Tag Archives: Morin Lake Reserve #217

Memories of stoves, wood and my father’s skidoo

I remember standing by the stove when I was a boy in Hall Lake. Nipāpā – my father,  had made a big fire to get the house warm after we all spent a few days in La Ronge. I used to observe him and eventually learned to do what he did. Nimāmā, my mother, would be busy taking care of my baby brother to keep him warm, my sisters would be cuddled up to stay warm as the house was not quite warm enough.

At the top of the stove, I could see the heat radiating. Throwing heat upwards, slowly but surely it would heat up our home. nipāpā always made sure there was enough wood in the wood box. He would go out and haul wood from the thick forest across the lake from our small community. As I got older, he would buck all the wood in the bushes and have me go pick it up in his skidoo.

I used to love riding the snow machine. I would always anticipate him telling me to go get the wood. He would take me on the first trip, and I would ride at the back of the sled. I would twist and turn to go with the flow of the ride, as there were many bumps and twists on the ice and trail. He would point out all the places where there was wood, already bucked in stacks. He would take one last haul home and then it would be my turn.

The skidoo was a 350 and it had the insignia, “Ski-Doo,” on the side of the black hood. The windshield was unusually high, but it worked well when the weather was very cold and windy. The stacks of wood were easy to find but getting to the right landing across the lake would be confusing. There were several that looked very familiar, but I ended up going to the right one.

 

The work was great, it was exhilarating to be working out in the cold and I would feel the adrenaline as I worked fast and hard. I would almost feel lightheaded as I drove the skidoo back because I would be just sitting there after working furiously. I do not know why I went so hard when I was packing the sled with wood. If I could do it now, I would take it easy and take in the nature around me with squirrels and birds curiously looking at me. I wonder if they thought I would leave some scraps for them to eat after I left.

Once on the open lake, I would go full throttle, absorbing all the snowdrifts and the occasional soft snow where I would be surfing over the surface. I would wonder if there was slush under the beautiful blanket of snow, so I would try to avoid areas where I suspected there might be slush. I had gotten stuck in the slush before during several of my many joys rides around the rez. It really sucks. Wet socks, soaking boots, ugh, I would not wish that on my worst enemy.

Many times, I would be allowed to use the skidoo and cruise around the community. I would go pick up my friends and we would have an awesome time going through the many back trails. Sometimes I would pull a bunch of kids on the sled just for fun. If they heard me coming down the road or lake, they would be waiting for me to pick them up and drive them around. Occasionally, I would allow them to hitch their sleds onto the main sled and we would make a sled train. Great times, I cannot imagine wanting to do that today, I would probably be way too worried about safety and what their parents would say if a child got hurt.

This snowy day and chilly temps got me thinking about those days. I was so young at the time. I am not old but I do not live in Hall Lake anymore. I did for a while last year, but I did not even consider buying a skidoo for myself. I am not sure when I will live there again, but if I do, maybe I will buy a brand-new skidoo, one with a high windshield.

nipāpā – my father

nimāmā – my mother

Snowmobile Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay
Fire Image by Nikolai Alber from Pixabay

Year End 2019

The year started off with the choice of staying a Web Developer with LLRIB or apply for a teaching job in Hall Lake, my old home reserve. At that point in my life, I had worked as a web developer for nearly 14 years. I decided to give teaching a try after discussing it with my family.

It was nice to be back home in Hall Lake. I knew most of the people from 14 years before, but I did not know who the children were. I worked for Recreation in the 1990s and many of the kids I worked with, had their own kids. I could see many similarities in the children and could sometimes easily guess who their parents or grandparents were.

The familiar faces were all adults now, and I now had to learn new names, something I was never good at. I am glad to say, that I am getting close to fully reacquainting with all the people from my hometown.

This website would continue to be updated because it is my personal website and I finance and maintain it on my dime and time. I enjoy sharing my knowledge and displaying my tech skills. It has been a big year for the website in terms of visitor and viewer growth. Financially, not so much. The last time I received any remuneration, was June 2019: One-hundred dollars. I stand to make another $100 this month. It is all from the ads you see on the website. So, the website, while it brings pleasure and expression of my knowledge and abilities, it is not making me rich.

While the website would continue, the stability of my employment at the time, was about to be very disrupted. I would go from sitting quietly in my office, pressing buttons and collaborating with leaders and directors, to managing a classroom full of 10- and 11-year-old’s, who ask me: “When is it lunch?”

It has been very challenging. Much of my time is spent trying to manage my classroom, but it has gotten easier. The students have warmed up to me and seem to enjoy my short lectures. It is such a joy when a student has a “EUREKA!” moment. I will be explaining and explaining and suddenly, their eyes will light up when they understand. They go quickly go back to their desk all eager to complete their work. It can be awesome. Not once, has a computer or website given me such a feeling of accomplishment.

I will continue teaching until the end of June 2020, at Sally Ross School, and then, who knows. I will see how it goes.

ī – miskwamīwik mīskanaw – The road is icy.

Past my vehicle, the driveway looks very dangerous,  I just have to be careful.

ī – miskwamīwik mīskanaw – The road is icy.

aswīthihta īkā kita sōskopathīyin miskwamīhk – Be careful not to slip on the ice.

 

Source – http://sapir.artsrn.ualberta.ca/itwewina/ 

Old Tree behind my Parents House

My parents house

Around 1982, when my parents moved us from La Ronge to Hall Lake, our house and area was a new place to explore for this 8-year-old at the time. There were many trees near and around the house and nipāpā – my father spend days cutting trees down and digging out the tree stumps. I was too small to help with that, but I did haul what scraps I could. I wish I had pictures I could show.

Actual picture of tree before it fell, tāpwī.

There was a mistik – tree, that caught my eye earlier on because it stood out among the mītosak – popular trees behind the house, it was an ithināhtik – black spruce. I immediately noticed the tree had long branches at the bottom and made a natural umbrella, my sisters and I ran to this tree to get away from the rain many times.

Actual picture of tree before it fell, tāpwī.

During the winter of the year, nipāpā had trapped and skinned either a nikik – otter or ocīk – fisher. My memory is a bit fuzzy but anyway, he had thrown the skeleton of the animal on the branches of the ithināhtik, maybe about 3 metres high. Over the years, the bones got higher and higher until I completely forgot about them. When I did remember many years later, I could not make it out. Not a trace. I wondered if it was dragged away by ravens and crows or by the squirrel that made the tree it’s home.

Actual tree after it fell, tāpwī

In late July of this year, 2019, the tree finally fell after a storm. Right away I went to the tree when I found out and looked for the bones that were thrown onto the branches. I did not find the skeleton. I was kind of disappointed but considering its been 37 years, there was little chance it would still be there. I just thought it would be a good story to tell my children as I held up the skeleton, but that is not to be. Like the readers of this blog, it can only be imagined.

 

nipāpā – my father (this is how we say it in our “colonized” reserves).

mistik – tree

mītos – popular tree

ithināhtik – black spruce

nikik – otter

ocīk – fisher

 

nōhkom wāpahtam machi-pimithākan – My grandmother saw a UFO

nohkom – my grandmother Emily Ross

When I was a boy, nōhkom (my grandmother) from my father’s side,  told us a story a story about how she saw a UFO. It was skimming over the trees across from nimosōm owāskahikanis (grandfather’s cabin). She was with nitawīmāw (my female cousin from father’s brother) when they were at the shore and saw the UFO. I believe this was before I was ten years old.

I was fascinated at the story nōhkom was telling me at the time because UFOs were all the rage on the kithāskīwi masinahikana (lying books) tabloids, such as The National Inquirer and Weekly World News. I could only imagine what it might have looked like and her story is actually where I got the idea for one of my many stories on this website: Machi-Pimithākan – UFO (https://firstnationstories.com/?page_id=1582).

I recently chatted with my cousin about it because it never occurred to me to ask when we were growing up. This is what she said:

Well her and I went outside at night…I needed to use the bathroom cause I was scared to go alone…then she said to me in cree…hey what is that up in the sky and I told her it can’t be a plane…so told me to hurry and said there was monsters on that plane that will take us away with them…then we went back in the cabin just scared lol…then late grandpa said they won’t bother u if your inside a house…so I felt better after that ..I always believed our late grandparents [sic]

Of course, at the time, there were no cell phone cameras to take a quick picture, so imagination is all we have for stories like this. We have all seen many pictures online and drawings of such phenomenon, but they always seem so blurry and pixelated. Videos of UFOs are difficult to make out because the objects are always so far away and the good videos look too fake to me. With a little time on my hands, I could make a fake picture or video, but I won’t because it would be too time consuming.

In the chat with my cousin, my grandparents seemed to have an intimate knowledge of such encounters with that type of craft. The reference to monsters, which I take to be the aliens, seems to be a description of a creature they had no words for. The assurance that “they” will not bother you when indoors, tells me that there may be a risk of being abducted when you are outdoors and are close to a UFO. Scary thoughts come to my head when I think about that, considering all the UFO abduction stories in books, TV and online.

Speaking of scary thoughts, one-time, nōhkom told us a story about a family that was living out in tents in late fall. One of the people saw a craft landing on the ice and he/she went running inside. They all laid in their sleeping bags and blankets, cowering in fear when suddenly, a group of small beings went inside the tent. One of the women was pregnant and had a miscarriage from being so terrified. nōhkom said the beings were as short as children. I cannot remember the rest of the story, but my siblings and I, shuddered at the possibility. We were staying in tents at the time because my grandfather’s cabin was being worked on. I had to have been six years old when we were told this story.

The only time I remember having a close encounter, was when my friend and I were walking home from another friend’s house in Hall Lake. We were walking along near a birch bark tree, when suddenly, a flash of light went streaking over the birch bark tree, we saw our shadows on the ground and we quickly looked up. We did not see anything or hear a sound, at least not from what I remember. We tried to rationalize by asking each other what it was, but when my friend told me it was probably headlights shining, I responded with “from up there?” We both looked at each other and ran back to our friend’s house.

When we got there, we told him everything. He told us that he heard that when you see a flying saucer once during the night, you won’t see it again. It wasn’t too assuring for us because we were scared out of our minds. We still had to go home, however, my friend lived closer than I did and so after I dropped him off, I still had a way to go before I got home. I was very paranoid during that walk.

nōhkom – my grandmother

nimosōm – my grandfather

machi-pimithākan – bad flying device or object, UFO, flying saucer

wāpahtam – he/she sees (something)

nohkom wāpahtam machi-pimithākan – My grandmother saw a UFO

nimosōm owāskahikanis – grandfather’s cabin

kithāskīwi masinahikana – lying books (such as The National Inquirer and Weekly World News)

nitawīmāw – my female cousin from father’s brother

ninanāskimon kā ayimihtayin nitācithohkīwina.  I am thankful that you are reading my stories.

 

 

My Time with The Gift of Language and Culture Project (2005-2011)

banner_glcp
http://www.giftoflanguageandculture.ca/ (new window)

In 2005, I started working for the Gift of Language and Culture Project as a casual web designer. Little did I know that they were expecting a Flash based website with images, text and audio all rolled into one for each category. I was overwhelmed by the expectations but I was happy to at least be working. I put in many extra hours at home to learn this new application.

cree-syllabicsI knew enough about image and sound formats but he text part gave me trouble because I had never worked with different text fonts other than the generic types we are all used to such as, Times New Roman, Arial or Comic Sans. I had to learn quickly because the demands of the project team was high and I was expected to work miracles and with new Aboriginal language fonts I never heard of. dene_swallow

We had Cree, Dene and syllabic fonts that needed to be installed on all our computers and I had to make sure people at home and schools could view the fonts on documents so I had to provide a link to the fonts for personal installation. There were also applications I needed to familiarize myself with, such as, CorelDraw, Publisher, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Audition and of course Adobe Flash (Macromedia Flash at the time). I already knew about Adobe Photoshop so that was a big help with the images that needed to be edited and manipulated.

The project team was great and the people were dedicated and willing to put forth much effort to accomplish what we could, to provide resources for Aboriginal language learners all over the country and even some in the United States. We had curriculum developers who compiled the Cree and Dene word lists and translations, illustrators who provided the original clip-art we needed, audio/visual personnel who recorded the audio and video required and of course the material developers who put the resources together for print and distribution.

Part One & Part Two

I personally collaborated with all staff to get what I needed to build the website and put their work together and develop what we see today. If it were not for the cooperation and hard work of the team, I could not do what I did for the website. I am grateful for the experience and I was so sad to see it all come to an end in 2011. It was a big part of my life, 7 years of my life that it still has a profound effect on me today.

I think I did well on my self-learning because we ended up with a great Cree website that is still online and used all around the world and has been viewed by 147 countries. It has had 276,357 hits and 100,226 unique visitors (as of June 17, 2015) which is pretty good for a non-mainstream language and website.

Last 500 hits
Last 500 hits
youtube_glcp_image
YouTube

The YouTube Channel has 407 subscribers 260,379 views as (of June 17, 2015). The channel has songs, concerts, and animations for the whole family to enjoy. There are also a couple of instructional videos for snowshoes and birch bark baskets and many interviews with elders, some who are not with us today.
(https://www.youtube.com/user/TGLCP/videos).

theGiftOfLanguageAndCulture_screenAs the web designer/Flash developer, I received praise for the work I did but I always mentioned the people behind all the important work that needed to be done before I could even develop an animation or Flash exercise. I had a good working relationship with all my co-workers and while they contributed all the work, I made myself extra useful by troubleshooting their computer’s hardware and software when ever they needed it. There was no way I could do my work if they could not do theirs, so it worked out for all of us.

I am currently training to be a teacher at Nortep and hopefully in a couple of years I will be able to contribute to the Cree language professionally with much more credibility. I decided to go back to school because I needed more training in the area of education and to hopefully expand my horizons for myself and to contribute more to the learning environment of our students in other areas where it is needed.

On a side note, I would receive emails and phone calls from Montana, Ontario, British Columbia and the all the prairie provinces to let me know what a great job the Gift was doing. One person in particular called from BC to tell me that he loved the website and that two of his children were learning Cree from their mother who was a Cree woman he married from Saskatchewan somewhere, I cannot remember where specifically (it might have been Pelican Narrows). It was a morning call out of nowhere but it was a nice surprise way back about 2010.

I wish the project could have continued but all good things come to an end. Maybe one of these days there will be a revival and if there is, I would love to be involved again and provide my experience and expertise.

i-shall-see-you-again

cv