Deline welcomes Toronto students
Exchange swaps Arctic and big city living
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Published Monday, May 12, 2014
DELINE/FORT FRANKLIN
When a group of girls from Toronto visited Deline two weeks ago, Faith Gaudet knew exactly what she wanted them to learn about her community.
"I wanted them to meet the elders," she said. "They could tell them stories about the past."
Gaudet, Grade 8 student at Ehtseo Ahya School, was one of the hosts who welcomed the group of 12 students and two teachers from Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Toronto.
The students arrived on April 23 and stayed in the community until April 29.
Their arrival marked the second half of an exchange program sponsored by the YMCA Youth Exchanges Program, which brought 15 girls from Deline to Toronto for a week in January and early February.
Teacher Shaun Doherty said the exchange was initially focused on bringing together girls with a common interest in basketball. But the journeys ended up being much more.
"The focus was basketball, but at the end of the day it was a whole bunch of things," Doherty said.
For the girls from Deline, who ranged from Grade 6 to Grade 9, travelling to Toronto offered countless new experiences.
They rode on streetcars for the first time, tried new foods and saw a Ryerson Rams' women's basketball game at Ryerson University.
Doherty said he hoped watching the game helped the girls see future opportunities for themselves.
"I know a lot of girls said that was one of their favourite things to see," he said. "I wanted to inspire the girls to see that and say, 'that could be something I could do when I'm older. I could go to college or university when I graduate high school'."
The group also watched a Toronto Raptors basketball game from a suite at the Air Canada Centre.
But for Grade 9 student Whitney Andre, playing a basketball game with new friends in Toronto was the highlight of her trip.
"It was pretty amazing to play with new people," she said.
Andre said she also enjoyed visiting the CN Tower.
"We went to the very top, on the glass floor," she said.
Doherty said in addition to new experiences, the journey helped the girls build confidence.
"We just want to continue to develop their social skills and their leadership skills," he said. "They definitely came back with a bit of an edge that they can do this, they can go out and they can experience the world."
The group from Our Lady of Lourdes was treated to a meal of caribou stew when they arrived in Deline, Doherty said.
Parents and community members welcomed the group while Doherty and the girls presented a slideshow of their trip to Toronto.
The next day included a welcoming feast and a basketball game.
"The whole community came out to watch that," Doherty said.
The group also learned Dene games and watched Arctic sports demonstrations before heading out for a day in the bush.
Elders and trappers shared stories and the girls tried snowshoeing.
Andre said she was thrilled the Toronto group learned so much about the Dene way of life.
"I wanted them to know our culture, like how we live," she said. "Our handgames, our fishing, our language, sewing, drum dancing and storytelling."
Gaudet said she enjoyed spending time outside with new friends.
"There was lots of open space to run around and be loud and eat food," she said.
The group also participated in a "Deline Amazing Race" event, which was a special scavenger hunt set up around town. The race allowed students to visit local landmarks and even pick up some new language skills, such as counting to five in North Slavey.
Students also learned some sewing skills and how to make bannock.
Doherty said in Toronto, students had been learning about Canadian and First Nations history.
Danny Gaudet, chief negotiator for the Deline Final Self Government Agreement, gave a presentation to the group about the development of self-government.
"They had a chance to listen to our chief negotiator talk about the whole self-government process that has taken place in Deline," Doherty said. "They were quite interested in that."
Doherty said visiting Deline gave the Toronto group first-hand experience in a Northern community.
"Now they have all these wonderful stories and they have these wonderful experiences," he said. "Teachers were definitely impressed with what they saw here.
These girls, they didn't want to leave. They were having the time of their lives."
The final day was spent ice fishing and learning how to scale and clean their catch for a community barbecue that evening.
Doherty said the trip was a success thanks to supportive parents and community members.
"Without community involvement this thing would never have gotten off the ground," he said.
Andre said Doherty also deserved special thanks.
"It was a good experience, thanks to our coach," she said. "He put a lot of effort into it."
Now that the exchanges are finished, the girls said the only thing to do now is to keep in touch.
"I know that they had fun when they were here," Gaudet said.
