Adventures on Manitoulin Island

Tuesday, June 14, 6 pm

It's a beautiful sunny evening as Kory and I pick up our flaming red Dodge Calibre from the rental office and head out on the highway. We're on our way to Manitoulin island to drum up some business for Stonecircle (pun intended). I had planned to rent a compact car, but do you know how tall Kory is?

We head north in the early summer evening light,  with an obligatory stop at the Laurentian View Dairy, a family-owned business in Deep River that features (as all veterans of Highway 17 know) the best homemade ice cream around.

After seeing a couple of deer and a raccoon, we were entertained by a young black bear on the stretch of highway between Deep River and Mattawa. I say entertained because, using proper pedestrian safety procedures, the bear put one foot onto the highway, looked left, looked right, saw us coming, pulled his foot back and watched us pass. In my rearview mirror, I saw him (or her) look left and right once again before sauntering across the highway.

We saw no more animals after that - just rutted roads and construction cones. We arrived safely at the Inn on the Bay in downtown North Bay. It looked lovely but, in the three minutes I spent surveying the room before falling asleep, I can't be sure.

Wednesday, June 15.

It's 5:30 am and Kory and I are on the road again. We head west on highway 17, then left at the big Tim Horton, south through Espanola and across the iron bridge onto Manitoulin Island.

In Aundeck Omni Kaning we have our first meeting, with Band Manager Peter Nahwegabow and finance officer Kathy Babemash. We do our 'song and dance'; then Kathy encourages us to also meet with the newly formed Northern Ontario Aboriginal Economic Developers Association, (OFNEDA) which we add to our itinerary.

West again on highway 540, but somehow we miss the turn off for Sheshegwaning. We travel through the town of Kagawong "prettiest little town in Ontario" according to their sign, still assuming we are on the highway. Then the "highway" turns into a dirt road, and we think to ourselves, "I know we're going on reserve, but this is ridiculous." We soon realize we are in the town's subdivision, and turn around when we get to the water.Must be the North Channel.  That's the good thing about being on an island; you don't get lost for long!

We find the turnoff and make it to the community only a few minutes late, where we meet with Sheshegwaning First Nation  Executive Director Dennis Blackburn who welcomes us warmly. A few minutes into our presentation, he stops us and goes to get his colleague Frank Cada - some of our experience was directly relevant to some of their projects.

We leave the community and stop for lunch at Stop 540, the only restaurant around, located in a traile. Then  back towards M'Chigeeng, where we meet with Melanie Debassige, of the Ontario First Nations Economic Developers Association. She takes time out of her busy day to tell us what's going on with the association. We also learn that she works as a consultant, so we added her to the roster of potential Aboriginal associates and subcontractors that Stonecircle likes to work with. Then onto a meeting with Brenda Ense of M'Chigeeng First Nation. The community has a number of projects in economic development, governance and strategic planning - all the areas that Stonecircle supports.

Then it's a social call. Back in my days with the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, I met the multi-talented filmmaker Shirley Cheechoo, who happens to live in M'Chigeeng and oversees the Weengushk Film Institute . The film institute is Shirley's brainchild and passion, supporting young at risk Aboriginal youth and providing them with skills and experience in the film industry. We tour the facilities, and then head out to dinner at a cafe in Mindemoya I order the whitefish and chips, and to my shock get served the biggest plate of food I've ever seen. They didn't tell me it was the WHOLE whitefish I had to eat!

On the road again....this time towards Wikwemikong, where we would be meeting the next morning. The Band manager had recommended the newly built Bayside Resort  just outside Wiki, with gorgeous views of the bay, all new ameneties, and a beautiful, quiet sunset. This is the life. It was so pleasant that even the depressing Stanley Cup finals on TV and the embarrasing aftermath didn't spoil the evening.

Thursday, June 16

After entering the wrong side of the building, we finally meet up with Wayne Osawamik, band Manager at Wiki, and enjoy learning about what goes on in this community of more than 3000. Wiki is known for its strong language and culture, and this is evident by the street signs in the Ojibway language as well as cultural organizations scattered across the community.

Then it's another social call. I wrote a series of biographies of Aboriginal artists for a Canada Council for the Arts book, and one of the people featured was Joe Osawabine (prounounced O-ZI-been-ay), Artistic Director of the award-winning theatre company Debajehmujig.

The company stages original productions throughout the summer in a unique outdoor setting: the Holy Cross Ruins in Wikwemikong. Plus they stage shows throughout the year in their studio in Manitowaning. It was fun to reconnect and see what creative projects are underway (I was sworn to secrecy, but I can reveal it's something about Elders gone AWOL...). If you're ever on Manitoulin, this is highly recommended.

For the last leg our our marketing tour, Kory and I swung by Sheguiandah, which has perhaps one of the most beautiful views of the bay and the mainland (sorry, Kagawong!) We dropped off our gifts and materials, and headed back We did the same thing in Whitefish River, where we found the band office was in boxes, in anticipation of a move to a bigger location.

And then it was the long trip home. Only one deer spotted, excellent weather all the way and back to Ottawa. A total of about 20 hours of driving in the space of two and a half days. It was a great opportunity to meet with potential clients face-to-face. And as always - traveling to the communities and meeting people is a great reminder of why we do the work we do at Stonecircle.