Out of tragedy comes a light, or in this case a northern light.  The Northern Lights Movement for Kids is a response to tragedies like the shooting in La Loche and the rising number of Indigenous children committing suicide.

Celeste Leray-Leicht, vice-principal of St. Dominic School in Humboldt, says as an educator, she felt something should be done at the school level around the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action.

The first was sending out Valentines cards to the La Loche Ducharme elementary school, and the Grade 4s asked to be pen pals. Then, in 2018, Leray-Leicht’s son, Jacob Leicht, who was a Humboldt Bronco, died in the bus crash.

Leray-Leicht says she prayed to God and asked for a purpose and was very quickly flooded with ideas that connected to what had already begun – bringing Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth together to build relationships and connections.

That’s how the Northern Lights Movement for Kids began. Leray-Leicht says the hope is to foster peace and create unity through the examples of the children. One of the more recent projects is the Great Prairie Race. Classrooms from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are invited to challenge each other by walking, running, or skiing the distance between their community and the community of the classroom they are competing against.

Leray-Leicht says she has all the information for any classroom that wants to get involved. You can connect with her through the Northern Lights Movement for Kids Facebook page.