Emerging Aboriginal identity in Saskatoon

In Saskatoon, Raymon points to a new online atlas of urban Aboriginal peoples published by the University of Saskatchewan. He follows the link with this little note:

I left him a comment saying that the little bit of work I have done with Aboriginal youth in Saskatoon has been remarkable. You have young kids with multiple ancestries – Cree, Metis, Ukranian, Scottish – trying to get a handle on what it means to be Aboriginal living in Saskatoon. And to make things more urgent, the simple demographics mean that in 15 years, these guys will be in charge of the whole province.

I think this new generation of youth in places like Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina are leading the way. In around 2020, Saskatchewan will be a largely Aboriginal province within the Canadian federation, and literacy in multiple identities will be a huge skill to making that work. With the youth coming up now who are sorting out these issues there is an emerging generation of leadership who are going to create some fantastic new ways of reconciling the sometimes competing needs of these different worlds.