Education
Supporting Indigenous youth through culture and connection
Aug 24, 2026
A child in Calgary holds a custom-printed action figure modeled after themselves, and inspired by their culture, values and strengths and brought to life through 3D printing technology. In Quebec, young artists discover their voice through painting, theatre and storytelling alongside Indigenous artists and mentors. In Ontario, a child chooses an Indigenous-authored book from an accessible vending machine, bringing home a story in which they can finally see themselves reflected.
Three different programs, three different provinces, but one shared outcome. When Indigenous youth see their culture reflected in the spaces where they learn, create and grow, it changes how they see themselves, and what they believe is possible.
In 2025, the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation through the TELUS Community Boards invested more than $1.2M with Indigenous-led organizations across Turtle Island, the land many Indigenous Peoples call home. These Indigenous-led partnerships, enabled culturally grounded opportunities for children and youth strengthening their identities, building their self-confidence and developing their skills for the future.
From the arts and land-based learning to literacy, technology and family connection, each program reflects the unique strengths of its community while sharing a common purpose: helping Indigenous youth thrive.
Finding confidence through art and self-expression
In Maliotenam, Quebec, Indigenous youth are exploring theatre, music, writing, painting and other creative arts to reconnect with their culture, discover their voices and imagine new possibilities for the future. Through immersive, creative residencies, participants work alongside artists and cultural mediators while drawing inspiration from their own language, traditions and lived experiences.
As one facilitator in the program reflected:
"The greatest challenge is not having dreams. It is keeping the right to dream, even when reality tries to take that away from us."
With funding from the TELUS Rimouski and Montreal Community Boards, Exeko's idAction program has supported Indigenous youth on their ongoing journey of artistic exploration through workshops, mentorship and community connection. What starts off as a first sketch or scene, develops into a public performance or exhibition. Participants have described it simply as one of the only spaces where there’s no judgement, and where they feel seen, heard and empowered.
Where traditional knowledge and technology meet
Land-based learning and modern technology come together through Indigenous Futuring: Kids Culture Camp. Indigenous children, youth and their families learn from Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and one another through medicine walks, storytelling and cultural teachings, strengthening their connection to land and identity. By bringing together Indigenous ways of knowing with innovation through digital fabrication and other creative technologies, the program helps young people build confidence, develop new skills and discover how both perspectives can work together to shape the future.
With support from the TELUS Manitoba & Saskatchewan Community Board, Indigenous Pathways designed the camp around four goals: belonging, mastery, independence and generosity, showing young people that honouring where they come from and building toward where they're going aren't in tension. They're the same thing.
Celebrating Indigenous superheroes
What if every child could see themselves as a hero?
Through Medicine Wheel Warriors in Calgary, Indigenous youth work with Elders and community mentors to explore Indigenous teachings, then translate what they learn into superhero identities rooted in their own strengths, values and culture. Using 3D scanning and printing technology, these heroes are transformed into custom action figures and personalized trading cards, something each child can hold onto as a reminder of who they are.
Supported by the TELUS Calgary & Southern Alberta Community Board, the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth (USAY) built the program to do three things at once: strengthen cultural pride, build confidence and spark an early interest in STEM through this one-of-a-kind program. Seeing themselves represented as heroes helps participants recognize the strengths they already carry.
Creating pathways to digital futures
Digital skills are opening new doors for Indigenous youth to tell their own stories, pursue meaningful careers and strengthen their connection to their culture. Through IndigiFUTURES, participants explore digital storytelling, coding, web development, entrepreneurship and creative technology alongside Indigenous-led mentorship. They develop career-readiness skills, expand their professional networks and discover new pathways to career development opportunities.
With funding from the TELUS Barrie & Central Ontario Community Board, Indigenous Friends Association is helping Indigenous youth prepare for the future while increasing Indigenous representation in technology and the creative industries.
As Executive Director, Keshav Kant shared:
"This year, IndigiFUTURES reached 339 Indigenous participants across the country, from foundational digital literacy through paid internships and career readiness. Every single participant who completed our programs told us they left with stronger digital confidence and a deeper connection to their culture. That's the outcome we're building toward: not just skills, but a generation of Indigenous youth who see themselves reflected in technology and creative industries. The partnership with TELUS Community Boards enables programs like this to thrive in communities where they are most needed."
Strengthening identity through literacy and connection
Stories have the power to help young people see themselves, strengthen their sense of belonging and imagine what's possible.
In Toronto, The LIT Project (Literacy Enhancement in Indigenous Communities), is giving Indigenous children ongoing access to culturally relevant books and literacy programming that celebrates Indigenous voices, while building the foundational skills needed for lifelong learning.
With support from the TELUS Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area Community Board, Start2Finish provided Indigenous children with Indigenous-authored books through an innovative book vending machine and its Brainworx! literacy program. Together, they encourage children to build home libraries, strengthen literacy skills and develop confidence rooted in the Seven Sacred Teachings.
The idea behind it is simple but powerful: representation matters. Indigenous-authored books are both mirrors, reflecting children's own identities back to them, and windows, introducing them to the diversity and breadth of Indigenous cultures and experiences. By making these books accessible, the program helps foster a lifelong love of reading while strengthening children's sense of identity and belonging.
Keeping families connected through storytelling
Sometimes a familiar voice reading a favourite story can become a powerful reminder that love and connection remain close, even across physical distance.
For Indigenous families impacted by incarceration, staying connected can be especially difficult. The Light Fires: Indigenous Prison Arts & Education Project, helps preserve those important bonds through creative, arts-based education programs that strengthen literacy, culture and family relationships, even when family members can’t be in the same room.
Through Bedtime Stories, one of the project’s most meaningful initiatives, the incarcerated individual records themselves reading a children's book aloud. The recording is sent home to the child with the book itself, a stuffed animal and a pair of pajamas, creating a lasting connection through the simple act of storytelling, even from far away.
With funding from the TELUS Edmonton & Northern Alberta Community Board, the University of Alberta offers free education programming that supports incarcerated parents, siblings and caregivers in staying present in their children’s lives.
For participants, the experience is deeply personal.
"I wanted to participate in this workshop because it's a way to interact with my kids from prison.”
Building stronger futures, together
With the support of the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation and the TELUS Community Boards, organizations across Canada are helping Indigenous youth envision a friendlier future. These local investments go beyond funding. They are partnerships that help create spaces where Indigenous youth can learn, lead, create and thrive. These programs, led by Indigenous communities, affirm that the next generation already knows their stories matter, and are building the spaces where those stories are celebrated, heard, and carried forward.
