Blending outdoor education with cultural preservation in Lac La Croix
Outward Bound Canada (OBC) has always been about more than adventure. Through our wilderness programs, we help participants develop essential life skills, reconnect with nature, and foster leadership and environmental awareness. But our role is often even more significant, such as our recent collaboration with the Gakijiwanong First Nation, an Indigenous community in Lac La Croix, in Northwestern Ontario — a partnership that successfully combines outdoor education and cultural preservation and has a lasting impact on local youth.
How the Lac La Croix project began
Lac La Croix is a tight-knit community of about 180 people, nestled on the Canada-US border across from Minnesota. The area is well-known for its natural beauty, offering some of the best fishing in Ontario and serving as a gateway to Quetico Provincial Park, a vast wilderness area explored by adventurers and canoeists from all over the world.
The story of our Lac La Croix Project begins with Deborah Allen, a teacher at Lac La Croix School. Deborah approached OBC in 2022 with an idea: she wanted to bring outdoor experiential education to the young people at her school and in her community, using the beautiful nature that surrounds them as the classroom.
“The school had secured a grant to run programming, and went through an approval process with community leaders to allow us to work with their youth. They saw the value in us bringing skills that OBC teaches back to the community, so together we developed a program that combined technical outdoor skills with the opportunity for students to reconnect with the land of their ancestors. That was the beginning of an exciting three-year partnership that has already included two successful trips — a canoe expedition in the fall of 2023 and a winter survival program in 2024,“ explains Ontario Wilderness Program Manager Scott Dressel.
Cultural preservation on Ancestral
Lands
The winter trip, which took place in February, took nine students and two chaperones from Lac La Croix on an unforgettable outdoor adventure that focused on learning essential winter camping skills such as tent setup and takedown, snowshoeing, fire building, cooking in the wilderness and collecting water. The goal of the course was not only to teach students technical skills, but more importantly to help them disconnect from the distractions of everyday life and reconnect with the land their ancestors called home, as well as give them the opportunity to practice leadership skills and self-reflection.
“What is unique about this partnership is that the focus is on cultural knowledge. The elders of the community are not always able to pass on their traditional skills and knowledge to the younger generation due to lack of time or physical limitations. This is where OBC comes in: not to replace that role, but to give youth additional opportunities to learn these important skills before they are lost,” explains Scott Dressel.
“We’ve worked closely with Lac La Croix School to ensure that the program is not just about survival skills, but also about preserving the cultural heritage of the Gakijiwanong Anishinaabe Nation, the community that calls Lac La Croix home. While the OBC instructors brought technical outdoor skills, the students themselves were instrumental in bringing cultural knowledge to the program, creating a dynamic learning exchange,” Scott adds.
Memorable moments in Lac La Croix
Several moments of this winter adventure stood out for the OBC team. One of the highlights was the opportunity to explore new terrain in Ontario, led by students who were more familiar with the land than the instructors, and the moments of deep connection with the community:
“We were so grateful for the warm welcome we received from the community. Upon arrival, the OBC staff were welcomed by teachers from Lac La Croix School with a home-cooked meal and a local youth leader even gifted the team elk sausages to take home. These moments reminded us of the strong bonds the program has forged,” says Scott.
But perhaps the most powerful takeaway came from the community leaders themselves. “It was incredibly important to be reminded by the community leaders what our mission was,” says Scott. “We were there to help their youth learn valuable skills and reconnect with cultural practices that might otherwise fade away over time.”
In the spring of 2025, we will return to the community for another canoe trip, giving students another opportunity to immerse themselves in the wilderness, learn new skills, and strengthen their connection to the land.
As we reflect on the success of the project, we’re filled with gratitude for the hospitality and generosity of the Lac La Croix community and look forward to what lies ahead. This is a testament to what is possible when two communities come together with a shared vision and the transformative power of nature. We’re honoured to be part of this journey and proud to partner with Lac La Croix to preserve their land and heritage through outdoor education.
Support our mission
Outward Bound Canada is a registered charity. Your donations help us provide life-changing programs like the one in Lac La Croix for youth who would otherwise not have the opportunity to experience and benefit from outdoor education. With your support, we can continue to empower more young people and reconnect them with nature across Canada.