LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
From the Deh Cho Bridge to mukluks and flintlock rifles, projects on a range of historical topics were on display at the community centre in Fort Simpson last week.
Brandon Hardisty, 12, of Fort Liard displays a pair of mukluks that was part of his project for the Deh Cho Regional Heritage Fair held in Fort Simpson on April 10. The fair brought together 32 students who did projects on a wide range of topics, most of which related to an aspect of their heritage. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo
|
Thirty-two students from Fort Simpson and Fort Liard participated in the Deh Cho Regional Heritage Fair. For the event, students are encouraged to research a topic that is related to their heritage.
Megan Steeves, 11, examined traditional women's roles and culture in the Fort Liard area in the early 1900s.
"I thought it was just really interesting how things were back then," she said.
Standing beside her project, Steeves was happy to talk about all of the jobs women were responsible for including sewing and hunting and cleaning small game such as beaver, birds and fish.
"The men usually hunted bigger animals like moose and buffalo," she said.
Women also did the cooking, tanned hides to make clothing for their family and made birch bark baskets, she said. Steeves imagines women had to be strong to do all of the work.
"I think some of them were used to it," she said.
Steeves, who got a lot of information from her grandmother Marilyn Courtorille, said she enjoyed learning about how things were in the past.
"It was really interesting," she said.
Mary Drake, one of the students from Thomas Simpson School, who participated in the fair, had a very personal connection to her project. Drake, a Grade 9 student, learned about her great-uncle Johnny Neyelle.
"I chose him because I could relate to him," she said.
Neyelle, who was born in Fort Wrigley and lived in Deline most of his life, was a drum maker. From his workshop, Neyelle made drums for people as far away as Iqaluit.
Passion for drum making
It was interesting learning about his passion for drum making and the fact he did it every day, said Drake. In addition to making drums, Neyelle also made rattles, toy drums and once carved a wooden violin and bow using only a knife and a file. To learn about Neyelle, Drake turned to first-hand sources, including his son, Michael Neyelle.
Katrina Emmons, 12, who also attended the regional fair last year, enjoys doing projects on cultural topics.
"I like finding traditions, secrets and legends," she said.
She followed up her initial project on beading with a project on dreamcatchers.
"I chose it because I thought it was really interesting and it has a bit of tradition in my family," Emmons said.
On her display board, Emmons included information about how to make a dreamcatcher as well as legends about the origins of dreamcatchers.
During the fair the students and their projects were judged based on a number of criteria including historical content and knowledge, communication skills, originality and creativity. Based on the results, Lisa Muyambo, Meegwun Cazon, Melissa Pascua-Matte and Sage Fabre-Dimsdale were chosen to attend the Heritage Fair territorial showcase in Fort Smith in May.
