Since May, when Sam first asked me to contribute to True North, I have tried to coherently put into writing what Chippewa means to me. I have struggled to do so.

You see, I was never a camper and, if I am being honest, for my first few years on staff I did not truly appreciate the Chippewa mission. To paraphrase one of my geographically challenged campers on his first Canadian canoe trip, I could not see how a “Silly Swedish Hat” helped to build character.

That was a long time ago. It was a time when I could barely paddle a canoe in a straight line and when an overnight trip to Star Island was unnecessarily daunting.

Since then, I have spent eight summers at camp, becoming more attuned to the Chippewa Way each year. I have also led four Canadian canoe trips, including an 18-day exploratory trip into the Saint Raphael Provincial Park this summer, alongside my co-counselor Alec W.

While on the trail, I thought about writing for True North and conveying my Chippewa journey and what makes Chippewa special. However, instead of finding a singular answer, my mind raced from memory to interconnected memory like clusters of Chippewa magic.

I remembered watching Andres L return from his trip down the Little Churchill River in 2019, proudly wearing his Tam and sharing stories of the trail. I recalled being envious and thinking that those epic Canadian canoe trips were beyond my reach. My mind then jumped to three years later, when Andres was my co-counselor, teaching me how to lead a Canadian and presenting me with my first Tam on the Hawkcliff.

I remembered returning from that same trip and hearing one of our campers, who was around 14 years old, articulate with such amazing self-awareness how his anger may have gotten the best of him on the trail and how it is something he was working on. My mind then jumped to his final year as a camper three years later, when he was presented with the Cap Endres Character Award. The growth was amazing. Now I cannot wait to see him on staff next year.

I remembered my first year being paired with Alec W for our trip to Voyageurs National Park, and wondering what it would be like to lead a trip with Ben’s younger brother (sorry, Alec!). I then reflected upon how Alec had grown from the camper I remembered him as into one of the best trippers I know—a tripper that I trust implicitly and personally look up to.

Just like my geographically challenged camper, who this year proclaimed, “I’ve never looked at my Tams and thought they were cool, but they do remind me of how cool the trips were,” my appreciation and understanding for Chippewa and our traditions have grown exponentially.

Ultimately, upon reflection, I personally find the magic of Chippewa in the tangible growth I witness in the campers from year to year. Watching them grow from apprehensive first-year campers into trippers, then leaders, then colleagues, and then eventually friends is an absolute privilege, and the reason I keep coming back.

-Joe

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