The North Changed My Life

Written by: Jacqueline McKernan, Program Manager, NBCP

In 2010, I made a promise that I would be back. I kept that promise, and in 2018 I did go back. During these visits, I developed a deep affection for the indigenous people I had come to know.

 In 2010, I was a history student, specializing in Indigenous Studies, at King’s University College, London, ON. At the time, I wasn’t sure about my future direction, but my burning desire to learn more about indigenous people helped me get past my own insecurities, and the doubts others seemed to have for me. I completed Father Michael Bechard’s Experiential Learning Course, and I found my direction.

 My first 2-week immersion trip to Canada’s North was unlike any other experience I’d had thus far. Nothing could have prepared me for the challenges and the joys I was about to experience. I was honoured to meet many members of the Fond Du Lac, and they accepted me and my fellow program participants, with open and welcoming arms. I was surprised at just how quickly I was able to bond with several of the youth.

 It was only about the third night in the community when one of the young boys sat beside me and asked, "are you ever going to come back?” Without hesitation I made the promise that I would be back. Yet, because there seemed to be no bounds for the love and admiration that was growing in me for the people, I knew then that I would do whatever it took to keep this promise.