Chanelle Smoke

Youthful Indigenous advocate named to national panel

By Sam Laskaris
Cando Contributor

Chanelle SmokeChanelle Smoke is proof that teen voices can be heard and that young people can indeed make a difference.

Smoke, an 18-year-old member of Ontario’s Alderville First Nation, has been an Indigenous student advocate throughout her high school career.

She completed her high school studies this past June at Cobourg Collegiate Institute.

Smoke started an Indigenous advisory circle in her school when she began Grade 9. Weekly sessions with the group determined actions they wanted to see taken not only at the school but also across the entire Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board.

“Over the four years I did this I actually saw changes take place,” Smoke said.

For starters, three years ago Smoke requested officials at her school start making daily land acknowledgement announcements.

“It happened right away at my school,” Smoke said, adding other schools in the board also followed suit.

During her high school career Smoke was also part of the school board’s Indigenous Student Advisory Group.

“I was always an advocate for Indigenous students,” she said. “A lot of times they put us down or didn’t give us the recognition we deserve.”

But Smoke was encouraged by changes she did witness.

“It’s hard to get everybody on board,” she said. “But the principal at our school started including us and letting us do things.”

In September Smoke was scheduled to begin a paramedics course at St. Lawrence College in Cornwall, Ont.

She’s longed to take the college paramedics course for a decade now, after seeing how well first responders treated her father, who died when she was eight.

“It’s been a lifelong goal of mine,” she said of the paramedics program.

Smoke was planning to continue her Indigenous activism work in college.

And she also plans to further her education even more after her paramedics course. She’s been speaking Ojibwe since she was four. And she would like to eventually earn the proper qualifications to become an Ojibwe language teacher.

Smoke has also worked for her First Nation. This summer she was employed as the assistant to the cultural co-ordinator. Her responsibilities included helping to plan for the pow wow the Alderville First Nation hosted in mid-July.
                                            


2019 National Youth Panel

2019 - National Youth Panel 

Alexandra Jarrett
Canoe Lake Cree Nation, Saskatchewan

Alexandra Jarrett is a young Indigenous woman from Eagles Lake First Nation & Canoe Lake Cree First Nation. Alexandra was born in Meadow Lake, SK, and currently resides in Saskatoon, SK. 

Read Alexandra's story


Aubrey-Anne Laliberte-Pewapisconias
Canoe Lake Cree First Nation, Saskatchewan

Aubrey-Anne Laura Laliberte-Pewapisconias is a 20-year old Cree woman from Treaty 10 Territory with Canoe Lake Cree First Nation and Treaty 6 Territory with Little Pine First Nation. She is a third-year commerce student at the University of Saskatchewan currently pursuing a major in Finance at Edwards School of Business.

Read Aubrey-Anne's story 


Nipâwi Kakinoosit
Sucker Creek First  Nation, Alberta

Nipawi Mahihkan Misit Kakinoosit is a Nehiyaw (Cree) from the Sucker Creek Frist Nation in Northern Alberta and was born and raised in Prince George, BC. He is also an adopted member of Musqueam Indian Band (Coast Salish) and Elsipogtog First Nation (Mi’kmaq).

Read Nipawi's story


Ryan Oliverius
Okanagan Indian Band, British Columbia

Ryan Oliverius is a member of the Okanagan Indian Band in Vernon, British Columbia. Ryan is the youngest member on council for the Okanagan Indian Band. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Thompson Rivers University (TRU) and is the first in his family to graduate from post-secondary. Ryan double majored in Marketing and New Venture while at TRU.

Read Ryan's story 


Destinee Peter
Carry the Kettle Nakoda First Nation, Saskatchewan

Destinee is the current owner and operator of Tangles Hair and Beauty Salon.  Tangles is a full-service Hair and Beauty Salon. She has a full line of hair and beauty products to address every clients’ needs. She started doing her own accounting to pay all bills and track all revenue and also did her own payroll and made sure all deductions and taxes were submitted on time, but since she has expanded, she now contracts all accounting services.  Destinee is responsible for 7 female employees and make schedules for adequate coverage for Tangles.  

Read Destinee's story


Chanelle Smoke
Alderville First Nation, Ontario

Mnidoo Migizi Chanelle Smoke, Bear Clan, of Alderville First Nation, as a National Youth Panelist. Chanelle has shown herself to be a leader not only within our school board here at Kawartha Pine-Ridge DSB, but also within her community. From an early age, Chanelle has had the wellbeing of others foremost in her mind. She is currently enrolled in the paramedic program at Loyalist College.

Read Chanelle's story