Mennonite Central Committee Ontario (MCC Ontario) supports projects around the globe, as well as communities across the province. Kindred Credit Union and MCC Ontario have a long partnership of working together to address issues of poverty and homelessness, supporting newcomers to Canada and walking toward reconciliation with Indigenous neighbours. One of these projects is Meechum a Wat, a food security initiative that provides bundles equipped with tools for land-based food harvesting to First Nations communities in Northern Ontario.
The program allows the youth to learn valuable cultural skills that connect community members to the land. “The line of understanding that everything comes from the land is being preserved through Meechum a Wat,” adds Scott Morton Ninomiya, the Indigenous Neighbours Program Coordinator at MCC Ontario. In addition, the Meechum a Wat bundles add to the community’s food security. Food prices along the coasts of James Bay and Hudson Bay are stunningly high. It’s not uncommon to see milk sell for $20 per jug[i].
The idea for the bundles came from community members of Weenusk First Nation. Weenusk is the second most northern Indigenous community in Ontario, located on the ocean coast of Hudson’s Bay. The bundles are an Indigenous solution that MCC Ontario is proud to support. “We did not invent the Meechum a Wat kits. This idea came from Weenusk. Indigenous communities have a lot of creative solutions to the issues they are facing and we want to walk alongside and support in whatever way we can,” states Scott.
The Meechum a Wat bundles include a high-quality canvas bag, hatchet, tarp, snares, a fishing kit and more. They are distributed to youth and young adults, who are then given instruction from Elders and Knowledge Keepers who teach them how to use the equipment. The bundles empower the young adults to go out on the land to harvest food, such as moose, beaver, and rabbit. Bundles have been delivered not only to young people on the Weenusk First Nation, but also to Mattagami First Nation, located near Timmins. Mattagami also has a longstanding connection with MCC Ontario.
“The Elders pass down their skills, with the hope that the young people will one day pass those skills on to future generations,” shares Shealyn Clausen, a member of MCC Ontario’s Indigenous Neighbours Team in Timmins.
The long relationship between the Weenusk First Nation and the Mennonite community in Southern Ontario began in the spring of 1986, when Weenusk was severely flooded. More than half of the buildings in the community were destroyed. Mennonite Disaster Services quickly swung into action to help rebuild the community, resulting in a generations long relationship between the two communities.
Kindred is pleased to support MCC Ontario and the Indigenous partners who are bringing these important bundles to the young people of Northern Ontario, providing a cultural and practical solution to the contemporary challenge of food affordability in the North.
[i] https://www.nationalobserver.com/2023/03/23/news/food-prices-north-are-astronomical-despite-subsidies