Two Saskatchewan artists have put together a program that aims to tackle conversations about trauma and cultural sensitivity head-on.
The Community Arts Mentorship Program’s Trauma-Informed and Cultural Sensitivity Training (T.A.C.T.) session includes a broad range of lessons, from lectures to practices, that participants can include in their lives.
“We all know there’s something going on, so let’s just talk about it. And that’s what we try to do in these training courses,” co-founder Eliza Doyle said.
Recent data from Statistics Canada shows that nearly half of racialized Canadians faced racism and discrimination in the past five years.
Co-founders Doyle and Holly Yuzicapi launched their program, which is 12 hours long and takes place over two days, after seeing a need to help educate other artists to be more culturally sensitive and aware.
“Because we’re both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, our experiences and our perspective of the foundation of what we do in our work, we really need to share the message with others that there are really positive and healing opportunities in the arts,” Yuzicapi said.
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The program has expanded to include other organizations.
“The shift that caused us to work more with organizations and different diverse groups was a public need,” Doyle said.
“People heard about it, and they said, ‘Oh, well, can my organization have training in this?’”
Prevention specialist and addictions counsellor Rend Teed brings decades of experience on the issue to his portion of the presentation.
“Most racism, most discrimination is really fear-based,” Teed said.
“Ultimately, what we’re trying to do is open up people’s minds, which reduces fear.”
At the end of Day 1 for this week’s program, one participant said he already felt a change in his perspective.
“There’s been a lot of talk and frankly, as there should be, a lot of talk in the past. But how do we move forward and how do we facilitate that healing with each other and within ourselves? And so that’s what I’m really excited to take away and grow from,” Andrew Bay said.
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