Fort William First Nation welcomed the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) on Wednesday in honour of the Eagle's Nest Indigenous youth camp with military based activities the CAF will be conducting in August.

Peter Collins, Chief of Fort William First Nation, was on hand to welcome and shake hands with Lieutenant-Colonel David Ratz, commanding officer of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, as part of the 38 Brigade group, who will be running the youth camp from August 5 to the 11.

The camp, which will is aimed at Indigenous youths between the ages of 13 and 14 will feature team building activities, watermanship, marksmanship training, orienteering training, physical fitness training, and an Indigenous cultural component during the evenings. Military equipment will also be on hand for the youth to look at.

The activities will be executed at a level appropriate for youth. The Eagle's Nest program will follow the same curriculum used for the cadet program, which is aimed at a similar youth age group.

"Hopefully, it will entice some of the young people in our community to come and take part. And having fun and understanding and educating themselves about ... the army's responsibility, but also career opportunities," said Collins.

He said experiences like what the Canadian Armed Forces provides can help the youth grow and establish a healthy way of living and thinking.

Lt.-Col. David Ratz and Chief Peter Collins discuss the importance of building relationships between the Canadian Armed Forces and Indigenous youth. (Kirthana Sasitharan/CBC)

"[In] that age group...we're continuously dealing with [an] opioid crisis in our community," said Collins. "I think this opportunity with the Eagle Nest program will give them that opportunity and give insight on how to develop and how to build those healthy and strong relationships."

Lt.-Col. Ratz said the experience should be a memorable one for the youths.

"Through the course of the week, we are going to really excite the youth here at Fort William First Nation and the Indigenous community around Thunder Bay and show them there's opportunities here for a future with the armed forces."

He added that an experience like this is a learning opportunity for those in the Canadian Army to learn more about Indigenous roots.

"From the Canadian Army's point of view ... its important that members of the Canadian forces get exposed to Indigenous culture, build relationships with the Indigenous community. We're going to have that opportunity," said Lt.-Col. Ratz.

"We're also going to be helping those youth develop skills that will be good for the rest of their lives. They're going to be proud having been there through that week. They're going to have developed some teamwork skills and some discipline so they can go on to whatever they do in the future."

The Eagle's Nest program has been running since 2013 with a different Indigenous reserve chosen as the camp base each year.