Level launches education, mentorship program in Thunder Bay to change lives through law

A new education and mentorship program launched by Canadian charity Level in Thunder Bay will enable elementary school students between the ages of 11 and 14 to learn more about law and the justice system. The program will see grade six and seven students from Kingsway Park Public School take part in the Indigenous Youth Outreach Program. A volunteer--a student from Lakehead University Faculty of Law--will run a variety of workshops on the Canadian criminal justice system. Since the Canadian criminal justice system is a colonial system, explained Level's Director of Programs Lisa Del Col, the students will also take part in Indigenous legal traditions and teachings. "We do a mock sentencing circle, we do smudging and we incorporate the eagle feather into the curriculum as well," said Del Col. Volunteers will need to approach the program with the mindset of being an ally, she explained, "because they're going to learn just as much from the youth, as the youth are going to learn from them." CBC (ON)