samantha westlands

Samantha first came to HIP as a participant – part of the inaugural national Y2Y gathering in Winnipeg in 2023. It deepened her connection to her Anishinaabe and Métis heritage and set the direction for her life since. She’s Anishinaabe, Métis, Scottish, Irish, and Welsh – the kind of bridge HIP exists to build, carried in one person.

She came back as a youth leader in 2024, then helped plan and lead gatherings in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and now Edmonton 2027. Most programs lose their participants once the week ends. HIP kept Samantha – and that’s the advantage: she’s sat on both sides of the fire, first as a youth being changed by it, now as the person helping build it for the next group, and she brings the youth perspective and voice into everything HIP does.

A Dean’s List student in Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba, she holds the University of Manitoba Indigenous Leaders Scholarship and the Marjorie Blankstein Memorial Scholarship. Since 2025, she’s served as Assistant to the Executive Director, working alongside John Currie on program planning, fundraising, and partnerships across the country.