Metis traditions inspire Carriere at work and play

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Solomon Carriere is very proud of his roots and the traditions he grew up with. A Metis from Cumberland House, Carriere has found inspiration from those traditions for both his professional and recreational pursuits.

Carriere recently took part in the Canadian Challenge Dogsled Race, a 48-hour race from Prince Albert to La Ronge that began in P.A. on Feb. 14.

"My family has been involved in (dog sledding) for a long time, and my dad used to be a real good dog racer. He's the one who got me quite interested in that," Carrier said, who first got involved in dog sledding when he was a kid.

"It was just a northern thing to do, is have a dog team, so that's where my interests started."

"Those damn Yamaha snowmobiles are very unreliable, he needs dogs for his back-up. He always tells me that," joked friend Dwight Bergstrom.

But Carriere's interest in endurance sports does not stop with sled racing. He's also involved in canoe racing. In fact, up until recently, he'd retired from dog sledding to concentrate on canoe racing.

"That's another historic thing," said Carriere. "Metis people are well known paddlers, ever since the country's been here. They opened this place up with other First Nation Canadians.

"It's ultra marathon racing, and if you want to be good in any field, you have to do a lot of training. The more training you do, the easier it gets. Maybe a thousand kilometers sounds like a long ways. If you train for it, it's not as bad as you'd think."

Ironically enough, it was during one of his more recent canoeing marathon races when his interest in dog sled racing resurfaced.

While in the Yukon taking part in a canoe race from Whitehorse to Dawson, he met William Kleedehn, a dog racer taking part in the Yukon Quest, and had his interest rekindled through him.

"Last year, I went with him to Anchorage, Alaska, to see the Ididerod, and I noticed that there weren't any First Nation or Metis people involved, at least from Canada. And at that time, it got me fired up, thinking maybe I should try this, so that's what my long term goals are, to maybe go there.

"I'm a total rookie," Carriere conceded, "This race is going to be hurting for me, and I'm not even sure if we're going to (complete) it or not. I've put in the training. I've trained similar to how I've trained for canoeing. That's the only background I've had in that, so we'll see."

Carriere also has another reason to get involved in dogsled racing again; one that's closer to his heart.

"I'm trying to start the distance racing because I have two girls at home, and they seem to enjoy the dogs. I'm just trying to expose them to something that we can do together."

However, Carriere will have to participate in at least one more canoe race before concentrating on the dog sledding.

"William Kleedehn gave me a couple of dogs for me to go paddle with him, and he's a very good long distance racer, so I've got to live up to that deal. Hopefully, (I'll) take off with the dogs after that," he explained.

"When I was up in Alaska there, and the Yukon, I guess that's why I kind of like it, because everyone is equal. If you're a good dog person, you can handle the travel by dogsled. Anybody can do it. It's the dogs that are the athletes. We're just there to guide them. We're just dead weight."

In addition to his athletic achievements - as he has done very well in every athletic endeavor he's ever tried - Carriere also has two tourism-related businesses on the go.

"I run a hunting and fishing camp up in Cumberland House called Big Eddy."

Carriere has been running the camp for 18 years, and offers both summer and winter programs for school kids.

"We show them the lifestyle that the Metis people used to have.

"They used to ask me 'Are you Big Eddy?'" Carrier added with a smile.

"We have another business called Delta Discovery, because the Cumberland Delta is a pretty unique place. It's the second largest inland delta in North America. It's famous historicaly. It's a cultural-type setting where we lived, how we used to live," he said.

"That's also one of the reasons why we got the dogs, was to get that, and to involve them in the business."

As if he weren't already busy enough, Carriere also works at building log homes. The interest was sparked through the same means as the dog sledding.

"A friend that I used to paddle against showed me how to do this. I worked with him in Montana for about three years, and now I'm able to have my own log home building thing."

The houses are built out of hand scribed logs.

"We built a place in the Pas, I guess we built another three in Montana, and two up here, and we've got another contract coming," Carriere said.

"There's not much this guy can't do, you know, when it comes right down to it," chimed in his friend Bergstrom. "I'm always amazed by what new project he goes with."

All in all, Carriere looks back at his involvement in athletics as being his key to success.

"With any athletics, if you want to be in athletics, you have to go out there and be willing to work at what you're in. If you put work into it, it's going to pay off. Maybe not necessarily in winning that event you're in, but throughout life, it's going to help you. You can use that experience you have in the training to help you with whatever your goals in life are, too."