Free Spirited Losstender

I am a 2 Spirited active member of the Northern Alberta Community. I have a passion for youth/community and social development through music, play and free expressions. I bring my own lived experience, sharing personal stories as we grow and build our most vulnerable community together. I am an advocate who supports criminalized folks and challenges punitive systems.   

Approach:

- Safe Space   
- Music, Writing, Word Expressions
- Recreation & Wellness
- Advocacy & Empowerment  
- Sharing Circles 

Loss experiences:

- Relationships  
- Family  
- Time / Freedom
- Mental Well Being 

Poetry Losstender (all pronouns)

I am a queer, trans, mixed white cree person. Writing is a joy in my life -- it has provided me with so many ways to voice complex emotions that I hadn’t thought were voiceable. 

The only thing that’s kept me feeling normal about loss has been poetry. I love all sorts of poetry-- long winded, short, incomplete, or stuff I’ll never show anyone. Sitting down and writing, no matter how ‘good’ you think it is, can help. Write no matter what! Even if you think it sucks! Poetry is everywhere & it’s beautiful!

Approach:

- Turning conversation into poetry
- Writing letters, stories, dialogues, etc.
- Using writing as a way of giving voice to our unspoken feelings & memories 
- Listening to your story

Loss Experiences:

- Loss of body
- Loss of culture
- Loss of parent, and family members

Maker Losstender

I'm  a queer cis woman descendant of white settlers living as a treaty person in amiskwaciy. A culture worker, arts administrator, seed farmer, placekeeper, and community member, I am passionate about tapping into the magic of co-creating this messy life with my neighbours of all ages. 

I work at the overlap in the Venn diagram of climate justice, artistic expression and community care for facilitation of peer to peer mentorship in hard and soft skills. With regular gatherings in  the gardens at CO*LAB and around the core, we will  empower each other through craft, ritual and release of big feels.

Approach:

- Photos, Collage, drawing and zines
- Textiles, mending, and costuming
- Guerilla art and performance

Loss Experiences:

- Relationships with family and friends
- Peoples and more than human beings
- Climate crisis and genocides

Yo! I’m Darren, or if you prefer, many people just call me beast. I’m a freestyle rapper and poet with a passion for safe spaces, equality, and making a difference in the world. 

I grew up homeless as a youth, with one sick parent & one absent one. I decided quite young to focus my anger and destructiveness into music & creativity, rather than land in jail or worse. 

Approach:

to witness and encourage people to express free thought, whether hiphop, or simply free verse / creative writing. 

Loss experiences:

- Family (Mother)
- Jobs (Laid off)
- Security / home (unhoused/poverty)
- Health / mental health (Diabetes, ADHD, complex anxiety/depression)
- Time/money (former drug, alcohol and gambling addict)

Creative Losstender

I am a first generation Turtle Islander.  Travel and live music have been monumental in processing my own life challenges. I am a product of love and compassion and have the capacity to sit and be present as you process your own experiences. As an artist, I write rhymes with an underlying message of self forgiveness, strength, and empowerment.

Approach:

- Anything! We can talk, we can sit in silence, or howl at the sun. We can create or just…be
- Reconnecting with nature & culture
- Catharsis through creating
- Simple joy and kindness

Loss Experiences:

- Loss of job and home
- Loneliness and not fitting in 
- Loss of friends, loved ones, partners, mentors
- Disconnection from culture & nature

Khiry is a son & he's a dad. Khiry's a listener & learner from the experiences he's had. Khiry has been up & he's been down. Khiry had hit rock bottom & pulled himself up from off the ground. Khiry has been counted on & counted out, but community & the people is what Khiry is about.

Approach:

- Treat people as good as you are, not as bad as they are

- Creative art expression: Writing such a story telling, rapping, poetry, meditation, reading, painting, drawing.

- Exercise/Physical Activities such as bodybuilding, dance basketball, soccer. Walking, jogging, running. Strength training.

Loss Experiences:

Loss of a parent, family members, friends, pets, community, land

Free Expression Losstender

I am an artist through music, art and play. I grew up and live in the inner city of amiskwaciwâskahikan (or Edmonton). I have a social work background which brings a critical and connecting mindset to creating practical change in my community. I believe, finding a place of growth and healing requires careful attention to what makes us unique in our journeys and letting in positive support to navigate oppressive systems.

Approach:

- Songwriting, Music
- Painting, drawing, photography
- Practical life skills building
- Gardening
- Play

Loss Experiences:

- Death of close friends/family
- Leaving abusive relationships
- Mental Health 
- Community loss