Thunder Bay Gladue report workshop aims to educate aboriginal youth

Superior Morning6:04Gladue - Know Your Rights

It's all about teaching young aboriginal people their rights. Kara Loutit is the Gladue Services Worker at the Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre. She's running a workshop today.

The Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre wants to make sure aboriginal youth know their rights, should they end up before the courts.

It's hosting a workshop Thursday to teach students about Gladue services. Gladue reports inform the courts about an aboriginal person's background, including family history and any historical trauma.

The Gladue services worker at the Friendship Centre told CBC News it's important for youth to know about the reports, especially in light of higher incarceration rates for indigenous people, and concerns about police street checks.

"We believe that we just need to reach out to as many aboriginal youth as possible just so that they're aware of what their rights are," Kara Louttit said, adding that the young people will also be told about what types of programs are available to them, if they do end up in front of the courts.

"Right now we're seeing police checks [and] street checking. We know that there are some concerns out there, especially for our First Nations youth that come in from northern communities into Thunder Bay," she said.

The workshop for Aboriginal youth takes place at 4 p.m. at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School.