This last year has been a show of strength in the community of the White Bear First Nation. They have had cases of COVID 19 on the reserve, but have managed to keep the spread minimal thanks to buy-in from the community, and in times of isolation, they have made great efforts to come together in different, new ways.

Chief Nathan Pasap is proud of how his community has reacted in the last few months as they have been feeling the effects of isolation more than most have but have still found ways to support one another. That sense of community that they share is part of what has helped mitigate the spread before it got too bad.

"There's a strong sense of community for one and a lot of shared history going back many generations, so I think that's a big component, and then also the connection to the government and also the administration within White Bear and being prepared as a community and really moving forward together as a community during this pandemic has been both rewarding but also very challenging."

A great example of this is what happened over the holidays. With some families self-isolating, the community came together with a number of donation drives wrapped into one to make sure that families who couldn't leave to shop were able to celebrate the holidays properly nonetheless.

"During the Holidays, we had a Christmas sleigh, we did the community Christmas hampers for everybody. We did a drive-through Christmas dinner, all drive-through, and a tremendous amount of effort from so many volunteers and our staff. I'm very grateful for all of our membership that really, really pull together and I get innovative to offer some light during these dark times that the pandemic has forced upon us when we can't even go and celebrate a meal with all of our brothers and sisters and parents."

When it comes to closing things down, that was not an easy decision. Concrete barriers were put in place on entrances to White Bear for New Year's Eve and the May long weekend, and while that's a decision that may not have been the most popular, it's one that Pasap says was probably the right decision and is good to see members buy-in as much as they did.

"Working with my counsel and our support staff and our medical staff and even Dr. Ibrahim Khan, who is the South medical head doctor for Indigenous Services with health Canada, working with their professional capacity and their influence in regards to what would be the best practices and that's what we've done all along. Unfortunately, we had to close down May long weekend this past May long but we remain safe and you know over a number of months we remained COVID free."

According to the White Bear Health Facebook page, there are currently 25 active cases at White Bear, but no one on the reserve has passed away because of it. They have however had people who grew up on the reserve and moved away to pursue their dreams in life that have passed away since the pandemic began, and still they've been able to find ways to help show their support for those families.

"We get word when one of our members passes away and live in a different community, and so we have lost members that live outside of our community and we do our best to support families in regards to support for funeral costs and things of that nature, we do our best to support our membership globally."

With members having confirmed cases still, the community has made sure that those who have COVID 19 are looked after with food deliveries as well as medicinal and traditional medicines, or whatever else the community can provide to help each other out.

"It's one of the beautiful aspects of being First Nations and having that sense of community and even when you leave the reserve and you go and pursue your goals and dreams, your heart is always still with your homeland and that can never be taken away from you, something that will never leave you unless you feel you don't want it anymore. As chief, I'm very honored to serve as chief of White Bear even during these difficult times. It's still an honor to push our nation forward in different areas at the same time, while well keeping the community safe."