Chief Sunrise Education Centre Expands Opportunities for Women, Girls, and Families Through Land Based Learning

The Northwest Territories School Sports Association (NTSSA) is proud to celebrate another inspiring success story through the Youth Engagement Initiative.

Thanks to funding provided through Canadian Women & Sport, Chief Sunrise Education Centre in the K’atl’odeeche First Nation used its Youth Engagement Initiative grant to create meaningful opportunities for girls and young women through land-based learning, cultural connection, leadership, and wellness.

What began as a project focused on supporting two women’s land-based camps quickly grew into something much larger.

By combining the NTSSA grant with additional community resources, Chief Sunrise Education Centre developed a series of experiences that included a Women’s Cultural Camp, Moosehide Camp activities, and several Sandy Creek Family Camps. This stacked funding approach expanded the reach of the project, creating opportunities for students, families, Elders, and community members to learn, grow, and connect together.

One of the highlights was the Women’s Cultural Camp, where female students, women, Elders, and community members spent a weekend together participating in traditional activities, storytelling, cultural teachings, wellness activities, and land-based learning. The camp provided a welcoming environment where participants strengthened cultural identity, built relationships across generations, and learned from respected Elders and Knowledge Keepers.

The project continued throughout May and June with Moosehide Camp activities that introduced female students to traditional teachings connected to harvesting, preparing, and working with moosehide. Alongside practical skills, participants developed stronger connections to their culture while benefiting from mentorship and guidance provided by Elders and community members.

The Sandy Creek Family Camps further expanded the project’s impact by bringing together children, youth, parents, and Elders through outdoor recreation, traditional food preparation, cultural activities, and community building experiences. Students took on leadership roles by helping organize camps, preparing meals, leading activities, and supporting younger participants.

The project demonstrated that youth leadership often develops when young people are trusted with meaningful responsibilities.

According to Principal Dr. Deborah Reid, the project resulted in increased youth participation, stronger connections between youth and Elders, greater confidence among participating students, enhanced cultural knowledge and belonging, increased family involvement, and more opportunities for women and girls to connect with culture, community, and positive role models.

While the Youth Engagement Initiative provides small grants to encourage student-led ideas, this project demonstrates how collaboration can multiply impact. By bringing together schools, community members, Elders, and additional partners, Chief Sunrise Education Centre created experiences that extended well beyond the original scope of the project.

The Northwest Territories School Sports Association extends its sincere thanks to Dr. Deborah Reid, the staff at Chief Sunrise Education Centre, the Elders, volunteers, families, and everyone who helped make these experiences possible.

These are exactly the kinds of initiatives the Youth Engagement Initiative was created to support, projects that empower young people, strengthen communities, and demonstrate that sport, movement, culture, and leadership all belong together.

The NTSSA Youth Engagement Initiative is made possible through the support of Canadian Women & Sport and helps schools across the Northwest Territories create student-led projects that encourage inclusion, leadership, confidence, and lifelong participation in physical activity.

We look forward to sharing more inspiring stories from communities across the Northwest Territories in the months ahead.