Hay River’s Simara Wilson talks volunteerism, identity and pride

When Simara Wilson took the stage at last weekend’s Community Spirit Awards gala, she explained the importance of her Indigenous identity. Now, she wants to share more.

Simara, a teenager, teaches the fiddle, promotes her Indigenous culture and practises traditional skills like ribbon skirt-making with northern youth.

Now, she’s the winner of Hay River’s youth volunteer award at the town’s inaugural ceremony celebrating residents’ achievements.

Before she graduated high school last spring, Simara also sought to foster conversations about missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.

“I’m so very big on youth learning and reconnecting with their culture, with their roots, because that’s who you are and that’s what your past generations are,” Simara told Cabin Radio.

“That’s what our ancestors have fought for and we have to keep fighting for because being an Indigenous person, it is so hard for us to be heard.”

Simara says she learned to speak about these issues from her parents, who encourage her to take a stand for what she believes in. Sometimes it’s been a challenge, but that hasn’t stopped her from following through.

“When I raised awareness at my high school for murdered and missing Indigenous women, I was terrified. I was questioning – is any of my fellow students gonna hear me?” she said.

“You have to really put yourself into those uncomfortable positions to open yourself to new doors and experiences … to take you places and bring you things that you never thought you would receive.”

‘You can always overcome’

Growing up in Hay River, Simara and her brother went through the foster care system according to her dad, Shane. They were placed in a non-Indigenous family, which Simara says affected her connection to her culture.

“Carrying on cultural roots is very important to me because I almost felt like I kind-of had that taken away from me,” she said.

Today, she works with youth to encourage them to find their passion, connect with their culture, and keep pursuing their dreams despite the challenges, failures, and injustices they make come across.

“I’ve been through the foster care system and I’ve had some very difficult challenges to overcome,” she said. “I tell them my story as just something for them to have and relate to.”

“Seeing her go from that to where she is now has been such a tremendous overcoming and well-being,” said her father. “I know that she can succeed in anything she puts her mind to.”

Shane Wilson says he chose a rough life when he was younger and didn’t have an education growing up. Seeing Simara graduate high school, play the fiddle, excel at sewing and beadwork, and earn community-wide acknowledgment for her work has been a great source of pride for him.

“I try and use my past to guide them in a better direction than what could happen,” he said.

Simara began playing the fiddle in the second grade. Her love of music has had an important role in her upbringing, according to Shane, who says he feels “blessed and honoured” that Simara got involved in music at a young age.

“One thing she truly loves to do is fiddle and Jig, which is part of the Métis heritage,” said Shane. “Being Métis, people are known to be outstanding fiddlers, jiggers, speakers, guidance, role models.”

Simara also looks up to her music teacher, Linda Duford, who won an award of her own at this month’s gala for her volunteerism. Duford took Simara under her wing almost immediately, and has set her on a path to becoming a fiddle teacher across the territories.

Simara was one of the first to pilot the student teacher training program, for which she began volunteering at 13. Duford says she is thrilled to see Simara succeed, strive for new heights, and receive recognition for her work.

“It’s such a wonderful story because of who Samar is. I mean, she’s just a wonderful, wonderful girl,” said Duford. “She is very shy and quiet [and] one of those gentle souls.

Through her work with Duford, Simara was gifted a prized possession: a handcrafted fiddle from renowned craftsman Gary Purdy.

In 2018, Purdy decided he would gift one of his fiddles to a deserving student in Canada. According to Duford, he asked around in the fiddling community for a recommendation.

Duford learned of the opportunity from fiddler Gordon Stobbi and immediately thought of Simara.

When Simara won the prized fiddle, she and Duford discovered another surprise. The back of the fiddle featured a carving of an Inuvialuk.

“It was like it was meant to be,” said Duford. “Her mom has Inuit background. So it was like: oh my God. We had chills.”

“We both believe that music is a life thing and everyone is connected through music,” Simara said.

Small steps

Simara says she wasn’t expecting to win the award last week. When she accepted her award, tears filled her eyes as she addressed a crowd of nearly 200 residents including Premier RJ Simpson, communities minister Vince McKay, Mayor Kandis Jameson and her parents.

“After receiving this award, you feel so uplifted and everything, and you feel so supported and it feels so good to be heard,” said Simara.

“You don’t have to be rich to make an impact in people’s lives,” said Shane.

“It’s people that have heart, drive, and ambition that make the difference.

“She’s still never stopped advocating for Indigenous youth, our culture, anything like that. She will fight tooth and nail for our culture. It was a very proud moment for me, knowing that I raised such a wonderful, perfect daughter.”

Simara says she hopes to see her community come together and continue to support one another long into the future, adding that in Indigenous cultures, people care for one another like family and lend helping hands to those in need.

“How we’ve been in our times of need and our evacuations, how everyone came together and supported each other … that’s what we need more,” she said. “We need to listen to our Elders a lot. Our Elders are our greatest guidance.”

“She stayed on the straight and narrow. All around her, there’s a lot of kids having problems, but Simara just amazed me,” said Duford. “Everyone who’s known her is truly amazed and happy that she blossomed into this wonderful person, and I give a lot of that credit to her parents.”

Simara credits her successes to the many people who have supported her throughout her life — her parents, mentors, teachers and other youth. She’s especially thankful to her parents, who remind her why it’s important she continue on her path.

“Small things you do, the small steps, are what are really the biggest. Small things count and that’s the major thing,” Simara said.

“Even if you don’t succeed the first time, try again,” Simara recalled her parents say.

“If you give up and you’re not the one continuing, there’s not always someone else who will pick up from where you left off to continue on. Sometimes you have to be that one to push through and get to that finish line.”