On the 27th of April, 2017, my mother, sister, the Head Girl from Te Whānau Tahi School and I had the privilege of travelling across the Pacific Ocean to participate and present at the Indigenous Thought Conference at Blue Quills University located near St. Paul in Alberta, Canada.   

While we had an amazing time in Vancouver seeing new things, being on the streets surrounded by humongous buildings, ice skating and later in Edmonton exploring one of the biggest malls in the whole world - the most memorable experience was spending time with the First Nation people from the Cree and Dene Nations in Treaty 6 Territory and visiting their reserves.

We had the privilege of visiting schools and attending classes at a high school on the Onion Lake Reserve. We performed waiata and haka for the students there, and they shared their songs, dances and drum ceremonies with us. Eagle View High School, the high school we attended was not what I expected. I didn’t expect to see the same ‘situation’ some of these students were in like some indigenous students back home.

I was talking to some of them and found that drugs and alcohol were very popular among their age (15-17 years), finances are a big problem for them and their families, and that a lot of them lacked support and confidence from their parents at home. This made me realise that indigenous students all around the world have similar problems and are in similar situations.

Life on the reserve farm included: feeding over 40 dogs every day, moving kennels and dogs to new locations, hunting for food (no shops were nearby), protecting your dogs from wolves and bears, and collecting water from the birch tree (that is where they get the majority of their drinking water from). I found it fun, and the people were happy to live like that and they enjoyed being at one with nature. Life for the First Nations people on the reservations looked pretty rough. There wasn’t any clean tap water, roads were unsealed and got absolutely munted in wet weather, animals rummaged through rubbish that got spread everywhere, and it looked very undeveloped. In other parts of the reservation, however, it was very different. I had the honour of experiencing how many First Nation people lived by staying at my Uncle Kevin Lewis’ house. It had a similar feel to our dairy farms that we have here in Aotearoa, except that instead of cows they have sled dogs that they breed and raise to be elite sled pullers.

On the reserve lakes you were surrounded by nature, trees and beautiful sunsets, with stars so clear in the sky you feel like you're in a dream. It seemed like some sort of paradise, but trust me - it is not easy to live on a reserve. You must work to live well.

At the Blue Quills University and throughout Canada I met many wonderful and diverse people. We formed unbreakable relationships and made the closest of friends. Not only did we go and present at a conference, we got given so much back our hearts were so full they could've burst.

We ate food that I never imagined I would taste. Food like moose, bison, fish tongues, elk, wild berries, wild duck and so much more!

We participated in traditional ceremonies that were enchanting which I will never forget. One example was the sweat ceremony. A sweat ceremony is a healing ceremony that heals your mind, body, emotions and spirit. It is held in a traditional little hut with a dirt floor and pit in the middle where they place red hot rocks. They cover the hut with tarpaulin and blankets so it is pitch black when you close the flap to the one entrance. You can’t see a thing, then the singing starts, high pitched with shakers and drums. Jugs of water are then thrown into the middle and steam erupts inside the hut which creates skin searing heat. My nose and throat burned at first as it is many times hotter than any sauna I have been in, but my body adapted. It is called a sweat ceremony for a good reason, as sweat just gushed out of my pores soaking my body instantly, all the while taking in beautiful singing all around you in a pitch black abyss. The owner of the sweat lodge, Bill, gifted me my first Cree-made caribou hide drum after surviving my first traditional sweat ceremony. I will never forget that amazing experience.

Gifts were given to us, so many gifts, it made me feel so grateful and sad knowing how little they had but the love they had for us to willingly give such precious and beautiful master pieces.

It was an honour representing Christchurch Boys’ High School and travelling with Te Whānau Tahi on this trip of a lifetime. I miss my family over there dearly and I can’t wait till I go back and see them again.

I will never forget the Cree and Dene First Nations people who made us feel so welcome, the experiences that I had, and the people that made it possible for us to travel: Rangitane Ki Wairau, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, The University of Canterbury, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Whanau Tahi, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kuia and The Blue Quills University. E kore e mimiti te puna o mihi ki a koutou katoa.