What is We Matter?

We Matter is an Indigenous youth-led and nationally registered organization dedicated to Indigenous youth support, hope and life promotion.

Our work started with the We Matter Campaign – a national multi-media campaign in which Indigenous role models, youth, and community members from across Canada submit short videos, written and artistic messages sharing their own experiences of overcoming hardships, and communicating with Indigenous youth that no matter how hopeless life can feel, there is always a way forward.

Suicide rates for Indigenous youth are several times higher than that of other Canadians, as well as rates for challenges like addiction, abuse, and school drop outs. We believe this doesn’t have to be the case.

Our Mission

Our mission is to communicate to Indigenous youth that they matter, and create spaces of support for those going through a hard time while fostering unity and resiliency. We provide a forum for people across the country to share messages of hope and positivity. By sharing our stories, our words of encouragement, and our authentic messages of hope and resilience, we help to make a community and nation stronger.

We remind youth that I Matter. You Matter. We Matter.

We prove that we are all #StrongerTogether

What We Do

Through our national projects and programs, We Matter 

  • Connects Indigenous youth with positive messages of hope, culture, strength, healing, mental health and life promotion
  • Gathers, connects, and amplifies Indigenous and Indigenous youth voices and stories
  • Creates space and opportunity for Canadians to celebrate and honour the voices and experiences of Indigenous youth
  • Creates and distributes materials and resources designed to encourage and support Indigenous youth and those who work with Indigenous youth
  • Builds Indigenous youth capacity in schools and communities by helping to implement Indigenous youth-led initiatives and enabling peer-to-peer support

Learn more about our National Ambassadors of Hope, Toolkits, #IndigenousYouthRise Support Fund, and other resources by exploring our website. Check out the We Matter Campaign by visiting our Videos and Art & Stories pages, and following us on social media. 

We want youth to know:

  • They carry their own strengths

  • There are coping skills they can use during difficult times

  • Being Indigenous is AWESOME and something to be proud of

  • Taking action can improve their communities

  • They have skills and knowledge that can help themselves and others

  • They have the capacity to make change