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N'WE JINAN
Nwe Jinan is more than just a name; it is a declaration of presence, identity, and resilience.
In Cree, "We Live Here" speaks to the enduring spirit of indigenous communities who have
always been, and will continue to be, the stewards of their lands, cultures, and traditions.
Empowering Youth
N’we Jinan Creative Studios provide youth with opportunities to collaborate with professional musicians and music producers for in-school or community based programs ranging from 1-3 weeks of duration. These programs aim to empower youth to explore creative communication and share their artistic voices.
Networking and Connections
The N’we Jinan Festival & Youth Conferences brings together a network of youth and artists from across the map. It is an opportunity to celebrate the creative work of the incredible youth who have participated in our programming and for Indigenous youth to showcase their work on a national level.
The Story of N'we Jinan
"We Live Here" declares our enduring presence, our commitment to nurturing and protecting our home, and our responsibility to future generations
N’we Jinan, meaning “we live here” in James Bay (Eastern) Cree, was established in 2014 by Joshua Iserhoff, former Grand Chief of the Cree Nation Youth Council.
Originally conceived as a one-week intensive program, N’we Jinan offered youth the chance to gain skills in sound recording, music production, songwriting, and performance. Through the Mobile Music and Production Studio, participants created original songs that explored themes such as cultural identity, language, struggle, love, and self-acceptance. To date, more than 900 First Nations youth from 70 communities have taken part, resulting in 140 songs and videos that have collectively garnered over 20 million online views.
The N’we Jinan Mobile Production Studio has provided young people with a platform to write, edit, rehearse, perform, and showcase their talents to the world. The Studio fosters confidence and creates a supportive environment for collaboration, teamwork, and peer-to-peer encouragement.
Programs
N’we Jinan Integrative Arts
Arts programming through creative studios where Indigenous youth learn from artists and peers, developing transferable skills through art-making that they can apply to their lives in a broader sense.
N’we Jinan Art Skills For Success
A skill-building program that uses arts as a foundation for developing transferable skills, connecting to mentors and peers, and gaining real-world work experience in creative sectors.
Mikw Chiyâm Arts Concentration
An interdisciplinary arts program that co-inspires alternative spaces for creative learning by providing Indigenous students with opportunities and capacity to discover, build, and share their personal and collective voices through the arts.
N'we Jinan Festival & Youth Conference
The N’we Jinan Festival & Youth Conference celebrates the passion, courage, and creative journey of youth.
N’we Jinan Mobile Production Studio
Indigenous youth express themselves musically and creatively under the guidance of professional music producers, learning song recording, sound mixing, beat making, and music video production.
Our
Approach
Strategy
We innovate through living programs – Our programming is living and responsive, meaning our curricula, workshops and resources evolve in response to insights from people we work with, especially youth!
We foster opportunities for experiential learning – We inspire agency, creative literacy, confidence, and resilience through creative, experiential learning.
Execution
We meet students and communities where they are – Much of what we do is about creating spaces and providing tools for students to engage on their terms. This approach builds trust and confidence and empowers students to take creative risks as they make choices about how and what they want to express.
We build long-lasting relationships with youth and communities that have evolved into employment opportunities, record deals, speaking engagements, and more!
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Our Learning Principles
Learning is cyclical and integrated
Learning is experiential
Learning is interconnected
Stories ignite learning
Celebration is learning
Our work is built on a foundation of several key concepts:
Trauma-informed practice (TIP) is less about facilitating specific activities or lessons, and more about a way of being in relationship with students that foregrounds an attention and responsiveness to their needs. TIP requires consistent observation and reflection on what may work for particular students or groups of students.
Trauma-Informed Practices
Cultural safety ensures Indigenous people feel secure when accessing services, and it's the responsibility of service providers to dismantle power imbalances and colonial systems. Originating from Maori efforts to combat racism in healthcare, the concept extends beyond institutions, urging non-Indigenous people to critically engage with the systems they operate in while centering Indigenous experiences.
Cultural Safety
Indigenous cultural competency involves deepening knowledge of Indigenous contexts, developing culturally-grounded skills, and challenging personal biases. It requires self-awareness, responsibility, and a commitment to change to better support and center Indigenous peoples. This competency includes understanding stereotypes, traditional knowledge, the impacts of colonialism, and nation-specific protocols, all aimed at fostering meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities.