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Winnipeg Free Press
10-07-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Opinion: From 2025 to 1851: What does it take to be a historical interpreter?
Opinion Welcome to Jen Tries, a semi-regular series in which Free Press columnist Jen Zoratti tries something new and reports back. In this instalment, Jen Tries… being a Lower Fort Garry historical interpreter/living in the fur trade era. ST. ANDREWS — People in the past wore too many clothes. It's a little after 10 a.m. and I am getting into costume to be a historical interpreter at Lower Fort Garry National Historic Site for the day — which means I'm also getting dressed to go about my day circa the fur-trade era. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen Zoratti was invited to spend the day as an historical interpreter at Lower Fort Garry. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen Zoratti was invited to spend the day as an historical interpreter at Lower Fort Garry. Over my 2025 bike shorts, tank top and sports bra, costumer Amelie Roberts has provided me with a chemise — that was the garment that could best be laundered regularly — a full-length skirt, a long-sleeved shirt called a shortgown, a kerchief for my head, a kerchief for my neck, boots and, of course, a blanket-sized apron. I also have a basket in which to tuck my phone, smartwatch and anything else that isn't historically accurate — or, as the 'interps' say, 'histo acco.' Did I mention there's a heat warning in effect? MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Because dresses traditionally didn't have pockets, Jen is provided with a basket to hold her phone and watch. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Because dresses traditionally didn't have pockets, Jen is provided with a basket to hold her phone and watch. Of course, I wouldn't know that there's a heat warning, only that it was 'hot as blazes.' I have already crossed the bridge back to 1851. Lower Fort Garry — located just south of Selkirk on Highway 9 — is a Hudson's Bay Company trading post; in 1871, it will be the place where Treaty 1 was signed. Here, on the banks of the Red River, is tangible, tactile history, yours for the exploring: a collection of stone buildings dating back to the 1830s; Indigenous dwellings such as wigwams and teepees, constructed out of traditional materials such as birch and buffalo hide, respectively. But it's the costumed interpreters who bring this place to life. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen signs a contract similar to what a day labourer would have signed with Laurie MacDonell, Visitor Services Group Supervisor, as a witness. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen signs a contract similar to what a day labourer would have signed with Laurie MacDonell, Visitor Services Group Supervisor, as a witness. This morning, I am a 'lower-class' worker, along with Laurie MacDonell. She is the visitor services group supervisor here at the park, but is dusting off her fur trade-era interpreter persona, Matilda Fox. 'And you can spell that however you want, because Matilda Fox can't read or write,' she says with a wry laugh. MacDonell, 32, started working as an interpreter at 19 while studying theatre and film at the University of Manitoba. 'My parents were like, 'I've heard of this place where you get to get dressed up in costumes and be paid for it.' So I was like, right, sounds like the perfect place for me. I like history. I like being outside. 'And then I just couldn't leave. I mean, I did. I went to Jasper for a little bit. I worked at Festival du Voyageur. But I came back because it's just so magical here.' My first task of the day is to light a fire in the bakehouse, so it's a good thing it's 32 C out with a humidex making it feel like 40 gazillion. Sarah Antymis, interpretation co-ordinator, is dressed in her Parks Canada uniform but she knows her way around a 1830s-era oven, showing me how to set up a log cabin-style fire. As interps, we'd be making bannock, since that's one of the workshops on offer during the summer; today we're making a cake for a tea party happening this afternoon at the Big House. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen mixes ingredients for a cake. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen mixes ingredients for a cake. It's quickly, humblingly evident to me that I was born in the correct era. It's hot. It's sooty. My fire isn't starting. To quote Parker Posey's character in The White Lotus: 'I just don't think, at this age, I'm meant to live an uncomfortable life.' Interpreters take different approaches to their roles, Antymis says. Some get fully into character and use the first person; others say they are portraying a figure from the past. But either way, they actually have to learn how to do all the stuff they're demonstrating. The blacksmiths? Really blacksmithing! 'We're really doing it, not just miming,' MacDonell says. 'You gain massive amounts of knowledge on things you never thought you'd learn about,' Antymis says. After we get the cake into the oven (the fire lit! I did it!), our next chore is to make tallow candles which, in 2025, is another workshop the park offers during the summer. In 1851, however, I'd have to make about a thousand candles for winter. The moulded candles would take one year to cure and their burn time is one hour. Let me tell you: I would make it my life's work to aggressively ration candles if I were alive in this era. My 13 kids and I would be going to bed at 4:30 p.m. in December. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen dips a wick from a bucket of warmed up tallow into a chilled bucket of water, one of the ways that candles could be made. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen dips a wick from a bucket of warmed up tallow into a chilled bucket of water, one of the ways that candles could be made. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen pours tallow into candle molds. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen pours tallow into candle molds. We stop by the Fur Loft so I can try my hand at identifying furs, which I do with surprising accuracy. Beaver, badger, fox, lynx, even a wolverine pelt is up there. Silver fox was in high demand among the high-society women in England at the time; it was the only thing that looked clean in the sooty streets of London during the Industrial Revolution. And no fashionista would be caught dead wearing an animal with 'rat' in its name, so if you ever come across fur labelled 'Hudson Seal,' know that it's muskrat. My next task is to help pack fur bales so they could make their weeks-long, 1,100-km journey to Hudson's Bay. This involves placing the expensive furs in the middle, wrapping them in bison hide to protect them and then pressing them so they are as compact as possible. These 91-kilogram packages need to be able to be portaged on tripmen's backs when necessary, held in place by a leather strap worn across their foreheads. Unfathomable in our modern era of Amazon and next-day delivery. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen is shown how to package up furs for shipping with Sarah Antymis (centre), Interpretation Coordinator and Laurie MacDonell (right), Visitor Services Group Supervisor. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen is shown how to package up furs for shipping with Sarah Antymis (centre), Interpretation Coordinator and Laurie MacDonell (right), Visitor Services Group Supervisor. Sure, tripmen had it rough, but packing fur in extreme heat wearing a full skirt is no picnic, either. Luckily, it's 2025, so we're only doing a much lighter mock-up of the bundle they'd carry. We head downstairs to the shop, since we need to purchase a china tea set for this afternoon. Interpreters there handle both artifacts and reproductions. As such, there's safety protocol for the artifacts — some brands of tea used to be packaged in lead, for example. The china we're purchasing would have been packed in barrels of molasses to keep it from breaking; that molasses could then also be sold. Antymis points out her favourite product: Perry Davis' Vegetable Pain-Killer, a 'sure cure for all the diseases for which it is recommended, and always perfectly safe in the hands of even the most inexperienced persons,' per the advertising copy. Perry Davis's 'sure cure' is just herbs, alcohol and opium. It's time for a costume change. For the afternoon, I am an upper-class woman and I have been cordially invited for tea at the Big House. (Yes, the very event lower-class me toiled away in the bakehouse for.) MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen puts on the many layers that contribute to a lady's daily outfit. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen puts on the many layers that contribute to a lady's daily outfit. I've still got the bike shorts, tank top and sports bra, followed by the chemise — but now I have two petticoats (one full, one ruffled), a full-skirted dress, a collar, a cap and a full-on bonnet. Blessedly, I got to skip the corset. Doing up all those hook-and-eye closures on the dress was enough to make me catch the vapours. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen puts on the many layers that contribute to a lady's daily outfit. (From left) Sarah Antymis, Interpretation Coordinator, Laurie MacDonell, Visitor Services Group Supervisor, and Amelie Roberts, Costumer. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen puts on the many layers that contribute to a lady's daily outfit. (From left) Sarah Antymis, Interpretation Coordinator, Laurie MacDonell, Visitor Services Group Supervisor, and Amelie Roberts, Costumer. Luckily, as a fancy lady in a huge dress, all I have to do this afternoon is drink Earl Grey and eat cake on a veranda with MacDonell, who has also been classed up, and Antymis, who has gamely changed into a costume. But the first order of business is to not fall down any stairs; the etiquette of the day insists that all skirts must be gathered and lifted with one hand and swept across the body for modesty. (Three ladies walking to tea unaccompanied by a man would also be unheard of.) MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Sarah Antymis (left), Interpretation Coordinator, Laurie MacDonell (centre), Visitor Services Group Supervisor, and Jen have afternoon tea at the Big House inside Lower Fort Garry. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Sarah Antymis (left), Interpretation Coordinator, Laurie MacDonell (centre), Visitor Services Group Supervisor, and Jen have afternoon tea at the Big House inside Lower Fort Garry. Visitors, charmed, surreptitiously take photos of us having hot tea during, and I cannot stress this enough, a 32 C afternoon. One asks us for a group shot. Antymis and MacDonell are true pros at this; they warmly and knowledgeably answer questions. And then, my day is done. I leave with newfound respect and appreciation for the women of the past — and what it takes to bring them to life today. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Accompanied by Laurie MacDonell (left), Visitor Services Group Supervisor, and Sarah Antymis (centre), Interpretation Coordinator, Jen, now dressed as a higher class lady, makes her way to the Big House where she will have afternoon tea. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen in the fort's general store. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Jen is shown how to package up furs for shipping. Jen ZorattiColumnist Jen Zoratti is a columnist and feature writer working in the Arts & Life department, as well as the author of the weekly newsletter NEXT. A National Newspaper Award finalist for arts and entertainment writing, Jen is a graduate of the Creative Communications program at RRC Polytech and was a music writer before joining the Free Press in 2013. Read more about Jen. Every piece of reporting Jen produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
The Age
09-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Treaty 1 is only the start. Just don't tell John Howard
There is perhaps no word in Australian politics that gives older, conservative whitefellas the willies quite like treaty. Ever since Bob Hawke committed himself to treaty at the 1988 Barunga Festival in the Northern Territory, the T-word has evoked stories of Indigenous people laying claims over suburban backyards and white Australia losing control over our quarries, farms and rivers. Then-opposition leader John Howard opposed Hawke's treaty on much the same grounds as he opposed the Voice two years ago, arguing it would aggravate racial divisions in Australia rather than bring us together. As Fred Chaney, a former minister for Aboriginal affairs, Native Title Tribunal member and chair of Reconciliation Australia, told the ABC during the 2023 referendum campaign: 'It just seems to me that the word treaty is the thing that some people find poisonous – and some people of John Howard's generation think is going to be the end of the world.' It is for this reason that the authors of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, in an attempt to win conservative support for their cause, left the T-word out of their final statement in favour of a less triggering reference to 'agreement-making'. When Yothu Yindi and Paul Kelly wrote their Treaty anthem in 1991, Hawke had already broken his promise to treaty within two years. The opening verse was laced with cynicism. Words are easy, words are cheap Much cheaper than our priceless land But promises can disappear Just like writing in the sand. Treaty 1, as the First Peoples' Assembly refers to the statewide agreement it is close to finalising with the Victorian government, is unlikely to inspire another song. At a time when Indigenous communities are confronting significantly poorer health outcomes, lower education rates, greater rates of family violence, homelessness, incarceration and suicide, and lower life expectancies that white Australians, the treaty is preoccupied with the future power and authority of the body negotiating it. The assembly's likely powers will include decision-making on matters of cultural heritage and indigeneity, making First Nations appointments to government boards and running NAIDOC Week events. This is jarring for Indigenous people who had greater aspirations for what such an historic agreement might look like, and it offers little – at least, in the immediate term – for communities experiencing chronic disadvantage in places like Mooroopna, Lake Tyers and Framlingham. Even the lyrical genius of Paul Kelly would struggle to pen a catchy tune about the creation of new Indigenous bureaucracy. The assembly makes no qualms about the focus of Treaty 1. In its most recent update on negotiations, it made clear its view that securing agreement on an empowered, enduring assembly is a crucial first step towards future agreements on things that directly impact the lives of First Nations people. 'We aren't stopping here,' the assembly wrote last month. 'In fact, this is the beginning of a new Treaty era.' A member of the assembly unauthorised to publicly discuss treaty negotiations said the elected Indigenous leadership, rather than present an ambit claim, was playing a longer game about what it was likely to secure now and what it hoped to gain through future agreements. 'We are not going to get everything but whatever we do, we have got to make sure we have the body to continue the process,' they said. To return to the question posed by our English backpacker on the Greek hillside, no, this isn't it. The treaty expected to be completed by November is planned as the first of multiple state treaties which will negotiate greater self-determination for Indigenous people in policy areas like health, housing and eduction. It will also be followed by separate treaties between the government and each of Victoria's 38 recognised First Nations. Despite the narrow focus and deferred ambition of Australia's first treaty, the nearing of its completion stirred the usual arguments and dark predictions about where it would lead. Whatever you read or hear in the coming fray, rest assured that your backyard and BHP shares are safe.
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Brokenhead Ojibway creates new reserve on outskirts of Winnipeg
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation is expanding its reserve land just outside Winnipeg city limits, in a move the First Nation says will help advance its economic development and self-determination. Almost 25 hectares (60 acres) of land in the rural municipality of East St. Paul, just northeast of Winnipeg, have been added to the First Nation's jurisdiction, its leadership announced Friday. Brokenhead Chief Gordon Bluesky said the Treaty 1 signatory has been negotiating with the federal government for nearly 20 years to create the new reserve, and that the announcement has been a long time coming. "We're trying to fulfil our treaty land entitlement, which is an outstanding obligation from 1871. Our people were promised these lands in 1871," Bluesky said. "We've worked long and hard, and I acknowledge my ancestors for having that foresight in terms of having these opportunities available to us. And I'm just here to carry the ball over the finish line." 'We have lots of ideas' Bluesky said the plot — east of Highway 59 and south of the Perimeter Highway — was purchased in 2009 as part of a larger purchase of over 194 hectares of land in the rural municipality. It's near Na-Sha-Ke-Penais, the three-hectare reserve the First Nation established on land it purchased in East St. Paul around 2002. A news release said the reserve land — primarily agricultural — will be used for traditional uses, including hunting and trapping. Bluesky said the First Nation is also eyeing further economic development. "We have a lot of ideas," he said. "A lot of that is centrally focused on us getting services here to this site. But essentially, we're looking at some mixed residential, some commercial, some retail." The chief said the area could become a suburb of Winnipeg eventually as the city grows, but there's a lot of infrastructure required before shovels go into the ground. A 'historic milestone' Federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand said there's a lot of bridge-building the federal government must do with First Nations communities. "There's still 10 communities here in Manitoba that are looking to advance their treaty land entitlements," she said. "These are communities that we definitely want to support." Chris Henderson leads the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee of Manitoba, and helps First Nations get land promised by the Crown. He said the announcement is part of a historic process toward recognizing First Nations' inherent right to govern their land. "These three parcels that were set aside earlier this year, they now fall under the inventory and the jurisdiction of Brokenhead to do with as they please. They don't need anybody's permission," he said. "That is a historic milestone."
CBC
05-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Brokenhead Ojibway creates new reserve on outskirts of Winnipeg
Brokenhead Ojibway Nation is expanding its reserve land just outside Winnipeg city limits, in a move the First Nation says will help advance its economic development and self-determination. Almost 25 hectares (60 acres) of land in the rural municipality of East St. Paul, just northeast of Winnipeg, have been added to the First Nation's jurisdiction, its leadership announced Friday. Brokenhead Chief Gordon Bluesky said the Treaty 1 signatory has been negotiating with the federal government for nearly 20 years to create the new reserve, and that the announcement has been a long time coming. "We're trying to fulfil our treaty land entitlement, which is an outstanding obligation from 1871. Our people were promised these lands in 1871," Bluesky said. "We've worked long and hard, and I acknowledge my ancestors for having that foresight in terms of having these opportunities available to us. And I'm just here to carry the ball over the finish line." 'We have lots of ideas' Bluesky said the plot — east of Highway 59 and south of the Perimeter Highway — was purchased in 2009 as part of a larger purchase of over 194 hectares of land in the rural municipality. It's near Na-Sha-Ke-Penais, the three-hectare reserve the First Nation established on land it purchased in East St. Paul around 2002. A news release said the reserve land — primarily agricultural — will be used for traditional uses, including hunting and trapping. Bluesky said the First Nation is also eyeing further economic development. "We have a lot of ideas," he said. "A lot of that is centrally focused on us getting services here to this site. But essentially, we're looking at some mixed residential, some commercial, some retail." The chief said the area could become a suburb of Winnipeg eventually as the city grows, but there's a lot of infrastructure required before shovels go into the ground. A 'historic milestone' Federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand said there's a lot of bridge-building the federal government must do with First Nations communities. "There's still 10 communities here in Manitoba that are looking to advance their treaty land entitlements," she said. "These are communities that we definitely want to support." Chris Henderson leads the Treaty Land Entitlement Committee of Manitoba, and helps First Nations get land promised by the Crown. He said the announcement is part of a historic process toward recognizing First Nations' inherent right to govern their land. "These three parcels that were set aside earlier this year, they now fall under the inventory and the jurisdiction of Brokenhead to do with as they please. They don't need anybody's permission," he said. "That is a historic milestone."
Winnipeg Free Press
23-06-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Opening day nears for south Winnipeg development Naawi-Oodena's first business
The first retail venture in the Naawi-Oodena urban economic development zone in south Winnipeg is fuelling up for opening day. Oodena Gas & Convenience will open to the public June 30. Representatives from the Treaty One Development Corp. held a soft opening event for the gas bar, located at 1871 Taylor Ave., on Monday. 'It's really exciting to finally be able to open up a business here,' said T1DC president and Sagkeeng First Nation Chief E.J. Fontaine. 'This is just the start.' MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Several guests and dignitaries get their photo taken at the soft opening of Oodena Gas & Convenience Monday, the very first business to open in south Winnipeg's Naawi-Oodena urban economic development zone. Naawi-Oodena, which means 'centre of the heart' or 'centre of our community,' is planned to eventually become a $1 billion-plus development across 109 acres of the former Kapyong barracks. It's owned by the seven First Nations who were signatories to Treaty 1 (in 1871), under the T1DC banner. T1DC chose to build Oodena Gas & Convenience first because many First Nations have experience developing gas bars and it's 'an easy win,' Fontaine said. 'We needed to get some cash flow into the development corporation,' he said. 'Now that (the gas bar is almost) open, we're really pleased with it. It's a nice store.' Ultimately, for Treaty 1 members, it's more than a gas bar, Fontaine said: it's the first step in transforming Naawi-Oodena into a vibrant economic hub. 'To us, it's a symbol of progress.' 'It's really exciting to finally be able to open up a business here … This is just the start.'–Sagkeeng First Nation Chief E.J. Fontaine Naawi-Oodena is the result of years of hard work by former and current First Nations leaders, noted Brokenhead Ojibway Chief Gordon BlueSky. The Treaty One Nations chairperson recalled attending a public discussion around a decade ago, at which some attendees voiced their uncertainty about the business park. 'I've seen that attitude change quite drastically,' BlueSky said. 'I think people are starting to understand here that First Nation prosperity isn't something to be fearful of. We've lived in oppression for far too long.' Naawi-Oodena allows First Nations people to shape how the land is used, how it generates income and how it serves the community, according to BlueSky. The gas bar is 'a very exciting first step for our nations and Treaty 1 community.' The internal design team that worked on the 2,450-square-foot gas bar wanted it to be an inviting space, said Ashley Peebles, Treaty One Nations design and development planner. The team incorporated wood elements to give the store warmth and signage is posted in the Anishinaabemowin language and English. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS From left, Chief David Meeches, Long Plain First Nation, Chief E.J. Fontaine Sagkeeng First Nation, Chief Trevor Prince, Sandy Bay Ojibway First Nation, Chief Gordon Bluesky, Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, and AMC Grand Chief Kyra Wilson inside the Oodena Gas & Convenience, Monday. A giant upside-down V frames the building's front entrance. 'It was meant to be a teepee, but also it could signify an arrow pointing up — pointing towards the sky, pointing north,' Peebles said. 'It's kind of open for interpretation.' Among the usual fare customers expect in a convenience store, Oodena carries a variety of products made in Manitoba. 'We have your typical Coke and Pepsi products … but we really want to push a lot of local and Indigenous-owned stuff here,' said Tyrell Courchene, store manager. Courchene added he's 'a bit nervous' about the gas bar's upcoming opening, but he's confident things will go well. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. 'It's exciting,' he said. 'We've got a good location here (and) we've got a good crew of people.' Twenty-five employees have been hired to support the store's operations, including two full-time supervisors. Per a news release, 96 per cent of the employees are First Nations members and 84 per cent are members of one of the seven Treaty 1 First Nations. The gas bar will be open daily from 7 a.m. to midnight to start, Courchene said, eventually moving to being open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for July 25, and will kick off the fourth annual Anishinaabe Days event at Naawi-Oodena. The grand opening is open to the public and will include free food, cultural programming and voucher giveaways. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS Treaty One leadership were on hand for the Soft Opening of Oodena Gas & Convenience, the very first business to open on Naawi-Oodena — a long-awaited development which has been over 20 years in the making. In the meantime, the first Naawi‑Oodena Seasonal Market will start operating Tuesday and continue bi-weekly on Tuesdays through the end of September. The market is designed to support Indigenous entrepreneurs and artisans by offering a consistent venue for commerce and community engagement on the Naawi‑Oodena lands. Market hours are 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and a selection of food trucks will be on site. Spending money at Indigenous businesses is a great way for the average Manitoban to practice reconciliation, BlueSky said. 'It's coming into our businesses (and) it's spending money in our facilities,' he said. 'The biggest step I believe is just supporting us.' T1DC and federal Crown corporation Canada Lands Co. are working together to develop Naawi‑Oodena. Treaty 1 First Nations are responsible for the development of 68 per cent of the land, which will be primarily commercial and institutional development. Canada Lands has the remaining 32 per cent, which will be primarily residential development. Aaron EppReporter Aaron Epp reports on business for the Free Press. After freelancing for the paper for a decade, he joined the staff full-time in 2024. He was previously the associate editor at Canadian Mennonite. Read more about Aaron. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
