The story of Dhaylin Bullcalf: Healing generational trauma four wheels at a time.

MAY. 6, 2024

2024 TROY REEB INTERNSHIP FINALIST

For many Indigenous youth in Canada, coping with generational trauma can be a heavy burden. For amateur skateboarder Dhaylin Bullcalf, that burden weighed heavy through adolescence, but Bullcalf has been able to heal these wounds through skateboarding.

Bullcalf got his first skateboard when he was three years old. It was a Christmas gift from his parents, and at the time Bullcalf was not happy with the present, not knowing that the gift would one day change his life.

“It was a Walmart Christmas complete, and I got so pissed. I was like: ‘my sisters got all these gifts, I just got a skateboard’.” Shared Bullcalf

Through his childhood into his early teens Bullcalf struggled in an unstable environment. He experienced trauma that no child should, but many Indigenous children do. His father battled with substance abuse and alcoholism, which Bullcalf and his sister were often exposed to. Bullcalf claimed that his childhood household became such an aggressive environment that he would fall asleep wearing shoes in case he ever had to leave the house abruptly.

At the same time in his mother’s household, Bullcalf was subjected to racial prejudice. His stepfather was a white man who disapproved of Indigenous culture, and it didn’t take long for his mother to think the same way. This led to his own mother discouraging any practice of their own culture in the house.

“At the time my mom was like, ‘don’t talk with that slang, don’t talk like a savage’. My mom got brainwashed by him.” Said Bullcalf.

Bullcalf shared that he didn’t grow up around a lot of other Indigenous people, so when he wasn’t allowed to practice his culture around his own family, he lost it.

According to a study by Cheryl L. Currie, T. Cameron Wild, Donald P. Schopflocher, Lory Laing and Paul Veugelers published to Science & Medicine Vol. 88 in 2013, the absence of cultural participation can be detrimental for indigenous youth. The study found that cultural participation promotes resilience and lessens the risk of substance abuse for indigenous people in urban settings.

At the age of 13 Bullcalf lost his mother and one of his best friends in the same year. For any 13-year-old this would be hard to process, but for children like Bullcalf who were never taught healthy coping mechanisms, it can be much harder. Not long after the tragedy of his mother’s passing, Bullcalf began to spiral into substance abuse. He explained that he began using drugs and alcohol because of seeing his father deal with pain the same way.

“Somewhere along the road after seeing all that, the drugs and the drinking. I fell in with the wrong group and started going down that road. I went down that road pretty far.” Bullcalf Explained. 

Bullcalf is not the only one to resort to the same coping mechanisms as his parents. According to an article posted to the Orland Recovery Centre website in November of 2023, children of addicts are eight times more likely to develop an addiction.

 Fortunately, Bullcalf began skateboarding more often during this dark time in his life too. He stated that even when he prioritized the party life over his skateboard, the sport always found a way back into his life.

“I always threw it away, but it came rolling right back to me.” Said Bullcalf.

Skateboarding is a sport that often appeals to people who feel like they don’t belong anywhere else. Many skaters describe the individuality of skating to be a freedom they can’t find in other sports, which is exactly what Bullcalf needed at this time in his life.

“I remember I would just be in my room yelling at myself, crying and punching holes in the wall. I’d go skate and run away, and when I’d come back, I would just feel so much better and peaceful.” Bullcalf explained.

By the age of 14 Bullcalf was all in with skateboarding. He started gaining skill, winning contests and gaining sponsors. He was becoming an up and coming prosect in the industry, but it wasn’t the potential of making it big that made him give up drugs and alcohol. Instead, he credits his friends in the skateboard community for supporting him in a time of grief.

Many skateboarders come from rough backgrounds and find asylum with each other, which is most likely why his peers were able to spot Bullcalf’s pain even if he wasn’t vocal about it. He shared that his friends in skateboarding were the first to see that he was in trouble and help him find a way out. Often times older friends of Bullcalf’s would pick him up and take him skating or let him sleep on their couch when they knew things weren’t good at home.

“There were always those homies there, I know they saw it in me, they knew I didn’t want to be home.” Shared Bullcalf.

After getting clean, Bullcalf devoted himself to skateboarding and set off to accomplish his goal of making a career out of what he loved most.

Bullcalf shared that any doubts he had about being able to make a career out of skating were shed when he learned of Indigenous pro-skater Joe Buffalo. Seeing a pro that represented people like him reassured Bullcalf that he was on the right path.

“I looked up to Joe (Buffalo) so much, because I never knew there was Indigenous skaters.” Said Bullcalf.

Today, Bullcalf is 18 and has successfully made a name for himself in skateboarding with the help of that same idol. Word got out to Joe Buffalo about Bullcalf, and after seeing him skate, Buffalo took Bullcalf under his wing and flew him out to Vancouver so he could skateboard and network with people in the industry. This led to Bullcalf getting sponsored by Colonialism Skateboards.

Colonialism is a skateboard brand that focuses on empowering Indigenous skaters and educating the public about Canada’s colonial past. A lot of their graphics contain representations of indigenous culture and showings of residential schools; Buffalo himself was forced into a residential school as a child. 

“I’m riding for this really powerful company, a company that’s showing what has happened to our people across Canada.” Stated Bullcalf.

For the Indigenous population, these boards represent much more than a piece of wood. These boards are sold internationally, meaning skateboarders everywhere can access and learn about Indigenous culture. Skateboarding has successfully been able to organically distribute the history of Canada’s Indigenous people across the globe.

Upon being sponsored by Colonialism, Bullcalf learned about the world of Indigenous skateboarding. He believes there isn’t a sport that comes close to the inclusivity and representation that skateboarding offers Indigenous people.

There is multiple Indigenous owned skateboard brands and organizations in Canada that aim to support the youth through skateboarding. One of which is Nations Skate Youth, a non-profit based out of Vancouver that travels around the world sharing skateboarding with different Indigenous cultures.

“Their goal is to better our Indigenous youth, to let them know that you matter, that you’re loved. And if that doesn’t come from your own family, skateboarding loves you, the people you meet through skateboarding love you, skateboarding is always going to love you.” Bullcalf explained.

In 2023, Bullcalf was included in the Nations Skate Youth tour to Hawaii. He stated that the experience helped him rediscover his culture. 

“Joe taking me under his wing and also being around Nations (Skate Youth), I just became so connected with my culture,” shared Bullcalf. “I started believing in creator again, I started wanting to go to pow-wows all the time and I want to start dancing again.”

Bullcalf credits his skateboard for helping him through times of grief and allowing him to reconnect with a culture he thought he lost. He holds the belief that skateboarding could shape a better future for Indigenous youth.

His dream is to get a skatepark built on every reservation in Canada. He claims this would provide children with an outlet and a safe space. He also believes it would organically form a positive community within reservations, where youth are often subjected to issues at home.

“We’re just a big family. And to have that on a reserve would be such an amazing thing.” Stated Bullcalf.

Before he’s able to pursue such a large goal, Bullcalf feels he must establish himself in the industry first, so for now he’s going to keep skateboarding and see where life takes him.

Skateboarding will not solve the issue of generation trauma faced in Indigenous culture, but it is a stepping stone to finding support and independence. It offers amazing role models such as Bullcalf and Buffalo for kids to look up to. The community within skateboarding also promotes Indigenous culture and tradition, which in many cases prevents self-destructive behaviour. Bullcalf is committed to displaying these values and letting the Indigenous population know they are welcome in the skateboard community.

The skater now gives presentations across Alberta about his story and how his culture is represented in the sport. Bullcalf does this in hopes he’ll inspire Indigenous youth to take up skateboarding and be a part of the same community that saved him.