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Five young women from James Bay Indigenous communities were hired this year to summer jobs at De Beers Victor Mine.

The participants, who are all enrolled in post-secondary educations programs, started work in May and all but two have completed their work terms.  The summer jobs were on two-week in, two-week out rotations. Of all applicants 95% were female.

“I learned quite a lot and it’s something related to what I’m studying,” said April Wesley, an Attawapiskat First Nation member who worked in Mobile Maintenance. She has completed a two-year aircraft technician program in North Bay, Ontario, and plans to apply for an apprenticeship in that field within the next year.

She said the people and the “awesome” food at the mine made adjusting to the two-week rotation schedule easier.

Justice Seidel, a member of the Moose Cree First Nation, worked in the Process Plant. She is second from left in the photo above.

“I researched the company and saw it’s really big on health and safety which was really reassuring for me,” she said.

She recently graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry and plans to begin a Masters of Indigenous Relations program at Laurentian University this fall.

“It was a good chance to learn something new, cool to learn about something different and still take some concepts from school I already know in science and see how they’re being applied in real life.”

Also working at Victor Mine this summer were: Allison Sutherland, a Kashechewan First Nation member, in Technical Services; Kiana Seidel, Moose Cree First Nation, in Reclamation; and Katrina Koostachin, Attawapiskat First Nation, in Environment.