City and country meet in Inuit-First Nations youth exchange

Trudy Utanaaq, 12, braves the cold waters of Winisk Lake in northern Ontario to take a dip with a life jacket on. Utanaaq was one of 10 Ottawa Inuit who participated in a youth exchange with Webequie First Nation, an Oji-Cree community in northern Ontario. (PHOTO BY FRED SIMPSON)

William and Mikka Komaksuitiksak carry a homemade stretcher they learned how to make during bush survival training near Webequie First Nation in northern Ontario. Inuit youth, on exchange from Ottawa, learned how to thread lifejackets through young birch trunks to make the makeshift stretcher. (PHOTO BY FRED SIMPSON)

When urban Inuit go on exchange to a remote northern Ontario reserve, they fish, of course and learn how to survive in the forest. When their Oji-Cree counterparts come to Ottawa, they go to the mall.

Through a YMCA youth exchange grant, and months of bake sale fundraising, 10 Ottawa-based Inuit teenagers went on an exchange in May and June with 27 Grade 7 and Grade 8 Oji-Cree youth from Webequie (We-be-kway), an island First Nation of roughly 700 people 550 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.

“We knew going into it that it was a small community,” said Steven Carleton, 23, a youth program coordinator at the Ottawa Inuit Children’s Centre and one of three chaperones who went to Webequie. “I was anticipating it to be like communities in the North.”

He was right: dirt roads, crowded homes, lots of kids and dogs and, of course, a Northern store.

The Inuit youth, aged 13 to 18, did their leg of the exchange second, departing Ottawa on June 1. Their Oji-Cree friends came to visit Ottawa a month earlier, in mid-May.

For many of the Webequie students, it was the first time ever leaving their home community so the first few days in Ottawa were spent just dealing with their culture shock and fear of the city.

Lynda Brown, interim program director at OICC, who helped organize the trip, said there was very little actual “exchange” between the First Nations visitors and Inuit until about mid-week, when they started talking, interacting, sharing Facebook and email addresses and, naturally, flirting.

“My little nephew found himself a girlfriend,” said Carleton, smiling.

The Ottawa hosts brought their guests on tours of Parliament Hill, the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization along with trips to Laser Quest for laser tag and to the Rideau Centre mall with its enormous, jaw-dropping Apple computer store.

Much like Nunavummiut, the Oji-Cree pay high prices for food and drink, so they spent their spare time stocking up on their favourite snacks to bring home.

When the Ottawa youth made their 10-hour journey from Ottawa to Toronto to Thunder Bay and, finally, Webequie June 1, they had the advantage of having already met their Oji-Cree friends so it didn’t take long to feel at home.

But the Ottawa visitors are used to living in cities, eating well and having plenty of entertainment and stimulation around. Not so on reserve where, like in Nunavut, homes are overcrowded, people eat a lot of processed or deep fried foods and many, including young people, smoke cigarettes.

Steven Carleton’s younger brother Mark Carleton, 15, was one of the youth who went to Webequie and while he enjoyed the visit immensely, he admitted he got bored a few times.

Webequie is located on Eastwood Island, one of many islands in Winisk Lake. The Inuit youth spent most of their mornings learning how to bead and make crafts such as dream catchers and their afternoons a boat ride away on forested land to learn survival skills from community elders and teachers.

Mark Carleton, a budding chef known for his delicious cheesecakes, also got to do what he loves most: fish.

“Me and my nephew Brandon Chin, we really enjoy fishing because we’ve been fishing all our lives,” Mark said. He and Chin spent one glorious evening in a motorboat with a Webequie elder named Norman, and Fred Simpson, an OICC elder and chaperone.

“We went out around dusk for three or four hours. There were lots of walleye,” he said. “There are so many islands. I felt lost but Norman brought us to a good spot. He said wait until around 7 p.m. and sure enough, right around 7 p.m., we started catching fish. I think we caught 30 in 20 minutes.

“It was so quiet — loons, eagles in trees, the flow of water. It was peaceful and fun. I really enjoyed it.”

Trudy Utanaaq, 12, also made the trip to Webequie. She said she loved meeting new people and having new experiences. Despite cool temperatures, Utanaaq was one of the few to go swimming in the lake.

During a special community celebration on the Friday night, Webequie residents asked their guests to share some Inuit culture so several of the boys gave Inuit games demonstrations and Utanaaq and Colleen Sanguya did some throat singing.

Afterward, the Webequie hosts gave their visitors moose hide moccasins and travel mugs as gifts.

Steven Carleton said one memorable moment came when a respected elder from Alberta offered to hold a sweat lodge for guests.

He initially felt claustrophobic and anxious, blaming his “warm Inuk blood,” then his nostrils started to hurt from inhaling the hot air. He could only withstand the intense heat for about 10 minutes but it was worth it.

“It was a really interesting experience. It put things into perspective. We gave thanks to the land and the people who came before us. The ceremony helped me see the bigger picture,” he said.

From time to time, when discomfort seemed unbearable in the hot lodge, he just let his mind wander a bit.

“I play rugby so I thought about rugby and I thought about my wife,” he said laughing. “Just anything to keep from losing it.”

Lifetime friendships: in May and June 2013, Inuit youth from Ottawa and Oji-Cree youth from Webequie First Nation participated in a cultural exchange that introduced teenagers from northern Ontario to the bustle of the city and urban Inuit to the slow pace of life in the bush. (PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVEN CARLETON)