Shared Ancestry, Homecoming and Pow-wows.

As part of their Exploration and Emigration topic P7 have been finding out about the shared ancestry of Orkney folk and the First Nations people of Canada that can be traced back to the days when most of the men working for the Hudson Bay Company were Orcadians.

Kim Foden's Cree relations visited Orkney in a homecoming event in 2004. Following this a group of Orkney folk made a return visit to Sturgeon Lake where they were invited to a pow wow.

To see and hear a clip of the Grand Entrance click here:

Shared Orcadian surnames like Drever and Rendall were common.

The Sturgeon Lake First Nation had created a stone circle to celebrate the link with Orkney.

Kim came in to tell us the story of her ancestor Magnus, who set out for the Hudson Bay Company in 1771, and to talk about her visit to her Cree relations at Sturgeon Lake. She showed the class the artefacts she had brought back with her.

Kim also showed everyone how to put up a teepee in the traditional way and all about the pole values which are considered as it is constructed.

Here is a video of Kim showing us the traditional crafts and artefacts of her Cree relatives at Sturgeon Lake, she also shows how to construct a model teepee like the ones in the picture above.