Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Yesterday, I spoke about mental health triage for our children. Today, I would like to focus on how we can help grow resilient children. Adolescence is a challenging time. Teens' bodies are changing as their minds are expanding. In addition to school and home pressures, teens are expected to travel the rocky roads of self-discovery and self-expression as they prepare for life after high school.
We do have NGOs like the YWCA, Rainbow Coalition of the NWT, FOXY/Smash, Northern Youth, community governments, and local sports associations working hard with volunteers to offer leadership, self-esteem, and physical activity programming for youth. As we grow our mental healthcare supports and processes, we also need to continue to evolve how we are helping youth build their resiliency toolbox.
Mr. Speaker, art has always been a part of my life. Art is a powerful connector. It connects people to one another, land, and culture. Art therapy can be used as a complement to traditional mental health treatment, where the aim is to manage behaviour, process feelings, reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, and increase self-esteem. Studies show that creating art stimulates the release of dopamine, the chemical released when we do something pleasurable and literally makes us feel happier.
We live in a unique part of the world, Mr. Speaker. Our arts and crafts are celebrated by locals and foreigners alike, and our need for cultural resurgence throughout our society is prevalent. NWT schools currently follow Saskatchewan's arts curriculum for grades one through nine, and Alberta's for grades 10 through 12. The Saskatchewan curriculum was last updated in 2011, whereas the Alberta arts curriculum was last updated in 2015.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for a made-in-the-North arts curriculum that allows us to continue building mental health supports and self-discovery tools for our youth. A made-in-the-North arts curriculum would celebrate cultural resurgence through Northern art, promote self-discovery, and help us continue to evolve the way we work at building healthy communities. It would also enable us to tap into the network of talented northern artists that already live and create here. Today, I would like to hear from the Minister of ECE about the work that the department is doing to support the arts, and whether or not they are prepared to entertain a made-in-the-North arts curriculum. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.