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In this article from Alberta Sweetgrass, Sharon Goulet talks about several different after school programs in Calgary that focus on teaching different elements of Aboriginal culture, from painting and sculpture to ceremonies and teachings with elders.

If you live in Calgary and want to see what programs are available in your area, go to www.calgary.ca/afterschool, select search by "program type" and select "culturally-based programs". You will find a list of all the city's culturally-based after school programs with the location and a brief program description.

Castlemont Business and Information Technology School in East Oakland has a drop-out rate of 1 in 2 students, but they are trying to improve students' options and outcomes by promoting and teaching resilience skills.

By Beatrice Motamedi
Oakland Tribune correspondent

It's third period at Castlemont Business and Information Technology School in East Oakland. A visitor begins a discussion about poverty, bad food and crime. Tough times? Tough streets? These high school students aren't stressing.

Being a teenager can be rough - relationships, hormones, parties, school - there are lots of things to feel stressed or even depressed about. But how do we know if a friend or family member is severely depressed and maybe even thinking about suicide? James Thomas thought his sister's depression was just a result of normal teenage stuff, but she committed suicide a year after highschool. For the last 8 months James has been working with Annmarie Nicholson from the Royal Ottawa Health Care Group to help other people recognize suicide risk and learn how to talk about it.

Whitehorse—Yukon youth will have a new resource to help them discover their career options, Education Minister Patrick Rouble and Skookum Jim Friendship Centre President Nelson Lepine announced today.

“The Department of Education is proud to partner with Skookum Jim Friendship Centre to help youth across Yukon identify the right career choice, and realize their full potential,” Rouble said. “This three-year pilot program will open doors through education and awareness.”

OTTAWA - Luke Richardson, the Royal Ottawa Foundation for Mental Health, the Sens Foundation and the Ottawa Senators announced today the creation of awareness and fundraising initiatives designed to inspire conversations about youth mental health.

In November 2010, Richardson’s daughter, Daron, 14, took her own life.

“We lost a beautiful daughter and sister,” said Luke Richardson, on behalf of his wife, Stephanie and 16-year-old daughter Morgan. “Daron was also a dear friend and teammate to many. She is sorely missed by all of us.”

By Jim Bell, Nunatsiaq News
QALUIT — Before an audience of about two dozen Iqaluit teenagers gathered inside a local youth centre, Leona Aglukkaq, the national health minister, on Friday announced a $2.4-million boost to a regional research program aimed at improving the mental health of Nunavut youth.

"As a northerner I have seen how difficult it can be for small or remote communities to deal with mental health issues affecting our young people," she said. "And it also pains me to say the suicide rate in Nunavut is highest among young people, and this has to change."

(GLOBE AND MAIL, CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD )