Fall Harvest Event Promotes Community Understanding
by Scott A. Sumner
www.thunderbaybusiness.ca
On bright, sunny days recently in Thunder Bay 1700 students had the opportunity to see first hand how the aboriginal culture prepared for the upcoming winter. “ We are at SHKODAY Aboriginal Head Start on John Street Road with the FALL Harvest program. This is all about
cultural awareness and sharing of culture, traditions and what kind of activities take place in preparation for winter. These are traditional ways that have always been practiced with various harvesting activities. Today these activities still occur. It works out well bringing the students out for their school studies curriculum,” said Carolyn Chukra, Aboriginal Community Liason and Partnership Officer with the Lakehead Public School Board and also Chair of the Fall Harvest Committee and Co Chair of the Community Coalition for the Unified Protection Of Youth.
“ Today we have 600 students out visiting 15 stations with areas such as corn soup preparation, making moose stew, wild rice separation which involves 5 stages from picking and drying etc. We have fish separation, bannock making and bird preparation of geese from the beginning to end. There are also deer and beaver for hide preparation. We eat the deer as
well and students can sample it if they wish. There is also moccasin preparation.
“ This is our second year at this site while before we were at Fort William Historical Park. This is all about the community partners coming together. There are 20 community agencies that have come to gether to put this on. It is great to see that community involvement. Youth engagement, community engagement and also addressing community violence are our priorities for the event. It is building cultural awareness. If we had a better understanding of one another we wouldn’t have the issues that we have today,” said Chukra. “ I think it is bringing community and youth together to network and learn from each other. Learning is the key point to help erase some of the stereotypes and share history.”
“ We are trying to teach the kids about what their elders went through in the past and how they survived. The young men used to dance on the rice for 2 to 3 days and harvest all the rice in a few weeks. We are bringing the community to see we all have to survive and this is what we had to do,” said Mark Sault of Seven Generations Eduction Institute whose head office is in Fort Frances and their own high school is there. “ Everybody’s culture and way of doing things are different. Even between families it can be different.”
The Fall Harvest was started 4 years ago and has grown in numbers and size each year.
