Meryl Grandy

Mike Os Journey By Canoe Project

I'm a little late in posting about this, but Mike O of Reflections Outdoors blog has been working to secure funding for a canoe project for at-risk native youth. Anishinaabe Babamadizwin: A Journey By Canoe.  Readers might recall that Mike previously helped organize a canoe restoration project in remote Fort Severn, Ontario to work on the freighter canoes of the local Cree community.

Here are some excerpts describing his vision of this new project...

The Anishinaabe Babamadizwin: A Journey By Canoe  would be a First Nations canoe project for Anishinaabe youth….using the canoe as a means to help these young people on their life's journey. Such canoe trips could develop leadership skills as well as increase awareness of their Native culture and traditions. The youth participants return to their communities as future leaders.

Such trips could involve bark canoes….and wood canvas canoes….built by First Nations youth….for the trips. This past summer bark canoes were built by Native youth in Ottawa….on Bear Island in Temagami ….and in Oshawa. Hopefully 4 wood canvas canoes, specifically built for this project, could be painted by various Anishinaabe artists….and after the trip ends each of these canoes could be raffled off to further fund canoe projects in First Nation communities.

Round 3 of voting for funding for this project runs for the next 12 days and once you register, you can vote each day of the remaining voting time. Read more and vote HERE if interested.

P.S. If you are problems logging on or registering with the Aviva Community Fund website (like I did), you'll need to try another web-browser. It worked finally when I used Google Chrome...