Day 8: Conne River and François
The next day we Zodiaked through the rain into Bay d’Espoir (pronounced like “Bay Despair” in English, but meaning “Bay of Hope” in French). There we visited the Conne River First Nation ( Miawpukek First Nation). Since being established as a reserve in 1987, Miawpukek has gone from a poor, isolated community with almost 90% unemployment to a strong vibrant community with nearly 100% full time or part-time employment. It is one of the two fastest growing communities in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and it claims that Indian and Northern Affairs often holds it up as a model community for other First Nations.

We gathered in the gymnasium of the school and listened to an impressive performance of a girls’ choir singing a blend of traditional and contemporary styles. They expect to sing as part of the festivities at the Vancouver Olympics. Four young men then gathered around the drum to sing and pound out songs that were danced by the young women. We were all invited to join in the dancing.

We then backtracked to the town of François (pronounced locally as fran-SWAY) Even amidst the rain and fog, the town was extremely pictaresque, nestled into the back walls of a steep fiord. The small community has no road access to the outside world, nor roads within. Instead, the buildings are connected by walkways, with ATVs being the vehicle of choice. Fishers here are trying to survive by switching to new kinds of catches.

In the evening, after dinner on the ship, we headed back into town for a “kitchen party” at the community centre, which had recently been built in record time using volunteer help. Spirits were high (and drink prices were low), with a wide variety of music types performed by the one-man band with help from ship members. There was a lot of friendly mixing of passengers, staff, crew and townspeople, and before long the floor was a blur of high-stepping dancers.

I returned to the ship, had a sauna, and as the ship started pitching in the waves, took a precautionary dosage of Gravol and fell asleep. I am told that in the middle of the night the rocking and rolling rivalled what had earlier occurred on the dance floor.

About
Steve Fick: Artistic Statement

Daily Journal
Day 1: St John’s & Salmonier Nature Park
Day 2: Change Islands & Tilting
Day 3: L’Anse aux Meadows & Raleigh
Day 4: Cape Charles & Battle Harbour, Labrador Coast
Day 5: Gros Morne National Park
Day 6: Grand Codroy Valley
Day 7: White Bear Bay & Ramea
Day 8: Conne River & Francois
Day 9: St.-Pierre, France
Day 10: Return to St. John’s

Related Stories
Ghost coast
Torngat Mountains

Resources
www.fick.ca
www.danielpayne.ca
Adventure Canada
Newfoundland & Labrador