Honouring the Girls' Stories

Enbridge is partnering with the Stardale Women’s Group to help build self esteem and empower urban Aboriginal girls by providing interactive learning and creative programming through the Honouring the Girls’ Stories program.

“Our investment in the Honouring the Girls’ Stories program goes right to the heart of our commitment to building sustainable communities,” said Teresa Homik, Manager, Aboriginal Affairs, Enbridge. “By providing young girls the opportunity to participate in enrichment programming that keeps them interested in learning and making healthy life choices, we are inspiring a new generation of youth to affect positive change and improve upon the world they have built.”

The Enbridge sponsorship is granted as part of the Enbridge School Plus Program, established by Enbridge in 2009 in partnership with the Assembly of First Nations to support enrichment programming and extracurricular activities in First Nations schools near major Enbridge pipeline routes. The program has expanded in 2010 to include initiatives that build strength and sustainability in Métis and urban Aboriginal communities.

Fashion Has No Borders event on March 20, 2010 with the Stardale girls modeling Canadian Aboriginal designers garments at the BMO Centre.

Honouring the Girls' Stories series

Girls are being sold a sexualized message at earlier ages than ever. They are treated more and more as consumers. The exposure through various media -- television, music, video games, the Internet et al -- brands them with warped views about sex and sexuality, which in turn can stunt their emotional, sexual and social well-being.

To counteract this phenomena and to hopefully bring about a balance for the Aboriginal girls we serve, Stardale developed a preventative intervention program for a target group ages 11- 17 years.

See the Video:

Stardale Women's Group Honouring the Girls' Stories series: Building Confidence in Self Through Modelling

The Stardale Model for programming follows a two-pronged approach to meeting the needs of participants – building mentoring relationships and nurturing artistic expression. The culturally-sensitive girl-focused content of the program is delivered in a weekly afterschool programming format engaging girls aged 11-17 in the areas of health and wellness, conflict resolution, boundaries, communication, healthy relationships, violence and abuse, and residential schools. The programming builds on the unique experience of fashion modelling as a tool for imparting skill sets in etiquette, poise, public speaking, personal hygiene, body awareness, and confidence while challenging the participants to discover a new lens for perceiving and engaging with fashion media. Modelling, as a dimension of performance art, opens group discussions to the depths of exploring beauty of self and of investigating the many ways of representing self to the world. Body awareness, personal calm, and coordination are further emphasized by guest instructors in yoga and dance. Community outings to culturally relevant events such as a Pow Wow and Round Dance, and well as popular culture events such as concerts, dinners, and gallery visits, acquaint the girls with the myriad personally-enriching activities available to them in the community. Additionally, journaling and scrapbooking will complement the self-explorations and group-explorations of themes that surface in sharing about life experiences.

The program is also an opportunity for girls to learn from community educators about social supports and programs such by inviting guests to present to the group on topics such as sexual and reproductive health, addictions and substance abuse, post-secondary education, and bullying. Further support networks are emphasized by promoting peer support that enhances self–esteem and self–nurturing through the difficult teen years. From the safety of these networks the girls can, and will be encouraged build on healthy behaviours and relationships.

Calgary Exhibition and Stampede 2010 at the Indian Village.

It was a cool evening, but the girls, staff and volunteers were real troopers. We had to keep moving to stay warm.

The Stardale Girls active in the community

It was a hot, sunny and a fun afternoon, when the Stardale girls and staff volunteered with the RBC Royal Eagles to “give” back to the Calgary community. The Royal Eagles hosted their annual barbecue for kids in support of back packs for the Calgary Aboriginal kids. This proved to be an enlivened experience for the whole group.