Five weeks apart. One week that stays with them for good
Not a camp. Not a field trip. A circle
What happens in that week is hard to summarize in a bullet point, so we won’t pretend otherwise. Youth who’ve never sat across from someone whose life looks nothing like theirs, sit across from someone whose life looks nothing like theirs – and find out how much they actually have in common. It’s the kind of week that tends to follow a youth home. Parents have told us their teenager came back changed – more willing to ask real questions at the table, more focused on where their future is headed, more mature, more of a leader.
We built HIP twelve years ago on the idea that reconciliation isn’t a lecture — it’s a relationship. Over 250 youth have come through this program since. This is that same fire, still burning.
The Question We Get, Every Single Time
“Can I come to the gathering with my Child?”
Short answer: no, and we’d rather tell you that straight up than have you find out later. Gathering sites have limited capacity, and that capacity is reserved for youth participants and our screened, trained staff and Elders – not family members, however much we’d love to have you along.
We know that’s not always the answer a parent wants to hear, especially the first time you’re sending your fifteen-year-old across the country on their own. So here’s the honest trade: what we ask you to give up in proximity, we make up for in structure. Every part of your child’s week – who supervises them, where they sleep, how they get there and back – is built around a level of oversight most youth programs don’t come close to. The next two sections walk through exactly what that looks like, so you’re not just taking our word for it.
The circle around your child
Nobody travels alone, even when they’re travelling “independently”
- You get them to the gate
You’re responsible for getting your youth to the airport and staying with them until check-in is complete. HIP arranges and funds the flight, and gives your child a full travel package with itinerary, instructions, and a 24/7 HIP emergency contact. - We track them the whole way
Youth check in with a HIP staff member at set points – after check-in, through security, at boarding, and on arrival – and have continuous access to a HIP contact for the entire travel day, which we monitor in real time. - We’re physically there to receive them
A HIP staff member or approved representative meets your child at the arrival airport in person. They are not permitted to leave the airport on their own – no exceptions unless pre-approved by you in writing. - Extra support when the trip calls for it
For complex connections, late or overnight travel, winter weather risk, or a youth who needs extra support, we’ll use – or recommend – Unaccompanied Minor service on top of our own oversight. It’s a case-by-case call, made with safety as the only variable that matters. - You’re there for the landing, too
Same as departure – you’re responsible for meeting your child at the home airport and letting us know when they arrive.
A Note for Parents & Guardians
If your Child gets nervous before they go, that’s normal.
We see it every gathering, with almost every youth. Here’s what to expect, and why it’s nothing to worry about.
Some nerves, a bit of homesickness, maybe a phone call on day one asking to come home. It happens. It passes fast.
For a lot of our youth, Y2Y is the first time they’ve been away from home on their own – no parent down the hall, no family bedroom to wander into, just a cabin full of kids they met over video calls a few weeks earlier. It’s completely normal for that to bring up some anxiety, both in the days leading up to the gathering and in the first hours after they land. If your kid seems quiet, a little on edge, or even calls you the first night sounding homesick, you haven’t done anything wrong, and neither have they. This is a well-worn part of the experience, not a sign something’s off.
Here’s what we’ve learned after years of watching it play out: it disappears fast. Almost without exception, the same kid who was clutching their phone on day one is trading contact info with new friends by day two or three. By the time the week wraps up, most of them have made what feels like forty-nine new best friends and genuinely do not want to leave.
A Note on Program Withdrawal or Dismissal
We hope every youth stays for the whole journey. But if a child needs to withdraw for any reason, or is dismissed from the program for a violation of the rules, here’s what you can count on: we’ll get them safely to the airport, and we’ll stay in close contact with you throughout.
What we can’t cover is the cost of that trip home. HIP is a small non-profit, run largely by volunteers, and every dollar we raise goes toward the program itself. So if a child withdraws or is dismissed, the family is responsible for arranging and paying for travel home from the airport.
We share this upfront so there are no surprises – just clarity, before the fire is even lit.
Message from the Executive Director
When your youth returns home from the Y2Y Experience, they’ll be changed. That’s what happens when you put Indigenous and non-Indigenous teenagers together on the land, guided by Elders and Knowledge Keepers, and give them space to really see each other. It’s a rare experience – and one your family won’t pay a cent for. We’ve kept it free since day one, because cost should never be the reason a youth misses this.
That only works because people who believe in it help carry the weight. So as your youth heads out on this journey, I’d be grateful if you’d consider a donation – big or small, one-time or monthly. It goes straight back into getting the next group of kids around the fire and helps support follow-up programs your youth will have the opportunity to participate in.
No pressure – just an open door, if you’re able to walk through it.
Thanks for trusting us with your children.
Warmly,
John Currie
Founding Executive Director, Honouring Indigenous Peoples
One fire. One people. One future.