A Yellowknife trip has become an annual highlight of a ski program in northern Alberta’s Little Red River Cree Nation.
About 125 km east of High Level, the nation comprises the communities of Fox Lake, John D’Or Prairie and Garden River.
Annika Olesen, who grew up on an isolated homestead on Great Slave Lake, has now spent almost a decade running the nation’s winter ski program through a nonprofit named Spirit North.
“I just fell in love,” she said, “and I’ve been coming back every winter.”
For the past three years, the high school section of the ski program has culminated in a field trip to Yellowknife. (Before that, destinations included Edmonton and Grande Prairie.)
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“I show up in Little Red River just after Christmas and I’m there until spring break, usually, which is the start of March. I travel between the three communities and I ski with the schools during their class time,” Olesen told Cabin Radio.
“I also do after-school ski clubs, try to get teachers involved in the ski program, and organize some field trips and then this big high school trip.”
At the Yellowknife Ski Club this week, Kix D’Or said being part of the program meant a lot to him.
He said he had chosen to ski – a sport he learned in Grade 1 – because it meant “being outside and meeting other people I don’t really talk to, and probably travelling.”
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“Travelling is not really my thing, but skiing? I will travel for skiing,” he added.
“In Red River there’s a lot of trees and all that. You’ve just got to ski in circles. I’ve been skiing around in circles growing up,” said D’Or.
“But I love skiing a lot out in Little Red, and skiing with Annika makes me happy. I love skiing with her, and I love travelling with her out of Little Red. So it makes me a lot happier to come out here and help her.”
“I just want it to bring joy,” said Olesen.
“I’ve had so much joy come to my life through skiing. It was something that I came to when I was 18, so I didn’t grow up with it, but it changed my life.
“In a place where there’s few facilities and a lot of winter, it’s something that I think is a really valuable thing to add to your repertoire for the winter season. But really, I just love being a part of these people’s lives – and the conversations, laughter and excitement we have when we accomplish goals and try new things.”
