Natives of their land

The Norway House Cree Nation Indians had no reservations about joining the Jewish community of Winnipeg on a trip to Israel to deepen their understanding of a nation they feel they can identify with

By JOSH HASTEN
Norway House521 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Norway House521
(photo credit: Courtesy)
With all of today’s modern technologies, developing virtual relationships with diverse people from all over the world has become almost second nature.
That being the case, there is still something to be said about connecting with other human beings face-to-face, in a more intimate manner.
It’s that type of personal connection which has been developed by two distinct groups from Manitoba, Canada: the Jewish community of Winnipeg, and the Norway House Cree Nation, whose 7,000 members reside in a First Nation (Indian) community around 800 km. to the north. The groups have come together in recent years to share in their profound cultural and historical similarities – despite physically living far apart.
Wanting to develop the relationship even further, Shelley Faintuch, the community relations director of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg and the associate director of local partner services at the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, asked herself: What better means to help her friends from Cree Nation, and their youth in particular, to learn about the experiences of the Jewish people if not by way of an organized trip to Israel? So in 2012, Faintuch utilized both of her professional affiliations and helped facilitate the inaugural 10-day Cree Youth Leadership Development Mission to the Jewish state.
Last month, a group of 30 Cree youngsters, identified as having strong leadership potential, were back in Israel for their second annual 10-day mission.
The trip, led by Faintuch herself along with Norway House chief Ron Evans, had the primary goal, according to Evans, “to develop the next generation of First Nations leaders by looking through the lens of Israel’s inspiring story.” Evans explains that while the history of the Cree Nation is rich in Manitoba, his people have had to overcome intense hardships and persecution, always striving for acceptance, equal rights and rights to their own land.
He says that he took these factors into consideration when working with Faintuch to plan his group’s Israel itinerary, trying to focus on the associations between the Cree Nation and the tumultuous history of the Jewish people in striving for their own state and acceptance amongst the nations of the world.
Therefore, while the packed schedule featured visits to traditional tourist sites such as Masada, the Dead Sea, Jerusalem’s Old City and Yad Vashem, this year’s mission provided opportunities for more interaction and dialogue with Israelis who share backgrounds and experiences.
One stop included a fitting visit to Kav Hazinuk, an organization with four branches throughout the country that develops the next generation of leadership in Israel, and trains highly motivated youth living in periphery communities.
The group also stopped at the Mifne Center, a Rosh Pina-based organization which specializes in the treatment of infants identified as exhibiting early signs of autism. According to Faintuch, “There are high rates of autism in the Norway House community,” making this experience particularly relevant.
PARTICIPANTS ALSO visited several sites with a distinctively Canadian connection, including the Asper Community Action Center in Jerusalem – a facility funded by the Asper family of Winnipeg that hosts technology training programs for specialneeds and disadvantaged youth.
In addition, the group traveled to the North, where two Norway House hockey coaches, with the help of their youth, led training sessions with a diverse group of Israeli children at the Canada-Israel Hockey School in Metulla. “The interaction between the Israeli [hockey players] and our Norway House youth was awesome,” says Faintuch emphatically.
She notes that, in fact, this past March, a youth team of 17 Israelis from the Canada-Israel Hockey School traveled to Winnipeg for on-ice competitions as well.
According to Evans. who has been an elected spiritual and community leader of Norway House in various capacities over the past 23 years, including a six-year stint as the grand chief of Manitoba, this year’s youth mission was a great success.
When asked to specify how he defines success, Evans gives a thorough response. “For them [the Norway House youngsters on the trip], this was a life-changing experience. For some this was their first time out of the province [of Manitoba], and for others this was their first time on an airplane. In Israel the kids were given a unique cultural and spiritual experience, where they got to see the faces and hear the words of other young people. This allows them to change their focus, and expand their minds in terms of the possibilities available to them in the world. More than anything, the trip motivates them to achieve higher in life than they normally would otherwise.”
Evans, an ordained Anglican priest, describes the current way of life in his Norway House community, which he says was established as early as the 1600s, emerging as a significant fur-trading post near the outlet of Lake Winnipeg.
Evans doesn’t shy away from citing what he feels were injustices carried out by the Canadian government against the Cree people over the years, particularly when it comes to land ownership.
In addition, he says that for generations the government implemented a policy of forced integration in which they attempted “to take the Indian out of the child.” This was done, he says, through practices such as “forcibly removing the Cree children out of their homes and out of their schools at a young age, and into ‘residential schools’ outside of their community.”
He adds that when the youth grew up in past generations, they were “forbidden from speaking their native Cree language.”
Evans says that he is grateful that in 2009, the Canadian government issued an official apology for historically wronging the Cree Nation.
But even with the apology, he says that “another goal for the Israel trip was for his youth to take a chapter out of modern Jewish history [particularly after the Holocaust], and to witness how a people were able to triumph” despite the obstacles in their path.
He says that “the more our young people are able to experience another culture, where others have tried to destroy them, yet they overcame and persevered – without waiting for others to come to their aid – the more they will understand that they have the ability within themselves to create change and better their situation as well.” He adds that he believes that the single most significant ingredient towards self-reliance and creating positive change, which he hopes to instill in the next generation, is “the importance of education.”
Faintuch is confident that the Israel experience will help shape the Cree Nation youngsters for years to come. “Having an opportunity to explore Israel at an early stage in their lives is not only important for building bridges with the Jewish community.
These young people will constitute the future leadership of Canada’s First Nations. This trip is a unique life experience that we hope will benefit them in the years ahead, especially as they assume leadership responsibilities in their community,” she says.
She adds: “How extremely exciting and remarkable it was to see Israel through the eyes of others, [specifically] through the eyes of our First Nation people.”
Faintuch also applauds Evan’s leadership, saying that “the chief has remarkable strength and vision for his people.”
“Last year’s mission was so successful, and had such a lifechanging impact on participants that we knew we had to make this an annual program,” she says. ■