When travelers cross the swing bridge into the town of Little Current on Manitoulin Island, they enter a unique geographical and cultural world.  The bridge is short, but the strait that it crosses is deep—providing sailboats continued access to the spectacular North Channel, one of the premier sailing spots in North America.  During peak summer months, the bridge is swung open to allow high-masted boats to pass through.

Little Current is a small town, and within a couple minutes you are in the countryside, one that at first looks Lincolnesque with miles of split-rail fences.

Because the topsoil is sparse in many places of the island, however, there’s not a great deal of tilling—hence few row crops.  So the Midwestern US feel pretty much ends with the fences.  Inside the fences, however, are hundreds of acres of grassland able to provide good grazing for cattle.

The first European settlement on the island, Manitowaning,  is set on a bluff overlooking one of the many bays leading from the Lake Huron’s North Channel.  The old lighthouse and part of the waterfront buildings have been restored and are kept company by a restored ship that had used Manitowaning as one of its ports of call decades ago.

Throughout the island you are always close to bedrock, and at times even in the forested areas you may come across spots where the rock is exposed—and sometimes dramatically checkered by cracks that can go down several feet.   This gives you the impression that you are walking on a crevassed glacier—which you indeed would have been several thousand years ago when the island was covered by the huge ice shield that extended over so much of the north country.

The rugged beauty of the island is highlighted by a profuse display of wildflowers from spring through fall.

Adding to the enchantment of Manitoulin Island is the existence of four Native North American reserves.  The official Canadian government term for its indigenous tribes is “First Nation’s people.”  During the summer and fall you are usually within two weeks of a pow-wow or a cultural or agricultural celebration.

The mix of European and First Nation’s people on the island brings about interesting discussions and issues regarding spirituality and worship—pointed up by dozens of churches and Native North American icons in a fascinating cultural mix.  In my next post I’d like to examine more closely the challenges created by this multicultural view of religious faith.

See you outdoors!

Dean