Special Spiritual Place – To Dream: Learning about Native Culture by Back Roads Bill Nearly every culture in human history has sought to honour the divine, the mysterious, the supernatural, or the extraordinary in some way. Most often this happens at sacred sites – special places where the physical world seems to meet the spiritual world. For Jonathan Pitt Dreamer’s Rock has spiritual significance. He is of mixed First Nations ancestry and a member of the Canadian Métis Council. He teaches within the Aboriginal Teacher Certification Program and is a teacher of Anishnaabemwin (Ojibwe) as a Second Language Program at Nipissing University’s Schulich School of Education. The promontory is...
Cultural Trails Tell Stories: Dokis Embraces More Tourism by Back Roads Bill Trails are integral to the landscape and develop meaningful connections between people and nature. No more so than to our First Peoples and their relationship with the land. Besides evidence of where people lived and travelled, trails offer clues as to the cultural values and practices of the people who used them and use them. Dokis First Nation on the far west side of Lake Nipissing at what is called the “Little” French River is a good example of a burgeoning tourism “gem.” It started a number of years ago, the Dokis First Nation, with members of...
by Back Roads Bill Not often but sometimes we carefully climb to the top of our roof to check the chimney, the shingles, the whirligig, the satellite dish and to secure Santa and the elves. There is something more special when you climb to the top of a mountain and you experience the 360° view. It includes the process of getting there. Measuring mountains might not seem overly complicated, but there actually are several ways in which it can be done. Depending on which technique is used, the title of world’s tallest mountain could go to any of several mountains in various regions of the world. Some scientists heatedly...
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The Rock Fairies – Spiritual Pictograph Site Take Care for the “Little People” by Back Roads Bill When we hear older legends about fairies, or the “wee folk,” many of us usually create the picture of green pastures in Ireland or maybe the highlands of Scotland. How many people actually think of the fairies being residents of the Northern Ontario, known as the “little people.” As you round Fairy Point, look carefully into the deep crevices of the granite walls and the quartz veins. Can you see those diminutive beings linked to the metaphysical or supernatural of most Native cultures? It is those playful, prankish, tiny beings who...
Where to See the Ultimate Swamp – or Fen, or Bog or Pond The Best Interpretative Trail by Back Roads Bill Just where is the best interpretative trail anyway? It is place you will not want to go for a “quick hike.” It is an area where our ecological perceptions are changing. At one time everything was a “swamp,” not a place to go for a holiday or spend some quality time. We are now learning wetlands are important but we still don’t know much about bogs, fens, swamps and ponds. We all have seen a pond or swamp of some description. They take many forms including marshes, estuaries,...
Lasting Legacy by Back Roads Bill You have just climbed the Temagami Fire Tower and hiked the White Bear Forest. What a view, one of the many you will discover in Northeastern Ontario. And those white pine trees, majestic. After all it is Grey Owl country! There are many forest access or logging roads in Northern Ontario. One road in particular reflects a long standing heritage. It is a few kilometres north of the town on Highway 11 and worth the detour. A heritage important to many, one individual is a well-known and early environmentalist then known as a conservationist. In more contemporary times the road truly represents the...
