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| After serving for a season on the Steering
Committee of the Lieutenant Governor's Aboriginal Literacy Summer Camps
planning to offer camps in five fly-in communities in the Treaty 9 area
surrounding James Bay, an area the size of the country of France in the
far north of Ontario, it was a great privilege to be able to accompany his
Honour to visit one of the literacy camps that his advocacy had made
possible. Here are some photos from North Caribou Lake.
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All of the orange area of the map (the largest part of the
province of Ontario) is the Treaty 9 area, almost all inaccessible by road
from the south. |
| We flew for miles without seeing any roads, towns or large
built up areas, trees becoming smaller and sparser as we approached the
tree line. Marshy conditions and many lakes make road construction
impractical in this area. |
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Arriving just before lunch, his Honour made a few remarks. |
| Then we were able to meet these delightful children face to
face and hear from them how they were enjoying their summer day camp
experience. |
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Outside the lunchroom a window framed a scene of calm remote beauty |
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| The beauty of the beach behind the youth hall was a stark
contrast to the hard life and educational deprivation of these young kids. |
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Talking to these children, one can tell that they are
bright, curious, and eager to learn. It is the adults that are
failing them in various ways in the educational system, community and
home, resulting in average reading scores three years behind children in
the south. |
| Lieutenant Governor, James Bartleman was clearly a role
model to these young people and they enjoyed the opportunity to speak to
him about their camp experience and their lives in North Caribou. |
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