An animal that represents my personality would be a red elk, because a medicine man gave the name. Therefore, I represent a red elk, because this animal to me is extraordinary. This animal can run fast, hears well and its instincts are quick. Relatives to the red elk are the moose, deer, and caribou. There is an advantage in having a traditional name from a medicine man. For instance, when going to a sweat or ceremony, you introduce your traditional name and the people with you will pray for you. The traditional ways is amazing, because in the animal world I'm part of the Red Elk. They are very nice to look at when they're standing by the road. They look like caribou with their big antlers and a huge body. This amazing animal is also generous with people and other natural things in its natural habitat.
AN ANIMAL THAT REPRESENTS MY PERSONALITY
LETTER FROM AN ANCESTORDear Adolph,
I'm writing to you because I have a story to tell you. Long ago, we paddled to reach the Hudson Bay company to go trade our furs. People of Pukatawagan had to support one another to survive through trading our furs. During tough years, I had to haul wood, water, start the fire and set traps near the river. Fishing from the lake meant food for the whole family. During cold winter nights, it was a challenge to keep warm for everybody. The trap line was a struggle to survive especially when there was no heat at the cabin. There would be men available to go out and cut wood. That was how the system worked back then. Anyway, this was how we lived in the old days when there was no federal government to help support us. We used to go berry picking to make jam and eat it with fried bannock. Afterwards, we would all play a family game after the meal. This is the one of the ways to get together during ceremonies. Paddling our old birch canoes, people would yell and cheer at us while we were in the canoes.
CONFLICT WITH NATUREIn 1998, while sitting on the table eating supper with my family, a storm just happened to pay us a visit. It seemed to be a small tornado that came directly to my families' house. As a result, the roof was blown away and the plywood was all over by my neighbor's yard. We didn't know what was happening at the time, but we felt the house shake and heard a loud noise. We were all shaken up when the RCMP came into our house and told us our roof was gone.
Then it started raining and the living room started to get wet all over. Anyway, we were all glad that nothing serious happened. We all laughed about what happened to our roof. For it was all over the street and on the houses of our neighbors. However, we had to deal with the flood in our living room for five days before any maintenance came to fix our roof. This is how a storm will do to your house really I don't have much to say about the storm.
An ordinary day I had in the north was during a blizzard. Because it was the north, I was excited to be in the middle of the lake with no direction to go. Cruising around the lake was not fun anymore with the kinds of machinery I had with me. Taking ramps at high speeds was a risk in zero visibility. The snowmobile that I was riding was a six hundred horse Poloris. In the north I'm not used to riding around the ice or woods I don't even know how to dress up for the weather. I don't even know anything about the wilderness so you have to show me the ropes.
GREENHORNThe burial ceremonies in the community are well organized. In our tradition, elders smudge the area with sweet grass where the body is going to be. They also sing traditional songs for the body, in a way to help people remember the deceased with honor. People are buried where they are from which is in High Rock or in Pukatawagan. It is the traditional way for my people. That's how I describe the burial ceremony in Pukatawagan and is as much I know about the burial ceremonies in the reserve.
TRADITIONAL BURIAL CEREMONIESIn my early child hood, I remember playing in the mud puddle near a creek by my place. Because there was only mud in those days, gravel was a rare thing to see. In the summer time, my friends and I would go and play at the creek and paddle. Afterwards, we would laugh at each other for it was very fun. Anyway it was getting boring and I wanted to do something else. We all got together and made sling shots. We would then go to the woods and hide from each other. The people with slingshots would come and look for us. If one of us were to get caught, you would have no choice but to run for safety. In conclusion, my childhood was full of fun and I enjoyed those days.
CHILDHOOD MEMORIESThe pros and cons of in living in Thompson are interesting. There were hockey tournaments at the Ca Nabs Arena and all kinds of different clubs in town. It is interesting being able to communicate with white people. People come from all over the country to teach courses in the high school and college. People from all other countries come to visit the INCO in town. When I was going to school in Thompson, it was a learning experience because there was no one there that I knew to visit.
PROS AND CONS OF LIVING IN A CITYThe bad thing about the town was there's a lot of drunks and fights in the streets. The native people are very poor due to their alcoholism. Every day you see the people that are struggling. They are homeless nowhere to turn because they maybe don't have education.
I think in forty years Pukatawagan will change dramatically in a positive way. This is when the chief and council will step into the offices of the Provincial and Federal Government and negotiate a way to get along with my community. The chief will talk for the people and ask for better housing and roads for the community. Housing will extend all the way to Mile 99 and Kingfisher Bay. There will be a licensed dining room and a Pool Hall in the arena, attached to a Mini Mall built on top of a hill. This will be an opportunity for the unemployed to have some work. What the community will want is an all weather road going out of town and have roads in town that is concrete with sidewalks.
LIFE ON A NORTHERN RESERVE IN 40 YEARSIf there are any problems in the reserve, the people will talk to the chief and the council to have better education. The people will come together and have a public meeting. The Radioman will always be informed about any community event. The Northern Store will no longer be here, because the community will ask them to leave. Only the CO-OP will be left standing and any other business that is owned by a community member with a good education. There will be a lot more people with an education and skills in the community. They will go out and talk for us for a better future. This will begin the process of letting go the past, so we can continue on with the development of our community. Our chief, with the help of other community members will dream a better community.
My three best characteristics are to mop the floor, clean the house with my brother and help out the in my community. My three worst characteristics are doing labor work for free, not complaining about it and ignoring those who take advantage of my helpfulness. My best event is playing hockey with friends at the arena. My family and close relatives in the community are significant in my life, because they are close to me. The person that inspired me to go to school was my mother and a few close friends. If I'm in trouble, they help me with whatever the problem that is bothering me. My accomplishment is the education I received and having a diploma to show all the work I did. Working in a place and learning from my co-workers. My ambition in life is to finish my course that I'm taking, see all my classmates succeed and go into the business world to communicate with others.
A MINI BIOThe early in 1980, there was a lot of talk about some nighttime creature walking around the reserve. Some people became scared, just by talking about it. They wouldn't go out at night. Before sundown all the kids would be indoors. During those early days of the 1980's, alcoholism was everywhere. Nobody cared about anything, so children had to roam around, sleep at other places, or just stay up all night. In those days I was afraid of everything, but I had my friends with me.
A PUK TALL TALEOne night, while my younger brother and I were walking home. I sensed that someone was looking at us from a nearby ditch. I looked down to see what it was; I couldn't recognize what it was. I grabbed my younger brother's hand and ran to our house and knocked as loud as I could, because the door was locked. There was no answer I figured my parents were out, so I knocked louder. Just before this big man I couldn't recognize was coming towards our house; my mother opened the door. We ran inside, locked the door and told my mother what happened. She didn't believe about what my brother and I saw all she said was to go to bed. The creature was still out there roaming around.
The room I have in my house is not very comfortable. It has a Canadian flag for a curtain and a few pictures of my family hangs in my closet. The walls are white and a bit of brown. The room is about ten by ten feet. A couple of stars are on the ceiling and with a few hockey cards. My favorite players are only on the ceiling with a few serenity prayers. By the side of my closet are a few pictures of my graduation with a close friend that came all the way with me; he gave me confidence. Anyway, this is how my room looks.
A WORD PICTURE
A PUK ACTIVITYMy Puk activity in which I have taken part was break dancing in the early 1980's. My brother and I were competitors and we wanted to compete with the best. We formed a group and we decided that we should be called the Loonbreakers. We competed with the boys from Sandy Bay. There was a lot of excitement as the people at the band hall were cheering on the Loonbreakers and also the boys from Sandy Bay. But we were tough to beat. The crowd was surrounding us at the dance floor. It was close when the judges were undecided, because everyone did very well in their break dancing skills. But we came in first and we celebrated.
This is how we became known as the Loonbreakers. My brother and I with a couple a friends were there to help win the victory. What I really wanted to do was take part of something that I really enjoyed and to be recognized by the local people in the reserve. I enjoyed doing all the breakdancing moves I knew they were unbeatable with the competitors. This is how we were professional in break dancing. Today nobody is interested in any of that because it is an old activity or that nobody is doing it anymore. All I see is rap just like the breaking style, but not good enough for the break dancing. I think break dancing was over in early 1990's and everybody went their way, but still I see a few people trying to get the break dancing music rolling. The music was awesome at the time. It just makes you want tp jump around and start dancing around with the people that are interesting in break dancing.
To travel down the river, you have to have instructions from an experienced guide that always travels on the river. This is how to reach high rock, the original reserve from Pukatawagan. You follow the river to the rapids of Churchill River. You come to a portage then after your done with the portage, you come to a bridge and go under it. It takes about 45 minutes, to get to the high rock reserve. Along the way, you see a lot of extraordinary sights such as beaver dams, a rock that shape like a native person you could see a moose, ducks, geese, and beaver along the Churchill river. That's why you always have to have a gun when you're going down the river and a survival kit when you get into the trapline. First, you get to know the place maybe, something that you don't normally do like cutting wood, making a fire, doing basic labor work. Second, you could go out hunting at the nearby river for a moose or ducks. Anyway, that's how you would get into the reserve of high rock. The river is smooth when it comes to moose hunting during the fall the people go out to there cabins and wait tell the snow is falling in the fall there are a lot of moose along the Churchill river and there are a lot to give away to the community. Usually the community has a feast and enjoys the kill from the experience hunters.
RIVER TRAVEL INSTRUCTIONSHi there, how are you doing? As for me, I'm not too bad. I like writing to you because I haven't written anybody from the other side of the world. So, what do you do for activities during your spare time? For me, I play hockey or volleyball if I'm feeling good and motivated. If I'm not feeling good I relax and watch T.V. Anyway, I just wanted you to know that if you ever want to talk to someone or if you feel that things are not going your way. Tell me about it and I could try and help you out. With anything that's bothering you.
A PERSONAL LETTER
Dear Pal,The reserve I come from is Pukatawagan and the population is over 2000 people. During the summer, there are a lot of things to do. For instance, you could go out in the boat and explore the wilderness and go sight seeing. The river leads right to Churchill Manitoba, Canada. In the summer it is beautiful out during the day. Every once a year they have this tradition that they call the summer games, during the winter they also have a winter games festivals. The visitors enjoy being at the festival because it is entertaining. So this how it is back in pukatawagan, Manitoba, Canada. Well I don't know much about a pen pal.
Your friend,
Adolph
LIFE ON A NORTHERN RESERVELife on my northern reserve is a hard place to get out. Because, there are only a few jobs that are available. I think people get sick of my hometown and want get out. The people from my community do stupid things, like suicide. In small reserves, people get depressed from drugs and they feel like getting into trouble or disturbing the neighborhood. In a small reserve, it is boring. There are no places to go but to stay home. People in rural communities sleep in because of the lack of job opportunities although there are a lot of activities to do such as playing volleyball, skating, and basically helping out the community.
Sometimes the reserve is very bad for people because of the environment they are living in. Places are abandoned and people need a place to stay. Their places are packed with children and they argue about housing and some of the places are destroyed. The reserve is messy with garbage in nearby places. Every year, students get to pick up all the garbage, and get paid for it. During the summer, everybody goes out to their cabin to hunt for duck or geese.
This is life is on a northern reserve. People get into trouble, sleep all day and have nothing much to do in the community. They have nowhere to go so they stay home. The reserve is isolated and therefore it is hard to get out of town.