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The Georgina Island Storytelling Project

Our stories celebrate our heritage and identity as Chippewa people. They preserve and teach our Indigenous ways of knowing and knowledge for the future generations of Georgina Island. In the tradition of oral history over generations, our youth - in their turn - will carry on this legacy to protect and share our proud history and who we are as the Chippewas of Georgina Island.

The Soul of the Island by a Visitor

Tanya Doyle

I wanted to share with you this simple story, a glimpse into the soul of your island from a visitor. Me, my daughter and a little dog visited in summer of 2012, we came to just see the campground and explore the island a little, it looked mysterious from ashore and I thought I want to visit it some day. So we did. As we parked our car after a long drive from Toronto, the ferry arrived and we came on board. The ferry operator said that it is free since we were without a car. He was really kind and I thought that this island must have really nice people. As we came to the island we realised that the camping grounds are quite far to walk, I was a bit stressed about that and asked people around if they could give us a ride. Luckily there was a lady who offered a ride. I thought, how nice, I felt close to this island and its people, although I am from a different part of the world and different culture, four cultures to be precise as I am a mixture, I felt no boundaries in my heart with people on this island. We liked the campground and its serene shore, the gentle waves of water and the breeze, and after a short while we had to get back to the ferry. We started our walk back. The sun was hot and we turned back, because there was no way we could make it on time for the ferry and also walking long distance in that heat alone was a bit unsettling, especially with wasps buzzing around (allergies!) – so we went back and begged the owner for a ride. I was probably very annoying with my whining and pleas! But the lady was really nice and she tried to help. She asked one young girl who just came in to give us a lift. We rode in luxury, with air-conditioner and we came on time for the ferry. We were sad to leave so soon, but we had to go, so I was taking lots of pictures to remember this beautiful day on this beautiful island with the nice kind people who felt like family. As we were moving away, I looked at the island and wished it to be well, and for people to be happy, I did not know how I could thank them for being nice and being welcoming and so open-hearted.

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