Holly Rae Yuzicapi
Holly Rae is a proud Dakota/Lakota woman from the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation in Southern Saskatchewan. Growing up in a Dakota family, Holly has learned a lot about traditional arts, foods and dance. She is a Native Cultural Arts instructor that has travelled across Canada delivering sessions to all ages. Holly has done a lot of youth engagement and has a passion for helping youth make stronger cultural connections. She has a strong belief that traditional art and cultural experiences will share the history of First Nations people and believes art can create a strong sense of identity and confidence for young people. Holly also believes that creating unique common cultural sharing opportunities will help create a strong foundation for building relationships.
Currently a Cultural Arts Consultant with the First Nation, Metis and Inuit Education unit with Edmonton Public Schools, Holly has travelled to many schools facilitating whole school four day cultural engagement visits. These visits have been well received in schools and have also been featured on CTV Edmonton and in the Alberta Teachers Association newsletter. New this year to Holly’s position is providing professional learning sessions for educators. Once a month she will be hosting a different topic to help educators become more culturally engaged in the classroom from a First Nations, Metis and Inuit perspective. Providing First Nation influenced activities to schools and professional learning opportunities for teachers has encouraged positive cultural discussions among students and staff as well as bringing understanding to a foundational level.