Tommy Bird came to La Ronge from Southend for the week. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

New Experience

Southend musher in La Ronge this week

Mar 2, 2021 | 2:44 PM

Students from Churchill Community High School are spending time with a northern musher and his dog team this week.

Tommy Bird travelled to La Ronge from Southend with 30 dogs and he will be working with middle years students until Thursday. Due to COVID-19, however, he isn’t permitted to provide hands-on instruction and instead is offering three-and-a-half kilometre rides on Lac La Ronge.

“This is a different year out of 40 years,” Bird said. “This year most of the races are cancelled in western Canada. It’s sort of a year off, so it’s the first time I’m giving rides.”

Bird has been dog racing professionally for four decades, noting he usually participates in up to six races per year. Bird has travelled throughout Canada and the United States as a musher.

Bird also noted dog sleds are an important aspect of First Nations culture. Many years ago, he said the use of dog teams were common as many people would use them to travel to traplines.

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“Throughout history for us native people, this is a way of life,” Bird said. “As far as I can remember as a kid, a dog team was everything for survival and travel. The dogs can take you places.”

In the last 30 years, Bird explained there has been a deep decline in mushers, adding he is one of the few remaining. One of the major reasons for the decline is costs, he noted, as the dogs need to be fed meats like beef and chicken to keep them strong.

Although he was unable to race this winter, Bird said he was enjoying his time in La Ronge. He also mentioned the students seem to be having fun with the experience.

“For some of the kids, it’s the first time they’ve seen a dog team or first time getting a ride,” bird said. “They think its unique. They really enjoy it.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @saskjourno