STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a
Christmas in Kahnawà:ke
My father used to go with his uncle and his friend up to Saint Lucie before Christmas to cut down trees and bring them back for his uncle, my grandfather and a few others in the family. It was an all-day process so they would only get back late at night.
Learning about literature
When I was about five or so, dad would read a series of illustrated stories from the Montreal Star with me that told of a small community that lived within the shelter of a rose bush. The series was called The Teenie Weenies. Several months ago, I was telling my son how I had enjoyed those stories; he looked them up online, and found me, for this Christmas, an original Teenie Weenie book published in 1944.
Coincidence
I remember when we left Standing Rock, we were just taking a stroll and there were two bald eagles sitting in the tree very low. As we drove back home, we hit the state of Michigan, and I looked up at the sunroof in the car and there was a bald eagle circling the car making sure we got back safely.
Becoming an ironworker
A week before I turned 18 my father said, “I’m going to take you to work with me.” We got a ride down to New York and stayed at his apartment that was on the street next to Spar Bar in Brooklyn.
Our strength
Almost all Indigenous people have a deeply rooted spirituality that is the basis of how we see things in this world. It’s that mentality that has helped us to survive horrendous stuff in these last 500 years.
We are no longer sovereign
So, we really need to understand to what degree we are colonized. And we need to begin the process of decolonizing ourselves. And that requires us to go back to step 1. Step one is the spiritual realm where we all come from.
Princess White Deer
Esther travelled the world with her uncles. There were three of them, three brothers: James, John, and George. James was her father and John was my grandfather. George didn’t have any kids. They also had a sister.
Powwow scene
I turned around, and it was Pierce Brosnan. I took a deep breath and said, 'Relax. He's just a person like everybody else.' I said, 'It looks pretty good. I thought you were going to be in that scene. How come you're out here?’
Protestant and catholic
My mother went to catholic school, but she did not want the nuns to teach us, so she sent us to protestant school. Protestant school was like today's public school. My cousin and I were the same age and lived in the same neighborhood, so we walked to school together. She was going to the catholic school and I was attending the protestant one. One time, she crossed the street and told me that she could not walk with me because I was protestant.
Ground ivy
This was the first time I felt a true connection with plant medicine. The plant heard what I was thinking and was ready to help. It made the cultural teachings more real: 'All our relations.'
Given to me
there are some students from the school that will come, sit, listen and write down the words they need translated. Sometimes there's three or four of them sitting there and they’re writing down questions to ask and I help them as best as I can.
Cherished language
My language has become a source of help and connection for me. I often get invited to speak with people, like that teacher up in Oneida who was teaching Mohawk. He had a few words he and others wanted to understand better and pronounce correctly.
Four Guys and Two Canoes
When we stopped that first night, it was at a field’s edge. We had some overnight stuff in plastic garbage bags, and we brought the canoes on land, turned them over and with the angle of it on its side, it protected our heads. We would have half our bodies inside the canoe with our feet sticking out, just lying on the ground with some blankets.
Life in the big garden
We would also help with planting and harvesting. When you plant tomatoes and they get big, there are these large kinds of green caterpillars that get on them and eat the leaves. They’d be hiding under the leaf or whatever. We’d have to pick them off the tomatoes. That was scary.
Kanenhstatonhkó:wa
Now that guy, Jimmy Carter, came down from France. I know his real name is Jacques Cartier, but I like to see people's puzzled faces when I call him Jimmy Carter.
Ohsia’á:ka
The Iroquois, confused as to why these people were extending their hands out to them, identified the French settlers as “Ohsia’á:ka,” or in English, “People of the palm.” For the few days after Jacques Cartier was there, the Iroquois kept mumbling ohsia’á:ka.
Safeguarding our heritage
I believe it's crucial for us to come together and engage in meaningful dialogue. Upholding the principles of the Two Row Wampum is very important: it's about honouring our shared culture and understanding.
Upholding traditions
Families would prepare lunches to bring to the grounds. Everyone looked forward to the picnic; it was special. It was a good feeling to see everyone gathered. Eventually, it became one of our traditions.
Big problem in Manhattan
My son and I had a talk on the way home that day about the sand running out of your hourglass. That event really drove home that you should never take life for granted because you just never know what can happen.