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About Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth
About Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth
Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth (OITY) is a Winnipeg-based non-profit organization providing FREE after-school theatre programming, workshops, and creative opportunities for Indigenous young people.
Through theatre, storytelling, language, culture, and community, we empower Indigenous youth to explore their voices, strengthen their identities, and imagine new possibilities for themselves and their futures.
Our Story
Our Story
Oshkagoojin Indigenous Theatre for Youth (OITY) was founded in 2025 by Anishinaabe artist, educator, and theatre practitioner Nova Courchene.
While OITY is a new organization, it builds upon more than 13 years of Indigenous youth theatre, community arts, and outreach work across Manitoba and beyond.
Throughout her career, Nova has worked alongside hundreds of Indigenous young people in schools, communities, and professional theatre spaces, witnessing firsthand the transformative power of the arts. OITY was created to ensure that Indigenous youth have access to free, high-quality artistic experiences rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing, storytelling, creativity, and community.
Today, OITY offers free after-school programming, community workshops, outreach initiatives, and performance opportunities designed to support Indigenous youth as artists, leaders, storytellers, and changemakers.
Our Values Framework
Our Values Framework
Planting, Sustainability, and Roots
Guiding Principles for the Artistic and Community Work of OITY Inc.
Gitige Oshkagoojing
(S/he Plants During the New Moon.)
Gitige Oshkagoojing
(S/he Plants During the New Moon.)
Growth often begins unseen. This teaching honours cycles of emergence, reflection, and renewal.
Renewal — Creating space for restoration, reflection, and future growth.
Alignment — We move in rhythm with land, seasons, and community.
Return — Teachings return transformed through experience.
Giizis Ganawendang
(The Sun Tends)
Giizis Ganawendang
(The Sun Tends)
Inspired by the sun, this teaching reminds us that creativity and community thrive through care and support.
Access — Removing barriers for Indigenous youth, communities, and artists.
Creation — Supporting original Indigenous-led work rooted in lived experience.
Legacy — Investing in mentorship and long-term impact through Indigenous youth.
Ojiibikaawan Gikendan
(Rooted Knowledge)
Ojiibikaawan Gikendan
(Rooted Knowledge)
Story, language, relationships, and Indigenous knowledge guide our work.
Sovereignty — Storytelling as a right, responsibility, and tool for cultural resurgence.
Relational Growth — Nurturing mentorship, kinship, and community.
Language — Embedding Indigenous languages and land-based knowledge into our work.
Our Commitment to Child & Staff Safety
Our Commitment to Child & Staff Safety
The safety and wellbeing of Indigenous children and youth is central to all of OITY's programs and activities.
OITY is committed to maintaining safe, respectful, and supportive environments for all participants.
All staff and volunteers working directly with youth complete Child Abuse Registry Checks.
OITY maintains a Child Safety Policy to guide our programs and interactions with participants.
We are committed to creating spaces where Indigenous children and youth feel safe, respected, valued, and heard.
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