 |
| The Ex Chief met with us at the Youth Centre |
We were fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with many people in this northern reserve.
This morning, P. arrange to meet with C. who came to the Youth Centre to talk to us.
We sat in a circle in the round room. C. wanted to know
something about us and asked each one to say our name and briefly tell
something about us. In an aboriginal circle, the person starts and then
continue clockwise.
After each person had his/ her brief introduction, C. told us about himself.
C. - the meaning of his name - water from the mountain. He was born and has lived on this reserve all his life. Though it was compulsory for all native people to attend Residential School, C. refused and managed to escape from that experience.
 |
| Head piece worn by an Aboriginal Chief |
After each person had his/ her brief introduction, C. told us about himself.
C. - the meaning of his name - water from the mountain. He was born and has lived on this reserve all his life. Though it was compulsory for all native people to attend Residential School, C. refused and managed to escape from that experience.
1898 was the year the Residential School started on this reserve. In 1971 – Cree people took over the Blue Quill school. At the time, the government said the Blue Quill school would not last a day. C. is very proud that Blue Quill is a university now!
When C. was young, he was never in a leadership role but was elected as chief at one time. Along with other band council members, they built this hall ( the hall where we were in), the roads and the school, achieving many things for his people.
He also worked in a treatment centre, was on council and went to university to learn his language. C.'s dream was to see his young people to speak Cree. He felt that people his age need to speak more Cree, but they speak more English when they meet as many were educated in English in the Residential Schools.
We had a wonderful conversation with the ex Chief. He gave us a lot of information and we learned many things from him such as the 1876 treaty which the Cree people on this reserve signed with Queen of England. There used to be four chiefs, eventually they became one. There were the south and north side of this reserve– one side was Catholic while the other was Protestant.
There are seven ceremonies with the Cree people – e.g. Sweat Lodge, Sun Dance, Pipe Ceremony etc. Each one has a chief leading the ceremony.
C. is a funny person indeed! The best thing I remember our meeting was his tremendous sense of humor and his ability to put people at ease. Throughout the duration of his recall of the hurts experienced by his people, he managed to make us laugh by injecting humorus stories in between. E.g.
 |
| We sat in the beautiful meeting room built by C. & his team while he was a Chief of this reserve community |
When C. was young, he was never in a leadership role but was elected as chief at one time. Along with other band council members, they built this hall ( the hall where we were in), the roads and the school, achieving many things for his people.
He also worked in a treatment centre, was on council and went to university to learn his language. C.'s dream was to see his young people to speak Cree. He felt that people his age need to speak more Cree, but they speak more English when they meet as many were educated in English in the Residential Schools.
We had a wonderful conversation with the ex Chief. He gave us a lot of information and we learned many things from him such as the 1876 treaty which the Cree people on this reserve signed with Queen of England. There used to be four chiefs, eventually they became one. There were the south and north side of this reserve– one side was Catholic while the other was Protestant.
There are seven ceremonies with the Cree people – e.g. Sweat Lodge, Sun Dance, Pipe Ceremony etc. Each one has a chief leading the ceremony.
C. is a funny person indeed! The best thing I remember our meeting was his tremendous sense of humor and his ability to put people at ease. Throughout the duration of his recall of the hurts experienced by his people, he managed to make us laugh by injecting humorus stories in between. E.g.
C.: Do you know why they call Quebec - Quebec?
Our Group : No, why?
C. They were coming up the St. Lawrence River and the native kept telling them "Get back! Get back!" So they figured out the name of the place was Quebec, therefore they named it Quebec!"
C. was using a lot of Cantonese ( a Chinese dialect) in his conversations with us and we were wondering how he learned so much of the language.
Our Group: C. how come you know so much Cantonese? Your Cantonese is amazing!
C.: I am part Cantonese, you know.
Our Group : No, why?
C. They were coming up the St. Lawrence River and the native kept telling them "Get back! Get back!" So they figured out the name of the place was Quebec, therefore they named it Quebec!"
C. was using a lot of Cantonese ( a Chinese dialect) in his conversations with us and we were wondering how he learned so much of the language.
Our Group: C. how come you know so much Cantonese? Your Cantonese is amazing!
C.: I am part Cantonese, you know.
Our Group: Really? ( Getting excited! )
C.: For sure, my stomach is Cantonese! ( I love Cantonese food!)
C.: There are about 70% of unemployment here on this reserve. Do
you know why?
Our Group: No, we don't why?
Our Group: No, we don't why?
C.: Jesus told us not to do anything until he comes back. That’s
why people are not doing anything!
The ability to laugh and see the humour in life is an excellent life skill. I need to learn from Chief C. and see the bright side of everything when I am faced with obstacles and difficult situations in life.
R.T.
A Northern Reserve
The ability to laugh and see the humour in life is an excellent life skill. I need to learn from Chief C. and see the bright side of everything when I am faced with obstacles and difficult situations in life.
R.T.
A Northern Reserve
Alberta
May, 2016
May, 2016
No comments:
Post a Comment