These young leaders from Canada have crossed oceans to connect with other First Nations communities

The delegation from British Columbia and Yukon have travelled to Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia on their exchange.

This group is part of a pilot for the Indigenous youth leadership exchange program, hoping to prove that facilitating international connections benefits Canadian First Nations communities. Source: Phoebe McIlwraith/NITV

For Liard First Nation and Kaska Dene woman Kianna Loots, learning about Indigenous peoples in the Indo-Pacific has been "eye-opening".

"I think a lot of people, [including] Indigenous peoples in Canada, forget that there are so many other people that have similar traditions to us," she told NITV.

Travelling across Malaysia, Indonesia and now Australia - hearing about the impact of colonisation first hand through an exchange program has made an impression.

"Learning those similarities is amazing to me, because I would have never really thought coming from a small community about how similar we are to other places."

Loots is one of six young Indigenous leaders nominated by their communities for the program, which is the first of its kind from Global Affairs Canada.

Loots is "passionate" about being able to represent Kaska Nation and her region internationally, with a plan to knowledge-share and build connections to bring back to Watson Lake. Source: Phoebe McIlwraith/NITV

Designed in collaboration with six First Nations leaders from British Columbia and Yukon, who form the initiative's advisory council, the program supports young Indigenous people to build life-long connections.

Their program is packed with meetings with Indigenous and non-Indigenous bodies across diplomacy, culture, business, and academia.

Following their time on the east coast, visiting Sydney and Canberra, they will finish their trip on the west coast in Perth and Kalgoorlie.

The 11 day trip in Australia has started in Sydney, where delegates not just visit iconic sites but meet with groups like Indigenous Business Australia and NITV/SBS. Source: SUpplied

For program Aunty and Advisory Council Member Lea Nicholas-Mackenzie, building Indigenous-to-Indigenous relationships was her "personal priority".

Inspired by her own experiences working in International Human Rights, she told NITV that she wanted the participants to "meet Indigenous peoples from elsewhere and share and learn and build these incredible lifelong friendships."

Nicholas-Mackenzie says the program is "going incredibly well" and the pilot is successful in meeting several priorities of the Canadian government. Source: Phoebe McIlwraith/NITV News

"I always say, you can't be what you can't see," she told NITV.

"If they don't know that this beautiful world exists, and these opportunities to engage with Indigenous peoples from around the world exists, then how are they going to ever know that?"

For Darwin Biamonte, traditional name Tsasaqwílteleq, from Cheam First Nation, the opportunity to meet with groups like Indigenous Business Australia complement his role back home.

As a Member Services Manager with the First Nations Finance Authority, Biamonte is passionate about Indigenous economic development.

"I've really seen some opportunities for us to information share some of the work we're doing in Canada," he said.

"[The trip] has broken down those barriers between countries, if we want to call them continental or national barriers, to really seeing that we are one peoples."

"No matter where we are in the world, Indigenous peoples do have a similar value system. That's something I understood from a book, but [now see] see firsthand."