“What you have learned here, when you leave tomorrow, take this back to your communities,” Kwanlin Dün First Nation Chief Doris Bill instructed about 150 participants of the Strength Within Circle youth wellness retreat held over the weekend at the Jackson Lake Healing Camp.

The event was the second of its kind, produced and held as a result of partnerships among the Kwanlin Dün First Nation, Yukon government and Our Voices youth group.

Its aim was to teach youth about mental health and physical well-being, suicide prevention, traditional cultural activities and how to deal with trauma and grief.

Katie Johnson, lead co-ordinator of the event, said today the atmosphere on Sunday as people were leaving was wistful.

People didn’t want to leave or say goodbye, despite being exhausted from the emotional and spiritual weekend.

“There was this really clear message that we need to continue work like this so we can build healthier communities,” Johnson said.

“We will soon find out the ripple effect of things that have really come out of this.”

But the response so far has been positive.

This morning, Johnson saw a post on Facebook from Megan Jensen, a member of the Carcross-Tagish First Nation, that made her tear up.

“Countless laughs were made, tears were shed, elevating and supportive conversations surrounded the camp, we sang loud and danced for hours ... and honestly, my heart feels so full,” Jensen wrote about the retreat.

Topics like violence, body image or suicide can typically be uncomfortable to talk about.

However, conference speakers like comedian Ryan McMahon used humour to make the heavier conversations interactive and entertaining.

Ojibway Olympic boxer Mary Spencer kicked off the gathering on Friday. She re-enacted one of her world champion fights for the retreat while speaking about being a fighter and overcoming challenges.

“I learned at a very early stage in my career how important it is to take a situation that’s out of your control and make the best out of that situation,” she said.

A panel of youth leaders shared stories about adversity and what it takes to move forward in terms of their own healing.

Burwash Landing singer Diyet held a mini-workshop for about a dozen participants, writing a song from the ground up in about an hour, then performing it for the entire conference crowd.

Diyet told the Star this morning that the performance was nerve-wracking for some of the green performers but there were high-fives all around when they finished.

“For these guys to cure their nerves, jump out and do something that’s out of their comfort zone and then get acknowledged by peers is pretty awesome.”

She also remarked that the supportive environment was noticeable in making the youth participants feel comfortable talking about difficult things.

“You can always tell when people feel like they’re being supported. They become more open and some of that reservation in day-to-day life goes away.”

Although the event brought out about 150 participants, elders and speakers, Johnson said that Our Voices utilized social media to share moments throughout the weekend that will hopefully reach youth that might have wanted to come but couldn’t.

During the music workshop, Diyet asked some of the participants what they were taking away from the weekend.

A young boy who was particularly “jazzed” about the weekend told her, “I’m learning to rise up, to rise to the occasion and not be afraid to stay quiet or silent.”