Gitxsan Youth Movement

Help Save Gitxsan Words — Donate $20 We are Gitxsan Youth Movement (GYM), a youth-led initiative (ages 18–35) reconnecting young people with Elders and knowledge keepers to revive Gitxsan language and culture. Our community is small and shrinking; fluent Gitxsan speakers are concentrated among elders. Working estimate: roughly 100 fluent elders (60+). We have a high death rate and are losing about 1 elder per month. Each loss means songs, stories, and laws that may be gone forever. Why we need your help We applied to every open funder since January 2026 and received no funding. We urgently need resources to pay Elders, support youth organizers, and create accessible, culturally verified digital learning materials. Your impact $20 — phone/data support so a young person can join a practice circle $40 — honorarium for an Elder to lead a session $100 — funds production of a short learning video used by many youth Our plan (CA$91,000 / 12 months) Pay youth digital leads and Elder honoraria Produce 12–24 culturally verified short videos Run monthly online practice circles and three contests Provide phone/data support so youth can participate Fund steps to add Gitxsan to language-learning platforms and cover app access for youth How to help Donate: every $20 matters. Volunteer: digital, video, outreach, events, fundraising, admin, mentorship — we will train you. Share: spread this campaign to your networks. Contact Gitxsan Youth Movement gitxsanyouthmovement.org Please donate, volunteer, and share. This is a plea from the heart to save our elders’ words and our future. Um'aya Thank you.

Um’aya (Thank you) for standing with us, seeing us, and investing in our future. Every dollar you contribute helps fund the survival, healing, and thriving future of Gitxsan youth. If you cannot donate, please share this link directly with your network to break the silence. Support the Gitxsan Youth Movement: Resisting Erasure through EmpowermentOur Truth Will Not Be Erased right now, modern society practices a deep, comfortable complacency. It is a painful reality, but people routinely look away from systemic injustices, staying inside a "bubble" of denial to protect their own peace of mind. In psychology, this is called cognitive dissonance and moral disengagement. Society often seeks the total erasure of Indigenous peoples because facing living, thriving survivors forces them to look into a mirror of their own historical remorse. But we are still here. We refuse to be erased to protect their comfort. Welcome to the Gitxsan Youth Movement Society (GYMS). Reactivated in January 2026, we are dedicated to empowering the young leaders of the Gitxsan Nation (ages 18 to 35). We work to honor, embrace, and empower our youth by fostering an unshakeable connection to our rich heritage, traditions, and distinct rights to self-determination. We are directly answering the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and upholding the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). We are replacing society's complacency with cultural survival.How Your Donations Will Be Used:To pop the bubble of indifference, we need resources to fuel our grassroots work. Your financial support will go directly toward funding our core initiatives:Cultural Workshops & Leadership Events: Teaching Gitxsan youth about their identity, traditional laws, and cultural awareness.Community Gatherings & Safe Spaces: Creating environments where our young people feel seen, heard, valued, and connected to one another. Chief & Elder Collaborations: Funding the vital intergenerational transfer of knowledge, language, and heritage from our elders to our youth.Operational Continuity: Keeping our vital programs running out of our Burnaby hub so our young leaders can continue to thrive. Transparent & Accountability Information: Organization: Gitxsan Youth Movement Society (GYMS) Contact: [email redacted] Social Media: @GitxsanYouthMovement Every dollar you contribute helps fund the survival, healing, and thriving future of Gitxsan youth. If you cannot donate, please share this link directly with your network to break the silence. Um’aya (Thank you) for standing with us, seeing us, and investing in our future.

Who We Are The Gitxsan Youth Movement is dedicated to empowering the youth of the Gitxsan Nation—ages 18 to 35—through cultural engagement and community building. We work to honor, embrace, and empower Gitxsan youth by fostering a strong connection to our rich heritage and traditions. Our Journey Founded in 1998, the Gitxsan Youth Movement began with a pilot project aimed at supporting Aboriginal youth. Initially taken over by the Gitanmaax Band and rebranded as the Gitxsan Nation Youth, the program has since been reactivated January 2026 to ensure our young leaders can thrive in a supportive and culturally rich environment. Our Mission As members of the Gitxsan Youth Movement Society, we are dedicated to empowering our young people by reconnecting them with our rich cultural heritage and traditions. We embrace the path of healing and reconciliation, aligned with the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and reflecting the existing collective human rights of Indigenous peoples as recognized in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). All funds will be used to create reels sharing Gitxsan tradition on social networks. #undrip #DRIPA #Indigenous #donatehere