The North
The People
The 25,000 people whose homeland is the Sioux Lookout Health Zone are Ojibway, Oji-Cree and Cree. These are three distinct nations with numerous smaller subgroups who now live in small communities (reserves) dotted throughout a landmass the size of France. Although they live in communities of an average of 400 people and have signed treaties, the people regard the territory which surrounds their reserves as their homeland, granted to them by the Creator for fishing, gathering, hunting, and trapping - the backbone of their culture. It is an ancient but dynamic culture with many changes occurring at breakneck speed over the past 100 years, with sometimes devastating results.
The Languages
Ojibway, Cree and Oji-Cree are the languages of the people of the Sioux Lookout Health Zone. These are three distinct languages with dozens of local dialects, languages that are amongst the most viable Indigenous languages in Canada.
Of the approximately 50 Aboriginal languages in Canada, only Cree, Ojibway and Inuktitut have sufficient numbers of speakers to give them excellent chances of long-term survival. You can read an article by Ojibway linguist Pat Ningewance-Nadeau about the state of languages in the area. " In our corner of the land, we still have young people who speak Cree, Ojicree and
Ojibway... this is an area where we are served with a newspaper that publishes partly in the Native languages, a radio network that broadcasts mostly in the Native languages; and a television station that still produces programming in the Native languages."
The languages and traditions of the people are strong but struggling to survive in the face of a torrent of outside influence, including internet and satellite TV.
The Land
The Sioux Lookout Zone is comparable in size to France. It is bound by James Bay on the east, Hudson Bay on the north, the Manitoba border on the west, and the CN line on the south. The Zone is famous for its 100,000 lakes and its unending black spruce forest. The Ojibway, Cree and Oji-Cree who live in the Sioux Lookout Zone can truly call it their homeland, having lived here uninterruptedly for millennia. In the spring of 2004 a hunter in Big Trout Lake found the 5,000 year old remains of a person not more than a kilometre from the community.
To witness the strength of the people's connection to the land and its bounty please view "At Beaver Lake - Cooking Caribou". At Beaver Lake is part of a series of videos called Paddling to Washaho. Ojibway videographer Cal Kenny shot them in 2004 when he and a group of elders and young people paddled from a distant lake on the Severn River back to their community of Fort Severn. Washaho is the Cree name for Fort Severn.
The Elders
Listening to elders telling legends was a common winter activity in the Sioux Lookout Health Zone. This oral tradition ensured the survival of the knowledge and values of the people. Recently some of the legends have been recorded and written down. You can listen to Sandy Lake elder Jerry Fiddler, who died in 1983, tell the story of the hero Ayash in a Legend animated by his grandson, Multimedia Producer Jesse Fiddler.
The Communities
The Sioux Lookout Zone communities are just 50 years old - or less - in their present configurations with school, nursing stations, and public works. Almost all of them are located, however, at places where significant gatherings occurred for many centuries - either for summer celebrations, winter hunting, or for meetings of clans. One of them - Eabametoong First Nations (EFN) demonstrates what community life is like, where news of an Easter parade and woman's broomball tournaments exist side by side with photo stories of the summer powwow and the annual treaty celebration.
Favourite Foods
The people of the Sioux Lookout Zone were hunters and gatherers and this tradition of living off the land continues. Wild game is still a staple: moose and caribou, rabbit, goose and ducks, and fish. Gathering includes berries and plants, many of which are used as medicines by expert elders and traditional healers.
Delicacies are moose nose, beaver tail, bannock made with fish eggs, rabbit soup, and fish heads. In the past, every part of wild game, big or small, was used - nothing was wasted.
Diabetes has ravaged the communities in epidemic proportions in the most recent decades. The process of rapid cultural change has seen a rise in many chronic diseases of which diabetes is a primary example. You can explore what Sandy Lake First Nation has done to combat this disease in their Health and Diabetes Project.
Social and Spiritual Life
Social gatherings and traditional ceremonies abound no matter what the season, passed on for ages and still evolving every day. Ceremonies range from those of thanksgiving, prayers for the future, peace and healing to naming and memorial feasts and powwows. Built onto these are the newer traditions of seasonal festivals, square dancing (now mixed with pop dances), Christmas feasting and other contemporary festivities. Many communities now hold hunters festivals in the fall. The strong and vibrant Christian influence in this area is seen in the numerous community gospel jamborees engendered in the dead of winter by the construction for 2 or 3 months of a winter road connecting many of the communities for the only time in the year. (* do we want video or stills of winter roads?)
Traditional religious activities involving the sacred drum, medicines, the sweat lodge, and the shaking tent were strongly practiced in the past and remain strong elements of the sacred here. Watch the highlights of a powwow that took place in Lac Seul First Nation in 2004. Listen to the traditional sacred song of one of the newest young drum groups in the area, Old Man Bear Singers from Webequie one of three drum groups now singing in that community alone.
The Youth
Sioux Lookout Zone population is young and growing. In Ontario Aboriginal children under the age of 15 account for 35% of the population and young people aged 15-24 make up 18%. A young population means hope and vitality for the culture, (* do you want to embed some of Peggy Sanders baby photos from one of the websites?) but also brings with it many problems and challenges, not the least of which is a 2-year devastating youth suicide epidemic. You are invited to find out what the young people of Sioux Lookout Zone are up to on their Decade for Youth website. To further understand suicide - its impact and the strategies the youth and the Decade for Youth team are taking to fight back-you can visit the NAN Decade for Youth Suicide Prevention site.