As a child growing up on a farm in Nova Scotia, Dr. Meghan Beals knew little about her Mi’kmaw identity or where she came from.

It was not until she started her medical degree at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in Thunder Bay that she learned more about her culture. During those four years, she also witnessed the numerous health disparities that Indigenous people face and the importance of representation among the medical professionals who treat Indigenous patients.

Now a resident in family medicine on the East Coast, she proudly self-identifies to her patients by wearing a beaded stethoscope. It was a gift the Elders presented to her and all the Indigenous students who graduated from medical school. To restore Indigenous peoples’ trust in the health-care system, Dr. Beals believes it’s imperative that Canada increase the number of Indigenous physicians and health-care providers, as recommended in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

“I want Indigenous youth to see that it is possible to break the cycle of intergenerational trauma and find reconciliation,” Dr. Beals told the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples on September 26, 2022.

Dr. Beals was among five Indigenous youth leaders from across the country who testified before the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples for the Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders 2022 program. The program invites Indigenous youth between the ages of 18 and 35 to meet with senators, share their personal stories and leadership efforts and attend networking events in Ottawa.

The event took place in the lead-up to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day that honours the survivors of the Indian residential school system, their families and the children who never returned home.

The last residential school in Canada closed in 1996. But Gabrielle Fayant of Fishing Lake Métis Settlement in Alberta told the committee that Indigenous communities are still struggling with the schools’ painful legacy and widespread socio-economic repercussions.

“The descendants of survivors, today’s youth, live the highest rates of institutionalization, ranging from the child welfare system to incarceration,” she said.

Ms. Fayant — who co-founded the Assembly of Seven Generations (A7G), a support group for local Indigenous youth — said groups across the country are experiencing “burnout” in trying to provide critical funding to young Indigenous people facing poverty, institutionalization, housing emergencies and mental health crises.

She urged the Senate to oversee the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 66, which recommends the federal government establish “multi-year funding for community-based youth organizations.”

“Sometimes we’re up all night to make sure young people are safe and there’s no support,” Ms. Fayant said.

“We’re the lifeline.”

Jama Maxie, an addiction counsellor from White Bear First Nation in Saskatchewan, raised the issue of child welfare reform; statistics show that 52.2% of children in foster care are Indigenous despite accounting for only 7.7% of the child population.

He discussed growing up in the child welfare system in Toronto and how he faced abuse and overcame addictions and homelessness. As an adult, he reconnected with his culture and wants to help Indigenous youth find hope.

“To be here today means a lot,” Mr. Maxie told the committee.

Tyrone Sock, a Mawiw Council Inc. youth coordinator from Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick, shared stories about his late father, a fisherman and beloved hockey coach, to underscore the importance of having strong role models for Indigenous youth. He’s studying to be a teacher, with the goal of helping young Indigenous people connect to their cultures and sacred knowledge.

Taylor Behn-Tsakoza, a Dene woman from the Fort Nelson and Prophet River First Nations in British Columbia, told the committee about her work advocating for young Indigenous voices in various domestic and international forums, including the Assembly of First Nations National Youth Council, the United Nations and a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican in March 2022.

“Young people need to be at this table. The future that you are all fighting for is the future we are going to inherit. But we need to be part of that process,” she said.

Senator Brian Francis, Chair of the Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples, encouraged his fellow senators to listen to the youth leaders’ moving testimony and keep Indigenous youth “at the forefront” in advancing Truth and Reconciliation.

“As [they represent] the fastest growing population in Canada, it is our responsibility and obligation to help them not just survive, but be healthy, safe and thriving,” he said in a statement to the Red Chamber the day after the event.

“We have a lot of work to make this vision a reality and no more time to waste.”

Watch the Voices of Youth Indigenous Leaders 2022 testimonies.