Stolen Heart. Culprit? 10 year olds!

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I seem to be running 100 miles an hour towards the finish line these days as it is hard to believe that camp is over in a little more than two weeks! Despite the race against the clock, life continues to go well here in Eabametoong as there is never a dull moment between camp, running after-camp activities, hanging out with cool kids, and the many community events that go on during the weekend. Since the last time I have written, I have had the privilege of attending Fort Hope’s annual summer pow wow, their very own UFC style fight, a cookout with the family of one of our counsellors here, and an intense back country paddle, not to mention the many adventures that camp brings each and every day. All in all, it’s been lots of fun and very educational…

I am learning more and more each day how the idea of family is structured here in Eabametoong. Given the nature of the reserve as a very small town, and isolated at that, extended families are HUGE - it feels sometimes like everyone is related to everyone else. Esther, for example, has counted the fact that she has over 40 first cousins - I can’t even comprehend that considering I have only four! Needless to say, cousins become a large part of people’s social networks and I probably learn each day a new relation between the kids… “Oh… so you guys are RELATED.” That being said, extended families seem to play a key role in family life as between step parents, parents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and siblings there is never a shortage of places to sleep and people who will take you in. As I have learned over the last few weeks, this wasn’t always the case.

Alongside the problems with residential schools that I discussed in a previous blog, beginning in the 1960s, Canada’s social work system played a large part in the continued disruption of First Nations family life through policies of child removal. Social workers came into First Nations communities, deemed many homes “unfit” for children and proceeded to place these children in “fit” foster homes which were more often then not non-native, and providing substandard care themselves. The principles behind social work at this time were not to assist with fixing the problems that existed within reserve communities - immense poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, abuse, etc. - but rather to deem these homes unfit because of these conditions without looking at the root problems (poor education, abuse, generations of child removal, and a loss of traditional family life) and solving them. Instead, a quick fix was applied and children were removed, yet again, from their homes, families, and communities. It seems that this process resulted in the continued cultural and spiritual loss of a people, as the next generation of First Nations children were once again not being taught the values, history, and languages of their people. A poignant quote that I read regarding the raising of children states: “All aboriginal cultures teach that children are special gifts lent by the spirit world; if they are not loved and cherished, they may flee back to the realm from which they came. In traditional times, there was no greater dishonour than an extended family who could not look after its own young ones. In the rare circumstances where that was the case, the surrounding society always stepped in to share communal responsibility for raising children.” Given the important role that children play in the continuation of any culture, I find it hard to imagine what it must be like to try and recapture the sense of responsibility and ownership of raising children and passing on a legacy of tradition and heritage that has taken such substantial hits over the last century.

Alongside learning about the century long disruption of First Nations family and community life, I was fortunate enough to have a conversation with the newly inaugurated chief of Fort Hope a few weeks back, which lent a new perspective to these challenges. Initially a conversation regarding camp programming, our talk turned into a discussion about the importance of including youth in today’s decision making and allowing them to be a part of shaping the future of Eabametoong. He offered his observation that one of the biggest obstacles that Eabametoong faces in overcoming its challenges stem from the fact that there is no sense of PURPOSE within the community. I had to take a step back at this comment, but as I listened more, I came to understand what he meant by this. The initial idea behind reserves was to take First Nations people and get them “out of the way” so to speak. In doing so, livelihoods based on hunting, migration, and a deep spiritual connection with the land were fractured. In most cases, reserves are placed on inhospitable plots of land in regards to natural resources or agriculture, not to mention their isolation which makes employment scarce despite the need to feed, clothe, and house upwards of 1,000 - 2,000 people in one community. For example, the employment rate in Eabamteoong for people over age 15 stood at around 26% as of 2006 (although people do travel outside for work and there is a large amount of unpaid work to be found). As such, it seems that many people on reserves are forced to turn to a somewhat hazy version of life that we enjoy in Southern Canada - there are iPods, KD, and English mixed with drums, bannock, and Ojbway creating a jumble of cultural norms that is all dictated by the never ending cycle of money. All of these aspects combined appear to make it harder to get ahead and there is no clear goal for people to strive towards. Perhaps some might say the “purpose” of those of us in the south are our education and our careers, that which allows us to make an income, to save, to buy, to travel. Well, up here, with jobs a scarce thing to come by and education an opportunity to be taken rather then a give-in to be had, I can see where this statement of “lacking purpose” comes in and how it may have a damaging effect on morale and the continuation of cyclical processes that government policies, residential schools, and Canada’s welfare system have had on First Nations people over the century.

In saying all this, I have been fortunate enough to have been invited to many community events that have gone on this summer that have shown the dedication and motivation that many adults have within Eabametoong for making the community stronger and based on the culture and traditions of their people. In beginning to understand some of the challenges and meeting the people who want to see a different community for their children to grow up in, I found the pow wow to be a very interesting experience. It was one of the first community events I have been to where large numbers of community members attended and also one of the first events I have attended in which there were signs of distinctly First Nations traditions, for example drumming circles and dancers dressed in traditional regalia. Regalia is the clothing worn for important celebrations and is made from a variety of different fabrics and are very elaborately decorated with beads, feathers, etc. It was beautiful to watch! The pow wow included a lot of drumming circles going on throughout the day, community flea markets, eating, a few speeches, and dances. It was an interesting look at community interactions, especially on the Sunday when the weather finally cleared up and the celebrations were taken to the pow wow grounds on the lake where families congregated and socialized for the better part of the day. The pounding of the drums was melodic in a deep and earthy sense and it was nice to be able to sit on the benches surrounding the drumming and just take it all in. We even got to join in on some community wide dancing that went on later that night - one in particular called the “Round Dance” - which brought a big smile to my face. Probably the best part of the whole pow wow weekend though was the UFC style fight that was held on the Saturday night. Set up like a boxing ring with tickets for admission, the arena was converted before our eyes into a fight night. Three fights went on between various community members, but the main attraction was a fight between one of the police officers and one of the new band council members. Full of dramatic twists and turns, an announcer, and a sexy male-turned-female ring girl, it was a fantastic night of entertainment made all the better by the fact that there was a huge crowd, probably the biggest congregation I have yet to see in Fort Hope!

The following weekend, I got to experience a different side of community and family life when we were invited to a cookout with Nanajean’s family. As I mentioned, extended families are huge and play a very important role in family life, which we were exposed to that weekend as we sat around a fire watching our dinner cook and playing with kids. Children were running around, laughing, playing in the water (and attempting to catch leeches!), while the aunties chatted and cooked dinner, which included fresh goose, bannock, fried bannock, and a stew of the goose broth. It was a delicious dinner (and something I would not have made on my own) and a nice way to get to experience family events, not to mention hanging out with some pretty cool kids.

On that note, camp has also been going very well! While lots of time has passed since I last wrote, we are still running what we think is a pretty awesome camp! We continue to get high numbers with a large number of faithful campers who come everyday. Miraculously enough, we have managed to keep the literacy component of the camp at a high, although some kids refer to us as “teacher” and call camp “summer school” much to our ceaseless correcting -- “its CAMP, not school!” Regardless, they still come so we must be doing something right! I wish I could share more pictures of the kids at camp and what we do, however there is strict confidentiality regarding pictures of the kids which I completely understand and wish to honour. Evenings seem to go by even faster then the day and while some nights all I want to do is flop down on the couch, there is too much to do! Weeknights are filled with sports nights, one on one reading with some of the kids that need extra help, music lessons (Adam!), beading, the occasional campfire, and of course, mapping!

Much to my excitement, the kids have taken to the mapping project with great enthusiasm! While I initially tried it out as a camp activity, I quickly found that it wouldn’t hold their attention that way as I only had two receivers. The initial training session went well though, and since then I have been taking kids out in teams of two to map various parts of the community. I love the project for a variety of reasons. One, the kids get really into it and they are great with the equipment - a true testament of the technology age can be seen in that getting the hang of the simple programming they have to use on the receiver (which is much like a computer) is a breeze for kids who have grown up using computers. I also love their enthusiasm - “Courtney, when can we GPS again?!” Two, I really enjoy having the one on one time with the kids, it just feels like I am hanging out with really cool people (albeit 10 - 12 years my junior), as lets face it - ten year olds rock. Three, I have gotten a wicked tour of this town! Aside from the roads through town, there are a series of little paths that wind all through town in empty fields, small bush, and peoples yards that are called “alleys”. Not being from here, I don’t know where these are (or what people’s yard’s you can acceptably walk through and those you can’t) so it has been an amazing lesson for me! Anyways, I am wrapping up the data collection this week (hopefully!) and then it will be on to turning all they have collected into a comprehensible map in time for the end of camp party, which is now only 2 ½ weeks away!

Again, I have captured your time for much too long, but safe to say that I am continuing to enjoy myself every day and despite beginning to feel a sense of exhaustion that working with kids for 10+ hours a day provides (and might I say actually exercising each day?? Man, am I out of SHAPE!), I love my job, and my heart has officially been stolen by the children of Eabametoong.

Love to all,
Courtney

PS - Unfortunately no pictures this time (despite having many I wish to share!) as the website is not cooperating, nor is my internet. Enjoy the one I got up there and perhaps some more in the future!

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Photos

Pow Wow Grounds
Moved outside into the sunshine on the final day

Comments

[Angie]

Hanging with the 'kids'...
Hey...I know some pretty cool people that are 10-12 years MY junior, too!!! lol Only, now their in their 20s and off exploring the world....makin' me feel old!! Big hugs!!