A group of young aboriginals who wanted “ordinary Canadians” to experience what it’s like to live in a remote First Nation reserve will be welcoming their first guest this week.
More than 40 visitors arrived in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), a reserve 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay, Ont., on Monday.
The guests, who are staying with families, have been learning about traditional skills, reading and watching documentaries.
“To actually be able to come here, and live with the people and experience their culture first-hand is just amazing”, says Torontonian Ruth Gill.
Faith McKay, 24, one of the organizers of the event, wants visitors to “see is the KI spirit.”
“Being native, we face so many stereotypes, so much racism. Hopefully when [the visitors] leave they get to tell their friends, ‘They’re people, they laugh. Sure they have struggles, but they’re there, they’re people up there and all they want to do is build bridges and make friends.’ Maybe [in the] next generation, things will change.”
Guest Annie Hollis agrees that the reserve “needs more connections with other parts of their own country or their own province.”
“This is a strong community. It’s not a place that needs to be helped or to be rescued, but to have support for what they’re doing for themselves,” said the 19-year-old woman.
“It’s not that we’re coming to see this, and have a good time and feel good about some kind of charity we did. This isn’t a place that needs charity.
With files from CBC.
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