Birchbark and bannock: Lennox Island First Nation shares culture with visitors

A walk in the woods on Lennox Island was a chance to teach and learn more about the Mi'kmaq culture through hands-on experiences.

Mi'kmaw Elder Noella Moore led the Boys and Girls Club of Summerside Youth Leaders group along the path, demonstrating the traditional way for harvesting birch bark.

"It is very important to keep it alive and to learn how it was done in the old days and to show that it is not a dying art," Moore said.

Learning more about traditional methods was something that Moore took part in two years ago through the Lennox Island Mi'kmaq Cultural Centre.

Now, she takes what she has learned and works it into her quill artistry.

"I think it's important to keep the art going so that quill art isn't a dying art and teach everybody," Moore said.

The youth group is shown which birch trees have been harvested and what the bark can then be used for.

It is the mandate of the cultural centre to raise awareness and learning of traditional Mi'kmaq ways.

"To teach the younger ones is very important because it's keeping our culture alive and when you teach younger children they learn and hopefully they will carry it on," Moore said.

"I learned it and I am older and I think that it is really, really amazing that the young ones want to learn."

Moore did urge the youth group never to try harvesting the birchbark themselves without the proper training and supervision.

The cultural centre on Lennox Island has increased the number of traditional experiences are available for people to take and learn more about Mi'kmaq culture.

Jamie Thomas, the culture coordinator with Lennox Island First Nation, said the experience is a valuable way for the centres cultural tour guides to teach about the past.

The group of youth from the Boys and Girls Club of Summerside took part in a smudging ceremony, harvesting sweet grass and birchbark, a round dance and made their own bannock on a stick.

The Summerside Young Leaders program spent time over the summer learning about businesses and doing various outreach their community.

"This is an opportunity for these kids to become part of the community to help them grow," said Johnny Rockwell, with the Boys and Girls Club of Summerside.

"It's a very positive experience for them, and in a way it is training them, raising them up right, like families do and set them out in the world with a better perspective on what the future can hold for them."

Some of the youth had never been to Lennox Island before and found the immersion helpful with learning about the Mi'kmaq culture.

"It was really fun, you got to learn about things you didn't learn before," said Willow Reis, a Young Leaders participant.

"You learn a lot, like you can learn about sacred medicine and you can learn their language and learn how they lived a long time ago."said Young Leaders participant Xavier Gallant.

The kids managed to make their bannock without burning it too badly then couldn't wait to encourage others to visit Lennox Island.

"I would tell them that it would be a lot of fun because you get to learn a lot about P.E.I.'s history," said Landon Deshene, a Young Leaders participant.

Rockwell said the experience was crucial in the youths understanding of the larger world around them.

"I think it's important for them to understand where other cultures and where other kids come from to help them understand themselves and understand other people in their community," said Rockwell.

Rockwell hopes the Boys and Girls Club of Summerside will be able to take part in more experiences on Lennox Island to continue the learning conversations with the youth.

Thomas said that is the ultimate goal of the cultural tour guides like Moore and others.

The Centre's focus is to have the participants of any visiting group to leave with a positive experiences and a lasting impression to further the understanding of the Mi'kmaq culture.

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