 My name is Sarah Brazoskis and I'm the Storyboot School Coordinator for the Manitoba-Muqlaks Storyboot School. The Storyboot School is a national charitable organization with a focus on teaching the traditional art of Muqlaks and Muqlaks in making. So our program, it actually started in 2013 by the founder of Manitoba-Muqlaks, Sean McCormick, and it was his way of giving back for these thousands of year old designs, the Muqlaks and Muqlaks in that specific design of our ancestors. That was his way of giving back to our ancestors thinking what would they want to see happen and most importantly I think it's that sharing and that intergenerational sharing of knowledge and kind of our history. You know part of our focus in teaching this this program, the Muqlaks and Muqlaks in making is we're really hoping to see this kind of spark the next generation of great indigenous artists and we very intentionally choose not to call Muqlaks and Muqlaks in making a craft or crafters because it kind of has this connotation that it's something anyone can do at home with say popsicle sticks or something like that. So it really is an art form and we really want to bring it into the forefront as something that is you know a fine art and something that you you pay good money for and that is really highly regarded in our not only indigenous culture but you know within our country. So some of the ways that we measure our success are you know an annual and quarterly review of grad surveys and student surveys just you know kind of assessing how they how they experienced the program and what maybe they would like to see done differently in the future. We also review our KPIs and metrics and just like to see you know how we've grown. So we're really happy to say that we were able to pay our instructors $50,000 last year and this is something that kind of grows with each year as we're able to expand our programming and our reach. So we've also seen over 2,000 students graduate the storyboot school so which is really really amazing something that we're really proud of just knowing that you know each of these students have not only gone home with their own pair of Muqlaks or Muqlaks but they have that knowledge now to pass those those teachings along to their their future children or their siblings or yeah something something that you know we really hold dear. So our target age range is indigenous youth particularly so I think typically that's about anywhere from you know 12 up to 21 but we found was there was a lot of interest between 21 and 30 years old so what we were what we decided to do was kind of extend our kind of our definition of indigenous youth up to 30 years old. So our focus is indigenous youth and we offer free programming for anyone who falls within that range but actually within the last year we also opened up our programming to include general admissions so you know non-indigenous participants non-youth participants but we always reserve half of our seats for indigenous youth and because that is still our primary target and our goal is to to reach these youth and kind of help form and spark that that creativity. One of the the benefits of you know introducing the general programming is obviously that that cross-cultural sharing and you know understanding when you have everyone sitting together in a room your hands are busy you're kind of chatting about your day and you know a lot of discussion just naturally happens and then obviously it's it's also that economic generator for our indigenous instructors as well so we're still reaching the same amount if not more of indigenous youth with our programming but we're also able to double the amount of classes that we we hold which increases that increases the amount of teaching opportunities for our instructors. We do our best to have youth attend with you know parents caregivers in some cases siblings cousins oftentimes even if our classes is fully booked well we'll make space for someone who is a family member because we love to see that that sharing with with people who have those you know those familial ties. I think we've really seen firsthand the the impact of our efforts in you know a lot of the the faces that are just filled with pride and you know just absolutely beaming not not having not realizing that they were able to actually you know from start to finish create something that they're able to wear and you know is is so closely connected to our roots and our our history as as indigenous people. The other the other piece is that our programming has grown substantially within the last six years where we are now we're a national program we hold classes throughout the year here in Winnipeg at the Manitoba-Makalaks headquarters as well as the year round at the Badashu Museum in Toronto. We also hold pop-up classes nationally with different within different universities cultural centers and and directly on First Nations so we've actually been able to visit several First Nations here in Manitoba and with the hopes of you know continually continuing to expand that just across Canada. In our programming with with Makalak and Makasin making something that I've learned and that I've seen firsthand is it's really not just the construction or making of a Makalak or Makasin. The programming really does teach a sense of pride and you know it also kind of ignites this creative spark and this artistic side out of a lot of pulls that out of a lot of our participants and with the youth especially I think it's it really is you know that there's that really big really big sense of achievement so Makalak and Makasin making is something that's it's highly intricate and a lot of hard work and time and energy goes into each stitch and each bead you know anywhere from 20 hours probably at a minimum up to you know 50 hours will go into your first pair of Makalaks so that's something a lot of a lot of youth don't realize when they sign up for the program. We see a lot of frustrations voiced and expressed throughout the process but what what comes at the end of it is just this amazing sense of accomplishment and pride and you know not only in their in themselves but in in their culture and this appreciation for their history and yeah with with each stitch it really does kind of connect you to your ancestors and you know you can think about the fact that they were doing this thousands of years ago and it's kind of a tangible connection to that that history. Through the school a lot of friendships form and you know even our instructors as well as myself have kind of kept in touch with a lot of our participants and a lot of them still continue to sew and make Makalaks and Makasins and we see them actually turning them that into a micro business and and selling their work and you know getting better and better and you know using those those simple those simple steps that we teach in the beginning kind of the the basics of sewing the basics of sewing the basics of beating and and designing a Makalak and them applying those skills and and learning more and kind of continuing that journey on their own. We've seen participants actually teach their their younger children how to how to start making their own pairs of Makalaks and Makasins which is really amazing because that's you know really our our goal is that continuity and obviously we're here to teach these classes because that continuity is something that that's been broken you know thanks to the effects of residential schools so we're here to kind of insert ourselves and and teach teach the the the steps of Makalak and Makasin making teach this art but then the hope is that the the knowledge will continue long after we've gone and that you know that that continues being passed on for future generations. I think indigenous education is really just the sharing of that indigenous knowledge passing it forward to future generations and I think a really important aspect of that at least for us in the storyboot school is that that that knowledge is is actually shared from directly from a First Nations person or an indigenous person that is you know whether it's an artist or elder but it's kind of passing it forward just you know generationally. Where we where we hope to see the storyboot school in the future is as part of part of a curriculum so in the school systems you know Makalak and Makasin making becoming something that is almost commonplace and something that that youth will be learning. We also we also hope to develop a a digital archive so an online curriculum that's easily accessible and that anyone can can learn from home you know how to make their own pair of Makalaks or Makasins learn a little bit about the history and hear stories from different artists and elders about their experiences and kind of the the meaning behind each each stitch or each particular design or the the style of of work that they create. We would also love to visit different different First Nations communities across Canada to kind of develop develop that curriculum so that we have you know a specific design that's unique to you know the Ojibwe people or the Kree people, Denay and so forth. I think our our vision I think that we would like to to see indigenous education become something that's a lot more commonplace and you know is a bigger part of the the school curriculums in general. So one of our visions for the future as well is to include or have our our education tied in with with land-based knowledge and you know not simply handing all of our students the leather that they use to make their Makalaks and Makasins but you know starting from the very beginning so with hunting of the the animal and the actual hide tanning having that become part of our curriculum as well so they're learning those skills that from start to finish create the the footwear the Makalaks and Makasins and it's not something that you just go and purchase from a store necessarily but we're also teaching those skills those you know very real skills that help sustain our ancestors for thousands of years. So I think I think the resources that our program would benefit from are the the knowledge the stories that are shared with us from different indigenous artists and elders you know representing a number of different nations so we would like to sit down with you know people that are of you know Métis, Ojibwe, Cree, Dene, Descent and many others and learn from them what their construction techniques for Makalaks and Makasins are. The history behind that the stories that that come with it and record and and take down all of this information and develop it into our curriculum for future classes so that they're specific to different nations.