The bond that exists between Churchill and Winnipeg, Manitoba is ageless. Churchill lies roughly 500 miles North of Winnipeg as the crow flies and is only accessible by airplane, train or dogsled….ruff! Yet, the link between the two towns is one of necessity as well as one which transcends bloodlines over many generations.
For thousands of years aboriginal tribes gathered in Winnipeg at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers ; a place now known as the Forks. The tribes would come together to exchange goods,mostly furs, stories and old fashioned companionship..some not always of the friendly variety. No email, no texting, no cell phones…actual human interaction…something sorely lacking in my opinion in today’s world. Stories and encounters…later on with Europeans, passed on at these gatherings live on today through multiple generations of Manitobans both native and of European descent.
Winnipeg is still a place today where a wide range of ethnicity abounds. Still a gathering place of sorts.