Stacey's Blog: A special place in my heart

"I want to go more places, but this one will always have a special place in my heart." I said that in reply to someone telling me there are other places I can learn so much from.
On my Facebook wall, actually so you can see it if you're my Facebook friend :P

But, watching a terrible movie that featured an elder of Chisasibi, Margaret Cromarty-Sam, and Jimmy Sam, a photographer that sparked a realization, after two months of living here, how egocentric some of my opinions of the people here are. I don't understand these people because I don't understand the lifestyle that satisfies them. I think it's so important for them to learn English and read English, but many of them would so much rather live a lifestyle that made their grandparents so happy.
I think the biggest issue is that children are so detached from their grandparents because when they were forced to move here from Fort George, their lifestyle changed so rapidly that there was no bridge of understanding whatsoever. And the parents are the ones that went to residential schools, creating an even larger gap between generations. And I've only really interacted with teachers and children (students) and not really any elders. Thats where the cultural discovery truly is.

Margaret read one of her poems in the film. It was about her home on Fort George, comparing it to the peace and calm of an owl. I recognized it immediately. I believe it was the first poem I bookmarked actually. Such a beautiful woman. The filming crew asked her if she felt alone in Fort George (it's basically a ghost town now since hydroquebec said it would flood, and it never did.) She said no. "I have the sky," and other things. She continued to state that in Chisasibi, when she watches TV, she feels alone.

I was looking through the pictures of the Cox family reunion thanks to Sylvain, and they just look so happy, naturally, in the photographs. And I've never seen these people in that setting. Oh, how can I think I understand them when I don't know their ways, I don't know their language? There's so much more to learn than what the three months I have with Katimavik. I want to come back so I can learn everything myself without Katimavik limitations. (That's nothing against Katimavik, I wouldn't have learned nearly this much if it werent for Katimavik!)

The thing is, the children of Chisasibi are children of Chisasibi, not Fort George. Like myself, all they've ever known is electricity, running water and the things I too sometimes take for granted. Meeting Sylvain for me, was a real pleasure because I got to meet someone that was living the lifestyle without running water or electricity and he is satisfied with that lifestyle. It brings me great pleasure to see that there are hard-working people like him that can adopt such a lifestyle and appreciate it after growing up with such luxuries.

Sylvain explained many of these things to us, about the dying culture in Chisasibi, and the repression, and the many difficulties they've endured. This man has a better understanding of these people than, well, I believe, than any other white person here. And in 5 days, I've learned so much from him. I hope to learn more someday. (Maybe even this summer!)

And I rode in an army tank today! talked to some of the army guys. and sorry, I don't have pictures, but the americans (there is a platoon of 18 here, I talked to the commander :P) were pretty funny- they gave some kids their ranks, and told them to tell the privates to do stuff. Justin, who's about 2 or 3 i think, barely talks, so they stood behind him and had one of the troops do push-ups and I think Hailey (who's a sweetheart in the Grade 5 French Class) will keep the officer's rank with her forever.

I also talked to a Canadian soldier, a corporal, who drove the tank when we were in it :P, which was fun- I even shared some of my sister's stories! And maybe one of my own? Can't remember anymore, but he mentioned his tour and I asked about Cypress (the part of the tour where they do their "debriefing" and finally get their well-deserved fun.)

I haven't even mentioned Ashuugan! I had the pleasure of being in this class to do a little 'presentation' (more like a discussion, it was sweet!) with their small class, and talk to the teachers. It was such a joy for me, to meet people who were so interested in what I had to say, and they seemed to really want to share some knowledge and share some of their contacts with us. Ashuugan, in case you're wondering, is a pre-college prep course for students in Chisasibi. Iit's funded by CEGEP Felicien, and for those of you that dont know, CEGEP in Quebec is schooling between high school and University. The reason there is such a need for something like this is because there is not a whole lot available close to them, and even those schools that are available are schools in French, which is hard for them since french would be a third language for many (most actually) So this would make their transition from high school here so much easier. We were talking about all the things we could combine groups with to do and it just got me so excited to be involved with people that live here, that are actually closer to our age!

And there was a hockey game- Canadian Forces Vs The local Chisasibi team. SO INTENSE. It went into a shootout, which lasted about 5 rounds (I dont know exactly how many but it went for a while) and, I believe the army took the win. :(   This month something is happening everyday to get the Community Spirit going! Tomorrow I'm going to wear the skirt I made, the shirt, a pair of earrings I bought, and bring the slippers i bought :)
I even got a contact to do a fire in a TeePee so that would be a really cool experience if it happens!

Yesterday, they had their community month launch at the commercial centre. I went, because all I knew was that there was a walk and I knew I wanted to meet more people, as always :P Well, we missed the walk, but they were giving out food and scarves, and there weren't as many people as they were anticipating since it was a pedagogical day and there were so few kids. I'm sure they spent a lot of money on that food to get people there, but what gets people's interest here is plain and simple: Hockey. I've never met people that loved hockey so much. EVERYTHING is Montreal Canadians! Boo Leafs! It's great!
They were also selling all kinds of crafts at the arena- the mittens EVERYONE wears here (which Im going to make really soon! :)) slippers, lots!
So I bought a bunch of stuff :P I dont mind spending the money because I feel like I'm giving back to the people that really deserve it. The artists that handcrafted them. And the prices were reasonable I think. $70 for my slippers, $15 for earrings, $25 for anther pair and $10 for a shirt!

My Tshirt, earrings and the slippers I bought! in a while, I'll have mittens I will have made to add to the pile! :)

This is the chief doing his speech at the community Spirit month launch. This month, there's something every day! Today, for example, is dress traditional day, so I'm going to wear the skirt I made :)