Through a Creative Kids-funded beading program, young participants in the Saskatoon city core are discovering more than just a new hobby. The experience is helping them build new skills and express themselves creatively.

The Beading Our Stories (waskwayak ê-mâci-nêhiyawêwin) program held at St. Francis Cree Bilingual School (awâsisak kâ-nîmîhtocik) ran twice a week from October to December 2025. Thanks to the Creative Kids Dream Broker Program Grant, students from grades 9 to 12 came together during lunch hours to make a variety of beaded items under the mentorship of school staff and Knowledge Keepers and Elders. Participants made everything from hair ties and earrings to regalia pieces that they will wear to compete in powwows. There was a showcase of the students’ work at a school assembly right before the holiday break, so they could share their projects with their peers.

The Dream Broker program helps inner-city youth facing financial barriers access sport, recreational and cultural activities during school hours, evenings, weekends and over summer break. This year, thanks to the Creative Kids Dream Broker Program Grant, over 250 inner-city children and youth from across the province were able to access this valuable programming, including St. Francis students.

Dao Duong, Beading Our Stories program coordinator and Dream Broker at the school, says the program strengthens community bonds and aligns with the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action around education, language and cultural empowerment.

“It helped kids not only to carry culture and be future Knowledge Keepers, but it also brought Elders and students together to view relationships across generations, restore ways of learning and share knowledge,” Dao says.

Dao shares that one young participant said they’ve “learned patience, focus, and how to turn simple materials into something meaningful. Thanks to the Creative Kids grant, I feel proud of what I can create and more confident in my abilities,” they said.

Dao explains that the school is Indigenous-focused and serves a majority Indigenous student population. As a result, it is important for the students to have access to extracurricular programs that support students as they navigate the ongoing impacts of colonization, residential schools and cultural disconnection. Creative Kids support has made this possible.

“The [program] offers a safe space to explore and reclaim their cultural identity through beading, storytelling and the Cree language,” Dao says. “Beading is more than crafts: it teaches kids about their heritage and how to celebrate it.”