GAMETI/RAE LAKES
About a month ago, Hunter Mantla got the chance to participate in something many Canadians have done at least once in their lives - doing the wave at a professional hockey game.

Students, back row from left, Hunter Mantla and Jesley Gon. Front row from left, Rollden Eyakfwo and Jarrett Arrowmaker pose with their Team Canada mitts they received during an Encounters with Canada Trip to Ottawa the week of Jan. 27. - photo courtesy of Shelagh O'Neill

"It was my first time going to a hockey game," said the Grade 11 student from Jean Wetrade Gameti School. "We did the wave and it was awesome."

Mantla and eight other youth from the Northwest Territories travelled to Ottawa from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2 as part of Encounters with Canada.

The organization brings students from around the country to Ottawa to participate in a variety of workshops and field trips, such as visiting Parliament Hill, touring museums and taking in hockey games, said teacher Shannon Longtin, one of the trip's chaperones.

Students fundraised for the trip and money was also provided through the Tlicho Government, she said.

Longtin said Encounters with Canada co-ordinators asked each group to bring along traditional clothing, so Gameti students wore theirs while touring Parliament Hill.

"We were expected to dress up a little bit and that's what they chose," she said.

While there, students sat in on a portion of question period and watched members of parliament in action.

"We sat and listened to question period. Justin Trudeau was there," Longtin said. "They got to hear some of the topics they

were talking about."

Shelagh O'Neill, teacher and co-chaperone, said it was the first time any of the students from Gameti had visited Ottawa or Ontario.

There were plenty of first experiences, she said.

"We took a city bus to the mall," she said. "That was something none of the students had done before."

Students stayed in dorm rooms at the Terry Fox Canadian Youth Centre during their trip.

The program's theme changes from week-to-week and Mantla's group participated in the sports and fitness theme.

That meant going rock climbing, playing tennis and learning martial arts, he said.

O'Neill said students were especially excited playing new sports.

"They really enjoyed getting the opportunity to learn sports they would never otherwise be exposed to," she said.

In keeping with the sports theme, the group also took in a professional hockey game between the Ottawa Senators and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

It was Mantla's first time inside a large stadium and he said he enjoyed cheering on the Ottawa Senators.

"My teacher bought me a foam finger and it said 'Go Sens,'" he said.

Other trip highlights included a presentation from a war veteran and visiting the Canadian Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Confederation Square, Longtin said.

Each group did presentations on the area in which they lived, so Gameti students explained daily life in their community, Mantla said. They also shared Tlicho language and culture lessons.

"We taught them a little bit of our language and what we do up here in the North," he said. "We may live up North, but we know what technology and stuff is."

Mantla said he knows his memories of the trip will last a long time.

"We did a lot of things that we'll probably remember when we get older," he said.

He said he also enjoyed meeting other people his age from across Canada and said many students plan to keep in touch.

"We'll still keep in contact, even though we're far away," he said.

He said he would recommend the trip to other students.

"If I had a second chance to go to Encounters, I would," he said. "It was an amazing trip."

O'Neill said she hopes students who visit southern Canada will be encouraged to think about the possibilities of post-secondary education.

"We, as teachers, are trying to teach them about other areas, to get them excited about going to college and university," she said.

"Now that they've been there, I think it's something that's really going to stick with them and they'll be more enthusiastic to go on Canada-wide adventures like that."

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