The #IndigenousEyes photo contest is now closed. Winners will be announced on April 17. The following is the original explanation of the contest's focus this year and the rules entrants had to follow, when it was launched on March 30.

CBC is launching its #IndigenousEyes photo contest, and this year the lens is focused on the role of elders in aboriginal communities.

Lisa Charleyboy, the editor of Urban Native Magazine, will join me and CBC's Gloria Macarenko on the judging panel to choose a winner for the photo contest.

For Charleyboy, the role of elders in aboriginal communities came into focus in 2013, when she took part in an indigenous writing residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts.

There she met Pahan Pte Ste Win, a Lakota woman from Winnipeg. She asked Pte Ste Win for guidance on her writing, and the two hit it off.

"She had mentioned that she was interested in adopting me, so we did a formal adoption ceremony as we closed the residency," she said.

Lisa Charleyboy (left) and Pahan Pte Ste Win met at an indigenous writing residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. (Lisa Charleyboy)

This spring Charleyboy will join her new family for a vision quest rite of passage and in August she'll join them for a sun dance.

"I've learned how important it is to create strong bonds and relationships and to make those a priority in life over career. We forget how important family relationships and the community really is," she said.

We know that many of you out there have your own stories about relationships with elders, and we want to see your photos of the people you've learned from.

​​Last year's contest focused on photos of aboriginal youth around B.C. and we received more than 500 entries.

Personally, I was inspired by the creativity and pride on display in all those photos.

It wasn't easy picking a winner, but we finally did: Jeff Nicholls, a 21-year-old Tsimshian from Prince Rupert, who is studying Political Science at the University of Victoria.

His photo showed a friend who was teaching youth to scrape a moose hide in the Cowichan Valley near Duncan, BC.

'A portrait of indigenous learning' by Jeffrey Nicholls, was the winner of CBC's #indigenouseyes photo contest last year. It shows youths learning to scrape a moose hide, in the Cowichan Valley near Duncan, B.C. (Jeffrey Nicholls)

​​This year's contest is accepting submissions from now until April 15. We'll post the submissions we receive in the photo gallery above, but only entries from B.C. residents aged 25 and under are eligible to win.

The first place winner will receive a DSLR camera and lens kit from Best Buy, valued at $999.

Photos can be submitted on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter by using the hashtag #indigenouseyes, or can be sent by e-mail to indigenouseyes@cbc.ca.

Contest Rules

CBC's INDIGENOUS EYES 2015: A PHOTO CONTEST FOR ABORIGINAL YOUTH

("Contest")

From March 30, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. PT to April 15, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. PT

("Contest Period")

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ("CBC")

1. HOW TO ENTER

No purchase required. To enter the Contest, take a picture capturing the life of Elders in Canada's Aboriginal communities ("Your Content") during the Contest Period.

Submit Your Content with a caption via CBC's Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/cbc), CBC's Instagram (https://instagram.com/cbc), CBC's Twitter (https://twitter.com/cbc) using #CBCindigenouseyes) or email (indigenouseyes@cbc.ca) along with your name and contact information.

To be valid, entries must be received by 9:00 a.m. PT on April 15, 2015.

You can enter as often as you like. However, if you attempt or are suspected of attempting to enter using robotic, automatic, programmed or any other methods of participation not authorized by these Rules, it shall be deemed as tampering and will void your entries, votes or other results of such participation.

Your Content Submission

Your Content will be subject to "Your Content Submission Guidelines" under cbc.ca Terms of Use available at http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/submissions.html.

Any content deemed by CBC to be inappropriate or not suitable for its audience will be disqualified at the sole discretion of CBC.

Your Content sent to CBC will become the property of CBC and will not be returned to you.

We confirm that contestants retain the rights to their photo entries and give CBC permission to use it but only for the purposes of the Contest.

You declare that Your Content is legal, particularly with regard to compliance with copyright, rights to image, reputation and privacy, the Criminal Code and any other legislation applicable in such matters. You also declare that you hold the rights to Your Content and have consent from any people appearing in Your Content (including parental consent for minors) and all authorizations required to grant the license specified hereafter to CBC. You agree to comply with standards of proper conduct in Your Content, as specified in the Your Content Submission Guidelines available on the cbc.ca site. CBC reserves the right to decide whether to use Your Content, at its sole discretion.

By submitting Your Content, you grant CBC a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable, unrestricted, worldwide license to publish, reproduce and distribute Your Content in all media, on all digital platforms and by any other means of communication controlled or authorized by the CBC. You waive all moral rights to Your Content and authorize CBC to use your name, picture and voice, where applicable, in conjunction with the use of Your Content. Collective agreement provisions may apply.

2. ELIGIBILITY

Contest is open to all Canadian residents living in British Columbia who are 25 years of age or younger at the Contest opening date. For any contestant who has not reached the age of majority, parent or guardian consent is necessary to enter the Contest. Where appropriate, the terms "contestant" and "winner" mean parent or guardian of that person.

Employees of CBC as well as such employees' immediate family (father/mother, brother/sister, son/daughter) or persons living under the same roof are not eligible to enter this Contest.

3. PROCEDURE FOR AWARDING PRIZES

A judging panel ("Judging Panel") as indicated below will review all eligible entries received during the Contest Period and select the winner based upon:

Quality of image

Ability to capture the spirit of elders in your community

The Judging Panel will comprise three individuals chosen by CBC in its sole discretion who are passionate about Aboriginal issues.

If a high number of entries are received, CBC will determine in its sole discretion, 20 entries to be presented to the Judging Panel for their final decision.

The winner will be contacted by Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or email during the week following the draw and should claim their prize as instructed by CBC by no later than 30 days after the date they are initially contacted. If a winner cannot be reached within 14 days following the first attempt of contact, declines the prize, or fails to return the required release form, the prize shall be forfeited and CBC has the right, at its sole discretion, to select another winner.

4. DESCRIPTION OF PRIZE(S)

The winner will receive the following prize:

Nikon D5500 Wi-Fi 24.2MP Digital SLR Camera, with a AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II Lens Kit from Best Buy and having a retail value of approximately $999.

The prize includes only what is specifically described and no other allowance will be granted.

5. GENERAL RULES

Each winner shall sign a release declaring their eligibility as stipulated in Section 2 of these Rules; agreeing that their name, image and/or voice may be used for advertising purposes related to this Contest free of charge; and releasing CBC, as well as its respective directors, officers and employees (the "Contest Parties") from all liability for any damage or loss arising from participation in this Contest or from the awarding, acceptance or use of the prize. The prize shall be accepted as is and may not be exchanged or refunded for an amount of money, sold or transferred. No substitutions will be allowed. Any unused portion of a prize will be forfeited. If the prize cannot be awarded as described in these Rules, CBC reserves the right to substitute a prize or prize component with another of comparable value, as determined in its sole discretion. Refusal to accept the prize releases the Contest Parties from any obligation toward the winner. If a contestant makes any false statement, (s)he will be automatically disqualified from the Contest. The Contest Parties assume no liability for any loss, damage or injury, including without limitation: (i) lost, stolen, delayed, damaged, misdirected, late, destroyed, illegible or incomplete entries; (ii) loss, theft or damage to software or computer or telephone data, including any breach of privacy; (iii) fraudulent calls; (iv) inability of any person to participate in the Contest for any reason including mistaken addresses on mail or e-mail; technical, computer or telephone malfunctions or other problems with computer on-line systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, or software; congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination of the foregoing; (v) damage to any person's computer, including as a result of playing or downloading any material relating to the Contest; (vi) any delay or inability to act resulting from an event or situation beyond their control, including a strike, lockout or other labour dispute at their location or the locations of the organizations and businesses whose services are used to administer this Contest; or (vii) prizes that are lost, damaged or misdirected during shipping. Contestants found tampering with or abusing any aspect of this Contest, including but not limited to acting in violation of these Rules, to be acting with the intent to disrupt the normal operation of this Contest, as determined by CBC, will be disqualified. The discovery of any use of robotic, automatic, macro, programmed, third party or like methods to participate in the Contest will void any attempted participation effected by such methods and the disqualification of the contestant utilizing the same in CBC's sole and absolute discretion. When the Contest Rules allow entry from CBC.ca to Facebook, Twitter or any other social network, the terms of use of these social networks apply and the social network, as well as its directors and officers, assume no liability whatsoever in connection with the Contest. CBC reserves the right to cancel or suspend this Contest should a virus, bug or other cause beyond their reasonable control corrupt the security or proper administration of the Contest. Any attempt to deliberately damage any website or to undermine the legitimate operation of this Contest is a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such an attempt be made, CBC reserves the right to seek remedies and damages to the fullest extent permitted by law, including criminal prosecution. All personal information, such as name and contact information, is collected by CBC solely for the purposes of administering this Contest and shall not be used for any other purpose without your express consent. By providing this information, you consent to it being used for the stated purposes. Please see CBC's privacy policy at http://www.cbc.ca/aboutcbc/discover/privacy.html. If the identity of a contestant is disputed, the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at the time of entry will be deemed to be the contestant. The individual assigned to the e-mail address for the domain associated with the submitted e-mail address is considered the authorized account holder. A selected contestant may be required to provide proof that (s)he is the authorized account holder of the e-mail address associated with the selected entry. All entries must be submitted from a valid e-mail account that may be identified by reverse domain name search. The sole determinant of time for the purposes of receipt of a valid entry in this Contest will be the Contest server. Odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries. All entries that are incomplete, illegible, damaged, irregular, have been submitted through illicit means, using any robotic, automatic programmed method that artificially increases the odds of winning or do not conform to or satisfy any condition of the rules may be disqualified by the CBC. CBC is not responsible for any errors or omissions in printing or advertising this Contest. CBC reserves the right to amend the Contest Rules or to terminate the Contest at any time without any liability to any contestant. Any amendments to these Contest rules will be posted on [the Website]. By entering, you agree to abide by the Contest Rules and the decisions of CBC, and the Judging Panel], which decisions are final and binding on all contestants. Contest rules are available at www.cbc.ca/1.3007693. If you have any accessibility requirements or special needs, please contact the contest coordinator, as noted below.

March 23, 2015

Laura Palmer

Executive Producer