The horror of residential schools is a part of Canada's past. In Canada's north, just as in other settler colonial contexts, Indigenous children were ripped from their communities, taken from their parents and, in the name of civilization, subjected to genocidal forces. The aim of these schools was to erase Indigenous culture, identity and peoplehood. This episode looks beyond the middle north, to explore the history of residential schools in the far north. It takes advantage of a recently created podcast on recreation in residential schools in the North West Territories. "How I Survived" was created to tell the "stories of strength, resilience and spirit, and creativity of former students and Survivors." (https://www.howisurvived.ca/). Join us to learn more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the history of sport education, and remarkable histories of Indigenous resilience in the North. It is a fascinating true story that helps us understand a complex history.

In this episode, we speak with Richard Van Camp about storytelling, community, and Denedeh (the land of the Dene). Drawn to story-telling for its power, Van Camp talks to us about history and fiction. His stories of the Weetago (or Wendigo) are remarkable visions of the Strange Things Done in the Middle North. Listen to hear how being outside and community offers an answer to the hungers of the present day.

For access to Richard Van Camp's interviews in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, with the Metis Elders, go to this URL: https://fortsmithmetis.ca/for-the-children/

The sawmill communities of the Upper Fraser Valley provide a perspectives that may help our reflection on social, economic and environmental processes that shaped the Middle North. Dr. Greg Halseth introduces some of this history and an Oral History Project that work that he and a team of researchers conducted twenty years ago. These oral histories are now available at the Archive of the University of Northern British Columbia and shed light on the particular lived experience of the Upper Fraser Valley after the arrival of the railroad.