Somehow, one month has come and gone.
{{Right here--I just spent 15 minutes attempting to articulate why the passage of time in Wrigley has felt, to me, like an oxymoron...had to move on. Maybe I'll come back to it?}}
Ok. This album's track list:
1. Gettin' Mossy at Smith Creek Falls
2. Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry of 1974
3. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Judo chop re-mix)
4. The Beaver Dam
5. Wrigley: It's a Runna's Paradise
6. Jane, Jane, Jane of the (Canadian) Jungle
7. Culture Camp
8. A Bittersweet Farewell (lyrics by: Carl "the other beaver" MacMahan)
9. Pickin' Battles (featuring: the educators of Chief Julien Yendo School)
Three Fridays ago, Chief Julien Yendo School (students and staff) took a day trip to Smith Creek Falls as a celebration of a successful first week back in session. Jeez it feels like a long time ago! Eleven kids came along and we had a super great time hiking, picking cranberries, taking photos with moss as facial-hair, rolling around on the spongy forest floor and roasting hot dogs for lunch. I mentioned to Brooke and Kent how incredible it was to me that the kids... didn't....whine....about hiking. There were certainly complaints, but they were inspired by sibling disputes and safety restrictions on horseplay in the water. With soppy-floppy shoes, they trekked up two steep hills and bushwhacked their way through some pretty thick brush with ease and enthusiasm. The only hesitancies they expressed were in relation to possible run-ins with what they call: bushmen (escaped convicts who have gone feral in the bush...a northern urban legend...OR IS IT.)
2. Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry of 1974
Two weeks ago we had some pretty dang cool visitors come to school to talk with the kids. On Wednesday we blasted into the Mackenzie Valley's past with Drew-Anne and Linda--journalist and photographer, respectively.
In 1974, the Canadian government sent justice Thomas Berger into the Northwest Territories to investigate the perspectives of northern communities about a proposed gas pipeline that would run from Canada's northern coast down the Mackenzie River Valley. Aboriginal and non-aboriginal citizens alike eagerly expressed their concerns at community hearings throughout the territories and the Yukon--concerns regarding the environmental, social and economical (or lack-there-of) impacts the development would have on the north. Judge Berger listened and his commission strongly recommended to the government that no pipeline be built, that further development needed to conform with the wishes of those who lived there, and, specifically, that the role of natives be more prominent in future planning.
When Berger and his commission came to Wrigley in '74, Drew-Anne was there with her camera. And two weeks ago when the great grandkids of elders who spoke at that commission came to school in Wrigley, Drew-Anne was there with her photos! (and printouts of the hearing). The kids did their best to identify their relatives--nearly 40 years younger then than they are today. When one man was named, Kent asked the class how many of them were his great grandchildren. Everyone but one student raised their hands. I thought to myself, "Wow, Wrigley really is a family of 100."
3. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Judo-Chop Remix)
The next day we were escorted from history to current events by two Royal Canadian Mounted Police from Vancouver's downtown eastside. These officers, working in "Canada's poorest postal code"(Wiki), see a lot of poverty, drug use, sex trade and crime...and have pictures/videos to prove it. Wrigley kids are tough cookies and nothing drives a message home better than shock value! The theme of the RCMP's power-point presentation was "This could be you if you don't start avoiding drugs and alcohol now" and it definitely had shock value. Ha, at least I thought so.
The presentation was followed by Judo lessons taught by the visiting RCMP (there are 2 RCMP who are around Wrigley about 3 days a week on a regular basis too). They chose one of the older boys to be the example/group-leader--intentionally choosing the kid who goofed off the most during the powerpoint. He ate it up and it was pretty fantastic watching him slowly become comfortable (relatively) and confident (relatively) in that role. After practicing a few moves (and memorizing the #1 rule of judo: always take care of your partner), they all had a chance to throw down the beefy officers onto mats. There was a lot of uninhibited, uncontrollable smiling and laughter going on...my favorite kind. And I'm finding that Wrigley kids do a lot of that (albeit often at comPLETEly inappropriate times haha, but maybe that's better than none at all)!
4. The Beaver Dam
I didn't mention anything about my living situation in my first post so here's the full update on that. When I first arrived, nothing was set up for me so I spent nights 1-4 in Kent and Brooke's spare bedroom (the beginnings of a ridiculous amount of kindnesses from them...that also meant at least 4 meals). I then moved into Wrigley's sole hotel for about a week and a half. It's pretty shocking that there is a hotel here at all, to be honest. But, situated across the gravel road (main street!) from the Band office and school, it is most regularly used by contracted maintenance workers. I moved in next door to Carl, the other beaver volunteer who was running the youth center (I'll explain the past tense later) and down the hall from 4 maintenance dudes who were up from Alberta to work in Wrigley. So five guys and a lady...is that a movie? No, that's Three Men and a Baby. Dangit.
Two Fridays ago, Carl and I were moved, officially and permanently, into our very own...Beaver Dam (pretty good, right?? Beaver dam?? Because we're beaver volunteers and it's where we live and beavers live in dams....). It's an almost completely renovated house right behind the hotel that used to be the home of the hotel manager. Its back porch and kitchen window look out onto the Mackenzie River and to the Mackenzie mountains across it. One bedroom is bright lime green and I was lucky enough to claim it as my own (bright colors are part of my strategy to battle the arctic winter). The kitchen opens up over a counter into the living room--a living room with ample space for yoga, aerobics and pilates...maybe jump-roping (also, all parts of my strategy to battle the arctic winter).
'The beaver dam'....it doesn't slow a river's flow and we didn't build it, but it's shelter and it has a view of a river...so the analogy works well enough for me.
5. Wrigley: It's a Runna's Paradise
I've been really looking forward to telling you all about how wonderfully, amazingly, exhiliratingly fantastic running is around Wrigley. Runners, do you know that feeling you get when you round a corner or crest a hill to find a beautiful view? A city skyline or mountain or lake or sunset? That overwhelming wave of endorphins mixed with gratitude-to-be-alive mixed with adrenaline mixed with sweet, sweet exhaustion?? (God I sound ridiculous) Well, I have enjoyed run after run like that up here. After a few weeks of exploring various trails and roads and sweet spots...I have a pretty stellar route worked out.
I leave the beaver dam and head south down the Mackenzie Highway for about 2 miles until I round a corner (this is one of 'those corners': heading downhill with yellow aspens all around and the Franklin mountain range ahead) and jog downhill into Wrigley's campground. I run past the campsites down a road that dead ends onto a tilted, wooden dock floating on a huge shallow lake that is best described as a boundary-waters-lake. What a perfect spot to sit down and do some crunches (if I feel up to it) or just chill out and enjoy the peace (insert loon call here). 10 minutes later I'm up and heading back to the highway and north toward Wrigley, but instead of continuing straight into town I take a quick left down the driveway toward the airport. At the end of this driveway I break out into the massive clearing that is none other than the Wrigley landing strip--lying parallel between the highway and river. Watching the Mackenzie range on my left and usually the sun-setting over it, I set a good pace for the length of the field until I hit the tree line and the start of the narrow trail that will take me home. I jog slowly on this trail. Partly because of roots and rocks and fallen logs, but also because I am running atop a ridge, looking down through aspen trees at the Dehcho River (Slavey for Big River) at sunset.....amazing. Maybe you've even seen my pictures of sunsets here! After 10 minutes on the trail I pass a couple of houses and know I'm almost back. Yesterday, I noticed that someone was drying meat (moose or caribou) on a homemade stick structure in their backyard and thought to myself how lucky I am to be here...learning about and personally experiencing a new way of life. Next I pass the back of the hotel and jog right up to the beaver dam--with a back porch perfect for stretching on. 
There are so many dogs here. It's hard to know whether or not someone 'owns' one or not, because very few of them are tied up or wear collars (pretty great, huh?). Most of them, however, are linked to a kid. Some Wrigley kids have 4 or 5 dogs and almost all have at least one. The dogs are mostly husky mixes or german shepherd mixes with a few other varieties thrown in. And there are lots of puppies---some of the cutest puppies I have ever seen.
Long story short here (it's getting late)--I'm pretty smitten with a particular husky puppy. It has been a mutual courtship. I fed her leftovers and she quickly developed radar for "that human that has food and gives me attention". Every time I stepped out of the hotel--and now the beaver dam--she is bounding toward me within 10 seconds--ears flopping, tongue out, tail curled. She walks me to work in the morning, she walks me to the hotel when I shower (no hot water in the beaver dam...remember, I said 'almost completely renovated'?) and the clincher....she runs with me. That little lady knows the way into my heart! I've unofficially named her Jane and let her come inside for snuggles and warmth now and then (a "charitable" gesture that I benefit greatly from!), but am weary of adopting her. Brooke and Kent know how things roll around here and they say chances are high that she'll be pregnant after her first heat. Supporting a litter of puppies isn't exactly feasible on a volunteer's salary!
**since I wrote the above Jane-related paragraphs, she was hit by a vehicle. The girl that runs the town store called me at the school to let me know (apparently it doesn't matter whether or not I had decided to adopt....all of Wrigley has seen me dinking around town with her...and knew her as the girl volunteer's puppy). She wasn't looking good during my lunch break. And now she is nowhere to be found.
***since I wrote the above sidenote...two girls came over to tell me that they heard Jane died and was thrown in the dumpster. One of the girls had other news for me though. Her dog gave birth to puppies at lunch today and she thought I might want one once they got a bit older. Now, thinking back on the whole day....I am sad about Jane, touched that Haily thought of me and feeling some very cheesy sentiments about how with death comes new life.
**since I wrote the above Jane-related paragraphs, she was hit by a vehicle. The girl that runs the town store called me at the school to let me know (apparently it doesn't matter whether or not I had decided to adopt....all of Wrigley has seen me dinking around town with her...and knew her as the girl volunteer's puppy). She wasn't looking good during my lunch break. And now she is nowhere to be found.
***since I wrote the above sidenote...two girls came over to tell me that they heard Jane died and was thrown in the dumpster. One of the girls had other news for me though. Her dog gave birth to puppies at lunch today and she thought I might want one once they got a bit older. Now, thinking back on the whole day....I am sad about Jane, touched that Haily thought of me and feeling some very cheesy sentiments about how with death comes new life.
7. Culture Camp
'Culture Camp' is a tradition for many schools in the northwest territories. It's typically a full 5 days of camping out on the land and participating in a variety of traditional activities with elders. The closest thing from my elementary education in Eau Claire, Wisconsin I can think of to compare it to is the one day in second grade when my classmates and I took a field trip to the Carson Park museum. We dressed up like the kids on Little House on the Prairie (I had a bonnet and I loved wearing it) and spent the day in and around the park's historic one-room schoolhouse. I feel a little bit like we got the shaft! Where was our week of living in log cabins with no running water and electricity??
Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to experience this northern tradition last week. At the start of the school year Kent and Brooke were informed that Devonian Metals--a small exploration company that is surveying Wrigley Mountain for zinc--had committed to funding all of a culture camp for the school. How expensive can a week of rustic camping really be?-- you might be wondering. Well, let's start with transportation. Not buses, not 15 passenger vans....float planes...and enough flights of 3 at a time to get about 30 individuals there and back. This culture camp's destination was Fish Lake, a lake that can not be accessed by anything other than plane or ski-do (maybe a 5 hour boat ride?). A cook and three helpers were hired to prepare three meals a day for the class and several elders were paid to come along and provide the kids with traditional opportunities (they also did most of the firewood labor). A community member was paid to coordinate everything and another was paid to handle the event's budget. I'm sure I'm missing more expenses, but after everything was said and done.....$30,000.
Throughout the build-up and prep for the trip, Brooke and Kent warned me that complex events like this one (especially those that involve the participation of community members) have a tendency to fall apart or not come together at all. They're not cynical or pessimistic (totally the opposite!)....just two people who have lived and worked in Wrigley for over two years and like I mentioned before, know (in this case, from a great deal of experience) how things roll around here. But guess what?? This time things worked out pretty swell! There were snafus and tensions and mechanical issues and of course the kids were exhausting to be around 24 hours a day, BUT for the most part everyone enjoyed themselves. The kids really legitimately seemed to have a great time...they chilled out. Fought less. Got pretty into all of the activities. Complained none. Fall hit us full-on during our time there and temperatures couldn't have risen above 40 degrees during the day. Most of the kids wore nothing more than a light sweater and a few of the boys stuck to t-shirts. When adults encouraged them to go get jackets they responded, "No, I'm not cold. I'm Dene!"
There was cranberry-gathering, spruce-gum-medicinal-tea-boiling, caribou and moose hide de-furring, boat-building, 'chicken' (aka-ruffed grouse) hunting, fishing, hiking, journaling and a lot of bonfire time. And.....the northern lights. What can I write about seeing the northern lights for the first time?? Brooke used the word psychedelic and as we laid on the beach staring up....I couldn't think of a better suited word than that. Magical maybe? It's easy to think of them as back-lit clouds, but when you start trying to process what's actually going on....totally fascinating. And confusing (it's definitely less brain-busting just to think of it as magic).
8. A Bittersweet Farewell
Carl, the other beaver volunteer, is sitting and reading in our armchair (fold-up camping chair) right now while I type at the table. I just told him that these lyrics are supposed to be by him and would he like to write this section? Nope. He's pretty busy doing some light reading....an 805 page book that is "a very dense tome (insert: carl, defining tome for me). A cultural history of the west from 1500 to about 2000."
Have you ever met a human version of wikipedia? If you answer no, then you have never met Carl McMahan. Carl is from North Carolina, but has been living and teaching in places like China and South Korea for the last 9 years. He came to Wrigley through the same program I did, but to run the youth centre and organize after-school activities for the kids. While I am supported (financially and professionally) by the school and school board, Carl is supported by the band. He found, however, that that support did not balance out the incredible challenges he was facing with the kids and with the responsibilities he was given. Because it was not a healthy situation for him, he has resigned from Frontiers Foundation and is taking a ride down to Edmonton tomorrow. I will miss sharing the beaver dam with a fellow beaver, listening to him vent and venting right back at him and....having instant access to the luxuries of wikipedia without even needing to open my laptop AND in a much more engaging format!
9. Pickin' Battles
There is a good reason why this song is the title track of this album. I have heard and have probably even been given the cliche advice, "pick your battles", plenty of times in my life, but I don't think it has ever been so relevant, so applicable, as it has been at Chief Julien Yendo School. If Kent and Brooke allowed themselves to get worked up every time they encountered one student with their hands around another's neck (oh don't worry, this is just good ol' Wrigley horseplay) or heard the word 'faggot' or saw someone chuck a water bottle across the room....they would have never-ending migraines and most likely, wouldn't still be here. The picking of battles doesn't stop at school for them....there are plenty to be sifted through when it comes to their dealings with the community's adults and politics.
So...I am getting lots of hands-on practice with this technique. Beyond picking battles, I am learning so much through the process of trying to become someone these kids see as another supportive adult and....hopefully, a friend. I'm so glad to have arrived with some experience working with challenging youth under my belt already, but because of the large amount of time I'm spending with Wrigley youth, and because of how few of them there are...and because they all live on my street....I can tell that this year is going to teach me incredible lessons.
I already feel much more strongly about becoming a teacher myself. I have a hard time imagining having a classroom of 25 plus kids (like so many in American public schools) and not spending all day with them like Brooke and Kent do here. Maybe I'll move to a small Alaskan town.....I can hear my mom and dad saying, "Oh Colleen.....Alaska?? Why not northern Wisconsin?!". I had both of them warning me not to fall in love with a northern Canadian man before I left. I guess they like having me around.
Sorry this was so long. I'll try to update more frequently and keep them shorter!
 |
| Excited to fly! |
Fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to experience this northern tradition last week. At the start of the school year Kent and Brooke were informed that Devonian Metals--a small exploration company that is surveying Wrigley Mountain for zinc--had committed to funding all of a culture camp for the school. How expensive can a week of rustic camping really be?-- you might be wondering. Well, let's start with transportation. Not buses, not 15 passenger vans....float planes...and enough flights of 3 at a time to get about 30 individuals there and back. This culture camp's destination was Fish Lake, a lake that can not be accessed by anything other than plane or ski-do (maybe a 5 hour boat ride?). A cook and three helpers were hired to prepare three meals a day for the class and several elders were paid to come along and provide the kids with traditional opportunities (they also did most of the firewood labor). A community member was paid to coordinate everything and another was paid to handle the event's budget. I'm sure I'm missing more expenses, but after everything was said and done.....$30,000. |
| Showing off the busting bag of cranberries we picked |
 |
| collecting spruce sap for tea |
There was cranberry-gathering, spruce-gum-medicinal-tea-boiling, caribou and moose hide de-furring, boat-building, 'chicken' (aka-ruffed grouse) hunting, fishing, hiking, journaling and a lot of bonfire time. And.....the northern lights. What can I write about seeing the northern lights for the first time?? Brooke used the word psychedelic and as we laid on the beach staring up....I couldn't think of a better suited word than that. Magical maybe? It's easy to think of them as back-lit clouds, but when you start trying to process what's actually going on....totally fascinating. And confusing (it's definitely less brain-busting just to think of it as magic).
8. A Bittersweet Farewell
Carl, the other beaver volunteer, is sitting and reading in our armchair (fold-up camping chair) right now while I type at the table. I just told him that these lyrics are supposed to be by him and would he like to write this section? Nope. He's pretty busy doing some light reading....an 805 page book that is "a very dense tome (insert: carl, defining tome for me). A cultural history of the west from 1500 to about 2000."
 |
| Carl with some of the boys |
9. Pickin' Battles
 |
| During their judo lesson--supervised horseplay! |
I already feel much more strongly about becoming a teacher myself. I have a hard time imagining having a classroom of 25 plus kids (like so many in American public schools) and not spending all day with them like Brooke and Kent do here. Maybe I'll move to a small Alaskan town.....I can hear my mom and dad saying, "Oh Colleen.....Alaska?? Why not northern Wisconsin?!". I had both of them warning me not to fall in love with a northern Canadian man before I left. I guess they like having me around.
Sorry this was so long. I'll try to update more frequently and keep them shorter!
No comments:
Post a Comment