional stewardship initiatives.
Kwum Kwum / Defense Island Clean Up in June 2019.
Through these activities, Jonny and Nolan helped build trust and inspire communities throughout Átl’ḵa7tsem to protect ocean health. They also began conversations that will continue to grow and develop into actions throughout the rest of the Marine Reference Guide’s process. For example, the Guide seeks to build upon the ideas proposed by Jonny and Nolan to build a stewardship model in Átl’ḵa7tsem based off the successful Guardian Watchmen Program on the central and north coasts of British Columbia. This initiative provides a model for Indigenous led stewardship that involves monitoring, protecting, and restoring cultural and ecological values in coastal territories, and ensuring that traditional and contemporary Indigenous and non-Indigenous laws are respected and followed.
Workshop on Indigenous youth engagement and leadership in August 2019.
Jonny and Nolan: thank you for being a part of our team, adding so much value to this project, and inspiring Átl’ḵa7tsem’s communities to accomplish meaningful change and protect ocean health. The Howe Sound/Átl’ḵa7tsem Marine Reference Guide is grateful to be working in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Nation, and it is a joy to work with you in our journey to protect the aquatic ecosystem health of this beautiful and cherished region, Átl’ḵa7tsem.
Cultural Boat Tour in July 2019.