Attawapiskat yurt meets fiery ending

The presence of the much-loved Mongolian yurt in Attawapiskat ended abruptly on April 1 when it was apparently set on fire and burned to the ground. Despite their best efforts, the local volunteer fire crew could not save the structure. The cause of the fire is unknown and an investigation is underway. 

The authentic Monoglian yurt from the Occupy Toronto movement was a gift from OPSEU as part of a larger initiative to build connections with the remote northern community.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence envisioned a social, creative gathering place for her community, a place filled with sewing machines and accessories, art supplies, and games for everyone. “It is a loss for my community; it had great potential, “said the Chief about the yurt, “its loss will be felt.”

In an email sent to the group of volunteers who delivered the yurt to Attawapiskat in February, OPSEU executive board member Gord Longhi wrote: “I know this is really sad and hurtful but don't lose the message that we delivered to the community. This was the act of perhaps one angry person and not the sentiment of the community at large. We brought more than a yurt to Attawapiskat. We let them know that there are many people and organizations that care and are willing to help.” 

”When the Occupy protestors were evicted from the park it was said you cannot evict an idea, the same holds true here,” said OPSEU President Smokey Thomas, “ I hope the community will continue to develop and implement creative programs for their kids.”

A thank you from Attawapiskat

 Attawapiskat Chief, Theresa Spence gives a big thank you for the yurt on behalf of the community.

Extreme yurt building



A perfect location for the yurt

Building a yurt usually takes a couple hours according to Yves Ballenegger, owner of Groovy Yurts. It wasn’t so for the band of novices that worked with him in Attawapiskat.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Yves and I met in the morning with the Band Manager, Wayne Turner, and Technical Manager, Mike Gull, to arrange for the location for the yurt. The current housing crisis kept the Chief and Council busy but by dusk we’d chosen a great location: the children’s playground on the waterfront.

The rest of the Design Points North crew flew in at noon and we spent the rest of the day getting oriented and organized.

Thursday, February 9, 2012  

In the morning a loader showed up at the site to clear snow from the spot. Then the real work began. Setting the foundation is the most important part: ice had to be chipped away from the surface to ensure the foundation stones touched the bare ground, so the yurt would not shift when the ground thawed in the spring.

It was -30 C with a breeze.

The insulated wooden platform was in place by evening.

                                                                                  

Gord Longhi, OPSEU EBM



Laying the foundation

                                  

Platform complete

 

                                              

Friday, February 10, 2012

The temperature was warmer than Thursday but at -27 C with the biting wind no one noticed.

It was all hands on deck to put the yurt structure up. The wind had picked up so every step of the assembly process required someone to hold the new pieces in place. The last rope was tied and the yurt declared secure at 5:30 pm, just in time to walk to the community centre to help serve at the community feast.

                     



Frozen yurt builders, Cory, Jamie, Gary, and Andy

 


The yurt



                                       

Saturday, February 11, 2012 

   

The whole crew met at 9 am at the yurt for a group picture before the group of ten flew home.

Once again it was Yves, Steve, Cory and I. We had two days to put the finishing pieces together. We set up a propane heater, wired the yurt  (electricity will not be permanently connected until the power lines can be buried), and winterized the doors and toono. We assembled the shelves, tables, and chairs with help from some students.  We had to organize and store the supplies off-site until the yurt had permanent heat. Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence came in and we agreed to a yurt warming party the next evening.  

 

Everyone pitches in

Building furniture



  

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Sunday was the last day to get everything completed, and we needed to get everything done before the yurt warming party at 6 pm. The kids were really excited about playing with the games. They came in throughout the day to check it out. We gave them tasks to keep them busy. Barry Koostachin, who came every day to help, invited us for goose dinner.

The kids started coming in around 5:30 pm. We were able to get in a few games of crazy eights before over 40 other guests arrived. Cookies and teas were served.



Lego time



The community priest recited a blessing in Cree to formalize the gathering. Yves gave thanks to the community for hosting us and handed Chief Theresa Spence the keys to the yurt. The Chief gave a heartfelt thank you on behalf of the community.

Finally, the kids got to play with the games. The focus the kids put into playing was amazing. It was in those moments that made the trip so worthwhile.

Games, games and more games

After the party, the children placed the games neatly back on the shelf and lingered after the adults went home. We sat around the propane heater with the lights out and pretended it was a campfire. We shared ghost stories before saying good-bye to our new friends.

Monday, February, 13, 2012

We left Attawapiskat at 6:30 am. The ride over the ice road was very smooth and a whole lot quicker. Yves dropped me off at the Moosonee train station where Steve, Cory, and I boarded the Polar Bear Express to start our journey home. Yves would not leave Moosonee until Wednesday. His truck had to be shipped by freight train.

I booked another train ride for the rest of the journey home from Cochrane and slept all the way.

Early morning leaving Attawapiskat

























What is a yurt?

A yurt, also known as a “ger,” is a dome-shaped tent structure that has been used for over 2,000 years in Mongolia. Its round shape makes it energy efficient, easy to keep warm in the winter and cool in the summer.


The yurt structure



Authentic Mongolian yurts have walls made from sections of collapsible lattice walls. The roof is supported with a centre post called a “toono” and rafters made from pine called “huns”. The door, doorframe, and all the wooden pieces are decoratively painted. 

A layer of sheep’s felt is used for insulation and covered in water resistant canvas. Three horse-haired ropes are tied around the outside wall for additional support. The structure is wind and snow resistant and can be wired for heat and lighting. It is extremely adaptable for most places and meant to be portable.

A Mongolian yurt



Sheep's felt insulation and a layer of house wrap



  

The Odyssey North



Picking up donations at OPSEU head office



The distance between Attawapiskat and Toronto may be only 1210 kilometres, but it took us four days to get there.

The Groovy Yurt truck and driver, Yves Ballenegger, left Gatineau, Quebec early morning February 4. A trip through Toronto was necessary to pick up donations and supplies.

On February 5, we met Steve Rider and his helper Cory Roberson from I.D.I.Canada, who had both volunteered to come to Attawapiskat with us. Steve is a mold remediation expert. Together we convoyed up to Cochrane where the provincial highway heading north ends.



Riding the Polar Bear Express



All aboard the Polar Bear Express



We boarded the Polar Bear Express the next morning. Every weekday the train leaves at 9 am and heads north 247 kilometres to Moosonee. It makes a same day return trip, leaving Moosonee at 5 pm and arriving back in Cochrane at 10 pm.

 The passenger train can take a personal vehicle, but anything bigger, like an 18 wheel tractor trailer, must go by freight train. The freight train only makes two return trips a week. Tuesday and Thursday it heads north and Wednesday and Friday it returns south. Our timing was good on the way up which meant the two trucks would be coming up the following morning.   

The four of us stayed overnight in Moose Factory, which is across the Moose River from Moosonee. This community is accessible by water taxi in the summer and ice road in the winter.

The next morning Yves and I walked back to Moosonee on the ice road just for the experience. We encountered a large slushy area. We walked around it but vehicles had to turn back and use an alternate ice road.

During the spring break up the community is totally inaccessible except by helicopter. It costs $40 per person to make the short three kilometre crossing, compared to the usual $10 by taxi.

The vehicles arrived as scheduled, but Yves’s truck was frozen. The engine needed to be warmed up using a tent made from a tarp and a propane heater. It was 2 pm before we were able to get the truck going. After traveling less than 100 metres the truck slid into the first snow bank of the trip. This one would be an easy fix, so we didn’t lose too much time; a loader was able to pull us out.

Traveling the ice road

For about 65 days of the year a winter road connects the west coast of James Bay communities of Attawapiskat, Kasheshewan, and Fort Albany to Moosonee. This all is dependent on the temperature remaining cold.



James Bay ice road

 The 266 kilometre ice road is built along the James Bay coast through the swampy muskeg and it crosses over 80 rivers. The road is continually flooded to build up the layers of ice. Normally the ice would freeze up to 24 inches thick, but to make it safe for transporting loads weighing about 45,000 kilograms, the ice has to be a minimum of 43 inches.

Signs posted on the straight stretches recommend 50 kilometres per hour; the curves (when marked) recommend 30 kilometers per hour. “There is no speed limit on this highway,” said one OPP officer we met up with. “The ice is the deterrent.”

Hanging out on the ice road

At kilometre 205.5 on the Attawapiskat ice road, the Groovy Yurt truck was unprepared for the upcoming curve, known affectionately by locals as “dead man’s curve.” It separates the seasoned ice road traveler from the novice.

Caution: unmarked curves

The truck was buried in the snow bank. Luckily no one was hurt, but the situation looked grim. It was -13 C. We were 55.5 kilometres from Attawapiskat and had no satellite radio. Calling for help was out of the equation. With a small square-mouth shovel, a flimsy snow shovel, and a pick, we set about digging out the truck.

The first vehicle heading to Attawapiskat stopped and assured us they would send help. It was almost an hour before the OPP came by and the two officers left to look for the ice road crew and possibly a loader to tow us out. Meanwhile we continued shoveling.

Much later in the evening the road crew arrived with a loader. After many dismal attempts, the truck remained stuck. It was the energy, hospitality and laughs the crew brought that warmed up the evening. This was our introduction to Attawapiskat and we knew we were welcomed. A call for bigger equipment went out.

 

At 10 pm, Yves cooked spaghetti dinner and brewed coffee in the cab of the truck while we waited. There was a clear full moon that evening, the truck was warm, and we began to realize what an adventure this was.

At 2:30 am a bull dozer arrived and finally we were towed out and heading to Attawapiskat. We arrived at the motel at 4 am, humbled and tired. 



Hero's of the Highway

A gift for Attawapiskat

Who knew that the yurt from the Occupy Toronto movement would end up a gift to the community of Attawapiskat and the folks that connected during the movement would join forces to make it happen? It took one Union, one Groovy Yurt guy, Toronto’s Design Museum, a prominent Law Firm and one housing idea: the first yurt of Occupy Toronto was destined to occupy Attawapiskat.

The Occupy movement in Toronto started in October when protesters marched to St. James Park and set up tents to protest the disparity between the have and the have-nots. Winter was just around the corner. OPSEU, along with six other unions, wanted to do something to support the protestors.

It took one conversation with Yves Ballenegger, owner of Groovy Yurts based in Gatineau Quebec to realize supplying the Occupiers with an authentic Mongolian yurt was the ideal solution. Yves imports yurts and furniture from Mongolia into Canada. He works with local families there and it in turn supports economic development in that country. Within fours days of the call, Yves was at St. James Park with three yurts.