WEBVTT 00:00:09.843 --> 00:00:14.472 I’ll talk about hunting. 00:00:14.472 --> 00:00:24.691 Before having my own family, I saw how it was done. 00:00:24.691 --> 00:00:30.530 My dad was a true hunter and that was his job. 00:00:30.530 --> 00:00:36.036 My husband too, he always went hunting. 00:00:37.078 --> 00:00:50.675 Where I learned what to do when there was a kill was from watching the elders fix it 00:00:50.675 --> 00:00:57.599 and they would do it well. 00:00:57.599 --> 00:01:04.481 I’ll talk about what they taught me, before having my own family. 00:01:04.481 --> 00:01:11.905 How I observed them and did the same thing. 00:01:12.655 --> 00:01:27.921 When someone had a kill, whenever he did, it wasn’t only for himself. 00:01:27.921 --> 00:01:36.387 Also, nothing was wasted as every part of it would be taken. 00:01:36.429 --> 00:01:43.728 I watched how they’d fix something, to prevent it from going to waste, 00:01:43.728 --> 00:01:51.486 and prevent it from going bad during summertime. 00:01:52.195 --> 00:01:58.660 I watched how it was done and I did the same. 00:01:59.119 --> 00:02:20.473 I followed how they prepared it and what preservation methods are used when smoke-drying it. 00:02:20.473 --> 00:02:26.729 I was also told what tree to use when smoke-drying. 00:02:26.729 --> 00:02:43.288 I was told to use the smoke from black spruce and rotten wood that’s under the moss. 00:02:44.414 --> 00:03:00.805 I was told, “use that wood and not a different one, because it won’t taste right if you do.” 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:09.230 I also saw them not to waste anything. 00:03:09.230 --> 00:03:14.777 They used every part of the kill. 00:03:15.445 --> 00:03:23.995 When he had a kill during winter, it wasn’t only for himself, 00:03:23.995 --> 00:03:33.796 he'd bring it over to them and share it. 00:03:33.796 --> 00:03:42.430 He didn’t use a skidoo, but used his snowshoes. 00:03:43.973 --> 00:04:03.326 Many people right now must feel bad, the kill is wasted away and that’s too much. 00:04:03.326 --> 00:04:10.375 If it was shared, it wouldn’t be so. 00:04:12.085 --> 00:04:18.383 It’s good that he shares his kill, so food isn’t wasted. 00:04:18.383 --> 00:04:27.350 I’m sure many others don’t like seeing what’s happening right now. 00:04:27.350 --> 00:04:43.116 Back then, we didn’t see our parents throw away a kill, every part was taken and to be consumed. 00:04:44.575 --> 00:04:55.962 During winter, even the fish heads were shared amongst each other. 00:04:55.962 --> 00:04:58.464 They didn’t throw anything away. 00:04:58.464 --> 00:05:09.517 When I still lived with my dad, every part of a rabbit was taken. 00:05:09.517 --> 00:05:20.737 The rabbit would be hung and be smoke-dried. 00:05:21.946 --> 00:05:24.449 It tasted very good. 00:05:25.742 --> 00:05:34.000 I still remember sharing food with people and it was done so well. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:47.972 When they killed a bear, nothing went bad if it was prepared carefully when smoke-dried. 00:05:48.514 --> 00:06:01.527 My dad would make it medium rare, then he’d wrap it up and it didn’t go bad. 00:06:02.737 --> 00:06:09.369 I also saw my late grandfather do this when he fixed something. 00:06:10.078 --> 00:06:20.671 Many times, I remember my late grandmother saying not to hang the bear hide too long. 00:06:20.671 --> 00:06:26.636 She’d ask me, “how would you feel if someone took your coat?” 00:06:26.636 --> 00:06:35.103 She’d then say, an animal's coat is just as important to them as yours, they feel the same. 00:06:37.021 --> 00:06:41.234 She would say to fix it early because she’d do that. 00:06:41.234 --> 00:06:49.158 She’d say, “let's cut it up," and we’d all help out. 00:06:49.158 --> 00:06:51.244 She stretched the hide earlier too. 00:06:52.036 --> 00:06:58.960 My dad also fixed the bear hide earlier, 00:06:58.960 --> 00:07:03.881 he did that even before marrying Kitty. 00:07:04.757 --> 00:07:08.052 He would fix it earlier. 00:07:08.052 --> 00:07:18.187 All the work that women did, he would do it and everyone knew him for smoke-drying food. 00:07:19.355 --> 00:07:37.748 Whenever I see people, I hear them say, “what a waste of food. It’s being thrown in the dump.” 00:07:38.583 --> 00:07:45.423 I’d reply, “if it was smoke-dried, it would’ve tasted great.” 00:07:46.757 --> 00:07:52.805 Smoke-dried meat is delicious and people enjoy eating it, including me. 00:07:52.805 --> 00:07:58.060 I enjoy eating smoke-dried meat and I’m also good at making it. 00:07:58.394 --> 00:08:02.773 I’ll talk about how I saw the elders prepare it. 00:08:02.773 --> 00:08:07.904 When the beaver was killed, I prepared it. 00:08:07.904 --> 00:08:14.452 I used every part of it, including it’s intestines that I cleaned. 00:08:14.452 --> 00:08:18.414 I did what I was taught. 00:08:18.414 --> 00:08:25.296 The elders would say, “don’t throw anything away." 00:08:25.296 --> 00:08:30.510 "You're going to think about it when you’re out of food." 00:08:33.095 --> 00:08:39.602 When you think about it for kids, it’s helpful for them. 00:08:40.228 --> 00:08:46.359 Right now, I don’t know if kids see it being done? 00:08:49.070 --> 00:08:56.410 Smoke-drying food is something that needs to be taught to them. 00:08:56.410 --> 00:09:01.207 So that the food doesn’t go to waste and that it doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge. 00:09:01.207 --> 00:09:06.212 A long time ago, there weren't any fridges around. 00:09:06.212 --> 00:09:13.886 By smoke-drying it, you’d preserve the meat and it wouldn’t go to waste. 00:09:14.178 --> 00:09:22.311 It’s good to know how to smoke-dry food. 00:09:22.311 --> 00:09:34.240 We were told, “don’t make a big fire, don’t show too much flame because it’s going to make it bad.” 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:38.202 It’s going to go bad when it shows too much flame. 00:09:38.202 --> 00:09:45.876 A dead black spruce laying under the moss would be used. 00:09:45.876 --> 00:09:54.010 When we were asked to look for it, we would do so. 00:09:54.010 --> 00:09:57.013 We used this because it didn’t show a flame. 00:09:57.805 --> 00:10:02.810 Whenever we smoke-dried meat, we don't use moss. 00:10:02.810 --> 00:10:12.528 We were told not to put it over the fire. This included smoke-drying bear meat. 00:10:12.528 --> 00:10:20.161 We were told, “don’t use moss, it’s not fish.” 00:10:22.788 --> 00:10:27.710 We were told “use wood for smoke-drying the meat”. 00:10:28.294 --> 00:10:36.010 My late grandmother taught me that, my late dad too. 00:10:38.262 --> 00:10:48.230 My dad would say he could taste that black spruce wasn’t used. 00:10:50.900 --> 00:10:58.908 He was really good at preparing it and it might have been because he did it many times. 00:10:59.241 --> 00:11:11.045 He’d smoke-dry everything, including all the waterfowl like the black scoter. 00:11:11.045 --> 00:11:13.923 He smoke-dried everything. 00:11:13.923 --> 00:11:20.471 He’d say, “if you're going to smoke-dry something, don’t make a big fire. You’ll ruin it." 00:11:23.557 --> 00:11:30.815 "It’s better if the fire is small.” 00:11:31.357 --> 00:11:43.244 He’d smoke-dry moose ribs by deboning them. 00:11:43.244 --> 00:11:56.006 He’d soak it in a pot then smoke-dry it by hanging it whole. 00:11:56.006 --> 00:11:58.801 He didn’t cut it. 00:11:58.801 --> 00:12:03.806 He’d boiled the whole piece until it was ready. 00:12:03.806 --> 00:12:17.737 He would do this process again until it cooled then hung back again. 00:12:17.737 --> 00:12:23.117 The meat would be hung as a whole 00:12:23.117 --> 00:12:32.793 and when it’s prepared like this it tastes great and it’s very tender. 00:12:33.085 --> 00:12:43.012 He’d say to prepare the ribs as a whole and that it tastes great. 00:12:43.012 --> 00:12:47.266 He never hung it up right on the fire. 00:12:47.266 --> 00:12:52.354 He’d hang it more on the side, so it would take it’s time to dry. 00:12:52.938 --> 00:13:03.449 He was very good at smoke-drying meat and he did it with care. 00:13:03.449 --> 00:13:19.673 He used every part of an animal: the lynx, the beaver, and making smoke-dried beaver. 00:13:20.549 --> 00:13:28.224 He would then say, “prepare it this way, make a fire to cover the flame." 00:13:28.224 --> 00:13:41.403 "Slowly smoke-dry and don’t overcook it, it won’t go bad.” 00:13:42.404 --> 00:13:49.203 I still remember, even today, what he’d tell me whenever I would fix a kill. 00:13:49.203 --> 00:13:54.458 Because there weren't any fridges around. 00:13:54.458 --> 00:14:08.305 My late grandmother would boil the bones and peel off the meat into smaller pieces. 00:14:09.348 --> 00:14:30.661 She’d place the small pieces on the bears’ membrane and dry it up to make powdered meat. 00:14:34.456 --> 00:14:38.586 She’d discard the bones. 00:14:38.586 --> 00:14:48.929 I’ve always seen animal bones being placed on top of the storage. 00:14:49.930 --> 00:14:58.689 This was done more with bear bones. 00:14:59.106 --> 00:15:07.239 Nothing was thrown away, they’d boil the bones to make bear broth which would be consumed. 00:15:07.239 --> 00:15:11.744 Sometimes, I didn’t have enough and snuck in to get some more. 00:15:13.621 --> 00:15:18.542 A storage would be set up and the bones would be placed there by dumping them on it. 00:15:18.542 --> 00:15:25.090 Like I said, my late dad would always make things from wood. 00:15:25.090 --> 00:15:34.516 He would then tie up the bones, it included the limbs and skulls of bears 00:15:34.516 --> 00:15:36.977 and he even put in rabbit skulls there. 00:15:36.977 --> 00:15:44.401 We were then told, “tie them together and hang it up on that tree over there.” 00:15:44.401 --> 00:15:49.865 He would say “the tree looks depressing without anything hanging on it.” 00:15:50.282 --> 00:15:56.497 We were even told to hang the bears’ hips. 00:15:59.208 --> 00:16:06.840 There were lynx skulls hung on the tree, he’d tie the bones together. 00:16:06.840 --> 00:16:12.513 The bones were hung very neatly as he’d place them there. 00:16:12.513 --> 00:16:15.099 The tree looked quite nice. 00:16:16.266 --> 00:16:23.816 My late grandfather, the late Matthew Neeposh, my late dad and all of them 00:16:25.109 --> 00:16:27.236 chose a tree to place the bones. 00:16:27.236 --> 00:16:38.622 They would do this every time when they set up camp for summer and winter 00:16:38.622 --> 00:16:46.046 and a celebration feast would be done so. 00:16:46.714 --> 00:17:13.490 Gradually I would see more of the bones hung elsewhere, around and in the front of the camp. 00:17:15.325 --> 00:17:19.705 Before they went on a hunt, they’d oil their guns. 00:17:19.705 --> 00:17:28.172 It was important to do so because they lived off from the hunt. 00:17:31.133 --> 00:17:42.019 Before there were stores around, they found their food in the bush. 00:17:42.978 --> 00:17:49.735 Everything they needed to survive came from the bush. 00:17:53.739 --> 00:18:01.413 They really worked hard to survive and oftentimes I’d think about them. 00:18:01.955 --> 00:18:10.714 These teachings that were passed down were very good and that’s what we also do. 00:18:10.714 --> 00:18:18.013 We should teach our children about it. 00:18:18.013 --> 00:18:26.063 I have done so for all my five children and they are happy to go out hunting. 00:18:26.522 --> 00:18:30.359 We were able to do so because we raised them in the bush. 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:33.403 They learned from us and not from whiteman. 00:18:33.403 --> 00:18:39.743 We always lived in the bush and that’s where we raised them, 00:18:39.743 --> 00:18:46.333 because he wasn’t employed to do whitemans work. 00:18:48.127 --> 00:18:55.425 When my husband was able to do the work, he would work during the summer. 00:18:55.425 --> 00:19:02.391 He raised our children in the bush and taught them how to hunt. 00:19:04.268 --> 00:19:08.522 Now my children really enjoy hunting 00:19:10.691 --> 00:19:13.193 because they were able to see how their dad did it. 00:19:13.193 --> 00:19:22.578 I remember how much I enjoyed when a heart would be brought over, 00:19:23.245 --> 00:19:31.628 because I would know what I’d be eating and what I would be fixing. 00:19:34.298 --> 00:19:40.929 That was my job in our home, to fix something, like making dried meat. 00:19:42.931 --> 00:19:45.893 I really liked to make dried meat. 00:19:47.561 --> 00:19:55.736 When my husband was able to go hunting, including my late son, 00:19:55.736 --> 00:20:07.247 they’d have their kill and I would be happy fixing it. 00:20:09.333 --> 00:20:12.711 Everyone would leave at once when they’d go for their hunt, 00:20:12.711 --> 00:20:17.466 including the women who would gather the boughs. 00:20:17.466 --> 00:20:25.224 This was before there were floors. 00:20:25.224 --> 00:20:28.727 She would gather the boughs. 00:20:28.727 --> 00:20:32.814 She first needs to warm up, then she sets them on the ground. 00:20:32.814 --> 00:20:40.656 She then worked in the entrance area. 00:20:40.656 --> 00:20:47.537 Many times I remember how the wood was placed on the porch. 00:20:47.537 --> 00:20:56.338 They were placed in rows on each side, including others placed outside. 00:20:59.007 --> 00:21:03.470 When someone made camp, they made it well organized. 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:11.770 I’m sure other people who are in the bush continue doing this. 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:23.323 Today, there mustn’t be a lot of people who are in the bush. 00:21:23.573 --> 00:21:41.091 A man expects a well organized home, so that once he brings in his kill he knows where to place it. 00:21:41.883 --> 00:21:52.602 A woman found that important too, as she’d do her work inside, chop wood and tidy up the home. 00:21:53.812 --> 00:21:56.398 This was before there were floors. 00:21:57.024 --> 00:22:03.322 It really looks like a hunters home once the entrance is tidied up. 00:22:04.114 --> 00:22:14.124 Many times I heard his father say, “I really liked seeing the entrance of your home.” 00:22:14.916 --> 00:22:25.218 He would say, “by seeing how tidy the entrance is and how the boughs are placed, I’d leave my bag there.” 00:22:25.218 --> 00:22:30.766 It’s what his late dad used to say, that’s Abel’s late dad. 00:22:30.766 --> 00:22:38.482 And when he’d sing, he’d really sing to his melody. 00:22:39.191 --> 00:22:48.992 Right now the moon looks different compared to what it looked like before. 00:22:48.992 --> 00:22:53.413 It doesn’t light up as much. 00:22:54.831 --> 00:23:00.462 Many times whenever we’re outside we look at it. 00:23:00.462 --> 00:23:05.926 It’s not the same compared to how it was back then. 00:23:05.926 --> 00:23:08.595 It used to shine quite well. 00:23:08.595 --> 00:23:17.229 When someone snowshoed at nighttime, the moon would shine, lighting a trail. 00:23:17.229 --> 00:23:22.818 Abel also talks about it, the moon doesn’t look the same anymore. 00:23:22.818 --> 00:23:28.031 He’d say, “when I was able to walk late at night, I was able to see clearly 00:23:28.031 --> 00:23:32.369 and now it doesn’t shine as much as it did before.” 00:23:34.162 --> 00:23:47.676 He’d say, “the stars are getting closer to the moon and because of that we’ll have visitors.” 00:23:47.676 --> 00:23:53.432 Eventually it did happen when someone would come visit us. 00:23:53.432 --> 00:23:56.560 It would be a message. 00:23:57.018 --> 00:24:06.069 People received messages from up there. 00:24:06.069 --> 00:24:09.030 It’s like what I told you. 00:24:09.030 --> 00:24:18.248 There’s lots of things we don’t understand that come from the sky, but the elders knew about it. 00:24:20.709 --> 00:24:27.382 I heard my grandfather say, a big dipper will come for a visit. 00:24:27.382 --> 00:24:34.514 We’d then go out and look for it. 00:24:34.514 --> 00:24:37.309 We would say to him, “we don’t see anything” 00:24:37.309 --> 00:24:47.527 and he’d reply, “don’t look for it. You know when kids do that, not long after they die.” 00:24:50.989 --> 00:24:55.368 After we were told that, we didn’t look for it. 00:24:55.368 --> 00:25:05.754 He’d then say, at sunrise the big dipper will head in that direction. 00:25:06.379 --> 00:25:12.469 He was right, it would do so. 00:25:14.012 --> 00:25:17.641 The elders predicted these things from up there. 00:25:17.641 --> 00:25:20.268 Sometimes my dad would say, 00:25:21.478 --> 00:25:29.903 “the clouds are crossing each other, it’s going to get windy,” 00:25:31.154 --> 00:25:45.168 and later on he’d say, "the clouds are still, it will get calmer soon.” 00:25:45.168 --> 00:25:54.803 He was right when he talked about the weather by looking at the cloud formation. 00:25:54.803 --> 00:26:01.017 When he said that it’s going to be a calm day, it really was. 00:26:01.017 --> 00:26:06.982 They were able to predict it just by looking at the sky. 00:26:08.692 --> 00:26:16.449 They were able to predict the weather and now use the technology to do so. 00:26:17.742 --> 00:26:25.834 Watching the sky must’ve helped them know to tell the weather and where the wind came from. 00:26:26.501 --> 00:26:31.423 They used the wind direction for shooting their guns. 00:26:31.423 --> 00:26:41.474 They’d predict the wind direction and where the wind would change direction. 00:26:41.474 --> 00:26:43.435 My late grandfather would say 00:26:43.435 --> 00:26:52.193 “the wind direction will change soon because the clouds are heading in that direction.” 00:26:52.193 --> 00:26:54.863 Soon after the wind direction would change. 00:26:55.363 --> 00:26:58.700 My late dad would say that too. 00:26:59.784 --> 00:27:02.662 They really observed it. 00:27:04.873 --> 00:27:11.046 Sometimes I looked at the clouds too. The clouds would move to another direction right? 00:27:11.046 --> 00:27:20.055 When you look at the clouds, you can tell which direction the wind is blowing. 00:27:20.055 --> 00:27:27.812 Elders would say, snow will cover it and something is going to happen. 00:27:27.812 --> 00:27:37.614 They would also tell when it would get cold by seeing a certain brightness around the sun and say 00:27:37.614 --> 00:27:39.699 “it’s going to get very cold soon.” 00:27:40.575 --> 00:27:47.874 He’d say, “the brightness around the sun is closing up with the sunlight,” 00:27:47.874 --> 00:27:51.711 soon after it would get very cold. 00:27:51.711 --> 00:28:00.345 Then he’d say, “the brightness around it is wider,” and later on, we’d feel it becoming really cold. 00:28:01.304 --> 00:28:10.355 He described what he predicted from what he saw. 00:28:10.980 --> 00:28:13.566 They were given the ability to do it. 00:28:17.487 --> 00:28:26.788 When I was able to go for walks, I was able to go and see the beaver trap being set up. 00:28:26.788 --> 00:28:35.797 I really liked when the beaver trap was prepared around it’s lodge, I really enjoyed doing it. 00:28:36.965 --> 00:28:45.348 If kids were taught how to set the traps around it’s trail, for sure they’d enjoy it. 00:28:47.350 --> 00:28:51.646 I would sometimes go with him to set up a trap. 00:28:51.646 --> 00:28:58.737 When I used to walk well, I would always go with him when he went to check the traps. 00:28:59.738 --> 00:29:05.910 And I was very happy when we’d bring in a beaver. 00:29:08.204 --> 00:29:15.670 I even had my child with me when I went to trap beaver. 00:29:16.504 --> 00:29:21.551 I would pull him and if he cried I’d carry him. 00:29:23.970 --> 00:29:32.061 That’s how much I wanted to take part in trapping beavers, to see him pull out the beaver. 00:29:32.437 --> 00:29:39.986 We had dogs and it was able to locate the beaver by sniffing it. 00:29:39.986 --> 00:29:45.825 The beaver lodge entrance would be located and be closed off. 00:29:45.825 --> 00:29:47.786 I would observe how it was done. 00:29:49.037 --> 00:29:54.501 I’d go to the lodge and be told, “close the entrance!” 00:29:54.501 --> 00:30:01.800 I’d poke it and hear the beaver go to water. 00:30:01.800 --> 00:30:07.597 I’d see the beaver go straight to the trap as it caught itself in it. 00:30:07.597 --> 00:30:13.353 He’d pull in the trapped beaver and hit it’s head with an axe. 00:30:13.353 --> 00:30:17.899 Today, I don’t think he’s able to do that. 00:30:18.817 --> 00:30:29.994 As I grew up I enjoyed being in the bush, even after I got married. 00:30:29.994 --> 00:30:39.420 We were always in the bush, we’d leave from August and come back in June. 00:30:39.420 --> 00:30:45.260 Throughout winter, we’d be in the bush. 00:30:46.511 --> 00:30:53.893 Once I married him, once there was a plane available, 00:30:53.893 --> 00:31:00.316 we’d come in during mid-winter and go back to the bush. 00:31:02.569 --> 00:31:05.071 We did this to buy our supplies. 00:31:05.780 --> 00:31:15.915 Before there was a plane available, a person would leave in August and only come back in June. 00:31:17.041 --> 00:31:21.963 They’d be there throughout the time and live off Cree food. 00:31:23.673 --> 00:31:31.806 When people were about to leave for the bush, everyone would hurry dismantling the camp. 00:31:31.806 --> 00:31:34.601 Everything used was packed including the traps. 00:31:35.685 --> 00:31:49.616 They neatly packed what they used and left their summer belongings on top of their storage. 00:31:52.410 --> 00:31:58.666 Someone who went to the bush well maintained his belongings. 00:31:58.666 --> 00:32:03.796 We still do that, our belongings are in the bush. 00:32:05.965 --> 00:32:11.888 Before leaving by canoe, they didn't pack a lot. 00:32:11.888 --> 00:32:16.392 They packed the essentials, their food. 00:32:16.392 --> 00:32:19.354 They packed what they smoke-dried. 00:32:19.354 --> 00:32:23.524 A medium size container with meat in it isn’t heavy. 00:32:24.609 --> 00:32:32.617 The caribou meat is heavy though, it’s heavy when it’s smoke-dried. 00:32:32.617 --> 00:32:36.162 For moose meat, it isn’t as heavy. 00:32:36.746 --> 00:32:43.044 The caribou meat that’s smoke-dried feels heavy. 00:32:43.044 --> 00:32:45.672 I think the reason for this is because it breaks into pieces. 00:32:45.672 --> 00:32:49.968 Compared with dried-smoked moose meat, 00:32:49.968 --> 00:32:55.431 when it’s hit, it’s well stacked up, the flat pieces are well placed. 00:32:55.431 --> 00:33:04.565 The caribou meat breaks into smaller pieces as it’s being hit. 00:33:04.565 --> 00:33:08.611 I think that’s why it feels heavy. 00:33:09.737 --> 00:33:17.578 People should check the places where their late parents used to go hunting. 00:33:18.496 --> 00:33:21.624 They shouldn’t just leave it. 00:33:22.667 --> 00:33:31.884 They should check the places to become better at what they do. 00:33:32.635 --> 00:33:40.518 From seeing what their parents did, they too can become better at fixing a kill. 00:33:40.518 --> 00:33:48.192 So that they can pass the teachings to their children. 00:33:49.944 --> 00:34:02.415 There’s a need for hunters and they’re the ones who teach their children on how to hunt. 00:34:02.915 --> 00:34:08.838 The hunters' children do the same and the teachings are passed down to their grandchildren. 00:34:08.838 --> 00:34:11.841 There are some kids who enjoy hunting 00:34:12.341 --> 00:34:15.344 and some who don’t care about it. 00:34:15.803 --> 00:34:27.607 It’s important to know where people's parents used to go hunting, where they’ve seen them go hunt.