By James Bowler

PHOTOS: Camp Hope offers recreational facility for Montreal Lake youth

Sep 17, 2014 | 5:21 PM

A new campground in Montreal Lake Cree Nation will help ensure future generations will be able to learn and embrace the heritage of their people.

Camp Hope officially opened Wednesday morning and members with Montreal Lake Child and Family Services, who run the facility, are very excited about what this new property means for their youth.

“[They are] facilities that were dreamed up by the board of directors to look at providing a refuge, providing a training centre and also look at camps for children that are in care,” said Lionel Bird, board chair for Montreal Lake Child and Family Services. “[They] can actually house probably about eight kids per cabin.”

Brenda Nipshank, acting executive director for the Child and Family Services said it’s an opportunity to keep kids on reserve out of trouble by giving them enriching activities all year-round.

“The need for our facility I believe is to help our younger generation, our youth or Montreal Lake, to bring them here to teach them cultural teachings on hunting, fishing and trapping, and I think that is something that our youth lack,” said Nipshank. “As well to keep them busy in the community, keep them out of trouble.”

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Nipshank said she feels there is a disconnect between the aboriginal youth growing up in the community today and their heritage when it comes to things like learning to live off the land as their ancestors did.

Brenda Masuskapeo, acting executive director and finance officer for the Child and Family Services, said she’s “glad that I had to opportunity to be here from the start, and I’m excited to see where it’s going to take us,” said Masuskapeo. “I see a lot of hope for our children and better things for them.”

The site was built after officials saw a need for their own campground after spending extra money renting out campsites from other reserves.

“One of the driving factors in all of this is that we would typically spend about $60,000 a year taking children to other camps,” said Bird. “The board looked at that and said why don’t we build a facility and build cabins for the purpose that we need them for, to look at providing something on reserve, that in about five years it pays itself off.”

Bird said that the cost came in around $400,000, which covers converting the area for the buildings, bringing in gravel and materials and building the cabins as well as main lodge and caretakers lodge.

Nipshank added that they will hire a caretaker who will live and take care of the facilities year round.

Camp facilities will be offered year round to both Montreal Lake band members and will be rented out to anyone else who would be interested in using the grounds.

“These cabins are fitted up with baseboard heaters, they also stay nice and warm,” said Bird. “They have bunk beds and lofts, they’re fitted with tables and chairs.”

Bird added they’d like to expand further and add a centralized indoor shower and bathroom facility closer by to the cabins.

At this point there are shower facilities, but they are a short walk away in the main lodge.

“It’s going to be open to the public,” said Nipshank. “I think our priority is going to be children, anyone is going to be welcome to rent the place once it is fully operation, we’re not limiting, it’s not only going to be for native people, it’s going to be open to everybody.”

The cabins and main campground was finished in the spring and Nipshank said it has been used already.

“We’ve held a couple camps already, we have already had our child and care camp here, we had probably close to 100 people here, it was held for a week,” said Nipshank. “Our community is quite excited about it.”

And although nothing has been planned for the winter yet, Nipshank is sure that it will be quite busy.

During the grand opening on Wednesday dignitaries from the Prince Albert Grand Council, the FSIN and other aboriginal official agencies were in attendance to cut the ribbon for Camp Hope.

Members from the community spent time learning to cut and cook up moose meat from a freshly hunted moose as well as tan the hide.

The campsite is located about 20 minutes outside of the Montreal Lake community.

jbowler@panow.com

On Twitter: @journalistjim