Kickass CanadiansNorm Hann, teacher-adventurer-activist
Hear the latest podcast with this Kickass CanadianRecorded: September 5, 2013
“I believe that once you get on the right path—your path—everything falls into place.”
Norman Hann’s life path always seemed quite clear—at least to those around him.
Growing up in and around Sudbury, Ontario, he loved sports and was particularly strong in basketball. Both his parents were teachers, and his father Jim also coached Norm’s high school basketball team.
So it came as no surprise to Norm’s family and friends when, after graduating from Lasalle Secondary School, he went to Laurentian University and excelled as the Voyageurs’ shooting guard. He was a three-time All-Canadian, held the all-time Ontario University Athletics (OUA) scoring record, scored the most 3-pointers in a career and remains one of Canada’s top all-time scorers. He went on to finish his competitive basketball career playing for the Canadian National Team in 1995.
When Norm graduated from Laurentian in 1993 with a degree in physical and health education, he attended teacher’s college in Manitoba at Brandon University, where he also coached basketball with the legendary Jerry Hemmings. Then, after teaching for a couple years in Sudbury, he took a short-term position to teach in Fort Frances, Ontario before moving back to Sudbury and accepting a full-time teaching and coaching position at Lasalle Secondary School.
Life had come full circle. Norm was back where he belonged.
Except that isn’t quite the whole story. It wasn’t until two decades later that he would feel he truly had come full circle, and that he’d found his home in British Columbia’s magical Great Bear Rainforest.
Norm was recommended as a Kickass Canadian by my friend and fellow ultimate Frisbee enthusiast Brad Rollo, owner of Ottawa, Ontario’s Bramel Developments. Brad and Norm were teammates for five years on the Voyageurs, and remain close friends today. “I can’t think of anyone who embodies being a Kickass Canadian more than Norm,” says Brad. “On top of being one of the greatest basketball players this country has produced, he is an activist, adventurist and mentor to Aboriginal youth in Hartley Bay, B.C.”
There’s a lot to Norm’s story. So let’s dive in.
The beaten path
In addition to basketball and teaching, Norm grew up with a profound appreciation for the outdoors. Summers were spent at his maternal grandfather’s camp in northern Ontario, where he spent every waking moment fishing, swimming and canoeing. “As teachers, mom and dad had the summers off,” he says. “Every summer, they’d take our family out to the camp for two months, and it was amazing. That experience connected me to the environment, and instilled in me a deep appreciation and need for the natural environment.”
At home in the outdoors
His passion for the outdoors was reaffirmed during his time in Fort Frances. On weekdays, he taught at Fort Frances High School. At night and on weekends, he’d come home to his cabin on the lake, where he was free to fish and be on the water while watching the Northern Lights. The combination of teaching and being at one with the land suited him very well.
Still, when Norm was presented with full-time teaching positions at both Fort Frances High School and Lasalle Secondary School, he ignored his instincts and took the job at his alma mater. “My heart definitely wanted to stay in Fort Frances, but I was also excited to work for Lasalle principal Anna Barsanti,” he says. “Also, Sudbury was my home town, my family was there and I had a lot of close friends.”
The great outdoors
Throughout the years he taught at Lasalle, he spent as much time outdoors as he could. He got involved as a guide with the school’s Outdoor Education program, working alongside program leader Clyde Sheppard. During his summer breaks from teaching, he headed to Banff, Alberta, where he worked for his uncle Bob and discovered the Rocky Mountains. Hiking and climbing filled the gap that was left in Norm’s life after he’d stopped playing competitive basketball; in its place was a renewed passion for adventure and exploration.
Each September when he returned to teaching in Sudbury, it became harder to readjust to the lifestyle. Eventually, Anna picked up on his struggle. “She said to me, ‘You’re a great teacher, but you really have to do what you want to do and what you’re passionate about,” he says.
Her words carried a lot of weight for Norm, who has always had the utmost respect for his former principal. A seed had been planted, and he began looking more actively into opportunities for a new life out west.
Go west
After consulting with his parents, he made the decision to move to B.C. It came as a surprise to many who knew him, but for Norm, “it just felt right.” With the support of his family and friends, he redirected his path and embarked on a new journey.
Norm enrolled in the Adventure Tourism Diploma Program at Vancouver’s Canadian Tourism College. Upon graduating in 2000, he was hired by King Pacific Lodge to start up their adventure program in coastal B.C.’s Great Bear Rainforest. In researching the area, he discovered Ian and Karen McAllister’s book, The Great Bear Rainforest: Canada’s Forgotten Coast. Upon reading the book, he was instantly inspired and enamored with the region.
A feeding humpback whale near Great Bear Rainforest
Once he arrived in Great Bear Rainforest, amid kindred spirits and surrounded by the region’s natural beauty, Norm knew he was in his element. “It was really amazing,” he says. “It seemed like that first year at the lodge, I was having all these epiphanies. I believe that once you get on the right path—your path—everything falls into place. It’s like (Paulo Coelho’s novel) The Alchemist; the world will conspire to make whatever you want happen, as long as you’re investing that energy in it and committed to it.”
Hartley Bay
While Norm was working at King Pacific Lodge, he also got involved with the Gitga’at people of Hartley Bay. He spearheaded a student mentorship program that connected local First Nations students with King Pacific Lodge staff, combining in-class learning with job shadowing to help prepare the youth for future employment and continuing education. He also started coaching basketball in the local village, which he discovered the youth loved “like the rest of Canadian kids love hockey.”
It occurred to Norm that, after uprooting his career and travelling across the country, he was still teaching youth and coaching basketball. He was drawing on a skill set he’d developed in Ontario that was transferable to almost any situation. But this time, the situation was of his own making, which made all the difference.
“It’s really amazing how everything comes back in a circle,” he says. “There I was, working in this small native community on the opposite end of the country, coaching basketball again. But it was coaching that was totally different from what I was used to, and in a totally different environment. I really enjoyed it.”
T’aam Laan (Steersman of the Canoe)
Norm’s heartfelt passion for the residents of Hartley Bay was mutual. In 2006, with his parents at his side, he was formally adopted by Eva Hill into the Raven Clan of the Gitga’at people, an act he calls “one of the biggest honours that I’ve ever received.”
Norm was given the name T’aam Laan, which means Steersman of the Canoe. Once again, he was struck and moved by the feeling of destiny that kept resurfacing throughout his life.
“I grew up paddling canoes in northern Ontario, and I went to Laurentian and became a Voyageur,” he says. “I was proud to be a Voyageur, proud of their tradition as the men who paddled canoes across the country to trade fur, and proud of the way they lived their lives with adventure, hard work and camaraderie. When I was given the name (T’aam Laan), the clan really didn’t know any of my background. And here they are giving me the name Steersman of the Canoe, which was connected to my whole life.”
Norm Hann Expeditions
Since discovering the Great Bear Rainforest through his work at King Pacific Lodge, Norm has spent most of his time on the coast. He guides in the summers, and works with the youth of Hartley Bay in the winters.
In 2004, he branched out on his own to run Tantalus Adventures, a Squamish-based guiding company that later morphed into Norm Hann Expeditions.
These days, the company is focused on standup paddleboarding, a sport Norm fell in love with on first sight. “I’ve always loved surfing and canoeing,” he says. “When I first saw (paddleboarding athlete) Laird Hamilton on a video, I knew right away that I was going to do it.”
Norm and his paddleboard
That was in 2008. In three short years, he has honed his skills and now competes among the best paddleboarders in the world. Sponsored by Rogue Stand Up Paddleboards, he has been delivering exceptional performances in competitions across North America. In 2010, he finished second at the Kalamalka Classic in Vernon, B.C., third at the 22-mile Tahoe Fall Classic in California, and 65th out of more than 600 competitors at the California Battle of the Paddle, which Norm calls “the Super Bowl of stand up paddleboard racing.”
Standup4Greatbear
Paddleboarding has brought more than business and pleasure to Norm’s life. It’s also provided a means of standing up for the community that has welcomed him in as a family member.
In early 2010, he collaborated with respected Gitga’at elder Helen Clifton to teach the Essential Skills for Work program for Northwest Community College (NWCC) in Hartley Bay. Helen came to his class every Wednesday to speak to the youth about their culture and traditions. “She was a real inspiration and leader,” he says.
Week after week, she made heartfelt pleas to the students to get involved and help protect their traditional territory. Helen encouraged them to open their eyes to the Enbridge Northern Gateway Project, a proposed oil pipeline that would run from the tar sands of Alberta to the ocean port of Kitimat, B.C. If the project goes through, 225 very-large crude carriers per year will transport over 500,000 gallons of oil each through the treacherous waters of Douglas Channel and the Great Bear Rainforest, passing right by the front doorstep of Hartley Bay.
“Helen said, ‘If these oil tankers are allowed to go by, we will lose everything—our land, our culture our traditional foods,’” says Norm. “‘We will be no more.’”
Bears near Great Bear Rainforest
Inspired by Helen’s words, he watched The Black Wave, a documentary about the legacy of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. After watching the movie, he was brought to tears. He vowed to do everything he could to prevent Enbridge from moving forward and bringing harm to the Great Bear Rainforest and other coastal communities.
“I felt that I had a responsibility to help protect the community that had given me so much,” he says.
Norm founded Standup4Greatbear, a non-profit organization that promotes awareness and encourages the protection of Great Bear Rainforest through “expeditions, partnerships and action.” The organization’s inaugural expedition was a 400km stand up paddleboarding trip that Norm undertook in May 2010; he travelled the entire length of Enbridge’s proposed oil tanker route and then some, journeying from Kitimat to Bella Bella.
Norm and a humpback whale near Great Bear Rainforest
He was supported in his journey by younger sister Shannon Hann, who took care of media and blogging, and adventurer/photographer Brian Huntington, who shot photo and video footage of the trip. He was guided through each territory by the First Nations Guardian Watchmen.
From left: Norm, Brian, Shannon and some of the Standup4Grearbear team
Along the way, Norm talked with members in each of the four First Nations territories he passed through. Everyone he spoke with was emphatically opposed to the oil tanker route. As expressed on the Standup4Greatbear website, the First Nations communities stated that: “Our way of life is not for sale, not for anything. Our tradition and culture are too valuable. We are keepers of this land, for our children and for generations to come. Our answer is NO.”
Norm (right) with activist/adventurer Frank Wolf
Call to action
Norm is doing everything in his power to make sure that their voice is heard. He feels that the final decision regarding the proposed pipeline will speak not only to the future of Great Bear Rainforest and its surrounding region, but also to the direction Canada is taking on a larger environmental scale.
“What we need to be doing as Canadians, and on a world stage, is moving away from our dependence on oil,” he says. “If we can use our oil reserves to help develop new greener technologies, and move away from oil, that’s a direction we need to be going. It’s getting to a point where it’s critical. Our oceans are at risk, our forests are at risk. And if the health of our oceans and forests go, so does our health. Everything is connected. We’ve seen what happened in the Gulf Coast, we’ve seen what happens worldwide. This project will affect our whole coast. By taking a stand against the Northern Gateway project, we can actually be environmental leaders, instead of squandering and risking our precious natural resources.”
Norm approaches a tanker on his 2010 paddleboarding expedition
Norm takes every opportunity he gets to speak to students and the public about Standup4Greatbear. He’s also working on a documentary that will highlight his paddleboarding conservation expedition and shed light on Enbridge’s plan. It’s his firm belief that Great Bear Rainforest must be protected, not only for the good of the region, but for the good of the planet.
“I think it’s important to preserve the Great Bear Rainforest because I believe it’s a world class destination, and it’s an area that people can look to as a model for the future of our environment,” he says. “It’s such an incredible, magical area, and one that’s still intact. The Great Bear Rainforest can be a shining star for Canadians and the world because there are very few places left that are still like this, with functioning marine and terrestrial ecosystems.”
On the right path
Looking back at his path now, it seems clear that Norm was destined to land exactly where he is. His teaching, coaching, adventure and athletic experiences have prepared him to help guide the people in and around Great Bear Rainforest toward a positive alternative for the future.
Arriving at Hartley Bay
“Once you position yourself around like-minded people, and people who support your passion and what you do, it’s just huge,” he says. “It really motivates you and inspires you to keep on that path.”
* * *
For more on Norm’s conservation efforts, visit standup4greatbear.ca and ‘Like’ the organization’s Facebook page. To keep up with his other work, follow @normhann on Twitter, ‘Like’ the Norm Hann Expeditions Facebook page, visit normhann.com or email [email protected].
Excellent story Amanda and very well written!
Totally inspiring Norm…it blows me away how much meaningful stuff you manage to accomplish! Proud to know you 🙂
Truly a KA Canadian!
Thank you, Inis (and Jodi)! I couldn’t agree more about Norm – truly incredible stuff!
Thank you Inis and Jodi for your support. I really appreciate it……norm
Norm.
I thought you were truly amazing at Lasalle and Laurentian, but you truly have excelled since then.
I would like to say keep it up, but I am sure you will find higher bars to elevate yourself to.
Great work.
Hey Duane, great to hear from you. Man its been awhile. I hope things are good in your world. I have just tried follow my passion. I am a very fortunate person with an incredible family, amazing friends. We are so fortunate to be from Canada and have the opportunities that we have……norm
Norm it’s an honour to know you and be associated with you; you have a good voice and you use it well, I am here to support you in whatever way I can. You’ve inspired me in many ways and I hope to stand on one of those boards and paddle myself. I am working on a raven design for a 14′ board, I’ve just completed a work that’s part of a duo, Raven the Trickster and Raven the Creator. The image is unfolding as I work through the process.
Sa am tsa heightken, you stand well.
Roy
Hey Roy. Thank you very much for your kind words. I just love the Standup4greatbear crest you have done and the standup paddleboard design will inspire many. Thank you so much for your support. T’aam Laan
Norm, as with your brother and sisters, we feel blessed to see your talents and even more the person you are being acknowledged and celebrated. Long gone is that day on the Wahnapitae River with you fishing in a 16′ aluminum boat with your parents, using thick green line wound around a wooden handle that your grandfather had made. The big one finally struck, but while your dad remembered to bring his cigar, he forgot the net. You were so disapointed! Now simple stories like these have become the type of tribute that your good friend, Brad, shared with Amanda and that she has captured so vividly. We continue to be proud! You are truly T’aam Laan and the “canoe” you steer takes many forms. God bless you, Norm,and keep you safe. Love you, Mom and Dad
Thank you for the beautiful comment, Jim and Anne! I’m very happy you enjoyed the article. You’ve clearly done a wonderful job as parents. 🙂
Thanks Mom and dad…..by the way….it wasnt even a 16 foot aluminum…..it was an old broke down canoe. love norm
Norm, I am so very proud of you. Right now my tears of joy are running freely. You touched my heart when I read my name. You reminded me how critical we are to each other in finding the path that belongs to each spirit. You have been a gift in my life since you were a young boy. Your commitment, enthusiasm and dedication have found a new home – Mother Earth. We will all be better as you continue your life’s path. Love you as always. Anna
Norm:
The challenges you take on and the causes you champion make us extremely proud, as does the recognition you so richly deserve. Yet what is most endearing is that it is all done with the same modest, unassuming, almost childlike enthusiasm and grace that you have exhibited throughout your life. Our support and our hearts are with you as you continue your journey. Love Uncle John and Aunt Sue.
P.S. And a big pat on the back for sister Shannon (and the rest of your crew) for their efforts on the StandUpforGreatBear expedition.
Anna, thank you very much for your words. I really appreciate them. I think of you often and how important you are in my life. Thanks for your support. You have and continue to be an amazing leader, teacher, parent and inspiration to everyone you come into contact with….love norm
Uncle John and Aunt Sue, thank you very much for your support as well. Having a strong, loving and caring family around me has given me the freedom and confidence to accomplish goals and carry on my path. Mom reminded me about the fight for rights that Grampa Stacey used to take on…..its nice to carry some of that same passion from him into what i do. Grampa and Nana Stacey were amazing people……love norm
So inspiring 🙂
My good friend Norm. I want to let you know the fine article written by Amanda was quite informative. We as human beings all carry a deep love and passion for the beauty of nature that surrounds us. However, we all sometimes seem to forget the need for its preservation and lasting legacy. I want to commend you on your efforts to “stand up for Great Bear” and all of the lands and waters that envelope us in this great planet. Keep up the passion and steer both the canoe and the people towards a clearer understanding of nature’s untouched beauty. Take care Norm, all the best.
Happy you enjoyed the article, Mike! Thanks for the great note.
Hey Mike, thanks a lot for your comment. I have just completed a film based on the su4gb expedition and i am excited to share that with everyone…..norm
My god, the love! This article was fantastic, and obviously this individual has a special essence to him that has touched many people in his life. It was great to read the article and to read the comments.
Although I can’t identify with a life that seems to have been guided with clarity and purpose from start to present, it remains an inspiration, even for a “late bloomer” like me, who in her thirties is only realizing what she wants to do when she grows up (and still has to tackle the studies to get there!) 🙂
You hit the nail on the head, Camille. Norm really is one-of-a-kind. I’ve stayed in touch with him and am proud to call him a friend (as with you, Cams!); I’m frequently reminded of his kindness and compassion. He also referred to himself as a “late bloomer.” 30s is young. There’s a bright path ahead of you 🙂
Hi Norm! Mike from Sudbury. Wishing you a safe and successful paddleboard competition in Hawaii at the end of the month. Wish I could be there to support you in person but you do know you’ll have the love and support of all your family and friends back here in Sudbury. May your true”mana” shine through on this challenge and may the spirit of great bear watch over you always. Best of luck Norm!
Hey Mike i just wanted to thank you for your amazing words of support at a very difficult time for you. You are always thinking about other people. I am thinking about your father today and i am going to pull a couple of real hard strokes for him on my way across the channel. Cheers Mike, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. “Sa am Tsa Heightken” you stand well brother.
You are amazing in everything you do.
Thank you Ner. Amanda, Nerissa is from Hartley Bay and a very close friend. It was her sister Eva who adopted me into the Raven Clan.
Camille, I would not say my path was clear, it took quite some time to figure it out and I am still on the road. Sometimes I feel it gets a little hazy at times but I just follow my heart, which usually takes me in the right direction. My shift came when I was 30, which I don’t think is late at all……doesn’t matter when you find it as long as you find it at some point and act on it. Thanks for your comments….. I am writing this in the Bellingham airport as I wait for the plane to take me to Oahu from my Molokai2Oahu Paddleboard race.
Best of luck in Oahu, Norm! Can’t wait to hear all about it 🙂
Norm, thanks for replying. Again, it’s a testament to your generosity of spirit and probably one of the reasons you’re getting so much love from people in your life! I appreciate your honesty and the reminder that even folks who find a sense of purpose had to wait and work for it. Thank you… Good luck with the race! That seems absolutely thrilling and wonderful. I hope you’ll update us with information about it! Do you have a blog or a website?
Cheers,
Camille
p.s. just saw the info about your website and blog… 🙂
Norm “Storm T’aam Laan” Hann, we have had so many good times over the years going back to our childhood days in Coniston. You continue to strive to make yourself and those around a better people. StandUp4Greatbear is a great cause and I look forward to joining you in the Greatbear Rainforest in the next few weeks. There are many people out there who are proud of you and I am proud of you for what you have accomplished. You are an inspiration and a great friend. You are truly a KickAssCanadian and I am honoured to be your friend. Love you Bro. Paddle on! You know Papa is watching and proud as ever! His spirit will always live on!
Nix
Hey Nix, thanks so much for your commments and support. You were my first friend from Coniston when we were three and our friendship is as strong now, stronger actually, than it has ever been. It has been uplifting for me reconnecting with you over the last few years and now we are sharing a common path together. Can’t wait to bring you up to the Greatbear. I miss Grampa and yup, he would be pretty happy. Cheers brother…..storm
Hi Norm, you may remember I played against you in high school and at the grad stars final game at Brock. Just kicking some names around and wanted to let you know how special it was when you played so well at L.U…fun to watch you splashing threes against the big schools. Anyway you seem to have your life set up nicely, congrats!
Hey Brent. I do remember. Thanks so much for your comment. I am in the greatbear rainforest as we speak. Hope you’re great. I really enjoyed my time at LU.
Good afternoon Norm,
I was a student at Nickel District High School long ago when your parents were teachers there – I loved them both!!! My sister Diane Ikonen, who lives in Sudbury, sent me your documentary Standup4Great Bear – it is incredible and I want to thank you for going to such an extreme effort to make a difference. I am forwarding it to everyone I know and writing letters to our leaders. Your parents must be so proud of you and your sister. Wishing all of us in BC a better, kinder and greener future. A great big bear hug 4 you! Carol
Hey Carol, that’s some good history. That’s where mom and dad met. Thanks so much for your support and for taking the time to write a comment. I am happy that you enjoyed the film and that you’re inspired by it. Thanks for the hug and back at you… I will keep working out here to keep the Greatbear free.
Hey Norm! I was researching environmental issues facing BC for my grade 4/5 class and I came across this website. I watched your Stand Up for Great Bear documentary on Youtube and was impressed. What an accomplishment!! I am going to show it to my students to inspire them to take action. Take care!
Adria
hey Norm! One more thing…how can I get a copy of the movie “Stand”? I just watched the trailer.
Adria
Hey Adria, so good to hear from you! Can you send me your email so we can touch base? So glad you are going to show the kids Standup4Greatbear. Our Standfilm is not completed yet. I am going on another sup expedition and paddling the length of Haida GWaii in June and we should have the film ready in the spring. SPOIL is another great film to watch. What school are you teaching at? Great work in the class, teachers like you inspire me…..love norm
What a lovely homage! Jaylene actually suggested I look up StandUp4 Great Bear and voila I ended up here.
It is great to hear that you are doing so well and that you have dedicated your life to something so important.
Best of luck.
Hey Kristi, great to hear from you and thanks for your support. Check out http://www.standfilm.com
Saw your excellent doc yesterday here at Cinefest Sudbury. Hopefully more folks across the land will see the value of putting an end to Harper and the Enbridge madness! Well done.
J.L.
Hey John, glad you got a chance to see the documentary. I was proud to have it shown in Sudbury.
What a great read about a great person who is doing amazing things in protecting our environment. I spent 30 years of coaching basketball at Brandon University. I had the opportunity of coaching against Norm when he played at Laurentian University. I loved Norm as a player even though he was scoring 30 points against my team.
I had an opportunity to have Norm work with my basketball team from 1993 to 95 as an Assistant Coach while he completed his education degree at Brandon University. In 1994 I remember we ran a fitness test called the beep test. It was a test to measure aerobic work capacity and mental toughness. Norm wanted to compete in the test along with the players. Norm showed his toughest and aerobic fitness level and blew the players out of the water. He scored a 17 on the Beep test which is amazing if you know anything about the beep test.That is still a record at Brandon University. Now, all that drive, passion,love and determination is being applied in a bigger and more important test and that being the protection of our environment. Norm, I am proud to have known you and I wish you much continued success. Jerry Hemmings, Basketball Coach Emeritus, Brandon University
Jerry, thanks for the great feedback. I’m familiar with the beep test… not surprised by Norm’s results! So glad you found this article. Happy New Year!
Hey Coach Hemmings, thanks for your comments. I had a great time in Brandon and it was because of you that I came west as you gave me the opportunity to coach and to get my teaching degree. Thank you for that. I appreciated the opportunity to work with such a dedicated, passionate and caring individual as yourself. I was happy to be part of a successful dynasty and team that you created through your hard work. What you created at Brandon was truly amazing and your legacy carries on. Thanks for your leadership and support coach! Cheers…norm
Norm, you are truly a great person. Having played both with you and against you, I can fully attest to your tenacity. When I knew you over 20 years ago, you were in a class of your own on the court. You are indeed a Kickass Canadian! When I first saw the cover of the Explore magazine, I was thrilled to tell my West Coast friends and colleagues that I knew who you were, that we came from the same town. This morning I saw the Georgia Straight and grabbed it immediately, took a shot of the cover with my phone and sent it to my brother and this will, I’m sure, be the central theme this upcoming Thursday night at Eddie’s!!!
Your conservation work is an inspiration and I’m proud to say that you and I once shared the same uniform. Yours is a truly honourable cause and I will continue to follow your efforts.
Thanks to Kickass Canadians for the tremendous article and thanks to you, Norm, for caring about something that deserves to be cared for.
Cheers,
Tom
Tom, you’re very welcome. Thanks for sharing your heartfelt comment.
Hey Tommy, thanks so much for your kind words. We go back a long way on the basketball courts and blacktop, but outside of being a competitor and voyageur teammate you have always been a great friend. Thanks so much for your support! If I can live up to the standards of the Thursday night Eddie’s Round table, then life will be good. Cheers brother!!