Top News - October - 2002
Thomas King was among the Six Nations writers who attended the 14th annual Eden Mills Writers' Festival Sept. 8. King read from his recently published book entitled Dreadful Water Shows Up: A Novel by Hartley Goodweather.
Photo by L. M. VanEvery
Métis meet in new region
Tourism association takes off
Petroglyphs popular with visitors
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Métis meet in new region
Ted Shaw, Birchbark Writer, Owen Sound
Page 2The Ontario Métis Aboriginal Association held an information meeting in Owen Sound Oct. 1, for all Métis, Inuit, and non-status Aboriginal people who live there.
About 60 people attended at the Harold Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. This was the first time OMAA had promoted a meeting in Owen Sound. Literature and membership application forms were available at the door.
John Secord, OMAA's community development officer, said "The purpose of this first meeting here is to bring everyone together into one room, so that we may provide information and discuss problems."
Among topics covered were how to apply and become a member of the association; hunting, fishing, and harvesting rights; health programs; and education, employment and business opportunities.
Relative to hunting, discussion evolved upon the precedent-setting Steve and Charles Powley case. In 1993 the Powleys, were charged with illegal hunting and possession of moose. The Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the right of Métis to hunt. The men were acquitted.
Tourism association takes off
Josie Newman, Birchbark Writer, TorontoPage 3
An Aboriginal centre created to sustain local Aboriginal businesses affiliated with tourism received a cash injection of $293,098 from the Ontario government last month.
The G'Nadjiwon Ki Aboriginal Tourism Association in Midland was created in 1999 to allow Aboriginal people to make a living from tourism that celebrates their culture and heritage, said Jack Contin, executive director of the association. Local artisans and entrepreneurs have their products on display there, including oil paintings, sketches, moccasins and other handiwork. The association, which specializes in small business development and tourism, covers Simcoe North, an area stretching from the north end of Barrie to just south of Gravenhurst, and stretching east from Christian Island over to Gamebridge. It includes the counties of Muskoka, Simcoe, York, Grey and Grey-Bruce.
"The intent of the government is to create a climate of more self-reliance for Aboriginals," said Garfield Dunlop, MPP for Simcoe North, which encompasses the Midland area.
The grant has enabled the association to provide space for two full-time businesses with two employees each - a research and development company called the Healing Lodge and a music recording company. It's also allowed G'Nadjiwon to hire an accountant and to provide on-site and off-site jobs to dancers and story-tellers.
"The performing artists will do gigs at places like the Deerhurst Inn and Casino Rama, where they always feature professional entertainers," said Contin, who has a marketing and development background and 15 years experience working for the federal government. "We chose Midland as the site for this centre because there are seven Aboriginal groups close by and it's right in the heart of southern Ontario's tourism hotbed."
Contin said some of his employees are taking a hospitality course specializing in First Nations tourism, a brand of tourism that will be marketed throughout Ontario and Quebec.
"We hope to eventually sell Aboriginal tourism packages, which would have people come for a few days to sample a variety of the best highlights of Native life," he said. "They might see a dance and do a workshop on the first day, while the second day could involve a medicine walk through the woods and some story-telling. Guests would stay in local motels and likely eat some traditional Native foods."
G'Nadjiwon Ki owns 45 acres of vacant land that Contin says will be used for an RV campground, an outdoor amphitheatre and an Ojibway cultural village.
"We want to be able to offer placements for Native students to train in Aboriginal tourism," Contin added. G'Nadjiwon Ki already is partnered with area businesses, such as Muskoka Heritage Village, which also might be able to employ the students.
Petroglyphs popular with visitors
Annette Francis, Birchbark Writer, Peterborough
Page 4
Approximately 150 people gathered for the opening ceremony and a chance to view the new visiting centre at Petroglyphs Provincial Park, on Sept. 27. The Learning Place is the product of the collaboration of Curve Lake First Nation and Ontario Parks, along with financial contributions from the provincial and federal governments.
The Learning Place vividly exhibits and expresses the story of the Teaching Rocks from the Anishnaabe perspective. The centre is built on the four directions concept. Each direction winds through the building like a serpent and has its own display, such as photos, videos, or objects.
Doug Williams, a member of Curve Lake First Nation and a steering committee member, described the centre. "The entry door is the east, which is the welcoming, then to the south, to the west, then to the north, which is story telling, where you can sit and contemplate as you listen to the stories of the northern part of the serpent."
Williams said, "My consolation for this place is that I'm doing it for the kids, for my grandkids, so they'll see some of our culture." He said they will have to continue as a steering committee of Curve Lake First Nation. His personal goal is to have input into the operation of the park.
Williams said that visitors should not interfere with the traditional ceremonies at the site. First Nation peoples are free to use the site for fasting and for ceremonies, even during the off-season.
A lot of local Native artists' work was used for the exhibits. Rick Beaver, an artist from Alderville First Nation, has artwork exhibited in the centre's west direction. He said, "I hope that people will come to a better appreciation of the deep origins and connections that Native people have with this place, that they act on what they read about respect. There are a lot of teachings here by the grandfathers. They are worth listening to, for both Native and non-Native."
Petroglyphs Park contains the largest known, single concentration of Aboriginal rock carvings in Canada. It is located northeast of Peterborough, and is visited by thousands of visitors from around the world. Diane and Bruce Gray from Australia are visiting Canada for a few weeks; they heard about the Petroglyphs site and decided to visit. Diane Gray said, "The exhibit is fantastic, it's a very moving place. We'd come again."
