The rivers flow strongly and mighty. Still the beaver, the muskrat, the moose and the fish find nourishment in these northern waters. Sakitawak is the past alive and the home of today, as well as the hope of tomorrow for it's Metis people. Down a flight of stairs, in the basement of the convent, a group of elderly women are busy with scissors and needles. Moosehide is cut to form the traditional clothing and footwear of long-buried ancestors.
Beads sparkle on the fawn-colored leather, in a rainbow of colour.
Designs and patterns, tell tales and legends, that have today lost most of their words. Two of the women, guide younger apprentices through the traditional arts of their special handicrafts. Mary Ann Kyplain, and Margaret Caisse, patiently teach and create. Saws race through wood with a screeching whine. Men are hammering, painting, gluing and planning.