We could not anticipate what our day off in Lac la Biche would be like. We had been told that there would be a program at the Mission where we were camped and that we were to be prepared to say a little speech. I personally hate making speeches unless there is something to say that I am really passionate about. I was really enjoying the trip, but how could I put this into a speech that would interest people. I was to talk about the beauty of the wilderness, while several others of our group were talking about the animals, the river conditions, camp life, and so on. Since the program was not until afternoon, what I was going to say was on my mind all morning and I wasn’t getting anywhere.

At last the program was to begin. It had been raining out so the program was indoors and not too many town people came other than the “important” men of the town, such as the Mayor “His Worship”, Tom “The Historian,” the president of Portage College, and several others. I must not forget the Mad Trapper, as well. We were in for a treat I soon learned.

Mike, the guy who was in charge at the Mission, gave an introduction to what this program was all about. You see, one of our group’s education goals is the awareness of not only the fur trade route and history, but also the Lac la Biche portage, which played an important part in making Lac la Biche anything at all. At one point in history, Lac la Biche was, evidently, such an important crossroads for the fur trade that it was even bigger than Edmonton. Connected to that history is also the presence of the Lac la Biche Mission. Several buildings from the mission have been preserved and in more recent times made into a museum. The main building is the convent, where the children and nuns stayed. The Mission was also a school for the Metis children, but I will let you read more about it on the Lac la Biche web page (http://cnc.virtuelle.ca/laclabiche/) – they know much more than I can even begin to tell you. Anyway, it was in the convent that we were having our program.

Several others gave speeches of appreciation to those who made the Mission what it was today. We all were in rapt attention, when Tom “the Historian” got up to speak. Often we find history dry and boring, but this was fascinating, not just because Tom was interesting to listen to – which he was – but because we were reliving this history through our trip.

Then we all met “the Mad Trapper.” He is simply a local comedian, really, but a good one. He gave us some sound advice, not to leave our “keys” in our “cars” (paddles in canoes) and told us that life is like a roll of toilet paper – the further along it gets the faster it goes. He demonstrated how the voyageurs kept the mosquitoes and black-flies off, dressed from head to toe and smoking a pipe like a chimney and warned us all we would be smokers and drinkers before our trip was done, due to the bugs. Thank goodness for our bug shirts and bug spray that we have today.

Then David was called up and I knew it would be time for us to give our little speeches. I still didn’t know what to say, so I figured I would wait to see what some of the others said first. Maybe that would help me. I guess it wasn’t so much that I didn’t know what to say, but how to say it. Then David called the first person. It was me!!!! I bravely got up and in about two sentences said how much this trip meant to me since it was in the “wilderness” that I liked so much. Then what to say? I paused. Then I knew. I was really the last person to become involved in this trip, but I realized I was also one of the first. It was the kayak trip on the North Saskatchewan in October of 2001 that had inspired this trip in the first place and I had been on it. I had been one of the paddlers that had asked how far the North Saskatchewan River went and “wouldn’t it be cool to just keep paddling on till we got to the Bay? Now here we are and we just keep paddling.” It was a good ending with a great punch line. Actually a bit of an inside joke for our group since late in the day we are often known to chant, “just keep paddling, just keep paddling,” mimicking Finding Nemo.

The other speeches were interesting to listen to as each person told some of their experiences with the river, the mud, the mosquitoes, and even rocks in the middle of the river. Tom spoke again when we were done and one comment he had pertained to what I had said about the “wilderness.” The Cree people do not even have a word for wilderness because it is there home. He hoped that through this trip the “wilderness” would become our home as well. In many ways it has.

The program ended with some delicious genuine homemade bannock and jam. It was so good, we stuffed ourselves with it. Then we relaxed and visited with the people there. It was definitely an enjoyable and rewarding experience. We even learned some interesting bits of history.

Tami Braman

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