In Shoal Lake, Gwen Redsky risks her life just to walk home

When it's not entirely frozen, the winter road to Shoal Lake can be deadly. That's one reason the construction of the Freedom Road announced Thursday is so important.

Many haven't made it home alive.

Others, like Gwen Redsky, have survived to spin a good yarn.

Redsky's near-death experience on the not-quite-frozen bay happened when she was 24 years old and pregnant with her first son.

She and her husband, who was carrying a new shotgun, were returning from a duck hunting expedition.

Redsky picks up the story from there...

All of a sudden I fell through the ice. I remember thinking, 'This is cold!' I think I was probably using more descriptive words.

It was a good thing I was carrying that gun because I had it sideways and it propped me up when I fell through the ice. It kept me afloat.

That's how my husband managed to pull me out was using his brand-new shotgun.

My son was born three months later, healthy.

But being Anishinaabe, we do have our spiritual beliefs and I believe my son was still impacted afterwards because every time we would go into a boat he would start crying.

He would only stop when the boat would stop and he was taken out.

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Gwen Redsky's story is part of an entire episode of DNTO devoted to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation. Tune into CBC Radio One on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. and Tuesday, Dec. 22 at 2 p.m.