Thursday 22 April 2010

My First Visit To Fort Chipewyan



Above: Monument Hill & view from the lakeside base of Monument Hill
(you can click on the images to see larger versions)


Above: Deanne sitting on Monument Hill & View of the old (now unused) Catholic School House.
(you can click on the images to see larger versions)

Yesterday, April the 20th, two of my Municipal coworkers and I headed up to Fort Chipewyan. It was my first time visiting the community as well as the farthest North I have ever traveled. It was beautiful; both geographically and because of the people living there.

The town is nestled in along the western shore of the eighth largest lake in Canada, Lake Athabasca. When standing on “Monument Hill” looking out across the water I felt as though I was looking at the ocean. I was totally mesmerized by the geography of the Canadian Shield. As we climbed Monument Hill we found naturally occuring pink, purple and green strata poking up through the grasses – nature’s artistry is abundant in Fort Chipewyan.

While in town we were fortunate enough to meet with some of the local residents to discuss some of thier annual cultural initiatives, such as Treaty Days, Cut Rock Walk (a 24-hour non stop walk to raise money and awareness of cancer), and the Elders Celebration. The Cultural staff are looking forward to learning more about each of these initiatives. We hope to support and provide coverand and highlights of each project to the rest of the region.

Please look for more information on each initiative soon to follow.

If you have any questions or know of any other Cultural Initiative taking place in our region, please contact me at 780.788.4335

Cheers,

Connor Buchanan

3 comments:

  1. hi connor,
    i'm living inedmonton. i visited fort chip many years ago while canoeing with st. john'sschool of alberta.
    i am planning to visit again, hopefully this spring around the solstice. i am doing some art (learning to draw, etc.). are there any artists you know of working there?
    also any more details about upcoming events would be appreciated.
    thanks and kind regards,
    michael cenkner

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Michael,

    Wow, that sounds like a interesting field trip - what brought you so far north?

    I'm will do some digging and get in contact with our Municipal representative in Fort Chipewyan. Hopefully I will be able to give you some useful info by the end of the week :) If you'd like information about artist in other parts of the Region I would be happy to connect you with a few of the groups who operated out of Fort McMurray - they may have connections to artist in Fort Chipewyan that I do not.

    If you'd like to send me your email I will add you to our weekly Culture e-list which has lots of information regarding cultural events, activities, opportunities and individuals in our Region.

    Cheers,

    Connor

    connor.buchanan@woodbuffalo.ab.ca
    780.788.4335

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Michael,

    I have some more information for you. If you could send me an email at connor.buchanan@woodbuffalo.ab.ca I would be happy to share some contact information for artists currently practicing in Fort Chipewyan with you.

    Cheers,

    Connor

    ReplyDelete