A Community Effort

Louis Wedawin: Here is the portage at the waterfalls. Youth who are good-skilled workers helped haul boats over the portage, they made a couple of trips back and forth on the portage carrying the boats and gear.

Mike Nitsiza: That waterfall's portage is very long and lengthy. When I grew bigger I went with them during Fall, in September I went there to the falls. When we arrived there at the waterfalls we slept there for the night. The children sat and stayed there on the rock. On the small rock we would see if we could hear a boat motor, hoping to hear the sound. If there’s a boat coming you can hear the motor. As soon as we heard the sound of the motor we would run to the falls to help with carrying the boats over the portage.

Louis Wedawin: After that the iron oven stove was very heavy, very heavy. It was very huge, the oven stove. They took the oven stove apart and packed the parts in a hunting bag. And they packed the parts in the bag and started on the trail of the portage. The young people packed the hunting bag of stove parts over the portage and brought it to the shore. When we had brought all the bags, they placed the stove parts together. They put all the parts together for the stove and installed the stove in the owner’s house, that huge stove was in their homes.

Mike Nitsiza: We run over there and help the crew with the gear, that’s what we used to do. We would have done a huge amount of work.

Louis Wedawin: The young people played a role in helping each other and would be good workers. Their work was a success for their families and all the Elders.