Two years ago, Lutsel K’e hosted 15 people from Wakefield, Que. for a week of cultural activities. Last year, Wakefield returned the favour. This summer, Wakefield wants to come back.
James Marlowe has been a big part of orchestrating this “cultural exchange,” and says the interest for it was originally piqued when Marlowe and a delegation from Lutsel K’e went to Ottawa in late 2015 to lobby for the planned Thaidene Nene National Park.
From left, the Lutsel K'e delegation, as they left for a trip to Wakefield, Que. last summer, are front row from left: Terri Enzoe, Keegan Boucher, Aiden Labucoun, Ashton Catholique, James Marlowe, Joel Catholique, Robin Catholique, Tyron Basil, Chief Darryl Marlowe and Dene Catholique. Back row from left: River Marlowe, Ronald Bull, Ethan Rambough. Not in the photo are Ron and Shirley Desjarlais.
In July 2016, Marlowe helped take the 15 guests from Wakefield out on the land, to an elder’s camp, fishing on the Snowdrift River, exploring the nearby features of Great Slave Lake each day, checking out historic trappers’ cabins.
“We showed them how to make dry meat, how to cook fish on fire. We took them on picnics, shore lunches, swimming, sauna,” says Marlowe.
“We showed them all the interesting parts of the land.”
He says the visitors got to see moose, black bears and muskoxen while out on boat tours.
In the evenings, people came from town to share stories with the visitors and eat with them – delicacies like moose meat and moose head that one might not run into in Wakefield.
To top it off, they timed the trip so that the visitors could head over to Yellowknife after the week in Lutsel K’e and catch Folk on the Rocks before heading back home.
Then, last summer, Marlowe fundraised $20,000 to take a group of 15 youth, adults and elders down to Wakefield for seven days of swimming, ziplining, go-cart racing, visiting farms, going to cinemas and museums, hopping over to Ottawa to go to Parliament Hill and the Assembly of First Nations, and take in a local baseball game.
“The whole community of Wakefield welcomed us and it was like hundreds of people that went out and participated in the opening of the event, welcoming Lutsel K'e people,” says Marlowe.
He said Wakefield tourism operators also met up with the Lutsel K’e delegation to provide advice on running tourism operations, fundraising, attracting clients and nuts-and-bolts details like insurance.
“The people we stayed with there were really good people and some of them are just like family to us,” says Marlowe.
Now the relationship is there, built by the communities themselves, and Marlowe says Lutsel K’e might be getting another visit this summer.
"Those guys are interested in coming back and probably this summer we'll host them again.”