I always want everyone to acknowledge the past, present and future generations of Indigenous people here on “Turtle Island”. Learning about the land you’re on by going to native-land.ca will honour Nations that have been taking care of the land.
Sky Woman (1936), by Seneca artist Ernest Smith, depicts the story of Turtle Island.
It’s not back in the day anymore (that’s early 90’s for us folks pushing into our fourth decade), where Rose Archie would hitchhike 1.5-2 hours to go skate after being inspired by her older sister to pick up a board. In this BIGFOOT exclusive, our November Skater of the Month shares her top 5 secrets for staying young and how to keep yourself in tip-top shape so that you too can still be slapping the shit out of noseslide shuvs when you hit 40:
- Ginger shots FTW.
- Stretch, ya dummy. Make it a priority to maintain the joints and bones so you can skate … forever.
- Hang with your homies. Have friends who make you laugh (like Norma Ibarra, see below) and friends who give you good advice (like Michelle Pezel and Kassy Bailey who tell you to wear comfy walking shoes until it’s actually time to skate #gamechanger).
- Counteract fine lines and wrinkles with a good face cream. Rose uses Dr. Murad 😉
- Run a meaningful and successful skate nonprofit. For Rose, that’s Nations Skate Youth, an Indigenous-led organization founded by herself, Joe Buffalo, Tristan Henry and Dustin Henry. Their mission is to empower Indigenous youth to embrace their right to self-determination through the positive impact of skateboarding. They inspire youth and encourage the importance of preserving Indigenous language, culture and traditions while introducing skateboarding, something that connects everyone. They have visited almost 25 First Nation communities in B.C., Alberta, and the Yukon.
Starting Nations Skate Youth has taught Rose a lot about what comes with running a non-profit. “The admin stuff keeps me busy and it’s all teamwork when it comes to organizing workshops. It’s a dream come true.”
To learn more about Nations check out their website or Instagram. Nations would not exist without donations so “THANK YOU” to everyone that continues to follow their journey and support them.
“My message to the youth is to ‘be proud of who they are and where they come from,’ and this is one of many outcomes I wish to see after our workshops. Seeing the impact is instant and makes me happy we can inspire youth through our stories.”
Name: Rose Archie
Age: 39 (turning 40 November 15th!)
Pronouns: She/Her
Hometown: Born and raised on The Secwépemc territory. My community is known as Tsq’escen we are known as, “The people of Broken rock”.
Current Location: Vancouver, BC. On the unceded territory of the xʷməθkwə ̓yəm (Musqueam), Skwxwú 7mesh (Squamish), and Sə̓lı́lwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Day job? Work at Vancity Credit Union in the Fraud/Investigations Department.
Signature Trick: I slap the shit out of a noseslide shuv lol.
Catch Phrase: You wanna ginger shot?
What is the last thing you saw that made you laugh really hard? I was getting a foot massage with Norma aka @lapir0 and 15 minutes into it Norma asked if she could open a bag of chips and cheese salsa. First time for everything. I am still laughing it was so good.
Favorite tattoo or something else cool about you? I have one tattoo I got when I was 18 and it’s freakin’ Stevie Williams on my arm. It was cool at the time. Now I just have to laugh at it.
Three things you can’t live without? Ginger shots, my new Ford Ranger, and my face cream (keep those wrinkles away haha).
What are you most proud of?
I started snowmobiling in the backcountry again with my dad and nephew Connor and it’s such a wild ride. Spending more time at home with my family makes me proud to see how far we have all come. It’s been a tough couple of years but somehow we still can make each other laugh and that’s what matters most.
Anything else you would like to share?
Be kind you never know what someone else is going through.
ROSE NOODLIN’ AROUND WITH THE HOMIES AT THE SKATE PLAZA IN VANCOUVER BC.
