Latest news with #ManitoulinIsland
CTV News
a day ago
- General
- CTV News
Pride Month launches early in Elliot Lake, Manitoulin Island
Pride Month kicks off early in Elliot Lake and on Manitoulin Island. Elliot Lake's deputy mayor raised the flag alongside 2SLGBTQI+ community members while in Wikwemikong tribal police raised a Pride flag at their detachment and donned rainbow vests, with month-long activities planned in both communities.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Indigenous community on Manitoulin Island gets a data centre to help preserve its cultural heritage
An Indigenous community on Manitoulin Island in northeastern Ontario says its new data centre will help it secure its data sovereignty. The Ogimaa (or chief) of Wiikwemkoong, Tim Ominika, said the community will be using the data centre to store information about programs and services, including the community's education department, health centre and services offered through the band office. It will also allow the First Nation to preserve its cultural heritage locally. "It empowers us to digitally preserve and share our Anishinaabe language because that is another thing we are looking at our knowledge, our traditions," Ominika said. The facility arrived by truck on Friday, May 23. "It looks like a large storage container," Ominika said. "But inside… with the data storage system in there, it looks like you're in a movie when you see all of the data storage and all the compartments. That's what it looks like inside, inside the unit." Ominika said the community previously used third-party vendors to host its information online. "Not saying we don't trust any other IT [information technology] businesses out there, but you know, we are just trying to look at paving the way for Anishinabek communities such as our community here," he said. Although he did not provide the exact cost for the data centre, Ominika said "it wasn't cheap." He added that it was a worthwhile investment for the community to preserve important cultural data, and information about services, locally. Ominika said Wiikwemkoong could make arrangements with other Indigenous communities to store their data. The data centre is also expected to create some local jobs to keep it running, and Ominika said he hopes it sparks more interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields among young people in the community.
CTV News
24-05-2025
- CTV News
Author to honour 50th anniversary of Chi-Cheemaun
This marks the 50th season of the Chi-Cheemaun ferry bring passengers from the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin Island. Ian Campbell reports. This marks the 50th season of the Chi-Cheemaun ferry bring passengers from the Bruce Peninsula to Manitoulin Island. Ian Campbell reports. It's an iconic symbol of summer, the Chi-Cheemaun, and it's about to be memorialized in a book for all to see as it sets sail for its 50th year. Historian and author Richard Thomas has been busy working on the project, in coordination with the Owen Sound Transportation Company, and is looking for help from those who have memorable stories involving the Chi-Cheemaun. 'It's a great story and I ride Chi-Cheemaun probably about a dozen times every summer myself,' said Thomas. 'So it's a subject that's near and dear to my heart.' For decades now, Chi-Cheemaun (otherwise known as *Big Canoe*) has been making the trek to Manitoulin Island and back ferrying summer lovers across the Georgian Bay and cutting hours off car trips. 'Chi-Cheemaun really is an iconic symbol of Great Lakes travel. For many people, it's the biggest ship they'll ever be on in their lives and so it's a special trip,' he said. According to Thomas, the biggest issues with Chi-Cheemaun's predecessors was the line-ups. They couldn't keep up with demand which led to it's creation at a Collingwood shipyard. 'I've heard lots of great stories so far, people are very generous with reaching out. I'm up to three couples who were married on Chi-Cheemaun who have shared photos and stories with me so I'll be including some of those,' he said. 'There have been a number of people talking about the iconic nature of Chi-Cheemaun, they remember as little kids travelling on Chi-Cheemaun with grandma to go over to the cottage and now as adults they take their own children on board. It's a real generational story.' Thomas says he's hoping to gather information about special trips they've had on the ferry, whether it was the good or worst passage ever along with any other interesting tidbits. 'I've gotten up to the point where Chi-Cheemaun is being built and I've actually interviewed about a dozen men form the shipyards who worked on Chi-Cheemaun back in 73 and 74 and I've got some great stories about them and the one thing I'll say that came through loud and clear from the shipyard workers was the sense of pride that they all have that Chi-Cheemaun is still sailing,' he added. No word yet on when the ferry plans to launch for the summer season. To reach Richard Thomas or to contribute to his work, he can be reached at chicheemaun50@
CBC
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
92,000 Lego bricks later, this model of the Chi-Cheemaun was born in brick form
Longtime Owen Sound, Ont., resident Ken Reid's been looking at the MS Chi-Cheemaun since it was first put into the water in the city's harbour 51 years ago. The Canadian-made vessel that ferries people 40 kilometres across Lake Huron to Manitoulin Island every summer caught his eye even then, and he made a model of it out of cereal boxes. He was a teenager at that time, and his skills have since greatly improved. Today, Reid can boast having created the largest, and surely the most intricate, Lego model of the Chi-Cheemaun. "It's a nine foot long mini Chi-Cheemaun that has the full interior. It has 51 cars onboard because that's all I had. I like boats but it's really the Lego building that I love," Reid said. He started working on the vessel three months ago using the Lego he buys in bulk, estimating some 92,000 pieces were needed to perfect the model. Builder invited aboard for full tour Building the hull was challenging, Reid said, but a special invitation onboard the ship helped him capture the finer details of the interior. He called the Chi-Cheemaun crew to let them know he was building a Lego model, and they wanted to help. "[The ship steward] invited me on board to take as many pictures as I required. So I had a full tour and I ran my camera to its limits taking photographs," Reid said. The Chi-Cheemaun was built in 1974 by Collingwood Shipbuilding, a short drive from where it's docked in Owen Sound during the winter. The ship's name translates to "big canoe" in Ojibwe. Last year, when it marked its 50th anniversary, it transported approximately 150,000 people and 60,000 vehicles from Tobermory to South Baymouth. Reid said he's had a lot of interest in his Lego version, with local museums and summer festivals in the area inquiring about displaying it. Right now, the Lego ship is on his living room floor with the occasional neighbour popping over to take a look. "I've been told many times from people that I should have a YouTube channel," Reid said. "But then it would become work, and I like this as a hobby."
CBC
23-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Carleton University launches new program aimed at training Indigenous journalists
Three educational institutions in Ontario have teamed up to offer journalism training to Indigenous learners in remote communities who may have faced roadblocks to education in the past. Carleton University in Ottawa, in partnership with Kenjgewin Teg in M'Chigeeng First Nation on Mnidoo Mnising/Manitoulin Island and the First Nations Technical Institute based in Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, announced in January the launch of the Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities, funded by $3.2 million from the Mastercard Foundation to develop and "I hope that not only will we be producing a new crop of Indigenous journalists, but also that we will be sending a message to other journalism schools… to start patterning programs that suit Indigenous learners' needs," said Duncan McCue, the director of the program. McCue and several of the program's administrators and instructors are either current or former employees of CBC News. The nine-month, eight-course program will begin in September, with four of the courses offered completely online. The courses will be led by Indigenous instructors working in the field and an advisory committee including elders and industry experts will oversee the program. McCue said he hopes allowing students to study from home will address some of the social, cultural and financial barriers Indigenous learners have when they have to move away from their communities for school. According to 2016 Census data from Statistics Canada, First Nations students living on reserve are 20 per cent less likely to complete post-secondary education than those living off reserve. "We know that one of the major barriers for all Indigenous learners in many different fields is leaving home," said McCue. "It's hard leaving family. They may be leaving behind ceremony or language or being out on the land. All those kinds of things make it difficult for Indigenous students to come down to the cities." Three of the courses will be offered as in-person intensives — one in Ottawa, one on Manitoulin Island and the third yet to be determined — to foster community within the program and train hands-on skills, said McCue. The cost of travel, accommodation and food for these will be covered. The tuition fee structure will follow that of Carleton's Bachelor of Journalism program. "We can take back the mic," McCue said. "People have been telling our stories for a really long time… what we're offering is just a little bit of training and kind of the foundations of media work." The program will also have a student success facilitator to support students that may need help with funding applications or liaising with teachers, as well as a dedicated cultural advisor to help support students along their learning journey. Sharing stories nothing new Francine Compton, head of the Indigenous Journalists Association and the program's internship co-ordinator, said the use of Indigenous pedagogy — a holistic approach to learning that takes into account Indigenous world views — will make the program one of a kind. "I think it's going to change the game," Compton said. "Storytelling in our cultures and our communities is not anything new. We've been sharing our stories since time immemorial. Our oral histories have been passed down through generations. So that's the importance of the craft, which is storytelling and journalism." McCue said the program also includes a $3,000 graduation incentive award upon certificate completion to assist with financial barriers. Graduates of the program would be able to enter the second year of Carleton's Bachelor of Journalism or Bachelor of Arts programs. A spokesperson for The Mastercard Foundation said in a written statement to CBC Indigenous that it is proud to partner on a program that will help all Canadians better understand Indigenous peoples' perspectives, priorities and realities.
