The Dené Youth Land-Based Healing Camp Pilot Project

September 26, 2022 in News
Explorer: Fall 2022

The Dené Youth Land-Based Healing Camp Pilot Project was the first Dené youth-led experiential project at a university, community, and regional health authority. Creating the project and underpinning this community-driven land-based health intervention program, Michelle Zinck – originally from Fond du Lac – engaged community members, community health leaders, elders, knowledge holders, volunteers, and AHA staff members, including the Youth Worker, Dustin Augier, who is a Fond du Lac band member.

Twenty-nine Dené youth from Fond du Lac participated in the land-based intervention that took place on the sacred Denésułiné land known as the Athabasca Sand Dunes. As part of multi-disciplinary experiential learning, youth were able to gain awareness of their own health practices through peer support, self-help tools, and community communication. Numerous organizations worked together to make this happen, and ABD contributed $5,000 towards this initiative.