By Jill Andrew
“I refuse to be boxed into societal standards and in the words of Kinnie Starr…”I’m more than they want me to be” and I make no apologies for it.”—Jessica Yee, 23.
While too many grade two girls are already obsessed with attaining and maintaining a perfect, albeit unrealistic, waistline today, in her time Jessica Yee, now 23, was busy honing more important skills like her Indigenous Feminist voice. “I was the little girl in grade two who yelled at a boy who said girls couldn’t play chess. I’d often have to defend my wearing of braids to my classmates who made fun of my Native heritage in elementary school,” says Yee, the 2009 YWCA Young Woman of Distinction Award Recipient who also volunteered at a shelter for abused women at 12.
Yee is the founder and director of the North American-wide organization Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN) and has over 17 projects on the go currently at the organization. Having spent more than half her life developing initiatives and advocating for the sexual and reproductive health rights of aboriginal youth, Yee, a multi-racial Indigenous young woman of Chinese and Mohawk ancestry is being recognized for her work she does literally year round and across borders. “Eighty per cent of the year I’m traveling as the NYSHN director. I am only in Toronto an average of one week per month,” she explains.
Currently in Honduras, Yee is visiting remote communities as part of an Indigenous women’s knowledge exchange tour but will return to the city next week to accept her prestigious award which includes a $3,000 grant from the Julia M. Ruby Fund at YWCA Toronto that Yee will use towards her future Masters Degree in Health Promotion.
When asked what makes her a Vervegirl, Yee exclaims that she’s got a big mouth and she isn’t afraid to use it to make strong, positive, longstanding change. “I’m not afraid of controversy and I invite challenges because they represent opportunities to learn and be better…I use my frustration and anger in positive ways to survive and advocate against the colonialism, racism, sexism and other forms of oppression that are still alive and well today.” For more on Yee visit www.womenofdistinction.ca.
Jill Andrew, PhD (cand.) is an award-winning journalist, educator and public speaker. She is the founder and director of the BITE ME! Toronto Int. Body Image Film & Arts Festival and regularly facilitates body image and media literacy awareness workshops.
Photos courtesy of Jessica Yee
