Jared Visitor Helps Indigenous Youth Find their Place and their Power

His Leadership is Building Bridges and Fostering Hope in the North

Lakehead student Jared Visitor has had many transformative moments in his life.

One of them was interviewing the trailblazing Indigenous leader, The Honourable Murray Sinclair.

The interview took place just months before the former Senator and Chief Commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada passed away in November 2024.

It was part of Jared's work with The Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, which aims to foster reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Chanie Wenjack was only twelve years old when he escaped from residential school in 1966 and died trying to walk 600 km back to his family. This tragedy sparked an investigation into Canada's residential school system.

"Working with youth has set me on a good path and the right direction," Jared says. Above, Jared teaches experimental archaeology to high school students in the Outland Youth Employment Program.

Jared came away from his encounter with The Honourable Murray Sinclair with a deeper knowledge of himself.

"He gifted me with advice and new perspectives to consider," Jared says. "During our conversation, he told me that my spirit name, Rainbow, may mean that my role in life is to bring people together. He said that each colour of the rainbow is distinct and unique, but that these colours merge at the ends."

A Winding Journey

Jared, a member of Sachigo Lake First Nation and a great-nephew of Chanie Wenjack, grew up in Moose Factory, Ontario, and Thunder Bay before his family moved to Pickle Lake, Ontario.

Education is not just desks and fluorescent lights. Learning happens everywhere—in the forest, in your backyard, and with your friends.

It was in Pickle Lake, at the age of 15, that Jared was hired to work for a Ministry of Natural Resources fire base, getting supplies ready for firefighters. When he was 18, Jared became a firefighter himself.

"I thought that firefighting was a waste of time in terms of figuring out my career path, but it taught me a lot," Jared says.

Jared has given back to the community in many ways, including volunteering with The New Hope Youth Centre and Urban Abbey. "When I work with youth, I always try to help them figure out what makes them feel alive. For me, that's music."

In the firefighting off-season, Jared began working one-on-one with special education students.

"I had a job as the custodian at the Moose Factory Academy of Christian Education, but I began filling in as an education assistant because they were short-staffed."

The experience made Jared realize that education was his calling. Working as an education assistant at Joy Ottereyes Rainbow Memorial School in Quebec only confirmed this insight.

For Jared, education is deeply intertwined with Truth and Reconciliation.

"We have to reconcile with ourselves, our families, and our communities," he says. "Once you reconcile these relationships, then you can begin reconciling between different peoples—education is integral to this process."

A Leader on the Rise

Jared enrolled in Lakehead's Honours Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Bachelor of Education concurrent program in 2021.

On campus, he found work as a Department of Anthropology lab assistant and as a mentor with the Niijii Indigenous Mentorship Program. Niijii provides educational programming to Indigenous youth throughout northwestern Ontario and gives them the confidence to consider postsecondary education.

"My parents' instilled their love of education in me," Jared says. "As a kid, I remember riding the bus with my mom to Lakehead's Thunder Bay campus where she was studying for her education degree."

Jared is now Niijii's outreach coordinator, something that surprises him. "I used to be very shy and walled off, but young people helped heal me. That's why I want to see them fly as much as I can."

Part of helping them fly has meant shifting his career goals. "I planned to be a teacher and then a special education coordinator. Now, I want to change the minds of people who dictate what education is.

Education is not just desks and fluorescent lights. Learning happens everywhere—in the forest, in your backyard, and with your friends."

Click here to watch Jared's 2024 interview with the Honourable Murray Sinclair.