Couchiching celebrates Treaty Day

The annual Treaty Day celebration took place at Couchiching First Nation last Friday with the usual festivities, except one.
New to the event this year was Couchiching’s very own version of the popular television series “Fear Factor.”
Becky Mainville, the elementary/secondary educational counsellor for Couchiching and one of the organizers of Treaty Day, explained they wanted to try something new. And it worked.
“Apparently, the community thought it went really well,” she said. “The kids want to see it again, too.”
The “Fear Factor” challenge saw kids sign up into teams of four. Mainville noted they tried to get kids of varying ages on teams to promote co-operation and teamwork.
The teammates decided amongst themselves who would compete in each of the four “events.” In all, 14 teams involving 56 kids participated.
The first event was called “Laying with worms,” which involved the kids laying in a “kiddie” swimming pool with their shoulders flat on the ground. Then they were covered with sand filled with earthworms.
They had two minutes to remove as many worms from the sand as possible without sitting up.
The second event was the “Dive and Dunk with Leeches and Minnows.”
Just as it sounds, the kids got into a large dunk tank filled with cold water. The participants then had to dive to the bottom and collect marbles to bring to the surface.
There were white marble mixed with cat’s eye marbles, and they had to separate the white ones out and put them in a cup at the top of the tank.
The twist—if the cold water wasn’t enough—was that the tank was filled with leeches and minnows.
The third event saw kids have a little snack. The “Bon Appetit” station had the participants pick a balloon from a peg board, pop it, and retrieve a number.
That number corresponded with a “delicious” food item they would have to eat, along with spinach, as fast as they could with out . . . regurgitating it.
The nasty food items were mussels, oysters, jalapeno peppers, and escargot—that’s right, snails!
The final event was an obstacle course. Sounds pretty plain, but it was far from it. The kids first had to swim through “leech-infested” waters (a pit about four feet wide and 10 feet long filled with muddy water and leeches).
Then they had to race their way through a tire obstacle before finishing off by blowing up three balloons—all while they huffed and puffed.
Mainville, who oversaw the “Fear Factor” events, really enjoyed them herself.
“It kinda made me feel more a part of it,” she said of the activity and the entire festivities. “I do feel bad the water was so cold.”
Each challenge event was worth $40 to the winning team, though no team took home multiple prize money. The worm event, for instance, was won by Rebecca Vandermeer (who picked out 36 worms) while the dunk tank winner was Christine Bruyere (who ended up with 17 marbles in the cup).
Justin Perreault thrilled (not to mention grossed-out) spectators with his 36-second “hoover-ing” of five escargot and they’re spinach side. One contestant actually had to use the “barf bucket” after eating her “goodies.”
The obstacle course was won by Alex Bruyere in a time of 23 seconds.
“We’re definitely going to do it next year,” Mainville said of the “Fear Factor” competition.
Treaty Day wasn’t just about the “Fear Factor” events, though they garnered a large crowd.
“Treaty Day is to recognize the significance of the treaty,” Mainville explained. “That’s where Treaty Day stemmed from.
“Everyone gets $5 on Treaty Day,” she added. “It’s their treaty money. The younger kids really look forward to it and enjoy standing in line for it.”
Mainville explained Treaty Day also is about coming together as a community.
“For the last two or three years, we’ve bee joining other First Nations for Treaty Day, and this year it was nice to get the community together again,” she noted.
“Rarely do you see everyone out at the same function.”
Treaty Day started Friday morning with breakfast. Activities then started early, including a cribbage tournament, baseball, and inflatables for the kids to bounce on.
There was food going all day long, including hamburgers, hotdogs, a fish fry, wild rice, and a canoe filled with water, soda, and ice.
There even was a nurse on hand to do a free blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol checks.
“We did well to make sure there was something for everybody,” said Mainville.
Late in the afternoon, a group of local boys learning to drum, from Grade 1-9, performed for the first time in front of an audience. “I know those boys felt really proud,” Mainville added.
The day wrapped up with a dance for the kids that also was a great success.
“There was a great turnout,” Mainville said, hinting it may have been one of the best Treaty Days ever. “A lot of volunteers came out to help and people chipped in where they could.”