25th Trillium Award

Noticed: Joseph Boyden Writes about Camp Onakawana on Hyperlocal

 
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As part of Hyperlocal, Ontario author Joseph Boyden has contributed a story about change happening in a community that's close to his heart. In his piece called “Building Something,” he tells readers about Camp Onakawana, a place that is about 220 kilometres north of Cochrane and 90 kilometres south of Moosonee and Moose Factory, and how through this camp he and some close friends are making a difference in the lives of young people in the area. The Canadian north having been devastated by the fact that young people are taking their own lives, this camp, located at a place where the Abitibi River meets the Onakawana River, seeks to help them reconnect with their heritage by teaching them how to catch fish, bead and sew moccasins, hunt and trap animals along with other traditional tasks — basically to teach young people what their grandparents and parents knew. All of this is with the goal of changing “despair into self-reliance.” Read what he has to say about building Camp Onakawana here.

Also check out stories by other fantastic Canadian authors from across the county: David Bezmozgis, Heather O'Neill, Miriam Toews, Will Ferguson, Esi Edugyan and Lisa Moore.

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