An amphitheatre restoration project in Saugeen First Nation is rebuilding more than just stone walls. 

Men in the community are getting the opportunity to work and learn the art of dry stone building, and earn a certification. Dry stone is a building method that fits stones together without a binding agent like cement. 

The Saugeen amphitheatre, one of the largest dry stone projects in North America, is a local landmark in the community about 200 km northwest of Toronto, along the Bruce Peninsula. 

It was a collaboration between Chief James Mason and Reverend Earl Stotesbury of Saugeen First Nation’s Wesley United Church. They wanted to create a place for First Nations and non-First Nations people to gather that demonstrated the strong relationship between the church and the community. 

Construction began in 1972 by young men in the community and took 10 years.

The 1,500-seat amphitheatre is made of under one million tons of limestone from a local quarry. Over the years it has been a site for weddings, concerts, shows and yearly fireworks displays. 

“It’s a gathering place that welcomes everyone because the church sits there as well,” said Jennifer Kewageshig, Saugeen First Nation’s employment and training officer and the program manager of the amphitheatre grounds crew. 

“Our people know that it was built as part of reconciliation.”

The amphitheatre faces to the south, overlooking a valley that the Saugeen River runs through. 

Kewageshig said growing up, that space was always a place for her to go, where she could run into other community members or just enjoy the nature that surrounds the amphitheatre. 

“When you stand at the river’s edge and you look up, you see the true beauty of the trees, the amphitheatre and the church,” Kewageshig said. 

Over the decades, however, the amphitheatre has deteriorated and has been in need of significant repairs. 

In 2012, chief and council tasked Kewageshig with creating an employment program for the men in the community.

“The men were falling into alcoholism addictions and they weren’t being the men they were supposed to be within our culture to care for their children and to walk that good path,” she said. 

The amphitheatre repairs presented an opportunity to create a training and employment program, so she approached civil engineer Richard Nancarrow. Nancarrow took a look at the structure and realized this kind of construction was beyond his skill set so he found Dean McClellan —  a dry stone master craftsman who conveniently lives only an hour away from the reserve.

But after a couple of years the program was shut down due to problems having enough workers show up consistently.

“We didn’t realize what we were up against,” Kewageshig said, referring to the grip of addictions in the community. 

Two years after the program was halted, there was still interest in seeing the amphitheatre rebuilt so Kewageshig, Nancarrow and McClellan teamed up again with a new approach. 

New approach

The rebuild began again in 2018 with 10 First Nations men being employed by McClellan’s company, where the original program had them as employees of the band. 

“They are filtered through him and they sign a contract to indicate that they are living a healthy lifestyle,” said Kewageshig.

The men are able to work toward certification with the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain whose credentials are recognized globally. 

Ronnie Ritchie has achieved his level three certification and once he passes his level four test, he will be considered a master craftsman like McClellan. 

“It feels good knowing it’s something that’s going to be there forever after we’re all gone, a place for the people of the community to go and find peace,” he said.

Before working on the amphitheatre, Ritchie said worked around the reserve doing odd jobs but now hopes to open his own business. 

Dan Kimewon is originally from Wikwemikoong First Nation, but his wife is from Saugeen. He was a cultural teacher but gave up that job for training in stone work.

“It’s good for the mind, body and soul,” he said.

“It makes me proud to see these men be proud of what they’re doing.” 

Richard Jacobs, a single father with three children, said “The job I’d say brought me back up and gave me confidence in myself.”

The actual amphitheatre structure is expected to be rebuilt this spring, but the full project is projected to take another three years as they want to add a visitors centre to optimize the tourism aspect. 

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