STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a

Four Guys and Two Canoes
St. Lawrence River, Environment, Family Aaron McComber St. Lawrence River, Environment, Family Aaron McComber

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. 

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Ohsia’á:ka
St. Lawrence River Kassidy Jacobs St. Lawrence River Kassidy Jacobs

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. 

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Could've died
Personal, Spirituality, St. Lawrence River Emma McLaughlin Personal, Spirituality, St. Lawrence River Emma McLaughlin

Could've died

When I was a kid, I remember seeing the older women, the grandmothers, swimming in the river. They were very modest and they wore handmade black dresses, even for swimming. I think they would jump into the river behind the church and float way out in the middle of the river. We could hear them laughing and laughing, floating down with their dresses that would make an air bubble around them.

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The mighty St. Lawrence river

The mighty St. Lawrence river

The St. Lawrence River played an important role in our daily lives, especially for families living by the riverside in the old village area of Kahnawake. On sunny nice days, community women would go down to the shore and wash laundry with large bar soap and scrub boards in hand and children in tow.

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