Teaching the age-old art of mushing to northern youth

Opinion

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This article was published 10/12/2018 (2465 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A teacher in Bloodvein First Nation is using his passion for dogsledding to start an after-school program for the community’s youth.

Sidney Klassen aims to have the program’s first participants on sleds before Christmas.

“I want to teach dogsledding to give them something to do,” he says. “I want to get (the youth) out in nature, on this land that’s so special.”

Located about 290 kilometres north of Winnipeg, Bloodvein is part of the nearly 30,000 square kilometres of boreal forest that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization declared as Canada’s first mixed cultural and natural World Heritage Site earlier this year.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Klassen fell in love with living in Treaty 5 territory while he worked as the off-season caretaker at a fishing lodge in Pauingassi First Nation for three years.

In his mid-20s, Klassen found himself in a rut. He was sleeping on his parents’ couch in North Kildonan, unsure of what to do next.

One day, he saw a TV commercial that featured two men dogsledding. It looked fun, so Klassen searched the internet for dogsledding work opportunities.

Soon, he was moving to work with a musher in the Yukon. He quickly fell in love with being on a dogsled.

“The dogs (are) moving ahead of you like the piston of an engine, and everything is silent except for the sound of the collars and the snow beneath the sled,” he says. “And, you’re in nature. I got hooked.”

In the 13 years since then, Klassen has worked with dogsled kennels in Alaska, Churchill and Banff National Park.

He has earned degrees in history and education from the University of Winnipeg with the goal of teaching in First Nation communities. He moved to Bloodvein this past January and teaches phys-ed and health at Miskooseepi School.

The community has few recreational options for young people.

“Having students interact and work with the dogs will cultivate empathy and develop discipline and responsibility,” Klassen wrote on a GoFundMe web page he launched in October to raise money for the program.

“Getting out on the sled will build their self-esteem and self-confidence, while engaging with nature in a fun and exciting way.”

Klassen plans to bring in elders and trappers from the community to share their traditional knowledge of dogsledding and the deep relationship between Indigenous Peoples and dogs.

The program is exciting, says band councillor Kelvin Raven.

“My biggest priority is starting up recreational activities for youth so they’ll have something to do throughout the evenings,” Raven says.

“When I was growing up as a child, we didn’t have much of that.”

He describes Klassen as an outgoing, passionate guy, and praises his initiative.

“Bloodvein’s chief and council strongly support what Sidney Klassen is doing for the community,” Raven says.

Klassen is encouraged by the support he’s received.

“I’m so grateful,” he says. “It’s motivating me to go forward and do this. I’m happy to say that, bit by bit, the pieces are falling into place.”

Learn more at gofundme.com/dog-sledding-in-bloodvein-fn.

If you know a special volunteer, please contact aaron.epp@gmail.com.