KO staff join Fort Severn team documenting traditional activities and territory
Robert Hunter, KO’s Data Warehouse Coordinator and Cal Kenny, K-Net’s Graphic Design Technician joined Fort Severn elders and community leaders this week as they travelled throughout their traditional territory. The group are travelling by freighter canoes from one of Fort Severn members’ original communities of Rocksand back to Fort Severn. Along the way, they will be visiting grave sites and other significant sites to identify and document their traditional trap lines, camps, hunting and fishing sites.
Robert is working with Cal and other members of the team to identify these sites using a GPS so the points can be mapped onto a regional map. At the different sites, the elders will share their memories and stories about each of these significant locations. Cal will be recording this information and the trip using the KO video camera. Traditional activities such as hunting and fishing are also being recorded as much as possible.
Plans to use the information gathered throughout the trip include creating digital maps of Fort Severn’s traditional territory that contain testimonials and other documents clearly detailing Fort Severn historical rights to access and manage the resources and lands across this vast region of Northern Ontario. Video material will be produced to support ongoing efforts to preserve and protect the traditional languages and cultures of the people across this region.
Snowfall and other weather conditions have challenged everyone to get this trip underway. Matt Mitchell flew his Caravan to Fort Severn to transport the canoes, supplies and people to the starting point of this adventure. Here on the first scheduled day of the trip, the charter sits idle in Sioux Lookout waiting for the snow to stop. The team did get to fly to Fort Severn on Wednesday but had to stop the shuttle of equipment when another snowfall hit the region on Thursday. Everyone hopes that by the weekend, the entire team will be out on the land starting this challenging journey that is supported in part by the Aboriginal Healing Foundation and Industry Canada’s Smart Communities Demonstration project.
