WEBVTT 00:00:11.428 --> 00:00:15.724 I came from Mistissini and I was raised there. 00:00:16.558 --> 00:00:22.355 My father was from Ouje-Bougoumou and my mother came from Mistissini. 00:00:22.731 --> 00:00:28.153 I was raised there by my grandmother whose name was Maggie Etapp. 00:00:28.778 --> 00:00:39.372 My late grandfather’s hunting territory was located around Mistissini. 00:00:40.749 --> 00:00:51.468 I was brought up in Mistissini where my mother was from and she took me back from there. 00:00:52.886 --> 00:01:03.855 My father took me away from my grandparents because they were getting on in age. 00:01:04.189 --> 00:01:09.986 My father took me away because he wanted me to go to school. 00:01:10.612 --> 00:01:15.450 My granddparents could no longer take good care of me. 00:01:16.201 --> 00:01:28.838 When I came back from school, I then stayed with my aunt Louise. 00:01:29.172 --> 00:01:42.310 Later I lived with another family and this was the home of David Neeposh. 00:01:42.936 --> 00:01:48.566 I moved there because when my sister Annie got married, 00:01:48.983 --> 00:01:51.069 she didn’t want to be the only one living so far away. 00:01:51.069 --> 00:01:56.783 She requested that I move to where she was with her husband Johnny Neeposh, 00:01:57.283 --> 00:02:02.664 so I went inland close to LG-4. 00:02:04.624 --> 00:02:11.047 I was a strong girl when I was young and I could carry a heavy load on my back, just like the other girls. 00:02:11.381 --> 00:02:22.684 We would go a long way with heavy loads on our backs. 00:02:23.017 --> 00:02:30.859 At the time I was growing up, these are the things I experienced. 00:02:31.401 --> 00:02:40.368 I never knew about alcohol and other distractions that we see today. 00:02:40.535 --> 00:02:47.208 I did not see this where I was being raised. I did not see any drinking. 00:02:47.667 --> 00:02:54.674 The only thing I saw while out on the land was singing and drumming. 00:02:54.674 --> 00:03:04.642 I had a happy childhood, hearing my grandfather playing drum and singing. 00:03:05.768 --> 00:03:12.025 He used to put me to sleep with his singing. 00:03:12.025 --> 00:03:20.033 I used to have a peaceful and relaxing feeling listening to his chanting 00:03:20.033 --> 00:03:26.372 even if I didn’t understand what he was singing about, I was still happy. 00:03:26.372 --> 00:03:31.419 Sometimes there would be dancing around the lodge and as we got older, 00:03:31.419 --> 00:03:36.507 it came time for us to participate in this activity. 00:03:36.507 --> 00:03:44.933 Even though we did not know the meaning of this, we still had a good time. 00:03:45.433 --> 00:03:57.320 I know it had to do with respecting and honouring the food we hunted and sustained our lives. 00:03:57.779 --> 00:04:09.707 We were taught about life out on the land and we respected these teachings that we received. 00:04:09.707 --> 00:04:16.089 This way of life was practised by our grandparents. 00:04:16.965 --> 00:04:27.100 We stayed out on the land until our children reached school age and we came back home to this place 00:04:27.100 --> 00:04:34.732 where the Ouje-Bougoumou Crees were asked to come together. 00:04:34.732 --> 00:04:40.029 We ended here when the Ouje-Bougoumou Crees were given the consent to relocate. 00:04:40.029 --> 00:04:51.291 It took a while for them to come together and form the community because they lived in many other places. 00:04:51.291 --> 00:05:04.137 The were gathered here for a meeting and were informed that we would be living in Mistissini. 00:05:04.137 --> 00:05:11.728 We would sometimes see each other, especially in the summer, before we lived here. 00:05:11.728 --> 00:05:16.691 Log houses were built for us to live in, here in Mistissini, 00:05:16.691 --> 00:05:22.155 and I was happy to live there because the houses were very comfortable. 00:05:22.405 --> 00:05:29.912 We stayed there until there was a permanent place for the Ouje-Bougoumou Crees, then we moved here. 00:05:29.912 --> 00:05:31.873 We had to sign an agreement. 00:05:32.707 --> 00:05:44.761 We were raised at Chibougamau Lake, where the people had a community there, way back then. 00:05:45.303 --> 00:05:55.480 Farther over that way a road was blazed and the ‘bosses’ came to us driving on that road, 00:05:55.480 --> 00:06:00.860 because there was no place for a plane to land. 00:06:01.903 --> 00:06:10.495 After that we relocated to the other side of Chibougamau Lake. 00:06:12.288 --> 00:06:20.963 When we moved here, it was the second time we relocated. 00:06:20.963 --> 00:06:27.970 The next place people moved to was Dorés Lake. 00:06:27.970 --> 00:06:36.229 The Ouje-Bougoumou Crees lived all along the length of Dorés Lake. 00:06:38.564 --> 00:06:41.401 We had to sign the agreement because 00:06:41.401 --> 00:06:45.321 we felt we had to support the Ouje-Bougoumou people who had no permanent place to call home. 00:06:45.321 --> 00:06:49.033 I was a lot of help to the Chiefs and Councillors when they had to have meetings in other places. 00:06:49.033 --> 00:06:52.120 To give my point of view of the peoples’ predictament. 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.205 We went to many meetings together. 00:06:54.205 --> 00:06:57.375 When the place for the community was designated, I went to meetings without him.