Sask. arts mentorship program focused on northern communities awarded significant grant

A Saskatchewan arts non-profit that works with remote communities has secured a big funding boost from a national initiative focused on empowering Indigenous people.

"When I first heard the news, I was just emotional and overwhelmed because this work that we're doing, it's not just work. It's meaningful, spiritual work," said Holly Yuzicapi, an Indigenous artist and the co-founder of non-profit Community Arts Mentorship Programming (CAMP).

CAMP will receive $175,000 per year for four years from a national grant program administered by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, a charity focused on reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

The non-profit runs programs focused on music, arts and culture for artists, schools, students and communities. Programming includes artist residences, mentorships, music lessons, trauma-informed and culturally-sensitive training courses, and curriculum development.

With the new funding, Yuzicapi hopes CAMP can encourage more people to turn to the arts for expression and healing.

Art isn't just an activity, Yuzicapi said, it's a powerful tool that can lead to personal transformation and can be used to work through trauma or mental health struggles. It can also strengthen communities and bring people together.

Yuzicapi and her CAMP co-founder, musician Eliza Doyle, said they prioritize collaborating with local community members so the arts programming can carry on indefinitely.

They said artists too often run programs in remote Indigenous communities in the form of a one-off experiences. They've seen artists parachute into people's lives for a couple of days and then hit the road, never to return. 

Doyle said this approach can actually stifle creativity in people.

"We're not bringing music or arts to a community. There's already people there who have been doing music and arts in any community for years and years and years," Doyle said. 

"What we're trying to do is build the confidence, build the leadership skills for local community members to be able to job shadow, mentor, and essentially guide our programming and take over." 

It takes time to build trust and relationships with communities, but they've seen success in creating long-term arts programming, Doyle said.

Yuzicapi said they have long had ambitious dreams about the next steps for CAMP, but that always felt further down the road because of financial constraints. 

Now, she said, it feels like some of their dreams can become reality much sooner with this new funding. 

CAMP among first recipients of grant initiative 

The money comes from the Hudson's Bay Foundation and is administered by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. 

In 2022, the Hudson Bay Company announced that all money raised by the sale of its symbolic and controversial striped wool blankets would be dedicated to supporting Indigenous cultural, artistic and educational activities through an initiative titled Oshki Wupoowane — The Blanket Fund. The company provided a $1-million contribution to kick off the program. 

• Sales of iconic Hudson's Bay blankets will now support fund for Indigenous initiatives

The money is administered by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund. The fund is named for Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old who died in 1966 while trying to run away from a residential school, and Gord Downie, the late frontman of the band the Tragically Hip, who shared Chanie's story in his multimedia project The Secret Path.

• Gord Downie's Secret Path gave 'exposure' to residential school stories, Chanie Wenjack's sister says
• Why a dying Gord Downie struggled to reveal 'The Secret Path' to Canadians

CAMP was one of the first three groups to received grants from The Blanket Fund.

The White Buffalo Youth Lodge in Saskatoon also received a grant for $140,000 per year over four years.

"Each of these organizations moves reconciliation forward through Indigenous-led initiatives that revitalize Indigenous arts and cultural practices, strengthen community connections, and empower the next generation of Indigenous leaders," said Sarah Midanik, president & CEO of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, in a news release.