Our group Dynamic and some corrections from the last post

"I'm so happy"  were the first words I wrote in my journal today.

Even if it wasn't that spectacular, my day could not have gone any better.  I felt like a really big help.

So, a lot of what I wrote in my last post was not necessarily incorrect, just not exactly practised the same way in Chisasibi. The sweat lodge, for example, varies a great deal from place to place for how it is done, but it is apparently far more intense than anyone had expected. Wish I could've gone!  As for the pipe ceremony, here (or at least in Jack's house,) women do smoke from the pipe.  I couldn't participate though, so I can't really describe it, or give great detail of how I felt before and after.  The ideas, however, are consistent for the most part though.

So pardon me for using internet sources, for they tend to generalize all native practises into one group, as if they are all the same.  They're not, by the way.  One Cree settlement's practises may vary a great deal.  Just like your traditions may vary a great deal from your mother's mother's way of living.  

I don't believe that I have mentioned that we have a visitor with us this week, staying with us!  Her name is Andre-Anne, "the most beautiful woman I've ever met" (from Norman, which I have yet to blog about...) and I think what I love most about her is how great of a listener she is! She is also very productive and helpful all the time.  We were talking about the Katimavik bursary that is no longer available, for example, and she informed me of a few opportunities to make money as a Katimavik alumni doing work from home, and promotional stuff.  I'm DEFINITELY down.She mentioned that she would definitely recommend me for any job with Katimavik because I seem to have a really "mature" perspective of Katimavik.

"Merci," I said.

"Well," she said, "matter-of-factly, it's the truth" she replied in her lovely English accent.

Today, she had to talk to us about our competencies,  the community, work, and how everything functions in the house in general.  She's here to give the Katimavik office a better idea of how we all work, but also, to be sure that we get the best opportunity we possibly can.  Thus, it helps that she's such a great listener!  

It was really nice talking about the group dynamic especially because I feel like we're all really close, we get along really well, we respect each other and it all just seems to run fairly "swimmingly," I said.  (Chris sort of made fun of me for using that word, but it works.) 

We all said that we work pretty well together and we have small things to improve, but when we asked for Andre-Ann's perspective, she was more optimistic than I thought.  Honest too.

She's seen quite a few Katimavik groups and usually there's at least one or two that are left out of the group.  Then she continued to say that she wrote in her notes that she thought that she thinks they could actually use our group for a Katimavik promotional video.  Thus, we are the examples of Katimavik. What an honour.

As lame as it is, I started to tear up, because I remembered what I went through in CELP and how terrible our group dynamic was, how that took a lot away from what I found to be a beautiful opportunity and, I smiled.  It felt really great to know that I'm a part of that.

Rituals, Spontaneity and Religion!

Oh my Geepers!  There are so many things to blog about!  And I actually have time! :)

So Chisasibi's unpredictability is really quite wonderful at times!  (frustrating at others...) 

So, we (generally) plan out our activities every Sunday night (unless we have to move things around) for the rest of the week.  It's a structured group meeting called "CCK" (not sure what it stands for- Council Committee something.)

Just to tell you more about CCK, we're organized into three different councils- Activity Committee, Community Committee and Languages Committee.  They're kind of self-explanatory, but each is responsible for coming up with activities that adhere to the 8 Katimavik competencies.  We have to have so many activities each week with 4 slots for Free time. Slots are just morning, afternoon and evening and each activity has to be at least 1.5 hours.  The meetings are quite structured, with a President, Secretary and Treasurer and there are specific rules for when we can do certain things (For example, you can't have two free times in a row.)  We also discuss details of plans and whether or not the whole group is for that activity.

So, in short, we plan out our whole week every week and every week we have to have at least one more group meeting to change our plans around to accommodate another community event that we find out about.  For example, last week we were informed that our help was wanted at a hockey tournament, so we changed a bunch of things around in order to be able to go.  This week, we were supposed to go to a Pipe Ceremony at a friend's place, which was canceled (a second time) because our friend was invited to a sweat lodge.  

(Give me some time, I'll explain!) 

A pipe ceremony is a sacred practise in their religion (I believe this is generally practiced throughout native cultures) that is meant to unite the spiritual world and the physical world[1]. As a general summary, a pipe ceremony is a ritual where tobacco with a mixture of herbs is burned, smoke will rise, representing the invitation for spirits to enter and prayers are sent to the spirits all around.  Everything, I should add, has a spirit - "Every rock, and tree and creature has a life, has a spirit, has a name." (Thanks Pocahontas!:)

I don't know specifics since we have yet to partake in a Pipe Ceremony, (this is supposed to happen Sunday now, but I won't be able to participate.)  But the pipe represents prayers in physical form.  More specifically, the stem of the pipe and the bowl are a metaphor for the marriage of Mother Earth and the creatures that inhabit the earth. [2]

I'm not sure if this varies from culture to culture, but at least for Cree, men and women smoke from different pipes because in some cultures women are believed to be more powerful than men and others can get sickness after women smoke from them.  Instead of smoking from the pipe, women are touched upon the brow and that is how they send their prayer to the spirits.  Unfortunately for me, women cannot participate in the ceremony during their time of the month because they are believed to be the most powerful during that time.  (This is a really interesting concept I'd like to learn more about.)  Women have their own pipes and rituals that they smoke from that men can not even touch.[2]  Also, women must be fully covered in skirts to their ankles and shirts that cover the chest and men only need to wear shorts and all are barefoot (no jewelery since that is how we were born)

So we were originally going to do a pipe ceremony last week, but our friend's kids were sick and this week, he is attending a sweat lodge, which is another religious ritual here that you must be invited to.  

A sweat lodge is basically a really hot sauna that men and women attend if they are invited to pray for a specific request.  For example, people may request a sweat for someone who has cancer and the community will come together to perform this practise to pray for this person to get better.  The same deal applies for women in their time.  It's also a practise that is believed to generally cleanse the mind of all impurities or negativities and provide all with new hope (rebirth) [3].

I should also add that in both practises, the number four is a significant number to represent the four directions of Mother Earth

There are four rounds of a sweat lodge that are meant to honour for specific sources:[3]

     First:  Mother Earth - giving thanks for our creation and all that exists

     Second:  Sisters - the backbone of first nations

     Third: Brothers

     Fourth: Oneself

So, we actually ended up being welcomed to the sweat lodge (five of us including Chris are there now since two are at our time, two are sick and two are babysitting our friend's kids.)  And I'm anxious to see how it goes! 

I couldn't be happier that I'm keeping this blog because it forces me to research some things and now I can educate the group as well! :)

But yes, if you ever get the opportunity to perform any of these practises and you're not getting many specifics from anyone, once I've performed one of these ceremonies, you can always check out these sources or ask me to give you specifics ;)  In fact, I might just try to perform some of these with friends at home if anyone is open to it! 

Gosh, I'm learning so much and I hope my readers are too! This is so darn fantastic!

1.http://www.native-americans-online.com/native-american-pipe-ceremony.html

2. http://www.gct3.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/pipe_ceremony.pdf

3. http://www.firstnationstreatment.org/sweatlodgeceremonies.htm

Community Coming together

So Friday at lunch time, I witnessed the power of the people in Chisasibi for the first time.  It truly is magnificent. 
When there is an issue worth fighting for, they'll come together, really quickly and they're strong.  "It may seem a little disorganized here at times," a teacher said, "but they come together real fast when there's an issue."

I get the feeling that they're used to fighting.  The dam, not that long ago for example.  They really put up a fight for that one.  Having to move their whole settlement, change their lifestyles and, changing their whole way of life after residential schools.  It seems so unfair to me that the ones that were here first were the ones that had to fight for the land they lived on.  The land they actually respected...

What I witnessed was a small-scale protest in the front office of the school.  The principal announced that he was to close the school for the afternoon because it was below -25, the wind was greater than 20 Km, and parents were calling him, complaining that their kids would have to walk home.  One person spoke up, then another, then a huge circle of people were standing around the Vice Principal, saying that they didn't want the school to shut down.  "My child told me he doesn't want to miss any more school," one woman said, "are we here for the parents or the children?" 

They didn't close the school. 

In fact, I think that they shouldn't be able to close the school so easily.  Their education matters just as much an anyone else's!  And these kids are really falling behind and it's not fair to them.
 
All this just gives me one more reason to really love the people of Chisasibi.  Three months does not feel like it's nearly long enough to do everything I want to do!  I really do feel there is a spot for me here to help the kids, but more than anything, I honestly, truly feel I can learn so much from them too.

So much Love

You know, I was feeling pretty crummy today.  yesterday I stayed home sick and I considered coming home at lunch, but now, Im thinking it was actually alright.

But the reading situation is a little more difficult than I thought.  More than half the class can barely read.  Opportunity?  I think so.  I'm going to try to give them as much individual attention as I can, because I think that's probably what they need most.  As for the one boy, I'm making arrangements with his mother :)

Plus, all the encouragement coming from home. My mom. She's wonderful.  And my sister.  Some unexpected friends too!  And the group. 

So much love.  So much

There's so much good here!

New member and a guest!

As always, there's so much going on here, so much to write about!

I'm currently uploading pictures which is always fun, even if it takes a long time!

So this week, our family is yet again complete!  Luke from a small town near Victoria, BC is with us now!  Unfortunately, he's a terrible person... (just kidding)  All jokes aside, he seems pretty comfortable already and I think he fits in really well with the group.

"No taboo!" our friend, the PLC Denis always used to say.  That still stands within the group, and honestly, I don't think I've ever met a group of people that were so open with each other, which makes me really happy and  I get the feeling that Luke is pretty open-minded as well.

Last night, we also got to have a guest for dinner!  Francoise, the principal at JBES (the school) informed us he was coming the first week when we arrived.  "Someone famous is coming to Chisasibi!" she said.  His name is Nathanial Arcan and he's a main character in Heartland, among other things.  He's kind of a big deal in the Cree community, so it's actually really great that he's here to encourage the students, especially for drama.  (He helped the secondary school film some of a script they wrote)  And he's actually quite modest and does not look nearly his age!  He'd never really heard much about Katimavik, so he was pretty impressed with everything he was learning  about the program. 

And, of course, we had to get a picture with him (to put on the wall of fame for Katimavik, of course!

On the far left is our newest addition to the group, Luke, the little girls near the middle are our neighbours who came to visit and Nathanial is in the back, with his head tilted :P  Julie is missing from this picture because she was in bed sick       Oh, and the big Katimavik thing is our lovely table that was hand painted by another group :)

In a pickle at school.

I love school, I love school, I love school...

I feel the need to tell myself this because if I don't neither will the kids. It's not quite that simple though.

I especially love working at James Bay Eeyou School. But the problem is, not everyone is as enthusiastic.  Not every substitute teacher takes their job seriously.  And resources for teachers are few and far between here, it seems.  They need more teachers.  They need more passionate people.

So today was a challenge.  This morning and yesterday morning, I worked with a rowdy kindergarten class, which is okay with me- I like the challenge, but these kids need more than just to be occupied.  They should be learning and it feels like these days are being wasted since they're left to do whatever they please with a substitute.  Especially energetic children.  I wanted to teach them, but they're in Kindergarten, and I don't know what they know and don't know, I don't know if they really understand with the language barrier(they understand most things, but they often speak to me in Cree) , and I don't know how much they can handle. I'm not a teacher. 

So I did a craft with them for Valentine's Day. 

In the afternoon, I showed up after lunch and the door was locked (no teacher)  and the kids were running around the hallway.  I assembled them to play I spy - they were even sitting- and the Vice principal showed up and unlocked the door.  He informed me that I wasn't to be left alone with these children as I am not qualified and for insurance reasons.  If anything were to happen to them, for example, it would be a disaster for school, Katimavik, and myself.  But I can't just leave them alone...

There's my pickle.  I guess he, metaphorically, handed me a pickle. I was glad he told me this though, because it was something I absolutely needed to know.  He also informed me that I shouldn't stay, because some subs would just leave me alone with the kids.

So the lady next door, Linda, who had a class, kept an eye on me.  I read a story with them as Linda suggested (it was nice to have some guidance) and kept them pretty relaxed until the substitute showed up more than 30 minutes late. Responsible.  Professional... (it's not my first encounter with a substitute either)
 
I don't mind the work, it's just that these kids are stuck in a stand-still of learning, and it's not fair to them.  I want to do everything, but there's only so much I can do. So I'll do all that I can, of course, but I really think that these substitute teachers need to be more closely monitored or, at least guided.  (The teacher didn't leave a lesson plan.)

I've also been working with a Grade 4 Class.  I'm not sure how, but there is a child in that class that cannot read.  Hopefully this child will take my offer of private tutoring, at least for the time I'm here. 

There is certainly a huge problem with this education system, not just subs, but everything.  It's not their fault.  They're not even the problem, but they are the ones that suffer. 

The drop-out rate here is astonishing.  The graduating class of 2005 was a whopping number of about 12 students.  There are approximately 1100 students at this school this year...  

Yes, many go south for high school.  Yes, there were fewer people in 2005, but regardless, those are incredible numbers, especially since, at home, I don't think I could name a single student that actually dropped out of school.  (Only some that are still there)

 School is made available for everyone to make everything more accessible and to create opportunity.  These kids have potential that aren't being realized, simply because there is a lack of passion in the education here.  The opportunity is here for the professionals, but should be made more accessible for children too!

Teachers for example.  It's not easy but absolutely necessary. It seems to me that all they need is a smile, a little push and some good material. It's a really important job, especially in a remote community where the drop out rate is so high. 

For anyone that is just coming out of university, coming to Chisasibi for  a job is a really good idea, not just experience-wise, but money-wise as well.  First, they need some more dedicated people (they're understaffed, and many of the staff are less qualified)  And second, few people are willing to come up here since it's so remote.  You also get so many excursions paid for per year that you can use. (So you wouldn't be completely stuck up here)
I'm actually really strongly considering returning here when I'm in crazy debt after university.
I made up a math game for the Grade 4s this afternoon.  It was fun, even though I think I made it a  little too complicated than it needed to be.  It was a change, which I think they really needed.  I get to do English class with them Monday! :)

My biggest concern though, is for the future of these children.  They need means to go to school.  To want to go to school.  To feel fulfilled at school, and maybe even to enjoy it a little.  Right now, though, that doesn't seem to be the case.
So I'm going to do what I can.  If I can help one child progress while I'm here, my job is well done.  So that's my goal, and the opportunity is right here.  I'm just trying to digest this much. 

Its a salty but satisfying pickle.




 

POW WOW PICTURES!

again, there are pow wow pics!

LOOK AT THEM FOOS!

https://picasaweb.google.com/stacey.speers/PowWow30Jan

More Photos! And Teaching...

http://picasaweb.google.com/stacey.speers/PowWow30Jan?authkey=Gv1sRgCLqUw6za35iBfw#
Click on this link to view the rest of my powwow pictures! 

I also wanted to add a little about my job here in Chisasibi.  I was really glad to return to school after a week of being "responsable de maison"(house manager)  so I guess I came back with a fresh new perspective!  We put an envelope in the window, asking teachers to put in requests if they want help and I got one from a Grade 4 English class. 
She requested a volunteer for a period a day, which Im more than happy to accomodate!

Monday, I helped with a social sciences class.  It was neat because I kind of got to learn with the children since I'm not overly farmiliar with the subject, but I think I did a really good job presenting the information and giving it to them in a way that they can remember it do something. "Theyre really visial learners," the teacher said.  So I wrote notes on the board with little pictures to go along.  I tried to make the notes as short and concise as possible so that it was ok to understand as well.  If I were to do it again, I'd have the kids read it back to me to be sure they know what it says.

There's also one boy that enjoys lots of attention, so he does things like "I'm done!" (when hes not) or just walking around class, and  I was able to be stern enough with him that he listened, but he also didn't hate me by the end of the day.  I also found that a setting such as Chisasibi is a really challenging place to teach, since education isn't their number one year of high school hepriority.  In the high school, for example, there is  one class of about 10 that show up in Secondary 5 (gr.11, the last repriority.  In the high school, for example, there is  one class of about 10 that show up in Secondary 5 (gr.11, the last )  Drop outs, I guess are a foreign concept to me, so the more people I can help to enjoy school, the happier I am.

After class yesterday, the teacher came up to me and told me that I do a really good job with the kids, interacting with them, disciplining them and she thinks I'll be a really good teacher some day.  She said she'll write a letter for me too!
More than anything, I've impressed myself.  I just get up there in front of that class like it's nothing.  Back at home, every time I'd have an oral presentation to do, I'd go all red and blotchy, stutter a little but do it anyway (and get good marks since I always put effort into them)  But for some reason, in this setting, even when I know so little about what I'm about to present, I feel perfectly comfortable.  I think it has a lot to do with the kids here.  They look up to me.  Which is really sweet.

I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to do with my life... (at least a great deal of it!)

Pow Wow

As we're entering the gymnasium, all seems quiet, since they were beginning to serve food.  There was no music or dance at that given moment, so, of course, a team of ten young people in emerald green t-shirts are the attraction of the moment and everyone stares, while the emcee simultaneously announces our rather obvious arrival. "They're going to learn to dance!" He informed us, as well as the audience.  Of course, I was psyched, yet still in awe that 1. This is a 100% foreign cultural environment and I'm surrounded in it.  (It still hasn't sunk in) and 2. People actually care that we're here.  Not only do they not mind, but they really appreciate it, and they really just want to share all that they can with us! 10 Katimavik volunteers in such a close-knit community of about 5000 certainly do not go unnoticed. 

As we stood in a line to watch the Cree dancers show us how it's done in their magnificent traditional dress, we can not help but to smile, to laugh and to laugh.  (Especially when Chris, our PL starts dancing too soon...)

It's common, I've learned, for them to give cash prizes at Pow Wows, so they decided to make a competition between Katimavik volunteers for our dancing around the drum circle. Our lovely Yvonne took first place, Olivia second and Chris third, Micheal Fourth. 

So at a Pow Wow, they have one big drum in the middle that a few men bang on, and many come dressed in traditional dress (which is called regalia) There are times when there are certain people, who are traditional dancers are the only ones to be dancing, and another for those that attend the sweat lodge (a separate religious experience which involves praying in a sauna-like setting.) The rest of the time, anyone and everyone can dance around the drum circle and sing along.

The Pow Wow was a little different from the memorial dance in that it was a little more upbeat and colourful, with flashier costumes and I'd say a few more people came.

But just the same as the memorial dance, the children are so beautiful, with the giant grins they wear so frequently and their ability to trust so quickly.  I suppose we're a main attraction, bearing that pretty green colour on our fair skin (er, well, 9/10 of us, one stands out for the opposite reason!)  At some point, a little girl who didn't say a word (she must have been between 2 and 3) grabbed my finger and started walking.  Of course, she wanted me to dance with her!  So I danced around the drum circle with this beautiful little girl who's name I still don't know!  One of the things they do is picking a spot before people get on the dance floor and when the drum stops, the dancers (whoever joins) stop in their place.  If they happen to be near the spot they chose before, they win a prize.  Of course, it was her that stopped exactly in that place and the 25$ prize went to the mini-beauty holding my hand.  I was so thrilled to take her to the table to (even if she didn't understand)  Thankfully her parents came to claim her prize!

Before the Pow Wow even started, we spoke with the emcee, who gave us a taste of his philosophy which was actually really spectacular to hear.  He's from Alberta and he mentioned living where he and his children could always be around horses and other animals. 

"Anyone, anything can teach you," he said, "even a horse can teach you things."

He also mentioned, among other things, that he was really glad to have people interested in the culture, and that we're here, giving our time to help this community and learn about it.

Another idea I might borrow from Elizabeth Gilbert in Eat Pray Love, is the idea of giving each place or person a word.  And Chisasibi's, I believe, would most certainly be sharing.  Because here, there are no fences.  They don't own their land individually, their people does, their community.  They share food, they share laughs, they share their culture, they share their philosophy, way of life, their knowledge.  And to me, to live without sharing isn't really living.

Sharing knowledge?

This is exactly what Katimavik is.

And Chisasibi is the perfect place for such a novel idea.

Pow Wow and More

So today was yet another epic success!  It was a TON of fun too!

So we showed up to the Mitchuap (the Tee pee) really early, and it was the first time we were in our Katimavik T-shirts so we took advantage of that and took some pictures! 

The Cree way is really a "don't worry it'll get done" type-thing, as I mentioned before, so events don't always start when they say they will. 

And after all this, we went home, had Nazi Goreng (a rice curry with chicken and ham- so good.)   Then we went to the Pow Wow!

For now, though, I just wanted to post some group pictures :)  (later I'll talk about the Pow Wow!)

The Krazy Katimavik Kids! Yes it was about -30 or colder and yes, we ran up this hill in jeans and tshirt...

Love these guys!

Tender Moments

I'm dancing at the pow wow with a new friend :)

One of the beautiful traditional outfits they wore!

  This woman is in the midst of dancing! :)