Dawn Lindsay-Burns has been working at the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation (MARR) since September as part of the expanded Aboriginal Youth Internship program. Over the past several months 25 interns have been hard at work across the public service, and as Dawn explains, there is a lot to reflect on.

“I’ve totally loved the experience so far,” says the Cree-Métis woman. “My team has been so supportive. Sometimes with the title intern, and youth and Aboriginal on top of that, you could get stuck with less than exciting work, but my team treats me like an equal.”

At 28, with a Bachelor of Psychology under her belt, Dawn sees youth engagement as her professional focus.

Working in the Community Development Branch at MARR, she’s been focused on several projects involving youth in First Nation communities. These include drafting a resource guide for youth workers in Aboriginal communities and organizations and developing an Internship program that would encourage Aboriginal youth placements in First Nations and local governments. Dawn has also been working with the Ahousaht and Ehattesaht First Nations through Ahp-cii-uk (Aboriginal Leadership Initiative) on community-identified economic development projects.

When her nine-month term with the Province is completed in May, Dawn will be placed for three months in a selected Aboriginal organization to complete her internship year. She hopes to work with a local First Nation helping them develop a youth engagement strategy. ”I’m looking forward to working directly with a First Nation government, that’s something I’ve never done before,” she explains.

For Dawn, youth engagement is the first step to building capacity. And from her work with the ministry, she now sees the importance of capacity building in the context of treaty negotiations. “There’s real value in building capacity in the community at the same time as treaty negotiations.”

Being a part of the Aboriginal Youth Internship program has helped her find new career goals. In the past Dawn had been working with youth programs and counselling, and was searching for a different way of supporting change. Working at the ministry exposed her to new mechanisms such as relationship building and partnerships.

As for capacity building, Dawn thinks it’s not just for First Nations communities. “I think it would be very useful to have Aboriginal training available to public servants throughout government.”

With the Aboriginal Youth Internship program expanding again to provide more spots for interns next year, there will be increased opportunities for building Aboriginal youth capacity in developing professionals like Dawn.

The deadline for Aboriginal youth to apply for the Aboriginal Youth Internship is May 15, 2009. For more information on the program and how to apply, visit the Province’s website at www.bcpublicservice.ca/AboriginalYouthInternship.