La Loche

- It's inhumane the things that happened in our school at that time.

(ominous music) - It's sad.

I never thought that would happen in a small town, and just unexpected.

- La Loche is home.

I mean, straight back to home.

Happens, but I can't do anythin.

- Caught me by surprise.

Called him my friend.

Called him my brother.

- [Narrator] The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside.

Somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, with nature, because only then does one feel that all is as it should be amidst the simple beauty of nature.

Nature brings solace in all troubles.

- I know Ears.

Ears was, to be honest, Ears was like in this group, this Man Group that we've got here, you know what I mean?

He was one of the bros. Like, he went there, chilled out, and the day before the shooting, he took pictures with us.

We took pictures and took a lite video.

He didn't smile in any of those.

Honestly, nobody really knows why he did it.

I don't know why he did it.

Some people have breaking point, and it broke his point, I guess.

(ominous music) (plane engine roaring) - [Narrator] In the fall of 2016, I received an email from a teacher in the remote Dene community of La Loche, Saskatchewan.

Would I come north and take part in a canoe trip with eight of her students?

A collective they called the Man Group.

Her sole intention was to promote healing after the tragic shooting.

There was no other agenda.

I've done hundreds of wilderness trips with students, but none of those could have prepared me for the profound nature of this experience.

Reconnecting to the land their ancestors traveled, hunted and fished on, should be a powerful way to remind the boys who they are and where they came from.

And just maybe, show them where they could go.

- Most of these boys are just all failing school, you know what I mean?

Like there's about eight of us.

Nobody's really dedicated into school.

We all skip, just walk around the hallways and just do our little things.

So we go into this group, just mostly all the bros and we started talking about stuff what we would do as a group.

So this got thrown out at us and do this Portage thing.

So most of the bros are like down and we're like already pumped, and you know what I mean?

- Yeah, my grandpa went on this trip before.

He used to go on this trip a lot, hunting, everything was living off the land.

So I wanted to try, I wanted to see firsthand of where he went through.

- I thought it was a good chance to reconnect to my ancestral roots, and the culture.

In my hometown, my generation, the first generations are drifting apart away from th culture to the point that they're losing their language.

- Long before Survivor Man, I took thousands of kids out into the wilderness.

These boys here from a loss, they're just teenage boys, man.

Almost men.

No different than a bunch of guys the same age from LA or New York, Toronto or England.

It doesn't matter.

What they've had to endure and experience at their school, they're going through everything exactly the same as any other kid would, yet because they're so far in remote, Northern Saskatchewan, they get forgotten in terms of assistance, help and compassion.

Yet, they're no less in need of it than any other person in anywhere on this planet that's had to experience a tragy like these boys did at their school.

(soft music) The boys have zero experience canoeing, no experience in remote camping and wilderness travel.

Yet this journey, this canoe trip, which begins at Lloyd Lake and continues down the Clearwatr River for over 100 miles is based on the traditions of their own heritage.

It'll be no picnic.

And the first challenge is to get across a large lake against powerful headwinds.

So the elder, Ron, who is here to head up the trip, brought tobacco.

It's a pretty well known tradition of a lot of Aboriginal peoples to make offerings to the natura, to the great spirits, whomever for safe passage.

To showing that respect to the natural world and a connection to the spirit of it.

Can't be a bad thing, especially when you're about to cross a lake that big and it's this wind, you wanna show a little respect.

Not all of the boys would honor the moment.

Some kept the tobacco to smoke, or simply threw it away.

And in a spiritual sense, it would set up our next few days to be much tougher than had hop.

- A lot of the kids, they don't go out at all.

Before like I said, they used to go out when my dad was doing it.

And we used to have a lot of young people that were struggling in town and not all of them are gonna be graduating and have a career when the kids are struggling.

This would open up their eyes.

If they see what really life is, it's not just city life and they could have a combinatin of both.

- [Narrator] It normally takes a couple of days for the mind and body of a wilderness traveler to get in rhythm with the flow of nature.

And whether caused by not taking the tobacco ceremony seriously or not, the reality is, we are unable to escape strong lake headwinds, making every paddle stroke hard.

Every hour of paddling is drudg.

I know.

Craziest place to camp ever.

Well, I guess the boys are about to learn a lesson.

It's that, just like any group of young men, we were almost around the last point.

We've been against an incredible headwind for many, many hours.

And the last point is right in front of us, not far at all.

I'm saying maybe a half a kilometer, not far.

We get around that point and we're home free.

We get to this section here, though, I was back by the ways and they started arguing with native elder, Ron, and just whining, whining, whining, whining.

It's fine, okay.

So we pulled over just short of the finish line in the stupidest spot ever.

Let's go see how the boys are doing.

Oh, great.

It's nice and buggy in here.

Perfect.

- I think we're on a anthill, man.

I think we're on a anthill.

- No, bro, there is no ants in the moss.

- Bro, you're so wrong right now.

- Bro, you're gonna have ants right now.

Look at this.

- Well, let's move five feet that way.

We're gonna make it over there.

- Why did we stop here in the first place?

Why don't we keep going?

- What?

Because my boot was half full of water and I was soaking wet.

- You know we're like right around the corner, right?

That last point, after that point, it was all downhill, like the wind's at our back from now on.

- Well, tomorrow morning, I'll wake you guys up at seven o'clock.

It's like what I do.

- Seven o'clock, we'll wake you up.

- You think you'll be up by seven?

- No, I'll be sleeping.

- Yeah, I know.

- I'll catch up.

- I know.

You guys are sleeping at 6: 30.

- Well, man, we could have been in a big, huge campsite tonight.

- Yeah.

We could have been down the river.

- Isn't that where they went walking into?

- No, no, no.

The point that we didn't paddle to, that last, that point right there, we were right there.

Around that point, it's all down.

Like we go downwind from the other wind pushes us down right to a campsite.

(boys chattering) We lost Lyren's boat and Rob and... - What do you mean we lost them?

- Well, they're not here yet.

They had to pull over.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

- Do you think he should be mad.

- Yeah, I say he's pretty mad 'cause you got a guide for a reason.

The guide says- - Just left their group.

- And boy had his own pace.

Yea.

- Yeah.

You got a point there.

I'm not gonna argue with that one.

No.

Boys got a point actually.

Group's not really staying together.

And I'm sure whether you're a group of people from a remote Northern Saskatchewan community, or you're from New York City, either way, group dynamics really matter, and staying together really matters.

We've actually got two canoes.

They've not made it in yet.

They had to pull over.

So it's not good.

I'm soloing all this.

I've been soloing hard against the wind.

Had to get some help from one of the other canoes.

I'm the only one in a solo canoe.

Not a good thing on a big, windy lake.

When your head and you're wind bound.

All right.

Well, here we are for the night.

Good experience for them.

(soft music) (water splashing) The wind continues unrelenting.

You paddle three strokes, but get pushed back one, and on and on it goes for hours.

All the while the wind whips fresh, cold northern water into your face and soaks your clothing.

But with each stroke, your spirit is exercised just a little.

Nature infuses the reality of meaningful existence into your psyche, seeking to strengthen your spirit, to remake you anew, and to present you another day of livig with the choice of what to do with it.

The boys could sense the challenge was at hand, and you could feel their desire to take control of their own existence.

- We are junior survivors here on the next episode of Survivor Boys.

Day two on Lloyd Lake.

We are going to the mountain.

The Clearwater River tomorrow.

Right now we got a beautiful sunset in here, lots to enjoy, good bros, goodnight.

- Beating me.

It's really beating me.

As a person as a man.

But hey, what it's for, get your mind right.

Get your mindset right.

Your mind head strong.

So you come in strong.

Right boys?

- That's right.

- Right, man.

- [Brad] How is it for you, Lyren?

- For me, it's pretty tough.

Hard work.

Waves piss me off.

It's going off outside, really arguing all the way.

Nearly tipped two times.

- Got tired, got weak and got wet and had to set up fire.

Now, man, the boys are sleeping outside, chilling, munching out on some trail mix.

And that's how it is, I guess.

- Well, day two of the big trip.

Me and the boys, we're just aching today, absolutely sore.

All of us couldn't even barely set up camp, but now that we're all settled in here, relax and had something to eat, I feel a lot better.

Day three is tomorrow.

Big paddle coming up.

Hopefully make it down the river a little bit.

Got a little makeshift tent here out of this tarp.

So it's a pretty good experienc.

Pretty.

I like it.

I haven't really been out in the wilderness for eight days, I guess.

All the way, no civilization basically, but having fun.

All the boys are having fun.

Tomorrow should be even better day.

(soft music) - My grandma raised me when I was newborn.

My real mum tried to give me away when she was drunk, and my grandma took me and she raised me for 19 years.

- I don't even, never met my dad.

Just my mum and my auntie, my sister.

- My dad and my mom split up when I was just a little baby.

Not even probably a year old.

So my mom took my brothers and I was left.

I was like a little sick baby the first time.

So I was left with my grandpare.

A lot of stuff happened throughout those years.

Got shot in the eye with a pellet gun point blank, and never really knew my mom and my brothers and my sisters.

- I grew up with my grandma and then she passed away about six years ago.

And then ever since then, I grew up with my mom, but she wasn't really always around like as much, as my grandma was.

So like I was always with my grandma every day.

And then once I moved in with my mom, she was always gone.

So it was like me and my sister basically.

So my sister raised me as a young teen.

So it was just like me and her.

And she was young too.

You know what I mean?

She was still a teenager.

Still young, like 16, 17, and I was like 13 or whatever.

- My dad, he lives in reserve.

Has a family of his own now.

Got like two nieces.

Sienna and...

I don't even remember the other one.

I barely see 'em.

- [Interviewer] Do you see your dad at all?

- Sometimes.

He comes by every once in a whi.

And when I walk on the streets, if I see him there, I just stop and say hi.

- Five years ago, I almost lost.

I got stabbed twice in the schol and, I was like 15.

Made me realize how much life means to me.

(thunder rumbling) - Right now we're just waiting out the storm here.

The wind's pretty strong, white caps all over.

- Me and Brad.

Shawn and Donald made a little fire over there.

We found a little, nice camping spot.

Better than sitting on the moss.

Right now, I'll show you what the lake is looking like.

As you can see it, and we gotta make it all the way across, all the way across over there.

That's where the mouth of the river is.

So right now, we're just chilling, waiting for all this to die down.

Once that goes, we'll be hitting the lake.

- [Narrator] The peace of nature will flow into you, as sunshine flows into trees.

Winds will blow their own freshness into you, and stones their energy.

While carers will drop off like autumn leaves.

(soft music) - [Cody] Me and the boys here just made camp, just pulled up the shore about an hour ago.

We were waiting for the wind.

It died down, but that didn't work out.

So now we're cooking fish.

This is Shawn, Brad, Austin.

There's my bro, Lyren.

Right now we're just setting up camp here, laying down some branches for the bed.

- [Lyren] Oh yeah.

A good, light bed.

- Soon we'll be ready to call it quits after we eat that fish.

Supposed to be gray all day.

Not really much movement going on.

Just moved from point to point, basically around the corner and set up camp.

Too strong to paddle through it.

Not enough experience.

- So this is yesterday too.

So we're going across here.

You'll be drifted way back ther, and we'll have a little bit of tailwinds.

So maybe that would help us.

You know what you're doing.

(clamoring) - [Man] Just a side sending out there.

(indistinct) (all laughing) (guys chattering) - So I was sitting on a tree.

I was ____________ and I heard some branches cracking down over there, and I wasn't minding, 'cause I thought it was one of the other boys.

And then as I was continuing what I was doing, I turned to the right, and I see a big, black bear.

So I sat there and wondered, what am I gonna do?

Am I gonna pull up and run or wipe and run?

So I wiped, and then I ran.

- [Narrator] Each night, Virginia organized a sharing circle.

It was all about expressing gratitude, sharing and strengthening each other.

- So, if I can have all the young men on this side of the circle, and then all the adults on this side, and we'll go from oldest to youngest.

And again, oldest to youngest.

- I really enjoy the time out here that I'm spending with my friends.

Especially without no interruptions, I guess no phone or anything.

Being out here is like, I don't know, gotta learn to trust one another and not really depend, but just work as a team.

- Thankful for this smoke that I just got.

Thankful for food, everything, the bros, chilling out.

- I'm thankful for that you put this whole trip together and got us out for this experience.

I've never experienced.

And I'm grateful for all the people that are here and helping out and giving us support.

I'm grateful that this is gonna be a great memory, and I have a great story that from today that I can tell it to my kids or grandkids one day, but I just miss the privacy and comfort of my own bathroom.

- I'm gonna say it in Dene.

(speaking Dene) (soft music) - [Narrator] Earth and sky, the woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountains and the sea are excellent school masters, and will teach you more than you can ever learn from books.

(birds chirping) - Me and the boys here just finished paddling from where we left off.

Leaving as a group.

There as BB and Robby.

There's MC and Ren.

Darius and Spig.

And then there's me.

Me and Brad.

The leaders.

Day four of the big journey.

Coming in hot to Clearwater Rapids.

No stopping now.

(soft music) - [Narrator] The boys have pushed through the winds and not given up.

The river gives them currents in their favor.

So spirits begin to strengthen.

Confidence seeps into their words.

But mother earth is not yet done with her teaching.

Wilderness travel is not for the timid.

It's not the meek who shall inherit the earth.

It's the strong who will deserve it.

They don't yet have the technical skills required to paddle down treacherous stretches of rapids.

And so they must echo the traditions of their own history and carefully navigate their way through the wilderness.

No one said this was going to be easy.

- I'm reconnecting to my ancestral roots.

I'm doing physical work.

Stuff around like, I'm making my mind strong.

Like even that run in with a bear.

Like, if I had a weak mind, I would've just ran right over as soon as I saw it, but I just sat there and watched it.

- A couple of days ago, I just wanted to give up.

But then, if I gave up, I'm not going home.

Yeah, I'm not giving up, because I wanna see my grandparents again.

- Pretty fun out here.

No cell phone or nothing.

- [Interviewer] Why is that goo?

- Because I'm always on it.

- [Interviewer] Why?

- I know it's addicting, I gues.

Just looking at it.

- [Interviewer] And what does it feel like to be off of it?

- It feels pretty good actually.

I'm not even thinking about it.

- That's cool.

- Yeah.

- [Interviewer] It's like a breath of fresh air?

- Oh yeah.

- Like when I'm out here, I don't really think about anything.

Just don't worry about the time or what day it is.

Don't worry about anything like that.

I just find it peaceful out here.

Just calm.

- When I was a kid, I used to get cake in right after school, back to Clearwater, and there was a place that we used to hang out.

And I remember it just like, it was so beautiful.

And it's so peaceful, you could stay there all summer, and dad would do the hunting, fishing, and mama would make dried meat and dried fish.

You could stay there all summer long till school start.

And that's how I know that, you know, it may seem hard, but when you get parents start doing these kind of things, a lot of them would probably say, "Well, it's peaceful and it's possible that they can make a difference in their lifestyle."

I see that.

It's a good thing that you start doing that again.

- Rob, lean down.

Try to cross, just like that.

Always lean downstream, because the up current coming out will grab you.

It seems scary to do so but it's necessary.

As for me, I come alive in nature.

I need no reason for being out here.

When I'm here, I don't think about society.

I spend my days dazzled by the beauty of it all.

The wind on my face and the splash of water on my skin make this my place of healing.

It was two of the teachers, Mac and Melendez that dumped in the rapids.

And let's face it, there's nothing more fun for a student than to watch their teacher pull a fail.

Humiliating for the teacher, exhilarating for the student.

- [Cody] Brad, look at what he's trying to do.

I think he's trying to paddle the rock over to the boat.

Absolutely treacherous.

- [Narrator] I made my way up to the overturned canoe for some old school canoe rescue.

Water pressure like this can trap you against a rock and flip you backwards, breakin your leg and taking your life in a matter of seconds.

It's a healthy reminder that nature will always be in charge.

- [Narrator] Lie down by the side of the trail and remember it all.

The woods do that to you.

They always look familiar.

Long lost, like the face of a long dead relative, like an old dream, like a piece of forgotten song drifting across the water.

Most of all, like the golden eternities of past childhood.

And all the living and all the dying, and the heartbreak that went on a million years ago, and the clouds as they pass overhead seem to testify by their own lonesome familiarity to this feeling.

- Even though this river historically is a huge part of the Dene culture, as well as the Cree and the Metis, the Voyageurs, but certainly the Dene.

These boys have not ever paddled this river.

They've not seen it.

They've not been on it.

They have relatives who have been out here, but they haven't.

I've always found that one of the greatest misunderstandings of youth and wilderness travel.

It's assumed that if people live in the north, that they must be out in the bush all the time.

And yet that's not what happens.

Because of that assumption, nobody takes them out.

There's a lot of drugs, a lot of alcohol in the town.

Yep.

It's kind of a cliche now because it's everywhere.

Somewhere in their past is a broken home.

Somewhere in their past is generally some violence.

Somewhere in their past or present is a lot of drugs and alcohol.

And that presents quite a challenge for learning how to deal with PTSD when your... Oh my gosh!

I just watched a hawk swoop down and catch a small songbird, off a bush limb.

I've never seen that before.

Ah, nature.

And this is why we're out here, to bring these boys out into this nature.

My mission has always been to connect people to the land, connect people to nature.

This river trip with these young eight Dene men is an opportunity to do just that.

To show them a little slice of nature, and the potential that they can connect to it.

(soft music) - [Narrator] Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, and the winds long to play with your hair.

(soft music) - [Brad] Day six in the morning.

All the boys are pretty grumpy 'cause they're all wet.

There's my bro Spiggy, Austin, MC, Shawn.

There's Mac.

Here's my bro, Shawn, my bro, Darius.

- Is it recording?

- Yeah.

And there's me, got up at five.

A big, what is that?

Oh, just a little piece of dirt.

But, having fun with the boys.

Our little tent over there got soaked.

- [Narrator] These people have learned not from books, but in the fields, in the woods, on the riverbank.

Their teachers have been the birds themselves when they sang to them.

The sun, when it left a glow of crimson behind it at setting.

The very trees and wild herbs.

- [Cody] Yeah, now he's cool.

- [Narrator] The Portage Trail is the unsung hero of the opening up of this country by explorers.

The first peoples of Canada showed the Voyageurs how to get across this vast land.

The strength it required, the bumps and bruises, sweat and slipping.

The mosquitoes that bite your hands while you hold up the canoe.

They're all a part of reminding you how human you are.

And when you travel as a group, the Portage serves to establish how well the team works together.

(chattering) - You've gotta help us roll out.

We're all a team here.

- This is what you have to do.

This is part of the deal.

- No, man.

I'm pretty sure our ancestors didn't just take their own canoes up by themselves.

- Mendez, everybody helped carry each other's boat up.

Except for you and Mac.

You guys just sat here and waited.

- Part of the challenge, you guys need to (indistinct).

I'm not here to carry your... - You're not there but you shou.

- Boys, it's done.

- [Narrator] Do you remember the old movie called "The Dirty Dozen?"

Well, there's a scene in it where the prisoners rebel all as one against the commander.

Yet he loves it, because it showed unity.

- Being out here is not gonna go as you want.

You know, if there's a group, there gonna be somebody that's gonna be disappointing you and say, well, are you gonna chew their heads off?

But calm down.

Life is life.

You just don't jump at people because you're not happy with what they're doing.

Maybe they're just teaching you.

These teachers are out here helping you.

They didn't come from a lie.

They had to come from out of town.

And I said, "Look at it that wa.

Maybe you one day graduate and finish your school.

You're gonna become a teacher, And you're gonna be doing the same thing somewhere.

And you're gonna be mad at the kids because you're not packing their gears, or you're just gonna tell them the same thing I said.

Bag it.

Move on.

- [Darius] Boy, it was tough uphill, climbing mountains.

Hey, Spiggy.

- That's right.

- [Darius] Now we're just sitting here waiting for our food to boil.

- Or the water to boil.

- [Darius] Our food, our water to boil.

Brad's sitting there doing nothing as usual.

- Oh yeah.

- My boo.

- 1.4 K up a steep hill.

About 40 pounds on your back.

Oh yeah, it was hell.

Took a couple of hours, but we're past it now.

But it's about to go swimming in this cold ass river.

Can we record it?

Ooh!

(laughing) - Cold, boys.

- Thirsty now.

Exactly as I said it.

Watch my hair in the water.

Pretty cold.

These guys pretty crazy.

Can I go swimming in there.

Oh, there goes B-rad again.

(boys chattering) Oh!

Ooh!

(laughing) (speaking Dene) - I'm not going back.

(speaking Dene) (boys chattering) - My girlfriend at the time, she inboxed me, and she was like, someone shot up the school.

And then, I didn't believe her, 'cause it's hard to believe, you know what I mean?

Especially in a small community, it's hard to believe.

So I was like, "No way, who?"

And then she's told me who it was, Ears.

And I was like, "My friend, Ear" She was like, "Yeah."

And I was like, "No way."

So like we had a group chat.

So I checked that.

And I was just scrolling 'cause I had no internet at the.

So I was just scrolling real far up that chat.

And then I see in the conversation what happened?

Like what he all said.

- What Ears said?

- Yeah.

- What did he say?

- Like at first, it was like, I'm not having fun or something like that.

It's not fun for me, something like that.

And then he's like, "I just killed two people."

He was like "Dan and Lola are dead.

I'm going to the school."

And then that was it.

That was the last messages he said.

- [Interviewer] He texted that?

- Yeah, like in a group chat.

Like Facebook Messenger.

- [Interviewer] So you knew Ears?

- Yeah.

Yeah, he was in Man Group.

He was gonna be here with us, but that all happened.

- Really.

- Uh-huh.

- [Interviewer] Did you know the people that he shot?

- Mm.

- [Interviewer] How did it affect you, when you obviously had to come back?

And you were meant to come back, how did it affect you?

- When you're walking to the gym, and the commons is right here, just like right like...

So I took this path and went to the gym and just started hearing the shooting.

- [Interviewer] Where was the shooting?

- Just in the commons.

In the building main area.

So I just followed my teacher into the bathroom.

Locked the first door, locked the second door.

It was just like the whole school was moving.

It was scary that time.

- [Interviewer] How has it affected you?

Or has it affected you since then?

Or did you write it off?

- Not really affected, but when I hear something loud, that's the only part that affects me, 'cause I get scared.

- I saw kids running back, like from the back trail all the way to the skate park, without no shoes, yeah.

And I was like, I was listening to music.

I couldn't hear what they were saying there.

And I took off, I took one earbud off, and this kid told me there's a kid with a shotgun in the school.

I didn't believe him at first.

So I walked back to school and I saw like vehicles everywhere.

You know what I mean?

And it's like, as soon as I was walking, I saw a pile of blood.

And then that's when I started to believe it.

- I heard one of my bros got shot, that I was hanging out with them.

The day before that, we were just chilling out.

We spent all day together and we were like, tomorrow afternoon, we'll chill out.

I'll meet you at the school.

You'll meet me at the doors.

She was waiting for me at the doors, the main doors when she got shot.

- And then right when we get near the commons again, near the main doors, in comes Ears.

So he comes in, he looks around and then he goes into the shoe area.

And then I go up there.

I was like, I say, "'sup bro," I shake his hand, ask him what's wrong.

He doesn't say nothing.

And then I started going to the washroom, and then he walks outside.

And then my buddy, Layton, and my buddy, Jackass, his name's Harry, but his nickname is Jackass.

So Ears is outside.

And so we all follow him out.

And then I remember seeing him standing at the side of the truck, the both doors are open and he was just standing there loading up a shotgun.

And I don't know what happened in my head.

Adrenaline and fear took over, and I just ran back inside and I started warning people.

I just started warning them.

And then, I was gonna run to the washroom and the commons, but I thought that was a pretty sketchy place to be.

And then I ran back, and as soon as I passed the concrete wall, that's when the shots started firing.

And then I'm still running down warning people.

And then there's like, there's two classes, there's two big classes.

And then I was supposed to be in my science class at that time.

And it's like, these classes are, you come in, there's a hallway, and then there's a big room.

And then they're just right beside each other.

There's a sky roof and it's quiet.

You can hear the teachings on the other side.

And so at the time that shooting was going on, so there's my classroom, but I was on the other side.

And so as I'm sitting there wondering if I'm gonna make it out alive or dead, shots are popping off, they're getting closer.

And they're getting further into the point.

And the room right beside us, that I was just telling you about, the first shot pops off, I hear.

The second shot pops off, I hear screaming.

And then another one pops off, .

I don't know, it was all scary.

It was such a traumatic experie.

No one should ever hear or see the things that we went through with at that time.

That should never ever happen.

No one should be pushed to that point that they feel that they should do that.

This was a bad time.

The community was in sorrow.

Everybody was grieving.

It was just a sad day for La Loche.

- [Man] My brother is in the making of the inukshuk he wrecked for me.

(soft music) - Looks great.

- Ooh!

- There it is.

- Nice.

Nice.

- There it is.

- Nice.

Nice.

- Dad, I made it again.

Not bad, hey?

(coyotes howling) - [Narrator] Those who contemple the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature.

The assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter.

- Heck of a day.

I've been actually spending my day...

I've decided to go many miles ahead of the boys because I'm still paddling solo, and I'm the only one paddling solo.

So, if I stay behind, I'm gonna lag way behind.

So every time they break, I just keep going.

And on the way, I've been able to see a moose and I just spooked up a huge black bear.

He was right at the, he was just getting a drink of water.

And he lifted his head up.

And I mean, it was, that head was a foot wide I'm sure.

And anyway, took a look at me and I moved a bit to get the camera and tried to get a shot of him.

And then he sorta tromped off into the swamp.

But, so hopefully the boys are all coming behind me and everything's great.

This has really been quite an experience as far as taking the boys down this river, a very traditional river for the Dene people and for their ancestors.

Which is why so much of the tal with them and the communication with them is about their history, their ancestry.

And paddling down this river just continues that line, one that's been running for no doubt, hundreds, potentially thousands of years.

- [Narrator] Go to the woods if you wish to live deliberatel, to front only the essential fac of life and see if you could not learn what it has to teach and not, when you came to die, discover that you had not lived.

- [Darius] Got to the campgroun.

Feeling pretty good.

After a relaxing day of paddlin.

Here we got Rob and Mac fishing.

Got the bros in our campsite.

How are you feeling after that day of canoeing?

- It wasn't even bad, my bro.

- [Darius] And you, B-rad.

- Looks good.

- And you, Speech.

- It was good.

Had good fun on the way here.

- Conversate, laugh, singing songs all the way.

- [Darius] How about you, Shawn?

How are you feeling?

And do you Meatloaf?

Oh, that's good.

Oh, DMC, how are you feeling after day seven?

- I'm feeling A1.

- [Darius] A1?

Oh God, Lyren.

The plastic bag all the way out in the woods.

Oh wow.

Lyren, how are you feeling after day seven?

- I just wanna keep going, man.

I'm not even tired or anything.

- Yeah, I feel you.

Day seven, feeling pretty good.

We've made a clear relaxing day.

We could have went further though.

- Well, that's the meaning of taking them out, showing them what a real man can do.

And when we're Portaging their, the first, second or third rapi there, they were all anxious and even getting mad.

I wanna go.

I wanna go.

It's not that easy as it's...

It seems so easy.

You need to take practice on ev.

And this is one thing that I'm not gonna allow it to go and risk your life, I sai.

And if you do, I said, you know, I'll be sad.

Or I'll be, you know, be disappointed because I'm supposed to be helping you to understand that this trip is not about easygoing.

You're gonna be struggling, you're gonna be getting wet, you're gonna be bruises here.

And I said, it's not an overnight thing to be doing something that they saw is an opportunity for you to learn as much as you can, because three days is not enough.

Our ancestors, our grandfathers has been through this their lifestyle.

So I'm sure they were one night or two nights or many nights that are sleepless nights because it's too cold or it's too wet or hungry.

- [Interviewer] Or too buggy.

- Yeah, and they didn't have all that stuff we have today.

Today you can go back to the tent and get mosquito repellent.

Back there, they didn't have an.

But today, you have everything, I say.

You have tent, you got food.

You get free rides.

You know, relax.

Allah shall be there.

And some of them, "Well, I wanna go home."

I said, "What's your rush?"

Two days from now, I said, it's all over.

And then you're gonna be back to doing the same thing.

And one of them said, "Oh yeah.

Gives me an idea what I should be doing with my life."

- [Narrator] Go to nature to be soothed and healed and to have your census put in tune.

(birds cawing) - [Narrator] These are the words Ronnie spoke in their native Dene language, that night around the healing circle.

I am happy to be traveling with you, young people.

Nowadays, teaching young people can be a difficult task.

If you have it in your mind that this job of survival in the bush is tough, then it will be.

Ever since I was a young lad, I used to travel with my dad.

I was lucky my dad was alive to teach me.

Now, this traveling in the bush, how to light a fire, preparing food, walking around, canoeing on the Rapids, Portaging, is not an easy task.

My dad used to tell me, "You will remember this experience in the future."

But as a child, I never gave it a second thought.

My dad taught kids from the Dene high school and the reserve school.

He traveled long distances with the students.

My dad used to say, "If we talk to the kids and hand down some of our knowledge, they will make good use of it in the future."

I am happy that Virginia invited me to talk with you, young people, and to teach you some of this knowledge.

We still have not reached our destination, but if we all help each other, we will get there.

If there is something you don't understand, you can ask us elders.

But if you don't let us know, we won't know if you're sick or not.

People in the past have done this.

They have survived in the bush.

Our grandfathers all grew up on this land and they survived.

(upbeat music) Oh, mother earth Speak to my soul Teach me my role Help me to know what I'm here Oh, father sun Fill me with life Peace in my mind Walk in my soul, align my body Oh, mother earth And I hear you calling Oh, mother earth And I'm searching for you all my life My mother earth Mother earth Oh mother earth God, are you worth My feet are your ground My head is your sky We need to know you are living