Two 亚洲天堂 Lake women who work at the Lakes District campus of the College of New Caledonia (CNC) have been using their writing skills to keep memories alive and educate people.
Lynn Synotte, responsible for marketing, recruitment and program linkages at CNC, will have a short story called 鈥楳emories of Apps鈥� Mill鈥� published in a book that will be launched on June 22, 2017 in Ontario.
鈥淭he story is about my memories growing up on a property known as 鈥淎pps鈥� Mill,鈥� located in Brant County in southern Ontario,鈥� explained Synotte.
Her piece was one of 16 short stories chosen to be included in the book called 鈥楶lace settings: a County of Brant public library anthology,鈥� out of 50 submissions.
鈥淢y mother passed away recently and the piece was very nostalgic for me,鈥� said Synotte. 鈥淚 have lived in B.C. longer than I lived in Ontario, but when I go back to visit family we have always visited the mill, walked the trails and checked out our old haunts.鈥�
Synotte will revisit her Ontario hometown again in June when she鈥檚 attending the book鈥檚 launch.
鈥淭his year we will be walking the trails without my mother鈥� it still whispers of a great childhood.鈥�
鈥淚t was nice to be able to share the memories of what it meant to my family,鈥� she added. 鈥淭he fact that a podcast was created of me reading my story, and the book itself, will be in the Brant County library makes me feel like our memories of living there will live on.鈥�
Synotte, who used to be the editor of Lakes District 亚洲天堂 about 30 years ago, said this was not her first story published in a book. A story that she wrote called 鈥楯ack the Ghost,鈥� which tells the story of a ghost that is believed to haunt the Lakes District 亚洲天堂 office, was published in a book called 鈥楶aper trails鈥� in the 1990s.
Using writing as a tool to educate people
Corinne George, regional principal of the CNC Lakes District campus, has been publishing articles to educate people about the history of aboriginal people.
鈥淚 was born and raised on Witsuwit鈥檈n territories; therefore the words of our ancestors are absolutely foundational for me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 strive to straddle the world of written word and the world connected to my ancestors in the best possible way in order to assist in educating those with regards to items of history that are often overlooked.鈥�
George recently had three articles published. One of the articles, titled 鈥楲illian Pich茅 Shirt, John Lennon and a Cree grandmother鈥檚 inspiration for the song 鈥業magine,鈥欌�� is based on a portion of her master of arts thesis.
鈥淢y thesis centered on the collection of oral histories of aboriginal women involved in political, social, cultural, and economic grassroots activism,鈥� she explained. 鈥淎s an aboriginal woman who was born and raised on the Highway of Tears, I wanted to highlight the achievement and recognize the strength and courage of aboriginal women who faced ongoing barriers, discrimination, challenges, and marginalization.鈥�
The other two articles - 鈥楥ourage on the Highway of Tears鈥� and 鈥楧ilhtisn茂 Hibikinic: elders with strong knowledge and words鈥� - were both contributions to the newly published second edition of 鈥楴iwhts鈥檌de鈥檔茂 Hibi鈥檌t鈥櫭玭 - the ways of our ancestors: Witsuwit鈥檈n history and culture throughout the millenia.鈥�
鈥楥ourage on the Highway of Tears鈥� was based on aboriginal women who undertook initiatives in order to heighten awareness of the Highway of Tears.
鈥楧ilhtisn茂 Hibikinic: elders with strong knowledge and words鈥� acknowledges and recognizes the important work of interpreters who were trained to translate from witsuwit鈥檈n to english and from english to witsuwit鈥檈n. George says this was a vital component of the landmark Delgamuukw and Gisdaywa land claims trial in which the Gitksan and Wet鈥檚uwet鈥檈n hereditary chiefs claimed ownership and jurisdiction over their ancestral territories.
