You may think snowshoe making isn't at the top peoples' minds in the dead of summer but the Aboriginal Sports Circle of the NWT thought it would be a perfect time.
The Sports Circle hosted seven people from around the territory for a snowshoe making workshop at Sir John Franklin High School, which happened from July 13 to 16. This was the second part of an ongoing workshop with the focus being on constructing the snowshoe frames from birch.
Lawrence Cheezie of Fort Smith was the workshop's facilitator and said it was a good group of people to work with.
He said the easiest way to tell someone about making a snowshoe is to not rush it.
"Always take pride in what you're doing," he said. "These people here took up the challenge. I've had them before and they came back and they were doing the real thing now. All of them have a lot of pride in what they're doing and that's what I tell someone doing it for the first time."
Birch logs were brought in for the workshop and had the bark taken off in order to prepare the wood to be cut into shape. Once that was done, each participant shaved down the wood into the right length and thickness. After that, the four parts that make up a snowshoe were placed into a steamer for 45 minutes to make it soft enough to be bent into shape.
It didn't always go as planned as some people ended up snapping their wood during the bending process but Cheezie said he was happy to see people persevere.
"Even if the wood broke, they didn't give up," he said. "A couple of them broke their wood but they started back right away and cut some more. No throwing it out and walking away."
Someone who did have to try again was Scott McQueen, one of the workshop participants from Yellowknife.
His first try wasn't successful and he said there are certain things you have to watch out for when preparing the wood.
"You have to watch for knots in the middle of the wood," he said. "I had a couple that were problematic and for the toe curls, you have to watch the grain of the wood and make sure you aren't going across the grain because when you go to bend it, if you cross the grain, that's problematic as well because it will start to crack."
McQueen's second try was much more successful as none of his four pieces snapped.
McQueen was part of the group that Cheezie worked with last year in the first part of the workshop, which involved weaving the babiche for the snowshoes, something he said was hard to do.
"My daughter was there as part of the organizers of it and she told me it can be really frustrating until you're competent at it," he said. "The framing is all about knowing how to work with the wood. It's all trial and error."
The hope is that everyone who completes the course will be able to show others how to make a snowshoe from scratch although McQueen said he'll still need some practice.
"I could probably do the frames alright but it's only one time for me so I'm not at the place to be teaching yet," he said.
As important as the workshop is to show people how to do it, Cheezie said the biggest part is keeping Indigenous culture alive and well and passing on traditional knowledge.
"Our native culture and tradition is tied into the snowshoe," he said. "Patience, hunting, there are a lot of things that you can do with snowshoes."