Skateboarding pros take sport, along with message of hope, to Indigenous youth – Calgary Herald
Jul 21, 2020
Believing it saved them from taking the wrong path, a group of avid skateboarders is touring Alberta reserves to share their sport with Indigenous youth.
“Skateboarding has given us so much. We just want to spread the message. We don’t want to see more youth struggle with mental health, suicide. We want them to be happy, active and empowered,” said Rose Archie, one of the organizers of Nations Skate Youth.
The group of five includes two former Calgary brothers — Tristan and Dustin Henry who grew up skateboarding at Millennium Park — along with Joe Buffalo from Alberta’s Maskwacis reserve, Adam George from Ontario, and Archie from the interior of B.C. Both Dustin and Buffalo are pro riders: Dustin is with the Altimers Skateboards team, which has travelled to Los Angeles for videos, and Buffalo with Colonialism Skateboards out of Regina.
Archie said the project came about after a panel discussion in February promoting social change and mental health among Indigenous youth. All of the members know each other from skateboarding in Vancouver, where they now live, and each has their own reasons for taking part, from personal experience with racism to overcoming harm from residential schools.
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