By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — Jennifer Peach’s first teaching job took her more than 6,000 kilometres from her home near St. John’s, N.L., all the way to the northern village of La Loche.

Last week, she recalled her first trip up north — “a long drive on a long, lonely highway” — and some initial impressions, including her surprise at the great number of children and teens in the small community.

The village had all basic necessities, including schools, a grocery store, police detachment, the church and a modern health facility. Peach was also attracted by the natural beauty of the area, including the dense forests and vast lakes.

“It felt, actually, more like home the further north I drove,” she said. “It was kind of comforting, in a way.”

Peach arrived in August 2005 and would ultimately stay for five years. If she hadn’t decided to pursue her master’s degree, she said, she would likely still be teaching there.

“I expected to go there for one year,” said Peach. “I loved it so much, I stayed for five.”

Peach, who now teaches Grade 5 at Davidson School, said she made many friendships during her time in La Loche, and she thinks about the village often.

When she heard about the events of Jan. 22 — a shooting spree that ended at La Loche Community School, in which four people were killed and another seven injured — Peach didn’t know what to think.

“I was more overcome with emotion,” she said, adding that she immediately thought of her friends, colleagues and their families, the people she got to know. “My first reaction when I heard was, ‘I’ve got to get on the phone.'”

Upon her arrival, Peach recalled, village residents were curious about her. The school had a high turnover rate, and they’d seen lots of teachers come and go.

She also remembered that they were eager to make her feel welcome and share the experience of life up north, from setting traps and fishing nets to the history, language and culture of the Dene people.

“They treated me like I was a member of the community,” she said. “The more I put myself out there, the more the community embraced me.”

After she was first hired by Northern Lights School Division, Peach spent two years teaching physical education to elementary students. She then moved to the Grade 5 classroom for the remainder of her time there.

The oral language spoken by the Dene people isn’t easily learned by newcomers, and teaching assistants helped to bridge the language gap. The older students had a better grasp of English, but were still most comfortable speaking in their mother tongue.

“My time up there was so positive and such a learning experience for me,” said Peach. “I was lucky to have the experience that I did in La Loche . . . This affected me a lot more than I ever thought it would.”

Coincidentally, Peach’s predecessor at Davidson School, Paul Stinson, also began his teaching career in La Loche, working there as a Grade 6 teacher from 1996 to 1999.

Stinson said he had applied to work overseas but accepted the job there in the meantime, later realizing, “There was a different culture to explore without ever leaving the province.”

Like Peach, he was surprised by the high percentage of youth living in the village, which contrasted sharply with the aging populations in similarly-sized towns further south.

Stinson, who lives in Craik and works from the Distance Learning Centre in Kenaston, wrote a piece about his experience, which he posted to social media last week.

“I thought I knew Saskatchewan,” he wrote. “I didn’t even know what I didn’t know about northern Saskatchewan.”

Stinson said his time in La Loche was a time of extremes. While he witnessed a strong sense of community, a close connection to the land and a distinct language and culture, he also said he saw problems “at a level I didn’t think existed in Canada.”

He said the village gave him both his fondest and most frustrating teaching experiences. He recalled activities with students, watching the northern lights during power failures, learning to trap and fish.

“You have suffered great pain,” he wrote in his “love letter” to the village. “I wish for others to get to know you. You are complex, complicated, beautiful.”

Stinson said the attention surrounding La Loche over the past weeks may have some positive results, especially if it leads to a greater understanding of the root causes of the problems the community faces.

He said he believes the historic treatment of aboriginal people, including the residential school system, still reverberates in the lives of their descendants.

“This is what I understand to be part of what is happening,” he told the Leader, “not the cause of a single individual’s violent actions, but connected, and bringing issues to light, critical issues that we need to face and address.”

Stinson said he is hopeful that real progress can take place, that leaders will look to the calls to action that resulted from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and that aboriginal people will be given a voice in the discussions that take place.

This past weekend, Peach had plans to travel up to La Loche to visit with former colleagues and students, to attend the funeral for teaching assistant Marie Janvier, and reconnect with other people she hasn’t seen in years.

Her current colleagues in Davidson helped put together a break-time basket for the staff in La Loche, including snacks, coffee and tea.

Over the past week she’s also talked with her students about the tragedy. Some had heard the news and were curious about it; some had decided that La Loche must be a terrible place.

“It’s OK to think that, and it’s natural,” said Peach, adding, “I wouldn’t want them to go their whole lives thinking that that’s what La Loche is all about.”

“I had students that wanted to learn about things just as badly as they did,” she continued. “I don’t want them to judge a whole community of people based on the actions of one person.”