By Zaynab W., Youth Volunteer
August 20, 2020
During this unprecedented time, where almost all physical social interactions have ceased to exist, the world is moving online and the Halton Youth Initiative (HYI) has taken the lead in the community. As a part of its Truth and Reconciliation journey, the HYI has designed events to create awareness in people about our indigenous communities, and as a result, we organised our first virtual Indigenous Scavenger Hunt.
On July 30th, volunteers from our Creative Spaces team held and organized their virtual scavenger hunt that revolved around the teachings and cultures of indigenous peoples of Canada. The Scavenger Hunt consisted of clues and tasks which encouraged participants to read about indigenous cultures and learn about different aspects of the lives of indigenous peoples.
Our adult ally Angela Bellegarde, the Our Kids Network Indigenous Lead, supported us in creating the event and taught us about the purpose of the virtual experience. The main objective of the scavenger hunt was to celebrate the cultures of indigenous communities in Canada because they have a significant role in Canadian history.
The Scavenger Hunt operated through the Zoom, virtual conference application. As our first time hosting a scavenger hunt online, it came with its challenges. We had to find a way to organize participants into teams and figure out a way for them to convey their findings to the host. The experience was a learning curve, and we completed the project taking away skills that we can use in the future. Participants were divided into teams of two or three and communicated their answers using a virtual whiteboard. The winner of the Scavenger Hunt was awarded the captivating novel, Son of Trickster, by Eden Robinson.
I participated in the production of the scavenger hunt and live event. My experience was exciting and educating, I learned things I never knew about the cultures of indigenous peoples and it was surprising to see how my lifestyle shares similarities with theirs. Another participant of the event, Tanvi, believed “The Indigenous Scavenger Hunt was captivating and provided an amazing opportunity to learn about not only Indigenous but Canadian culture and history.”
With the world moving to an online stage, a virtual scavenger hunt stimulates essential skills that are important to becoming successful, such as critical thinking and communication. The scavenger hunt is an entertaining game that can be implemented in our communities and businesses to educate individuals about imperative topics. In particular, the Indigenous Scavenger Hunt fits with the Canadian government’s plans to build a better relationship with indigenous communities.
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