Kids for Fishing workshop held at Office for the Aging

In just three short weeks different groups from around the territory of Akwesasne stepped up to the challenge to organize a workshop for the youth of Akwesasne that took place this past Wednesday at the Office for the Aging Center. With representation from both the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department and the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service this first-ever “Kids for Fishing” workshop was a great opportunity for kids to learn about fishing.

“We started the day talking about Boating Safety with a presentation from both the Tribal Police Department and the MCA Conservation Department,” Said Officer PJ Burns with the SRMT PD. “We had twenty kids register between the ages of 10 and 15-years-old and had both girls and boys sign up.”

All program participants left the day with a free fishing pole, life jacket and tackle box filled with lures, hooks and sinkers. The organizing group even managed to have t-shirts made for all participants and presenters. Posters were plastered around the territory advertising the workshop, as well as notices in both the Indian Time Newspaper and on CKON Radio looking for parents to sign their children up for this session. The first twenty calls that came in were signed up and attended the workshop.

This workshop was a one-day session with presentations made on different topics related to fishing. The first was on boat safety presented by the groups mentioned above, with the second workshop facilitation by the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe’s Environment Division who spoke about native and invasive species in within the territory. The third workshop was about drug and alcohol prevention and why taking up a hobby such as fishing is a much better alternative than getting sidetracked down those other roads that could lead to disaster.

Lunch and snacks were provided to the kids who were learning about fishing before the host of the Lakes Region Fishing show, which airs on Fox 44 Sunday mornings at 7:30am, arrived and entertained the kids for the afternoon. The Host and Co-Producer of the show, Nate Laskiewicz, along with PJ Burns and AMPS Officer Norman King, worked with the kids to teach them about the different fishing poles and their uses, along with all the different types of fishing you could do. The Tribal Police Boat was brought to the workshop along with other personal crafts that were volunteered to show the kids the different types of boats used to fish in different areas.

“I love working with kids, I’m certified with a program in Vermont called ‘Let’s Go Fishing’, which provides adults with training seminars on how to work with kids to teach them fishing and also requires a background check on those who go for the certification,” said Laskiewicz. “I was asked by PJ to come up and help out, especially with getting kids to detour from at risk areas to a fun and educational activity.”

Laskiewicz has brought the show into the territory and featured different fishing spots in Akwesasne several times last season and this season as well. His show is geared towards talking about fishing areas from a family oriented view, promoting not just the fishing, but other family friendly activities within the community.

“The next step is to hold a 2-day workshop in May 2012”, said Burns when asked about where this program will be going from here. “We hope to have the second day of the workshop next year include an actual fishing trip and to have CKON do a live-feed.”

With the accomplishments of getting this program together in such a short time span for this workshop, the next one should teach a lot to the kids who participate.

Having witnessed the development of this program from that initial phone call inviting him into the territory, Laskiewicz had a keen observation, “When it’s a program for the kids, people really step up to the plate.”