When the First Nations community of Mishkeegogamang was hit hard by COVID, they called on an organization located nearly 1,800 km away in Bradford - True North Aboriginal Partnership.
The relationship between Mishkeegogamang, just north of Pickle Lake in northern Ontario, and Bradford dates back over two decades. Even before TNAP was launched, local resident Paul Burston was organizing emergency runs up to Mish, first through Hillside Community Church in Tottenham, and later through Bradford’s Green Valley Alliance Church.
With help from the churches, the community at large, and local groups that included Bradford’s Coats for Kids, Burston began bringing much-needed supplies, everything from food to winter coats, to the remote northern community.
But over the years, the relationship changed - from charity into a partnership. The groups began working with the people of Mish to address not only immediate material needs but the educational and recreational needs of the children of Mishkeegogamang, and to build a new understanding between the people of the north and the south.
Programs included summer enrichment for the kids, with volunteers heading north to provide activities and art supplies, and a visit south for graduating students at Mishkeegogamang’s Missabey Elementary School and their teachers.
True North Aboriginal Partnership has also been committed to raising awareness in the south of the resilience of the people of Mish, who have struggled to overcome issues created by their remote location, government policy, and the impact of the Residential School system.
When the pandemic hit two years ago, many of the programs had to be suspended, as Mishkeegogamang closed its doors and restricted access to the community, in an effort to keep COVID out.
“They had gone the entire two years without a single case – and then one person came into the community,” carrying the infection, says Burston. In a community where living conditions are crowded and several generations may share a home, the result was a major outbreak.
That’s when the new chief of Mishkeegogamang First Nation, David Masakeyash reached out for help.
Because of its isolation, everything must be flown or trucked into the community. Even the closest store is 40 km away.
Supplies of common fever medication, cough medicine, soap and personal hygiene products are always hard to come by, and often so costly that they are beyond the reach of most residents. As COVID spread and people were restricted to their homes, it became even more difficult to get supplies to the people.
“And that’s where we came in,” says Burston.
A carload of emergency supplies had already been delivered by a volunteer who made a 900 km detour to get to Mish. Now, Burston and a team of up to 20 volunteers began putting together a larger shipment of needed items.
With COVID restrictions still in place in Bradford, the group reached out through the church, Facebook and GoFundMe – looking for supplies but also cash donations, to purchase the items needed.
“When we put out a request for help, within a few days we had raised about $6,000,” says Burston. “That to me says that people are beginning to understand the challenges of the North… It has been refreshing to see the generosity of people in the south.”
Among the donors was the company Global Medic, which provided feminine hygiene products. “They were amazing, absolutely amazing,” Burston says.
The team put together a shipment of over-the-counter cold and flu remedies, including Advil, Tylenol, NyQuil, Buckleys, as well as cleaning supplies and personal care items. Paul’s wife Belinda added a personal touch: over a dozen fresh-baked pies for the Canadian Rangers, who were brought in to help provide COVID response in Mishkeegogamang and assist those in quarantine.
The need was urgent; there was no time to arrange for transportation. Instead, the decision was made to fill a trailer and drive up, bringing not only the health supplies, but also educational activity kits for kids who have been out of school for nearly 2 years, and have been “climbing the walls” at home.
The TNAP volunteers left on March 10 for the 4-day round trip, and found the community eagerly waiting for the supplies, especially the children’s activity kits.
"It was hard work but well worth it,” Burston says, despite a white-knuckled drive back to Bradford in blizzard conditions.
“We weren’t there long, but it was really impactful,” agrees Susan Stewart, Executive Director of TNAP.
The First Nations community of about 1,000 initially estimated that at least 600 people would come down with COVID. “Because of the community vigilance, just over 300 got sick,” she notes.
“People, because of their faith and because of their good will, are making a difference,” insists Burston, even in these difficult times when concerns over COVID and the situation in Ukraine can be all-consuming.
Now that COVID restrictions are lifting, True North Aboriginal Partnership is hoping to restart summer programming this year, and is looking to build new partnerships, to expand the resources and opportunities available to the people of Mishkeegogamang.
“We are planning. We have had some big interest from the Alliance Church of Canada and Nazarene Church,” Stewart notes. The hope is to set up a meeting between church representatives and First Nations leaders some time in May or June, to discuss needs and the path going forward.
One thing that is needed is for those in the south to learn to listen – to respect and ask, instead of telling, Burston says. “There are so many needs up here… We’re not in the lead. We’re giving whatever we can.”
In particular, he’s hoping to attract younger people, interested in building long-term north-south connections and working with the people of Mishkeegogamang to build a better future. One of the volunteers who went up to Mish this time was only 14..
“We want the people from the south, and the businesses, to go up,” says Burston. “It’s about compassion. If it’s within our ability, we can help. We can do what governments can’t” – that is, respond immediately to community needs, from providing pandemic supplies to launching a campaign to bring smoke detectors to a community that loses members to house fires every year. TNAP can step up, without being held up by politics, or talk of jurisdiction and allocations.
“People are compassionate, and they dig deep in their pockets. There’s all these people, they’re there, and where they see the need, they put their skills into action,” Burston says - and Bradford has been a caring community, stepping up whenever there is a call for assistance.
With no place to store supplies at this time – Green Valley Alliance Church is currently undergoing much-needed renovations, to install handicapped accessible washrooms – the group is reluctantly turning down most offers of donations of “stuff.” Instead, they are gratefully accepting donations of funds, to help support efforts to create a sustainable and permanent network of assistance, keep programs going, and cover the “hugely expensive” cost of transporting supplies to the north.
The recent trip to deliver emergency supplies cost about $1,000 in gas, there and back.
“It is a costly venture, even for a trailer load of very costly items. Funding just gives us more flexibility,” notes Burston.
For more information, to participate in a “transformational” visit to the northern community, or to donate, click here. Or visit the GoFundMe page to contribute.
