“We’ll give you a discount – five tickets for $10,” Joel Margolese, of WinNTrack, joked. WinNTrack, a club for model train enthusiasts, was raffling a train model at The Forks, Winnipeg – one ticket for two dollars.

The location couldn’t have been better. WinNTrack’s Larry Maltman explained that The Forks used to be a train storage center. He claimed that Winnipeg was an important transit center.

I was skeptical. The one railway we saw outside the Forks consistently screeched under the weight of the CN train. There was minimal visible transit.
Even Maltman, commented how few people there were at The Forks today. Despite long lines at Danny’s All Day Breakfast, where we ate, the shops were empty enough that we could speak to shopkeepers.

The Canadian Museum of Human Rights, by David Exumé

My classmate, Irma and I, first visited Two Rivers, where employee Terry Clark highlighted the local native sculptures for sale. At its sister store, The Forks Trading Company, 90% of the items are on consignment from small local companies like Bear Naked Wonders. Employee Dorothy MacClure explained it is a miracle product made from Black Bear Oil. The product sign described using fat from black bears as a “way of life locally for many years.”

We learned more at Teekca’s Aboriginal Boutique, which collects Native Indian items from all across North America. Bo, the shopkeeper, enjoys it when visitors who are not familiar with Indian Cultures “get their first education in the store.” She says that 60% of the items are handmade. The rest are manufactured because “people want to see native designs on a mug.” She points to a pair of moccasins with rubber soles. The moccasins sell because rubber soles keep feet warm on cement sidewalks. She mentioned how important it is to adapt to the present, but not lose the substance of the past.

After visiting The Forks, I felt that Winnipeg was like the moccasins – changing with the times, but not losing its historical culture.

We quickly crossed many streets (there were no cars to stop us) to visit Nadim Ado’s studio. Nadim is a Syrian photographer who relocated to Winnipeg with his wife. He is also a Yazidi, a religious minority that has been targeted by Islamist militants in Syria and Iraq.

Nadim’s eyes and cameras have captured stories of the Yazidis. He told us about the pain the Yazidis have faced, and how he feels in Canada. “Everything I did, I did on my own. I did four exhibitions on my own,” Nadim says. His wife shows the same self-initiative. She has written a poetry book in Arabic, which translates, to, “Goodbye Life as an Old Profession.” But while pursuing their dreams, they worry for family back home. “This is another kind of death every day,” Nadim says. He says that Facebook and his pictures don’t let him forget. His photographs are on public display at the Prairie View School of Photography.

It’s through art that people like Nadim make their impact on Winnipeg. That’s when I began to think. Winnipeg may not be a physical transit hub, but it could be a cultural one. I saw this when we talked to the Sawa theater group, which casts young newcomer refugees who pick up and showcase their acting skills in half-English, half-Arabic shows. I saw this when we ate dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant with Tam Nguyen, who recently published his book “A Lucky Man”. He came to the restaurant, hugged his friends, and told us how he tailored pants for Patrick Swayze in 24 hours. He’s been in Winnipeg for 38 years as a refugee from Vietnam.

I saw Winnipeg as a cultural transit hub when I met Omar. He left Somalia at age 6, studied in Egypt, and became a citizen of Canada. He came to the US and earned a degree in electronics while working at Dell. After being detained for months in Arizona, he walked back to Canada. Tomorrow he will start a job at a warehouse. He says that Winnipeg is a stop for him because he has nothing. Because American ICE agents took everything.

I learned that Winnipeg is a transit city. I saw the effects of people coming and leaving through culture, food, and history. I also realized something. I didn’t see any cars today because it is Sunday.