Aboriginal dancers Cotee Harper and Theo McGregor are preparing to journey to Northern Ontario for DAREarts Foundation on a mission to teach aboriginal youth.

Part of a team of teachers and artists which also includes Philip Cot, great grandson of Chief Tecumseth, artist Rebecca Baird and DAREarts Founder Marilyn Field, the pair is shown in their native costumes, along with some of the artifacts of the arts education program that DAREarts will be offering there.

The team is partnering with the Department of National Defence's Junior Canadian Rangers program at Camp Loon, near Sandy Lake outside of Geraldton in Ontario's far north. The Camp brings in 240 aboriginal youth from 15 isolated fly-inonly communities of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation for two week-long sessions in July.

The DAREarts Days at the camps will challenge and inspire aboriginal youth to embrace positive social alternatives and career-building paths, while developing positive self-esteem. Through a dynamic arts education program, DAREarts will empower them to make life-altering changes. Activities include soapstone carving, bone and bead bracelet-making, drawing, painting, singing, drumming and dancing.

In its second year of involvement with the Junior Rangers camps, DAREarts is no stranger to empowering at-risk kids through the arts. After 10 years and over 10,000 participant students from 25 Toronto District schools, DAREarts' dedicated teachers and artists have positively influenced young people's lives many times over.

The Junior Canadian Rangers program offers free community-based activities to young people aged 12 to 18 living in remote and isolated parts of Canada to help them gain a greater sense of responsibility and improve their connection with their communities. Along with teaching practical survival skills, the program is also intended to promote youth awareness of harassment, abuse and aggressions in their lives, while promoting respect for others.