KI paddlers happy to be travelling on the river

With nice weather and only a few rapids-induced mishaps, the first half of the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) canoe trip to Fort Severn has been a pleasure for participants.
Richard Anderson, KI’s watershed community worker, is one of 14 band members travelling in seven canoes on the traditional transportation route to Hudson Bay.
In an interview from a riverbank as the group set up camp, Anderson said it was great just to be out on the river.
“It’s really nice and quiet up here,” he said. “The water’s looking nice, we’re drinking right from the river.”
The paddling trip was intended to draw awareness to the need for protection of KI’s entire traditional watershed. Currently half of the 13,000 square kilometers that KI wants protected has been withdrawn from mining exploration.
The group left KI on Aug. 24 and took their time for the first week. What was originally supposed to be a 10-day trip may end up taking more than two weeks.
Anderson said the paddlers dealt with a series of rapids on the Fawn River early in the trip, which delayed them slightly. They are also travelling slower than normal, in order to see many of the historic sites along the route and because they have Elders with them.
“The first three days was rapids, it was a lot of fun,” Anderson said with a laugh. “Some of us went over and we lost a little bit of stuff but everyone’s OK.”
Anderson added that he hopes these sort of traditional trips continue, and that more people get up north to experience the rivers his community has always travelled.
“What we’re doing should continue after, to see what the Fawn and Severn River looks like up here,” Anderson said. “Maybe the youth should think about it, it would be a good experience for them.”