October 30, 2009
Aboriginal Culture Comes to Life at FESS
Students at Fort Erie Secondary School (FESS) have a unique opportunity to experience and become engaged in Aboriginal culture. Over the course of the next six weeks, professional canoe builder Marcel Labelle will construct a traditional birch bark canoe on-site at the school.
Labelle says this will be a hands-on learning experience. “I will be giving students a chance to be part of this build from start to finish. They will be able to do everything from splitting the roots used to sew the canoe to constructing the ribs for the craft.”
FESS teacher Rhonda Maracle-Gerritsen says this project dovetails with the school’s Native Studies program. “First Nations people have a very proud tradition of canoe building. It will be very inspiring for students to witness first-hand the expertise, care and traditions that are part of canoe building.”
On Wednesday, October 28, the school held a celebration to honour the beginning of construction. Students from the Native Studies class joined with the Ohnia:kara drum group for an afternoon of song and dance. Click here to watch the video.
The canoe build is an Aboriginal Arts Project funded through the Ontario Arts Council. Once completed, the canoe will be donated to the Niagara Region Métis Council.
Marcel Labelle is proud of his Métis heritage. His mother is Iroquois and French and his father is Algonquin and French. Marcel grew up in Northern Ontario and spent most of his childhood on the trap line. This is where he learned how to live with and from the forest. Today, he builds traditional Birch Bark Canoes and demonstrates his craft at many venues.
Members of the media and public are invited to visit the school and watch Labelle as he builds the canoe. Fort Erie Secondary School is located at 7 Tait Avenue in Fort Erie.