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Students on their way to Ontario

Article Origin

Author

By Dianne Meili Sweetgrass Staff Writer Whitefish Lake First Nation

Volume

18

Issue

6

Year

2011

The shyness is already melting away as students from Alberta’s Whitefish Lake First Nations interact online with a northern Ontario school class across the country before meeting them in person this month. 

“Our kids have asked for another videoconference with the kids from Bearskin Lake First Nation and they’re asking a lot of questions about what they should bring – like ‘can I bring my cell phone?’,” said Jackie van de Ligt, an organizer of the student exchange.

“We tell them ‘no’ because we’re going to a fly-in community where there’s no cell phone reception,” she explained. “We’ll be staying on the land in tipis and doing lots of things our kids from here will be experiencing for the first time.”

Thirteen Cree and Métis students, aged 12 to 14, and two teachers from Pakan School will fly to Bearskin Lake, Ontario, on May 23 as part of a Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges (SEVEC) program. After participating in educational and fun activities with their hosts, the students will return to Alberta to prepare for their guests – 13 Cree/Ojibway students and two teachers – arriving from Michikan Lake School in the community they just visited.

“We heard the Bearskin Lake students are making moccasins to give our students – so we’re thinking of what we can give them,” said van de Ligt. “It might not be anything that can compare to hand-made moccasins, but we’ll make up for that by taking our guests on lots of trips and to places they’ve likely only seen in pictures.”

On the itinerary for the visiting students is a trip to see the Rocky Mountains and some of the successful businesses in the Whitefish Lake First Nations community, like the sewing centre where coveralls are made to supply oil workers. The Discovery Centre near Leduc, the Space Science Centre in Edmonton, and an educational session at West Edmonton Mall are also on the agenda.

Students have, so far, held raffles, candy sales and even a CFWE Radio Bingo Bash in their community to help raise $16,000 needed for their guests’ activities.