Weengushk Film Institute connects students to land and culture on cross-country journey

Weengushk Film Institute on Manitoulin Island in northern Ontario is in its final month of a 10-month land-based learning experience centred around Indigenous foods, history, land and language.

"When it came to the culture, that was a big part that surprised me in the program. I wasn't really aware how much was going to be involved with it," said Paul McIntyre, 52.

McIntyre, who said he hadn't trapped since he was a kid growing up in Sheshegwaning First Nation on Manitoulin, was one of eight students to embark on the Journey for Knowledge program — a westward journey from Manitoulin to Namgis First Nation on Vancouver Island, with several stops in between.

Nano Debassige, vice-president of Weengushk Film Institute, said in an earlier, shorter version of the program it took students four to six months to break down barriers and get them comfortable enough to tell their own stories through films.

Debassige said he found the barriers that need to be broken come from a cultural disconnect. 

"When we looked at it from [an] Indigenous perspective, we've been removed from the land, we've been removed from our food, removed from our language and the ability to share our history by telling our stories has been removed from us as well," he said.

Debassige said he hopes Journey for Knowledge addresses gaps in awareness about Indigenous culture across Canada and helps reconnect Indigenous youth with their own cultures.

Weengushk Film Institute is non-profit and Debassige said program costs are covered by donations and students' food costs are covered in part from their harvests on the land as part of their land-based training.

The program was developed by Indigenous people with a student-teacher ratio small enough to track the progress of each student, said Debassige. This allows them develop the program based on students' needs. Students in the program earn credits through Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ont.

Hunter Smith is non-status; his mother is from Six Nations, Ont. Smith was a student at Weengushk Film Institute when his experience was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When he heard about the new 10-month program, he was intrigued for several reasons.

"Growing up, I didn't really have that connection … intergenerational trauma really hit our family hard," he said.

Smith said he spent a lot of his time on the computer and this program took him out on the land for experiences such as hunting his first deer. 

"I've learned that I need to trust myself more and I can be patient — that's something that I wasn't before. I struggle with ADHD," said Smith.