STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a
Ruling the roost
When we moved from Yellow Island to the village of Ahkwesáhsne, my dad started attending the council meetings that happened about once a month. My parents only spoke Indian. After a while, I could understand some things in English, more than my dad. So one day he said, “Come to the meeting with me and let me know what’s going on.” So we went.
I stepped on the major
We danced and it was quite a crowded dance floor. There were all these people in uniforms and medals and whatnot all. Anyway, I remember, we made a turn out on this crowded dance floor, and I heard a cry of pain behind me.
The Council House
In the old Council House, well, at least the one with which I was familiar, on the main level, there was a room at the back. And, from the dance floor, as I like to call it, you went downstairs to the basement.
Hunting in Brasher
I hunted in Brasher, New York, since 1982. A friend told me about it, because he used to go up there. Before that we would go all the way to Lake Placid to hunt deer, because there were not many deer here.
Where the river curves
I didn’t have a boat back then, so I had to borrow one and I had to bring it back at a certain time. This one man, old man Buckshot, that man had nets in the water. I brought the boat back the next day, and he was kind of mad; we went out on his boat and checked his net.
The Ladies Eight
They always had a good group. People get together to help each other out. If somebody loses a family member, there’s somebody who can help out to make lunch. When the service is finished, they would all go to the church hall and food would be ready for them to eat.
Faith, love and support
I was at Maria’s Gas Bar with a friend when I received a call. They told me that my dad was helping my brother pass but was in distress and that my brother needed someone to talk to our dad in our language, to provide support during this difficult time.
A Child’s Mind
I believe I was given a ring for my communion. It was a nice ring, I liked it. One day, when I was wearing it, I showed it to my mom. I told her, “Mom, the ring is hurting me.”
Life in Coney Island
My older brother, Steve, was really my guardian; I was not allowed to go no place, no place, no place, unless he was with me.
Welcomed with open arms
We were bringing women up to the Laurentians to do sweat lodges, talking circles, and sharing circles with Sedalia Fazio, the elder for the Native Women's Shelter. She's become my elder too, for 18 years. That was my introduction to my culture, and where I started working and taking part in the community.
Bees are my medicine
Beekeeping came to me about eight years ago. I was in a really tough place emotionally and mentally, so I decided to take three months off work. I went to a lodge in the Munsee Delaware Nation for three weeks, with 18 other women.
Fluttering yellow tape
It was the spirit of the wind, sending me a message: “It’s time. You need to take those steps, and you need to move forward.” Not just moving forward on this bridge but truly moving forward on my path.
Buffalo Burger
We didn’t always have a powwow in Kanehsatà:ke. The powwow started here in the 90s after the Siege of Kanehsatà:ke. Walter David Sr. started it in July, but it’s now done at the end of August.
The Fair Dance
The Council House had these big windows, almost from the floor up. Out in the back, the young guys would come and call flirtatiously towards the girls who hung out the window. Courting kinds of things and all that sort of stuff.
Learning to Dance
All those dances at the Council House, they were always a big deal when we were kids – teenagers. I remember the first dance I went to with a date. We were both kids and we'd been friends forever. Neither one of us knew how to dance.
The other incident
On our way home in the car, I was daydreaming, it wasn’t even me that was driving. I was just on autopilot.
The story of how we met
I didn’t want to go home early, especially not on a Sunday night. So, he gave me a ride home and then we kind of made it a habit. Whenever I’d see him, I’d say, “Can you give me a ride home?”
Resilience and recovery
Back in May of 2023, I underwent a significant operation on my legs due to a blockage in one of my veins.
They breathe, we breathe
There is another way to live with one another that acknowledges and understands that we are part of the land our Mother, we are not separate from her.