Crestwood Elementary School students were taught some high-flying tricks during class Wednesday as volunteer members of the Cousins Skateboard Community spent the day sharing skate tricks and Indigenous traditions including dancing, drumming and crafts.--NEWS PHOTOS BRENDAN MILLER
bmiller@medicinehatnews.com
Local elementary students had the opportunity to learn how to skateboard during class Wednesday with a volunteer team which aims to foster cultural engagement and reconciliation through skateboarding and by creating a sense of belonging and fun.
Members of the Cousins Skateboard Community spent the day with students at Crestwood School sharing their skills and tricks with students.
Stuart Young, founding member of Cousins Skateboard Community, says the sport of skateboarding has less barriers and costs of entry than other sports.
“Skateboarding was something we could just grab. There’s no rules, the cost is low and so we did that,” says Young. “For many of us growing up on the (reserve), they just didn’t have access to skateboard facilities.”
The volunteer group was founded in 2021 and travels to reserves throughout Treaty 7 with portable skateboard ramps and rails with a goal to empower Indigenous youth.
“At the end of the day, all of us want to belong,” says Young. “For us, that’s kind of why we started, let’s us use skateboarding as an avenue, as a tool that we all belong,”
Young says sports like skateboarding break down racial and cultural divisions and can be used to unite and bring people of different backgrounds together.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re Blackfoot, Dene, Filipino or Scottish.”
Cousins Skateboard Community also visits schools across Alberta to inspire students to try skateboarding while teaching traditional customs like round dancing and drumming, and honouring children and survivors of residential schools.
In the morning the team of volunteers held an engaging presentation for students in the auditorium that included a large round dance and drumming.
“We can get kids engaged about culture, not just Indigenous culture, but about their culture, about reconciliation,” says Young. “They can learn about their part in it, which is honestly just about participating and feeling like we belong together.”
After the presentation students went outside and broke into groups for a full day of learning to perform skateboard tricks and Indigenous traditions, including drumming, dancing and crafts.
Grade 1 student Johnny Marshall said he was impressed with the live skateboard demonstration at school. “It’s very, very cool and nice. I try to do it, they made it look easy but it looked a little bit hard.”
“My favourite things are how the powwow people dance,” explains Grade 4 student Almima Basara. “And I love, like, how they do cool tricks on skateboards.”
Grade 6 student Nixon Heninger says it was his first opportunity to try skateboarding. “It’s awesome, because I’ve never done skateboarding before, so it’s going to be a new thing.”
Grade 1 student Xander Gates was seen cheering as members of the Cousins Skateboard Community performed tricks. “It was really cool, they did a lot of flips and they jumped, it was really fun and cool.”
