STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a
Tioweró:ton
In the fall, we would go up to hunt. At night, the hunters would come down and tell us they got a moose, and the men would head up to help. It was a lot of work. We would cut the moose into pieces so that each man can carry a piece of the moose out of the bush. I was always excited to go because those who helped would get moose meat and have a party or celebration after we were done.
Life on the farm
We grew food that would be used for our survival. In the mornings we would go out and clean the barn, get eggs and those types of things, then head back to the house for breakfast. We were not rich but we were never hungry. In our crawl space, we had everything we needed like potatoes, carrots, and turnips.
Not just a hobby
I learned to plant when I was a boy with my grandfather, so I’ve been planting a garden for the past almost 50 years now. When I was 18, I made a garden at my parents’ place. I just went out, turned the land over and planted. I didn’t ask what to do. I already knew what to do. It’s like it’s in you.
Centred around the garden
I come from a traditional background in the Longhouse. Food and the relationship to nature is one of the basic principle teachings. Part of our ways, our customs, our traditions are related to the gardens and how the food grows. How does life continue? You need the food.