WEBVTT 00:00:09.968 --> 00:00:15.515 My name is Sanders Weistche. I am from Waskaganish. 00:00:16.099 --> 00:00:24.024 I will talk about the traditional knowledge which has been handed down. 00:00:24.941 --> 00:00:29.446 I have always spent my life out on the land. 00:00:30.405 --> 00:00:33.324 I remember my childhood very well. 00:00:33.908 --> 00:00:39.664 I have always kept the things I learned in my life and all the activities we used to do. 00:00:39.664 --> 00:00:48.757 I was taught how things were done right early on as I observed how things were done. 00:00:48.757 --> 00:00:54.429 We always left the community by canoe in the summer. 00:00:54.429 --> 00:01:00.602 We hardly spent any time in town because we were always out on the land. 00:01:00.602 --> 00:01:06.149 I will show you what I always saw when we were out on the trapline. 00:01:06.149 --> 00:01:08.526 I will tell you about these things. 00:01:08.526 --> 00:01:13.448 The things I will show you were not always done or made in the same way. 00:01:13.448 --> 00:01:17.911 They were made using many different methods. 00:01:17.911 --> 00:01:23.249 When people are out on the land they observe and learn from what they see 00:01:23.249 --> 00:01:26.336 and this is how I learned to do things. 00:01:27.003 --> 00:01:30.298 This is how I learned when I was young, always observing and trying out. 00:01:30.298 --> 00:01:34.219 I also remember all the places we used to live and hunt, 00:01:34.219 --> 00:01:39.516 observed and learned the things I needed to know about life on the land. 00:01:40.391 --> 00:01:45.271 I saw all these traditional activities since I was very young. 00:01:45.647 --> 00:01:50.985 New life was still in its early stages in spring when we went out on the land. 00:01:50.985 --> 00:01:53.988 We harvested only what we needed. 00:01:54.280 --> 00:02:00.620 So now I will tell what I wanted to tell and also stories about how it was. 00:02:00.620 --> 00:02:06.084 Today people are starting to forget how to understand some things. 00:02:06.084 --> 00:02:10.338 Some people who are my age still remember how the people built 00:02:10.338 --> 00:02:15.260 and made things they needed for life on the land. 00:02:15.510 --> 00:02:22.392 I myself tried very hard to keep all the traditional knowledge I learned. 00:02:22.892 --> 00:02:27.522 I have told young people when I was asked to talk to them, 00:02:27.522 --> 00:02:34.988 that we can never be like white people because we were born to be Cree people, 00:02:34.988 --> 00:02:38.992 no matter how hard we try to change. 00:02:39.325 --> 00:02:46.249 These are things the young people want to be taught and told stories about, 00:02:46.249 --> 00:02:49.711 to remind them how the Cree people built and made what they needed 00:02:49.711 --> 00:02:54.465 because many young people don’t want to do these things and don’t know how they are done. 00:02:54.465 --> 00:03:02.432 Today they have no chance to see and learn how things were done by their Cree people. 00:03:02.432 --> 00:03:11.482 They’re losing a lot of knowledge by not having the experience of seeing how things used to be. 00:03:11.482 --> 00:03:15.403 They’re also losing the Cree language by not hearing these terms 00:03:15.403 --> 00:03:19.282 used in naming the items and activities they do not see or do. 00:03:19.282 --> 00:03:21.159 This is how it’s today. 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:28.124 Life in the 50s, 60s, 70s is now being forgotten 00:03:28.124 --> 00:03:33.254 because the activites that were done at that time are not being continued. 00:03:33.838 --> 00:03:42.680 For instance, things that were made and how they were made by Cree people. 00:03:42.889 --> 00:03:49.187 What we see here aren’t made in the same way as this one. 00:03:49.187 --> 00:03:55.235 Long ago, people used many different methods of making shelters. 00:03:55.860 --> 00:04:01.950 It was incredible how people made many of the necessary shelters 00:04:01.950 --> 00:04:06.663 and implements they needed out on the land. 00:04:07.247 --> 00:04:10.667 Many things we don’t see anymore. 00:04:10.667 --> 00:04:19.050 People who knew what to do did them in such a resourceful way. 00:04:20.260 --> 00:04:25.139 The Cree people could do many wonderful things they needed for their traditional lifestyle. 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:34.691 The Cree skills aren’t as visible today. Much of it is forgotten. 00:04:35.149 --> 00:04:49.289 It’s time to teach these activities to the Cree youth. I had children of my own, too. 00:04:49.289 --> 00:04:56.504 This was a while ago. Some of them are now in their 50s. 00:04:57.338 --> 00:05:03.344 Some of them are now independent and have their own families. 00:05:03.344 --> 00:05:08.099 These are the things that are being shown such as this shelter you see here. 00:05:08.099 --> 00:05:14.272 Shelters are made in an area considered suitable based on the things growing around it. 00:05:14.731 --> 00:05:18.818 You also need to consider how a shelter will be of use and whats needs to be done. 00:05:18.818 --> 00:05:28.536 If I wanted to make this temporary shelter, called a ‘iiyimiichiwaahp’, 00:05:28.536 --> 00:05:34.375 I would decide where to erect it by looking at the landscape. 00:05:34.625 --> 00:05:41.132 This one is the ‘mitutisaanikimikw’. 00:05:42.216 --> 00:05:48.556 It’s like a fall shelter that is needed for a longer period of time 00:05:48.556 --> 00:05:55.772 and built so it will be warmer than the temporary shelter. 00:05:55.813 --> 00:06:00.735 A stove is used to heat it in the winter. 00:06:00.735 --> 00:06:09.577 When this type of shelter is no longer needed, then this temporary shelter is built again. 00:06:09.577 --> 00:06:16.876 ‘kaakipeshinaaniwich’ is the name of this shelter made in this way and for this reason. 00:06:17.293 --> 00:06:23.091 If a person went hunting and trapping in another area, when he was finished, 00:06:23.091 --> 00:06:26.094 he would come back to this fall shelter. 00:06:26.677 --> 00:06:35.186 This is why this shelter is made in such a way so it will stay warmer in cold weather. 00:06:35.770 --> 00:06:40.066 It’s up to the person making the shelter to make it like a ‘mihtukaan’ like the ‘iiyimiichiwaahp’. 00:06:40.733 --> 00:06:44.153 The trees used to make it can be lined up and set up in a proper way. 00:06:44.153 --> 00:06:57.792 You don’t need much canvas coverings, using just moss and trees to cover it keeps it very warm. 00:06:59.252 --> 00:07:05.508 I remember making this shelter with other people and it was used for 11 years. 00:07:05.508 --> 00:07:10.346 It was used for so long because each time we left, 00:07:10.346 --> 00:07:14.976 we cleaned it very well on the inside so we could use it again the following winter. 00:07:14.976 --> 00:07:17.437 The floor was always covered by spruce boughs. 00:07:17.437 --> 00:07:20.481 No boards were used for the floor. 00:07:20.481 --> 00:07:22.900 Only spruce boughs were used for the floor. 00:07:24.026 --> 00:07:27.613 This is why it’s cleaned before leaving, so people can move back in next fall. 00:07:27.613 --> 00:07:31.826 Also the moss on the outside was changed before the people moved away to another area. 00:07:32.243 --> 00:07:37.373 When it’s cleaned well, the smell stays fresh when it’s empty of people 00:07:37.373 --> 00:07:40.126 and the lingering smell of the spruce boughs stays inside. 00:07:40.126 --> 00:07:56.017 The smell of the spruce also helped with breathing while keeping the air fresh from other smells. 00:07:57.435 --> 00:08:00.938 When I look at these dwellings, 00:08:00.938 --> 00:08:06.360 it reminds me of what is around the camp and the reason why it was built there. 00:08:06.694 --> 00:08:15.661 When you look at the things growing near the shelter, you want to keep them and not chop them down. 00:08:15.661 --> 00:08:25.171 People look at the wildlife coming on the trees and willows. 00:08:25.171 --> 00:08:29.050 This is called ‘uchiishikuminaahtikush’ 00:08:29.300 --> 00:08:43.981 and the birds come and feed on these, especially the ptarmigan. 00:08:43.981 --> 00:08:47.860 They like to feed on them. 00:08:47.860 --> 00:08:57.828 I see the ptarmigan come and feed on the boughs with the coniferous trees over there like the balsam. 00:08:58.579 --> 00:09:04.669 People can also harvest food from the wildlife around the camp 00:09:04.669 --> 00:09:07.046 and feed from the things growing around it. 00:09:07.046 --> 00:09:13.761 This can be done regularly, getting food close to the camp. 00:09:14.303 --> 00:09:20.768 They also feed on the jackpine, ‘uschisk”. 00:09:21.352 --> 00:09:31.862 These trees like the black spruce and willows attract ptarmigan. 00:09:33.072 --> 00:09:37.034 The trees have different names. 00:09:37.034 --> 00:09:41.080 So if someone wants to learn the names of these trees in Cree, 00:09:41.080 --> 00:09:43.332 now is the time to teach them. 00:09:43.332 --> 00:09:50.131 They can’t name the trees just by looking at them. 00:09:50.131 --> 00:09:56.304 The trees are also used for making different things. 00:09:56.929 --> 00:10:07.398 The Cree people know which things the animals feed on, like rabbits. 00:10:08.107 --> 00:10:21.162 They also know which trees are needed to make certain implements and other uses of them. 00:10:21.162 --> 00:10:26.542 They chop the necessary wood they will need to build or make certain things, 00:10:27.251 --> 00:10:36.469 just like this pole for hanging up different things, like animal skins, like bear. 00:10:36.844 --> 00:10:41.766 The poles are carved smooth so the skin does not break or get holes. 00:10:41.766 --> 00:10:52.985 This is also done so the skins stay clean when hung up. 00:10:53.819 --> 00:11:00.576 This structure is called ‘aakuhtikihiikin’, to pile up the firewood. 00:11:01.619 --> 00:11:08.751 These pieces of firewood are stood upright so they stay dry 00:11:08.751 --> 00:11:20.554 and will not get covered with snow like they would if they were lying down on the ground. 00:11:20.971 --> 00:11:27.853 A simple saw is used to cut the wood into the right length for burning in the stove. 00:11:27.853 --> 00:11:41.117 It was always good to have plenty of firewood, the ones in the structure and the upstanding firewood. 00:11:41.575 --> 00:11:45.871 Dogs were used to pull the wood to the camp. 00:11:46.455 --> 00:11:54.505 The dogs were strong to pull the gathered firewood on a sled 00:11:54.505 --> 00:12:00.678 because of the fresh meat they were given. 00:12:00.928 --> 00:12:04.432 This cache was in the middle of the camp. 00:12:04.974 --> 00:12:13.274 It was used to store food and also things that had to be left behind that were not for immediate use. 00:12:13.274 --> 00:12:17.862 I remember the things stored on the cache were covered up well. 00:12:17.862 --> 00:12:23.075 Before, it was said that animals could still get into the top of the caches. 00:12:23.701 --> 00:12:28.497 For example, wolverines were able to get into cached food and material. 00:12:28.497 --> 00:12:36.255 If the cache was covered with logs on top and built like a cabin, 00:12:36.255 --> 00:12:40.593 the animals had a harder time getting in. 00:12:41.385 --> 00:12:54.273 People would leave things like dried meat in the cache for a long period, never raw meat. 00:12:54.690 --> 00:13:01.155 The longhouse ‘shaapuhtiwaan’ isn’t seen very much around town nowadays. 00:13:01.155 --> 00:13:05.659 It’s used for activities in the community in the summer only. 00:13:05.785 --> 00:13:12.541 Before, people used to build longhouses on their traplines. 00:13:12.541 --> 00:13:18.756 Many families would dwell in a shelter like this. 00:13:18.756 --> 00:13:24.011 Today, if it is used, it usually has a single family living in it. 00:13:24.011 --> 00:13:28.933 They also don’t use dogteams and sleds, now people use skidoos. 00:13:28.933 --> 00:13:35.064 The ‘shaapuhtiwaan’ used to house several families. 00:13:35.397 --> 00:13:48.744 They used open fireplaces, not stoves to keep the shelter heated and for cooking. 00:13:49.453 --> 00:13:56.502 When they made the fireplace ‘iishkutaahkaan’, the ground was always dug up even in the winter. 00:13:56.502 --> 00:14:02.466 For the fire, ‘muunichaapekahiichewich’ was the word they used to do this. 00:14:02.925 --> 00:14:08.722 They dug it up until they reached the sand underneath and this is where the fire was made. 00:14:09.181 --> 00:14:12.893 This was part of making the shelter using the longhouse. 00:14:12.893 --> 00:14:26.532 This is was what the Cree did, even in the middle of winter, making the fireplace to keep it heated. 00:14:27.366 --> 00:14:46.886 Fire for making tea and cooking was also always done in the open air. 00:14:46.886 --> 00:15:05.279 You can’t make a fire anytime and anywhere on the snow while travelling. 00:15:05.279 --> 00:15:15.205 You have to look for a right place, green wood on top of the snow and make the fire there. 00:15:16.373 --> 00:15:20.461 Also you can’t just sit anywhere on top of the snow. 00:15:20.461 --> 00:15:24.590 You have to make sure you scatter cut boughs before you sit. 00:15:24.590 --> 00:15:26.967 The poles you cleared of boughs 00:15:26.967 --> 00:15:32.264 are the ones you place on top of the snow before making the fire. 00:15:32.264 --> 00:15:41.565 The fire will not burn if you just build it on top of the snow. 00:15:42.149 --> 00:15:50.491 The snow beneath the fire will take longer to melt when it’s built on top of green wood. 00:15:50.491 --> 00:15:55.537 The fire will provide heat before the bottom snow melts below the green wood. 00:15:55.537 --> 00:16:02.962 Sometimes, the fire will still be going strong when you go on your hunting and trapping journey. 00:16:03.337 --> 00:16:10.177 You will have the time you need to heat up whatever you want before it melts the snow on the bottom. 00:16:10.594 --> 00:16:14.098 So many things can be taught to the younger generation 00:16:14.098 --> 00:16:18.268 because they don’t spend time out on the land, 00:16:18.268 --> 00:16:24.274 experiencing and learning knowledge and teachings that can only be done on the trapline. 00:16:24.692 --> 00:16:27.569 Most of the time, they spend their lives here in the community, 00:16:27.569 --> 00:16:31.156 learning at school the non-native education. 00:16:31.156 --> 00:16:35.160 There’s also a lot of education you can learn on the land. 00:16:36.370 --> 00:16:45.671 Today I’m 76 years old and a lot of young men of my own have experienced life on the land. 00:16:45.671 --> 00:16:51.969 Now, they don’t need me telling them how to do things. They know them already. 00:16:52.469 --> 00:17:01.854 I always took them out on the land, some didn’t attend high school. 00:17:02.438 --> 00:17:13.032 If they stayed too long in town they really started to miss being out hunting. 00:17:14.158 --> 00:17:17.786 This is what happens to them. 00:17:17.786 --> 00:17:27.004 They should be given the chance to learn what to do when travelling on the land in the winter. 00:17:27.004 --> 00:17:36.764 When making a temporary shelter to stay in the winter, the snow is not all shovelled, 00:17:36.764 --> 00:17:39.850 some is left on the ground. 00:17:39.850 --> 00:17:51.236 So when the poles for the dwelling like this one here are prepared 00:17:51.236 --> 00:17:59.745 the boughs chopped off are spread on the snow. 00:18:00.412 --> 00:18:12.674 The snow that’s left around the shelter keeps it warm and using young trees with lots of boughs 00:18:12.674 --> 00:18:22.059 scattered on the floor on top of the snow keeps it cozy inside at night. 00:18:22.059 --> 00:18:24.228 This is what the people do. 00:18:24.228 --> 00:18:34.696 When there’s snow and a stove is used for heating, all the snow was cleared off the ground. 00:18:35.489 --> 00:18:40.577 People made their shelters even in the marshy areas 00:18:40.577 --> 00:18:44.665 after leveling the ground where the lodge would stand. 00:18:45.707 --> 00:18:51.255 There are many ways to build shelters while out on the land. 00:18:51.255 --> 00:18:56.802 My wife and I have lived with many other families when we first got married and this is where 00:18:56.802 --> 00:18:59.304 we saw different kinds of dwellings when traveling in the wilderness. 00:18:59.847 --> 00:19:05.686 We made shelters when we had to stay for long periods and built them in a certain way. 00:19:05.686 --> 00:19:13.819 The area that was picked for the lodge was an area with new growth with sand and level. 00:19:14.153 --> 00:19:19.283 You couldn’t make your shelter anywhere you stopped while traveling. 00:19:19.283 --> 00:19:23.745 You always looked for an ideal spot for the dwelling to be built. 00:19:25.164 --> 00:19:30.085 The preferred area had to be searched ahead of time 00:19:30.085 --> 00:19:39.720 and the people would stop traveling when this spot was chosen. 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:45.058 It had to have plenty of spruce boughs for the floor, firewood close by 00:19:46.143 --> 00:19:50.022 and snow that would be used for drinking and cooking. 00:19:50.022 --> 00:19:57.487 The best snow was in a clear area with no trees growing nearby. 00:19:57.487 --> 00:20:05.370 The area that was picked for it’s snow that would become water was called ‘utihaakunaan’ 00:20:05.370 --> 00:20:09.958 and it was in a specific clear area on the marsh. 00:20:09.958 --> 00:20:13.879 Everyone got this snow from the same area. 00:20:13.879 --> 00:20:19.760 This area was kept clean and nothing was allowed to be scattered around it. 00:20:21.386 --> 00:20:34.274 People avoided living near the area of a river in the winter. 00:20:35.400 --> 00:20:41.907 When people decided to move, they would first take what was not of immediate use. 00:20:41.907 --> 00:20:47.621 The word for this was ‘pichishtwaaniuu’. 00:20:47.621 --> 00:20:54.127 Sometimes the place for the cache would be on the way. 00:20:54.127 --> 00:21:00.676 They always made sure that the most necessary things would be carried with them 00:21:00.676 --> 00:21:11.853 like the coverings for the shelter and things needed for the heating of the home. 00:21:12.479 --> 00:21:18.193 One of the things that would be taken to the next camp would be the food 00:21:18.193 --> 00:21:23.490 and it would be covered carefully with wood and boughs. 00:21:24.074 --> 00:21:35.460 When passing the area where the cache was, people would just leave 00:21:35.460 --> 00:21:43.552 and take only the necessary things from the stored belongings. 00:21:44.136 --> 00:21:52.144 The rest of the things would be left where they were cached 00:21:52.144 --> 00:22:02.279 and retrieved only when the next camp was finished. 00:22:03.071 --> 00:22:17.377 The things that were stored would be there for a day or two before they were picked up 00:22:17.377 --> 00:22:35.062 because the items needed, like the necessities for the children, were already at the new camp. 00:22:35.354 --> 00:22:44.905 I was always proud to see a woman and my wife do this, 00:22:45.530 --> 00:22:55.332 stopping to breastfeed her baby that she was pulling on the toboggan while we were on the trail. 00:22:55.332 --> 00:23:09.388 Breastfeeding was always the way to feed a baby because it didn’t require warming up the milk. 00:23:09.388 --> 00:23:13.975 Milk from the mother was always the right temperature. 00:23:14.434 --> 00:23:20.023 I’ve seen women go on the toboggan under covers to feed her baby 00:23:20.023 --> 00:23:25.237 while travelling to the next campsite during cold winter weather. 00:23:25.695 --> 00:23:32.828 Sometimes the next campsite can’t be reached right away. 00:23:32.828 --> 00:23:35.414 People would need to rest 2 or 3 times. 00:23:35.414 --> 00:23:46.174 ‘Eh kapeshit’ is the word used for these short stops, usually for one or two nights. 00:23:46.675 --> 00:23:55.142 This is when people travel on the land during winter. 00:23:55.142 --> 00:24:04.484 When you reach a place where you want to rest, first thing you do is make a large fire. 00:24:04.734 --> 00:24:06.945 I’ve seen this many times. 00:24:07.529 --> 00:24:12.617 Next thing you do is make a hammock close to the fire for the baby, 00:24:13.118 --> 00:24:20.959 being careful to watch the distance between the fire and the baby. 00:24:21.293 --> 00:24:32.762 The rest of the children can keep busy doing activities with their snowshoes. 00:24:33.722 --> 00:24:43.690 They would be encouraged to walk and explore the area with their snowshoes on. 00:24:43.690 --> 00:24:52.991 The children never got cold with their rabbit skin coats. 00:24:53.575 --> 00:24:59.206 I remember wearing this myself to keep warm. 00:24:59.206 --> 00:25:05.670 The lodge was finished, which didn’t take much time to do, 00:25:06.171 --> 00:25:22.270 after the snow was stomped without snowshoes on to make the area level for the dwelling. 00:25:23.897 --> 00:25:30.195 When travelling with young people in the winter, 00:25:30.195 --> 00:25:44.626 the ones who were able would be told to put up rabbit snares where they saw rabbit trails. 00:25:45.544 --> 00:25:51.091 Teaching the young people hunting activities 00:25:51.091 --> 00:25:54.844 started as soon as possible depending on their abilities, 00:25:54.844 --> 00:26:04.020 when stopping for one or two nights and when days started getting longer. 00:26:04.020 --> 00:26:08.692 People kept track of the daylight while travelling during the winter. 00:26:08.692 --> 00:26:23.290 If families had young children, they always stopped before the sun was low in the sky. 00:26:23.790 --> 00:26:37.345 Thinking about the children is the reason why the shelter was put up as soon as possible, 00:26:37.345 --> 00:26:39.723 to keep them warm. 00:26:39.723 --> 00:26:49.816 The older ones were encouraged to hunt but always with partners, never alone. 00:26:50.233 --> 00:26:59.951 Sometimes if the mother had no babies, the young ones would go with her 00:26:59.951 --> 00:27:05.790 when looking for rabbit and ptarmigan. 00:27:06.499 --> 00:27:12.297 Young children were allowed to carry a gun for ptarmigan. 00:27:12.797 --> 00:27:18.762 When they went with their mother and the young, it was not allowed. 00:27:18.762 --> 00:27:28.146 He had to take very good care of it. 00:27:31.775 --> 00:27:38.657 When people walk on the land, they can see moose tracks around the willows they eat. 00:27:38.657 --> 00:27:46.081 In the winter when the snow is high, a person had to test the ice when walking on a stream. 00:27:46.081 --> 00:27:50.543 Here the person might see signs of a beaver. 00:27:50.543 --> 00:28:01.930 The word used for beaver signs nearby is ‘tikwaakahtam’. 00:28:03.223 --> 00:28:11.856 The water must have been already frozen when the beaver was looking for food. 00:28:12.607 --> 00:28:18.988 For the moose, the word used was ‘takwaayaaskuhtawaau’. 00:28:19.823 --> 00:28:21.783 The Cree really knew all about the land, water and animals by their observations. 00:28:21.783 --> 00:28:24.744 These were the skills they used on the land. 00:28:24.744 --> 00:28:32.752 If people had to leave their canoes behind when traveling to their trapline, 00:28:32.752 --> 00:28:39.175 they would store some of their belongins inside the canoe. 00:28:40.135 --> 00:28:47.392 When it comes to spring, it’s a dangerous time of the year. 00:28:47.809 --> 00:29:00.405 People must be vigilant and keep a close eye on what’s going on around them. 00:29:00.405 --> 00:29:11.708 It’s very different to go goose hunting out on the ice or in the bay. 00:29:11.708 --> 00:29:28.516 The weather can turn warm very fast inland and the ice can thin in a short period of time. 00:29:29.184 --> 00:29:36.107 Being on a lake for goose hunting is also very different. 00:29:36.107 --> 00:29:55.668 There are different ice conditions on rivers or in marshes, called ‘mischaakwaakumishiish’. 00:29:55.668 --> 00:30:02.175 There’s water that’s called ‘shaapusaachii’ out on the lake. 00:30:02.509 --> 00:30:08.306 Being out on these areas, one has to be careful, especially when goose hunting inland. 00:30:08.681 --> 00:30:12.185 It’s very different on the bay. 00:30:12.185 --> 00:30:20.068 When you’re there you can tell what’s going to happen on the ice. 00:30:20.860 --> 00:30:27.575 Inland, ice conditions can become very dangerous, like water in the rivers, lakes and marshes. 00:30:27.575 --> 00:30:34.249 Things can change very quickly out on the ice. 00:30:34.582 --> 00:30:36.084 You have to be very careful. 00:30:36.084 --> 00:30:40.296 It’s not easy to get out of the water when you fall through the ice. 00:30:40.296 --> 00:30:44.551 Especially when the water is up to your midriff. 00:30:44.551 --> 00:30:52.308 Ice can easily break when a person tries to get out of the hole.