The Ice Fishermen of Petrie Island

Located on the traditional territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation 20 kilometres northeast of Ottawa, Canada, the Petrie Islands archipelago and its surrounding waters have been used by native Americans who hunted and fished there since ancient times. Nowadays, the archipelago is a popular fishing spot for the residents of Canada’s National Capital Region who, each year in December, set up their tents and ice huts on the Ottawa River in the hope of catching some of the crappies, perches, pikes and walleyes teeming in the waters underneath. Benefitting from its affordability and the restrictions imposed on indoor activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ice fishing has steadily gained popularity in recent years. Once mostly practiced by white middle-aged men, this quintessentially Canadian winter activity is now attracting a wider range of enthusiasts, including youths and immigrants. In this photographic essay, which I shot in 2021-22, I turn my lens towards those who, having made ice fishing their winter pastime, come to Petrie Island year after year to find a sense of community as well as a breath of fresh air, freedom and camaraderie on the ice. Welcome to their “village”!