CANADA 150

In the summer of 2015, I attended a presentation in Eastend about a pilgrimage along the Wood Mountain - Fort Walsh trail led by Dr. Matthew Anderson, professor of Theology at Concordia University in Montreal and an expert in pilgrimage. The walk was co-coordinated by the Saskatchewan History and Folklore Society (SHFS). I've long been intrigued by trails in Saskatchewan, but I only had time to participate for about an hour in the 2015 trail walk. When I found out that SHFS was coordinating another trail walk in the summer of 2017, I made sure to participate for more than an hour!

Led by Hugh Henry, a board member of SHFS, and Dr. Anderson, this year's trail walk/pilgrimage followed the historic Swift Current-Battleford trail. The trail, and the land surrounding it, are steeped in history and meaning. Dr. Anderson believes that walking a long distance with intention - going on pilgrimage - is a powerful way to connect with the land and the people who have occupied it, past and present. This "meditation at three miles an hour" connects a person deeply with him/herself, and allows reflection and introspection not usually easy to come by in a busy and fast-paced world.

I found this to be true during the day that I participated in the walk, which was the first of the planned 17 days. We struck out from the trail ruts site in Swift Current after a warm send-off and covered 14 miles (22 kilometers) that day, mostly on gravel road, but also a bit through unbroken prairie pasture in which Red River cart ruts from the original trail were still visible. It was a sunny, very warm Saskatchewan summer day, and it turns out that 14 miles of walking is no easy feat to accomplish! It absolutely does stimulate meditation. As Dr. Anderson mentions in the video, this type of activity also creates community, both within the group of walkers themselves, and with the strangers they encounter along the way. That particular day, we stopped at the Swift Current Hutterite Colony where we were given iced tea and cookies. I have never in my life been so grateful for such refreshments! Experiencing the kindness and hospitality of strangers, especially when in a vulnerable state from walking through the summer heat all day, is a deeply humanizing experience.

Hugh Henry and Dr. Anderson both speak to the importance of reconciliation, and how they believe this pilgrimage is a part of realizing reconcliaiton. Connecting with the land, with the self, is a powerful way to contemplate the experiences of the many peoples who have lived and moved through this landscape for thousands of years. Indigenous and non-indigenous people now share this place, and to truly work towards reconciliation, we must first, as Dr. Anderson states, "get to know each other."

Though I only walked for one day, it was a deeply meaningful experience for me. To walk such a trail is to feel connected to the rich heritage of this province, as well as to feel deeply connected to the self. It's hard not to when ankles and feet are throbbing! But truly, walking the land is a powerful way to experience place and to connect with the self and with community.

For more information on pilgrimage and this walk, see Dr. Anderson's blog, Something Grand. For detailed reflections on the walk from those who participated, see the SHFS Trail Walk 2017.

I first met Bonnie Masuskapoe when she was a guest presenter at a Heritage Saskatchewan and Museums Association of Saskatchewan workshop at Wanuskewin last year. She did a beading demonstration for and was interviewed about the tradition. I was impressed by her obvious artistic talent and also by the thoughtfulness of her interview answers.

Born and raised on Ahtahkakoop First Nation, Bonnie grew up going to powwows and round dances, which is where she first recalls seeing traditional beadwork adorning the regalia of the dancers. She learned how to do beadwork from her mother, and sometimes in school, but it wasn't until she was an adult that she started to seriously create. After immersive culturel experiences in Africa and on Manitoulin Island in Ontario with World Youth Canada, Bonnie began to appreciate her own Cree culture more. Upon returning to Saskatchewan, she started to learn how to make traditional objects like moccasins. She also started to experiment with her own style and with using traitional designs on contemporary items.

Bonnie has tried her hand at many different art forms, and shares her expertise in workshops at Wanuskewin where participants can learn how to make things like moose hide mittens. Bonnie is particularly proud of the dolls she made for her nieces. Composed of felt, the dolls are designed to look like traditional Cree girls, with braided hair and beaded regalia. Bonnie explained that growing up, the kinds of dolls she played with were Barbies. She wanted her nieces to have a doll that looked like them. She recalls the joy of one of her nieces upon receiving the doll: "it made me cry."

Bonnie's work, as well as that of her peers, is a powerful indication of the strength and reslience of First Nations culture. As she explains in her interview, in the recent past making traditional cultural art like beadwork was illegal. Now, a new generation of indigenous people are continuing these traditions on, but adapting them to contemporary life. For Bonnie, creating traditional crafts is a meaningful expression of her Cree heritage. Beadwork designs often contain stories that are particular to a people and a place. Bonnie is creating her own story through her work - one which includes stories of the past.

Food security has always been a pressing issue, but in recent years debates about the agricultural methods behind the production of our food have become more mainstream. The marketing behind organic foods, non-GMO foods, and local, slow food have created trends. The trendiness suggests that these are new concepts, when really they are a revival or a return to the way most humans have procured food throughout history. In response to this movement, entrepreneurs across the province have made it easier for Saskatchewan people to access locally grown food. Nicole Davis from North Portal is one of them, but in her case, she is carrying on two long-standing traditions in the far southeastern corner of the province. 

First of all, she is carrying on her family's organic farm, which was established in 1890. Nicole farms alongside her father, and feels proud to be the latest generation to continue on her family's operation. In one way, she's continuing on tradition, and in another, she's breaking with it. In Saskatchewan it has been the custom, if not the rule, for family farms to pass to male descendants, and many people still equate the term "farmer" with "man." Women have always farmed alongside their husbands in this province, but were rarely afforded the same social standing, or even the privilege of being able to call themselves a farmer.

The second tradition Nicole is keeping alive is that of milling. There are few flour mills left in Saskatchewan, and very few attached to individual farming opertions. Daybreak Mill has been in business since 1953 when Alvin Scheresky began it as Scheresky Mill. At the time, chemicals were being introduced into farming operations, but Scheresky chose to continue farming without them. He grew the grain, milled it, packaged it, and delivered it to customers in other provinces.

In the early 2000s, when Scheresky retired, the mill's ownership passed to Ray and Marianne Aspinall. They began retailing their organic flours and cereals in smaller packages for the local market, and this is how I first became acquainted with Daybreak Mill. Several years ago I started buying Daybreak Mill products from Old Fashion Foods in Weyburn. I was excited to be able to buy locally produced flour, since as the daughter of a farmer, I know that most of what gets grown in this province leaves it, and it's hard to know where it ends up. As a kid, I used to sometimes wonder when eating pasta or bread if some of the flour used to make it came from our farm. There was no way to know!

I found out when I got in touch with Daybreak Mill that the newest owner is Nicole Davis, a young woman my age who not only owns and operates the mill, but also grows all the grain that goes into the mill. Nicole bought the company in 2012 and now employs a year-round staff to operate the mill, including miller Brock Aspinall who has been with the mill since 2006. Brock is an expert at operating the mill, which is over 50 years old and original to Alvin Scheresky's beginnings. I find Nicole's story very inspiring, and I spent a beautiful day with her and her staff last spring learning all about Daybreak Mill.

To learn more about the history of Daybreak Mill and its products, check out its website. And enjoy this video where Nicole explains what it means to her to be carrying on the traditions of farming and milling!

Watch the video here

Saskatchewan’s settler history is a story of diverse people coming from many parts of the world. What some people may not realize is that Saskatchewan is home to a sizeable population of people of Icelandic descent. Following a volcanic eruption in 1875 and the resulting catastrophic effects on agriculture, many Icelanders emigrated to North America. They settled primarily in the West - throughout Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Alberta, BC, as well as the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Utah. In Saskatchewan, Icelanders primarily settled in what they called the VatnaByggd - the Lake Settlement - which refers to the area Icelanders homesteaded south of Foam Lake, Fishing Lake, Little Quill Lake and Big Quill Lake in eastern Saskatchewan, near the present communities of Wynyard, Mozart, and Elfros.

I was first intrigued by the connections between Iceland and Saskatchewan when I visited Iceland last year. In a small town library in northern Iceland, I discovered history books from Manitoba and Saskatchewan towns. I then visited the Icelandic Emigration Centre museum at Hofsós and learned that Icelanders have kept careful genealogical records of their North American relatives, whom they refer to as "Western Icelanders." After returning to Saskatchewan, I learned about the Vatnabyggd settlement. I spoke to Karen Olafson from the Vatnabyggd Icelandic Club, and she invited me to come and make a video during the Snorri West program in June,

Snorri West (named for Snorri Þorfinnsson, the first European known to have been born in North America, in what is now Newfoundland, in the 11th century) brings young Icelanders over to North America to connect with relatives and learn about Western Icelandic culture, and vice versa, and the places in which Western Icelanders have put down roots. I spent a couple days with the Vatnabyggd Icelandic Club and their five Icelandic visitors. I interviewed Eric Olafson, who thoughtfully articulated the sentiments of many Saskatchewanians who have family roots elsewhere in the world. This is home, but how our families came to be here is an important part of our identities.

After you have enjoyed the video where we hear from Eric Olafson, as well as the five Snorri West participants, please also watch this short interview with Stella Stephanson, a founding member of the Vatnabyggd Icelandic Club. She recalls the process of forming the club and erecting the beautiful Icelandic pioneer memorial in the community of Elfros. Watch that here.

For more information about the Snorri West program, visit http://www.snorri.is/snorri-west.html

Khedive's population has dwindled to only a handful of people in recent years. However, it still has a vibrant community, in part due to the efforts of the Khedive Rec Club. The club consists of a small group of volunteers, many of them who live on farms in the Khedive area. The impressive brick school at Khedive is a well-known architectural landmark in south central Saskatchewan. I'd been meaning to get out to Khedive for quite some time to chat with the quilting group that gathers every Monday afternoon in the school. When I finally made it, I discovered that the women were not only keeping the quilting tradition alive in the area, but that they were also helping to keep the building in good shape through the profits earned from their quilting.

I interviewed Gail Howse about the small but determined group who saved the school from the fate of so many heritage buildings in this province: decay and/or demolition. In the interview, Gail speaks of the decline of rural towns and villages, and the buildings that disappear as a result. This is a familiar story, and an all-too-common lament in the prairies as the depopulation of the rural countryside puts ever more pressure on its inhabitants. However, this video is not meant to strike a sombre note, but rather to act as an inspiration and perhaps even challenge to other communities to take ownership of their heritage. As Gail said, if ten people in a tiny hamlet can save a building like this, why shouldn’t other places be able to do the same? Our built heritage is in our hands to maintain, protect, and preserve.

Recent cuts to the Heritage Foundation of Saskatchewan, which administered grants for designated heritage properties in the province, will force communities to rely on their own fundraising skills to maintain their properties. The Khedive Rec Club has devised creative fundraising events to aid in the ongoing restoration of the school, but they are always open to new ideas. Communities need to be innovative if they want to preserve built heritage. It is community champions like Gail and the other members of the Khedive Rec Club who do this important work in our province, and they deserve much kudos!

Extra: During the filming of this video, we had some wonderful conversations about quilting and other textile arts, local customs, and the importance of communities of women practising traditions. Please also enjoy this rough, unedited video of some of this conversation with the Khedive Heritage Quilters: Gail, Alvina, Freda, Marnie, and Bonnie.