bild
Girl23 at home in East Vancouver..Larissa Healey (40) alias Girl23 belongs to the Peguis band (tribe) was born in Winnipeg. At a young age she was adopted and abused by her adopted mother. She was always called girl by her adopted mother and at 23 years old she tried to commit suicide, since then she calls herself girl23. 'I was always making drawings and at 12 years old I started to become active in hiphop and breakdance. At 20 years old I made my first graffiti, I do it because it doesn't lastÉ I always used aboriginal shapes in my graffiti.' She had recently a huge graffiti mural inside the Vancouver Art Gallery..In Canada there are currently 630 recognized First Nations governments, the total population is about 700,000 of which half lives in British Colombia and Ontario. life in the reserves is difficult where unemployment is high, specially since the 2008 crisis. Many young First Nations move to Vancouver in the hope for a better life. They try to maintain their culture and identity in the big city and many make a livings as artists. (KEYSTONE/NOOR/Kadir van Lohuizen / NOOR)