Jordin Tootoo was in North Battleford on Wednesday for the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs 'You’re Never Alone' youth conference (Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs/Facebook).

By Austin Mattes

You’re Never Alone

‘Use the land to find yourself’: Jordin Tootoo inspires youth at BATC conference

Apr 10, 2025 | 2:50 PM

Over 1,200 kids cheered with admiration and joy as former NHL player Jordin Tootoo took to center ice at the Access Communications Centre on Wednesday for the Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs (BATC) ‘You’re Never Alone’ youth conference.

From Little Pine to Red Pheasant, Pound Maker and beyond, the conference brought First Nation bands from across the North West together all with the purpose of promoting mental health support, said Leslie Ann Smith, Director of Health Services for the BATC.

“We wanted to bring all our youth and put on this event talking about ‘we matter’ and promote our phone line, which is ‘You’re Never Alone’. We have professionals, either therapists or counselors and the line is open 24 hours a day. We want to let all the kids know they can phone it and just know there’s always someone there that will listen to them,” she said.

The event was a full day of presentations from Indigenous role models speaking on topics of pride, resiliency and community with keynote speaker, Tootoo concluding the afternoon.

Smith said the reason they chose to have Tootoo speak was because of how his story would resonate with the community.

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“He has his own story that he has shared with the world and his story is our story in many ways. So, bringing Jordan to talk, it just shows that if he can talk about it, everyone can talk about it and that it’s okay to say you’re not OK and that was very important,”

Tootoo, who had an illustrious career as the first Inuk player in the NHL, has been very open about the mental health struggles he faced during his playing career.

Now, following his NHL career, it’s events like this that allow him to share his story and help make a difference in the community, he said.

“It’s always great to get back to our communities, especially to inspire our Indigenous kids to show them that it doesn’t matter where you come from, anything’s possible and for me personally, it allows me to show our people that we all have struggles and that life is all about choices,” said Tootoo.

Tootoo with the organizers of the ‘You’re Never Alone’ youth conference.(Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation/Facebook).

During his presentation he talked about his experiences with racism and trauma, along with overcoming obstacles and making changes. He said that the biggest takeaway he wanted the younger generation to go home from the presentation with was the importance of culture.

“I think for our people it’s getting back to your roots. Get back to your culture and use the land to find yourself and inspire you because when you’re out there, you got to keep moving to survive and that goes for everyday life. You need to show and prove to yourself that only you can make those changes. You’re going to fail, you’re going to be judged, there’s going to be jealousy, but that’s out of your control. All you can control is your actions and being the best version of yourself,” said Tootoo.

Youth in the community and surrounding areas experiencing mental health challenges can call The BATC 24-Hour Youth Help Line at 310-3310.

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Austin.mattes@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @AustinMattes