Written by Bawshkeeng Wabigun
August 16, 2002
It was a summer of science, plants and bugs! The Three Fires Society Youth Language program embarked on the banks of Ottertail Lake this year, to spend the summer learning language and environmental knowledge, Anishinabe style! Our first order of business was to get ourselves to the river mouth (zagidow) using our own ingenuity, strength and determination… we had to paddle out over the lake and up the river in canoes. Some of us had never even been in a canoe before! But, with the encouragement and guidance of our Elders and teachers (who came to check up on us periodically in their motor boats to make sure we were still floating…) we made it to the cabin! We were calm, happy and tired! We still had to pitch our tents, set up camp, cook, haul water and do dishes, all before sundown!
Our month-long stay started out with a ceremony on the first morning after our arrival. Grandma Nancy spoke for us, for our safe arrival, and the work that we would be undertaking here at the site of the old village. We also gave thanks for the things we would need out there… food, water, berries, and we asked that we might not be bothered too much by things that are also doing their work… bees, thunders, snakes… It was a good introduction, not only to the language, but also to the land and the scientific processes that go on – cycles of nature, equal and opposite forces, and the natural law of equal exchange. We were reminded that whenever we cross the water, or pick an item from the earth… we must remember to put our tobacco there first.
Each day thereafter was spent working and learning. We learned how to make a container to hold berries as we picked them (the strawberries were just ripening as we arrived), we gathered and prepared birch bark (wiigwaas), basswood (wiigoob) and spruce roots (miinaeg odabiig) for making baskets (wiigwaasi makakoonsag) and drinking/ eating vessels (onaaganensag). We set fish nets (asab), built a smoking rack (gapskizigun), made homemade mosquito coils (bigajiisag), cooked wild rice (jibaakwe manoomin) and bannock (baakwezhigunikewin) and we went on paddling trips to pay our respects to some of the cultural sites in the area. The only disappointing part of our stay was that we didn’t get to smoke any berries or fish, because while we were there, an outdoor burning ban was in effect, and the MNR threatened to water bomb us if we dared to try out our new smoking rack! (Better luck next year, perhaps.)
One of the highlights for the younger members of our crew was the great volleyball playoff, which took place in Redgut a few days before the North American Indigenous Games. Community members from Nickikonseminikaaning invited the Science Summer Camp crew to show off their skills in sports and to share some of what we had been doing and learning out at Ottertail. The game was a great success, and in the end (after Redgut pounced us twice) we joined teams, played together, and planned a rematch! It was important for us to be able to visit the community and get to know some of the community members.
When it came time for us to pack up and leave Ottertail… we did not want to go! We’d gotten used to going to bed early, hearing the birds, smoking out the mosquitos, and eating fresh fish in the morning. We liked the peace and quiet. We had become familiar with the land around the cabin, the trails through the bush, and the beautiful smooth rock that emerges out of the water to form hilly shores. We’d learned so much, how to survive in the wilderness, in the heat or in the snow. We’d become proud paddlers, unafraid of wind or rain or even waves. We even learned to sail!
Our time out at Ottertail is an experience, a string of learning and teachings that we will each carry and treasure throughout our lives. As we continue to learn, and grow we will integrate our new experience and knowledge in a way that we can pass on to others. As a group, we will remember all that we were taught. And when the time comes, we will be able to use that knowledge, and pass it on to the generations that follow.
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After our departure from Ottertail, we journeyed to Leech Lake to take part in the youth gathering, teaching and the Great Anishinabe Canoe Race. Two of our crew took second place in the two-day event. Another one of our crew members had to leave us for a few days to attend the North American Indigenous Games, where he battled to bronze victory with team Wisconsin in the Juvenile Boys Basketball finals.
We have already put some of our training to the test helping other Anishinaabe youth during the Seven Generations Survivor Camp held at the Nanicost Grounds August 12 – 15. Young people (ages 10-15) from throughout the local area came together in teams to see who could withstand four days of intense teaching, learning and having fun… and the Science Camp crew made sure they did!
Many esteemed elders came to share their insights, skills and knowledge. Teams entered from Rainy River First Nations, Northwest Bay, Stanjikoming, TLC, and the Metis Federation, as well as youth from Couchiching, Fort Frances and Redgut, just to name a few!
In the end, all of our teams were survivors. Each team received a ribbon for every challenge activity they successfully completed. Perhaps you can still see a team flag displayed somewhere in your community… but beware! It may be covered with the evidence of four days of hard work, learning and having fun!
That's us: The Die Hard Crew on a weekend visit to the Duluth Aquarium near the end of our adventure.
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