IPS Youth Circle Wraps Up L.E.A.D.R.S Youth Mentorship

The Indigenous Perspectives Society Youth L.E.A.D.R.S. Mentorship Program is designed specifically for individuals aged 16 to 25, offering avenues to cultivate both professional and interpersonal competencies within an office setting while gaining valuable work experience across diverse fields of interest. the Youth Circle was pleased to offer this opportunity to Daniel Gomez

Daniel was born on Lekwungen territories and is from the Mapuche people, the largest group of people Indigenous to South-Central Chile. They lived on Wallmapu lands in their early life. Their father, Claudio Gomez, is Mapuche Chilean and their mother, Marion Bedingfield, is second generation Canadian with ties to Scotland and England. Daniel has been residing on Lekwungen territories since age 7 and currently works as an Artist Assistant, Producer, Drag King, and as a Long-term Home Support Companion for an elderly disabled woman. Living most of their life in Victoria, Daniel’s connection to their culture was suppressed until intertwining it with performance and connecting with other artists Indigenous to North and South America. They are passionate about integrating safer, culturally mindful and sustainable practices to their role in the performing community through a decolonial lens that is informed by their heritage and experience as a Latinx, Queer Nonbinary person.