Subjects

2020s

SASSAW

Trips

Travel

Students

Staff

Outdoors

Camping

First Nations

Photographs

Scope and Contents

The SASSAW 2021 expedition saw six students and two staff travel to Temagami in Northern Ontario, after cancelling the trip in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions. The 15-day expedition covered large lakes, small lakes, up and down streams and rivers, short, heinous, and unmarked portages, and one of the highest points in Ontario. In total, students paddled 250 kms, portaged 30 km, and hiked 10 km, cooking over fires. They travelled through the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe, Mr. Gate led a discussion each night from the book 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act.A highlight of the trip was spending a day with Indigenous elder, Alex Mathias, in the old-growth red and white pine forest of Lake Obabika, a forest that was nearly cut down in the 1980s.Moments of great learning and spirituality were abundant on the trip, and we are committed to bringing greater awareness of Indigenous and reconciliation issues back to SAC. Not only were we able to learn from an Indigenous elder, but we also had the privilege of witnessing powerful impressions of the people who roamed the Temagami Lakes region for thousands of years. From rock paintings to red pine trail blazes, the remnants of Indigenous culture were intensely powerful. We all left the trip with a new understanding of what being a Canadian means.

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