Michel Village

The scenic hamlet of Michel Village on the western shores of Peter Pond Lake is home to about eighty people who experience the northern landscape and observe nature with the ebb a flow of the seasons. Michel is an "End of Road" community where the vocations of trapping, fishing, and hunting are not just a cultural pastime but also a way of life. Most residents of Michel are Dene, and speak English as a second language.

The personal experiences of the people have taught them that these "Living off of the Land" skills enrich their lives, and allow them to participate in nature in a most connected way. These simple yet demanding occupations demonstrate their capability to support and take care themselves in a truly traditional way in Michel village.

According to Elders the skills of living off of the land are a doorway to an experience of nature than can only be known by not merely viewing the landscape passively. Whether fishing, trapping or hunting or even gathering fruit from the woods or following the wandering track of a moose, or the flight of an eagle over the landscape, there is an awareness of a connection to the land expressed by the residents of Michel village. Though just a few kilometres from neighbouring villages and just eighty kilometres from the larger center of Buffalo Narrows Michel has preserved its sense of belonging to the land, thus staying in harmony with nature.

Its residents encourage all to appreciate what the land and lakes give back to man.

Michel Village Links

Northern Affairs

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