Outdoor Survival Skills, Dog Sledding and Traditional Teachings All Part of the Northern Studies Experience
As part of the Northern Studies Program, Grade 4 and 5 students from St. Louis School got to spend the day at Pow Wow Island in Wauzhushk Onigum practicing their outdoor survival skills.
Dean Demers, Northern Studies Teacher, talked about some of the important life skills the students got to practice. "Learning how to start a fire is not as easy as it looks and it takes practice. We took the students on an excursion through the forest, showed them how to identify and collect sap from the trees and how to use the materials to start a fire."
Burton Penner from Borealis Dog Sled Adventures provided the students with a dog sled and also talked about the importance of the dog team as a mode of transportation in the winter.
The day started with traditional drumming provided by a Knowledge Holder as well as a discussion around harvesting furs, medicines and other traditional materials.
As the school year progresses, students will continue to learn important First Nation, Metis and Inuit survival skills, traditions and cultural teachings as part of the Northern Studies Program.