Indigenous youth in Saskatoon find strength in photography project

A photography project aims to change the waypeoplelook at inner-city Saskatoon.

The show, Four Seasons of Resilience, is made up of hundreds of pictures taken by more than 30 indigenous youth.

"I feel really proud of all of us," said photographer Michelle Banhegy. "We had an opportunity to show pieces of our life that can be shared with everyone."

The project asked young people to take photos that showed their "resilience"in the face of drugs, gangs and addictions. That included pictures of everything from nature to a row of traditional jingle dresses hanging on a backyard fence.

"We're resilient and we're powerful and we're not succumbing to these things that people find us statistically drawn to," said Banhegy.

The project was started by Andrew Hatala, a post-doctorate fellow at the University of Saskatchewan. He came up with the idea while working with young people as he was getting his PhD.

"I learned that there were a lot of strengths and positive aspects of youth growing up in this area," he said. "I really wanted to learn about that and bring that out, and to counter some of the negative stories."

The Four Seasons of Resiliencephoto exhibit will be held at the SCYAP gallery from Nov. 28 to Dec. 18th.