 |
 |
 |
|
MARYANN HART |
GRANDMOTHER & BABY ZOEY |
DOMINIQUE HART |
Hi my name is Amy Dumas. I’ve lived in Pukatawagan most of my life. I have three brothers and one stepbrother and sister. My family and I moved to Thompson, Manitoba in 1989. Where I lived until 1996, the year I graduated grade 12. I then moved to The Pas in 1997 and took a ten-month course on Law Enforcement. I graduated with a certificate. Following this I moved back to Thompson where I took a six-month college prep course but I only completed the second phase. I then moved back here in 1998 and I’ve been here ever since.During my time here on the reserve the most interesting and exciting thing I look forward to everyday is being greeted by family and friends. I also enjoy meeting and looking forward to getting to know the strangers of the community. I find it hard living in such a small community because it can sometimes feel too isolated.
I love watching TV and keeping my mothers trailer clean. I am a single parent but my mother is a real big support. I live with three of my brothers, my nephew, my mother and my daughter in a three-bedroom trailer. I love eating sweet-n-sour ribs and spaghetti. My favorite TV shows are "Ripley’s Believe It or Not," true crime documentaries, "Friends" and TV game shows like "Wheel of Fortune," "Price is Right," and "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." A favourite activity is sitting in front of the TV with my daughter munching on popcorn.
I like doing things such as going for long walks, ski-dooing, sledding and watching the guys play hockey. I also enjoy playing cards. I don’t like long trips but one place my family and I love going is a place called Saint Anne’s. It’s in Alberta close to Edmonton. I haven’t gotten a chance to take my daughter yet but were all planning to go this summer.
My special friend in the community is my mother; she is always there for me. She supports everything that I try to accomplish. The only person who inspires me to reach the top is my 13-month-old daughter Zoey. If it weren’t for her I wouldn’t be in school. But now that I'm here, all I have to do is work hard and attend regularly and I should be okay. I look forward to learning new and exciting things this coming term.
To Our Cousin Amy
A LETTER TO OUR COUSIN AMYIt’s us, Travis and Gerald. How are you doing? We would like to tell you and the rest of the family that were sorry for leaving you guys so early but our great creator needed us here to get the place ready for the arrival of the rest of the family. We would also like to tell you that this place we are in is beautiful. The garden is our favorite place we hang out because that’s where everyone goes to roam and watch what all you guys are doing. So we get to see you guys everyday. The garden is filled with beautiful flowers and tulips and the animals that our among us are friendly as can be. It sort of reminds us of a cartoon, everything is so beautiful that sometimes we think that its fake but when we go to touch whatever it is its as real as it can be.
Auntie Rose says Hi and she misses all of you a lot. Our auntie is the one who came to meet us on our journey to this special place. She was so happy to see us and we were happy to see her. This place we are in is so peaceful we never fight with anyone, never argue with anyone, and never have any problems. It sometimes feels like were in a dream but when we come down to the garden then we know that it’s not. We look forward to seeing all of you soon. When the creator sends for your help you can count on us to be there to greet you with open arms.
With all our love,
Your cousins Travis and Gerald
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
TRADITIONAL BURIAL CUSTOMSWhen my family has experienced a loss there are certain things that we do to prepare for the burial of a loved one. A few of the members go out to The Pas, Manitoba to prepare the body for the arrival of his/her resting place. When the body comes into the community it is taken to whereever the wake will be held (usually at the drop in center). The casket is then opened for all the family to see. The body is usually dressed in traditional outfit with a ribbon shirt or dress.
Then my mother goes around each family member asking if they want to smudge themselves (everybody usually does). My mother then goes around the body and smudges the inside of the coffin. She then opens the foot of the coffin and the parents of the deceased are asked to come to the front and help put on wrap-arounds around the feet of the deceased.. She then closes the foot of the coffin and we sit and pray and sing songs all night until it is time for the burial.
When we go to church my grandfather is usually the person who does the mass. After the mass is completed we are given the last chance to view the body and say our good-byes. We then all head out to the cemetery where we stand and listen to my mother sing a song with her hand drum and then finally the loved one is placed into his/her resting place and we stand around until
the deceased is completely buried.After the burial we head down to my grandmother's where we are greeted with members from the community who bring all sorts of food for us to eat. We sit around and have a feast for the lost loved one and visit each other until its time to go our separate ways.
Family history is one of the most interesting and most rewarding real life stories that I have ever heard. I visited my grandparents at their home and they shared so many things that it was fascinating to know that my grandparents survived it all.
1. A COLORFUL ANCESTORMy great grandfather William Hart Sr. was born in Nelson House, Manitoba. In 1924 while following game he came across a place where fish was abundant and that is where he met my great grandmother Caroline Bighetty. My great grandmother was born in Granville Lake, Manitoba. Since my great grandmother's parents were following game too, she ended up in the same place where fish was abundant. My great grandfather and great grandmother soon got married and had my grandfather Dominique Hart.
My grandfather was born twelve miles out of Lynn Lake, Manitoba. In 1935 my great grandparents realized that the place to be was where the fish was plentiful, so they traveled back and they have been here ever since and today this place is known as Pukatawagan.My grandfather recalls how difficult it was to travel from one place to another. His family traveled only by canoe. He even recalls that when they went grocery shopping it took as long as two weeks to get to The Pas, Manitoba. My grandfather also shared a story where a friend of his accidentally shot himself and it took one week to travel to The Pas to get him medical attention. During that one-week of travelling they kept the young man alive and although he lost his arm he survived.
I also had a chance to talk to my grandmother MaryAnn Hart who shared a few stories of her own. My great grandmother Cecile Bighetty died while she was giving birth to my grandmother. My grandmother was born at kissising Lake. My great grandfather Angus Caribou had also died before my grandmother was born. So my grandmother was raised by my great auntie and uncle.
My grandmother said that when my great auntie and uncle came to pick her up at kissising Lake and when they were getting ready to travel back to Pukatawagan they had no way of feeding her because she was only a few days old. My great auntie and uncle decided to travel on and when they came upon a portage there was a fisherman there. The fisherman asked why the baby was crying so much. My great auntie and uncle told the fisherman that my grandmother had just lost her mother and they had no way of feeding her. So the fisherman asked them to wait and he went and took his net out of the water and he came back and cooked jack fish gut. After it was cooked the fisherman gave my grandmother the jack fish gut and my grandmother sucked on it the rest of the way. The fisherman made my grandmother a soother!
My great auntie and uncle traveled back to Pukatawagan and that is where my grandmother has been ever since. My grandmother and grandfather were soon neighbors and my great grandparents had already arranged my grandparents' marriage. They got married and they have been together ever since.
My grandparents shared a lot of stories and these are only a few. It was so amazing to see their eyes glow at some of the things that they shared. It was also interesting to know that no matter how rough my grandparents' lives were, they are both still successful today. I look up to both my grandparents and they have shown me a lot of guidance throughout the years so my colorful ancestors would be both my grandmother and my grandfather.
Three of my best characteristics would be that I am friendly, polite, and understanding. My three worst? Three of my worst characteristics would be that I like to procrastinate, I am always late and I have no patience when it comes down to waiting for someone who says that they will be there at a certain time and they don't show up. In other words I do not like empty promises.
2. AMY'S BIO CONTINUEDThere are several people that have played a significant role in my life. There are my grandparents who have shown my mother how to be strong and hard working person no matter how hard life gets. Then there's my mother who has been there to pass on the teachings on to me and now it's my turn to start teaching my daughter everything that's been passed onto me.
One of my accomplishments that I'm proud of is the day I graduated high-school. I could still see my mothers face glow as she seen me walk up the stairs to go get my diploma. It was one of the biggest accomplishments that I have ever done and to this day I am still in school so I hope that this course will be my second biggest accomplishment to come.
I am ashamed of a lot of things that I have done in the past. Whether I did them while I was drunk or when I was sober. The one time that I can recall is the time I got into a yelling match with my mother and I tried hurting her so much with words that I think I hurt myself more. I regret everything that I said to her but I did what I thought was right at the time of the incident. I never thought that my mother would ever forgive me but she did and I felt so ashamed of what I had done that I vowed I would never yell at my mother again.
I have a lot of goals within me right now. But my number one goal is to complete this BGS program. When I do finish this program I plan on going into the nursing field or in any field that helps people out in their everyday lives
The annual festivities that are a part of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation is a time for community gatherings and community fun. The summer and winter games that are held every year is a time of the season when the whole community comes together for one week to challenge each other in both physical and mental strength. Different people from different community's come in from all over northern Manitoba to compete with the best. It's a time to be competitive and worry free because it's a time for fun and games. Every year here in Pukatawagan the tradition of square dancing, jigging, fish filleting, flour packing, fastest bannock making, and all sorts of other traditions are all part of the summer and winter festivities. As an observer every year I tend to stay on the low side of things. I enjoy watching other people compete so I am not really the competitive type. I enjoy cheering for the local competitors because I like to think that it helps them overcome their fears of losing and it always feels great when you can keep the winning trophy in the community. I especially like the gatherings because when you look around the room and see an arena full of Indians all laughing and enjoying themselves it just brings a sense of awe to my heart. Seeing the children run around and having a ball of their own is another scene that I can recall enjoying most of the time. Finally the best is during the talent search when local members go up into the stage and entertain the crowd. I enjoy being an observer and I'll continue to observe just as long as they keep having the annual festivities here in Pukatawagan.
3. A PUK ACTIVITY
Visiting my grandparents has always been a pleasant treat for me because it's a time when they share stories of my ancestors and show me guidance that I can pass on to my children. This one legend, tall tale or real event that I can share was told by my grandfather. It is about this guy who could fly. Long ago there was a person called a Machathoput and this person was known to go from camp to camp eating children and anyone that was on his way. All the people from those days were often scared at night because that was when this crazy man would strike.
4. FAMILY LEGENDOn this one night a hunter got carried away with his hunting and forgot all about getting back to the camp before night fall. As the hours went by his family began to worry that he might not return because that is when this machathoput would come out. As the family predicted the man was in trouble. The hunter was on his way home when he noticed that someone was creeping up on him. He started to run as fast as he could and the machathoput popped out from behind and started running after him. He ran as fast as he could and he could here his own heart beating. All he could think about was not seeing his wife and children so that made him ran even harder then he came upon a water fall. He stared at the falls for a few seconds and decided that he would rather fall into the falls rather than be eaten by the machathoput. So he took one last look behind him and he ran towards the falls but to his amazement he had jumped right over the entire falls he couldn't believe it. As he stood on the other side of the falls the machathoput attempted to do the same but he did not jump high enough and he fell right into the falls.When the hunter realized that he out ran the machathoput he was amazed but thankful that he was going home to see his wife and children.
Autumn is one of my favorite seasons of the year. A study stroll to my grandmothers is the best part. As I stroll down a trail on my way to my grandmothers, I see the colour of gold touching the tops of the trees, with traces of bright orange along the sides of the path. It almost looks like a yellow brick road. Then I hear a loud croaking noise, I look around to see where it is coming from but only to see the bright orange and yellow leaves falling from the tree tops covering the pale, grey mud that covers the trail. As I get closer to the end of the trail I witness snowbirds huddled in a patch. It is like seeing a foot ball team getting ready for a touchdown but as I get closer they all fly away.As I reach the end of the trail I begin to hear crows crying out as if they were calling out for help. Then suddenly a big, black, stray dog comes barking towards me. I scream and the dog casually walks by me. It's so quiet that I hear the dogs paws touch the frozen ground as he walks by.Then I begin to see my grandmothers' house and as I get closer I can smell the fresh bread in the oven and the hot soup on the stove. As I take the last few steps into my grandmothers my mouth starts to water like an uncontrollable waterfall. I am now inside my grandmothers house I am greeted by my auntie's, cousins and other close relatives. I walk over to the kitchen where my grandmothers' bread is already cut up. I grab a piece and put pounds of butter on it. I slowly put it in my mouth but it dissolves so quickly that it is gone in a few seconds. Then finally I sit with the family around the table finishing our hot soup. We sit around most of the afternoon laughing and sharing stories until it is time for me to go home the same way that I came.
5. A WORD PICTUREThere are three things a single parent requires to succeed in this world: a support system in the community; housing for single parents and a lot of strength and will power. Single parenting for me is a struggle because there is little support in the community. The local daycare provides some support, because it usually runs from Monday to Friday, but when it closes for special workshops I'm left trying to find a babysitter in order to be in class to get the funding that I need to support my child. Another struggle for me is having to turn to someone else other than my mother for support. There should be someone else like a social worker in the community who you could turn to or perhaps an advocate for single parents. When my child is sick for days I'm left caring for my child by myself and I'm still expected to keep up with my other tasks whether it be house work or school work. When it comes down to wanting to do something by myself there is no other person to support me.
6. A LOCAL ISSUEAnother struggle for me is housing in the community. There is no housing available for single parents. Having to live with five other family members including my child and I, is stressful and difficult. The frustration just keeps building inside me because I do not have that house complex where I am able to feel comfortable and can call my home mine. Being a single parent takes a lot of strength and willpower. I go through so much just to make it through a whole day. I get so frustrated that sometimes I feel like giving up and just letting everything pile up on me. It's even harder when I do get to that low point in my life because I have to think about my daughter and her needs. I have to find a way to make the whole situation a little brighter for myself and my daughter. This is where my mother comes in she has always been there for me. She has survived the role of single parent and has succeeded in this world as a single parent. My mother is my role model because she can relate to everything that I am going through. When my life seems meaningless and pathetic I turn to my mother and she gives me that inspiration to move on. I know that it is hard and scary out there but for some of us like myself, I have to face this cruel world all alone. Overall, I think that struggling without community support and without housing in the community just makes me stronger and more open-minded and able to have the strength and will power to succeed in this world as a single parent.
When my family goes through some tough times or when we feel lonely for someone we light this special blend of three different elements to make us feel better and to sort of rejuvenate ourselves. The three elements include sweet grass, sage and tobacco.
7. How to Smudge Your Home with Sweet GrassFirst of all my mother gets all three elements into a bowl so that it could be lit. She prefers to use wooden matches because it is a part of mother earth. She then lights the three elements and says a little prayer. Then she asks any family member if they want to smudge and when you do smudge you are to take off any jewelry or glasses of any kind off. In order to make your smudge more pure and meaningful this is required. Finally when everyone in the house has smudged she takes the bowl around the whole house and flicks part of the bowl all over with an eagle feather in one hand and the smudge bowl in the other.
When your smudging yourself you say a little prayer for yourself and for whoever you want guidance from or from whomever you are scared of. The scent of the three elements going through your body brings a sense of comforting and encouraging to your self-esteem and gives you a boost of energy. So it helps ease your mind and bring comfort to the human soul.
This is what my family does at the privacy of our home and it helps us out a lot when we are going through tough times, scared times or even when we are worried about someone.
Looking at a picture that was taken in November 23, 2000 brings back so many memorable memories that I will never forget. It displays a picture of me holding my baby a day after she was born. I remember feeling so scared that morning I went into the Hospital. I didn't know what to expect and I did not know what was going to happen next. I just sort of took it as it came. Even though I went through so much pain, seeing my baby for the first time just made my heart ache. I sat there on my hospital bed just holding her crying and kissing her. I could not believe that I bought this beautiful child into this world. Even though it takes two to make a baby I was left there by myself when it came time to raise the child. I cared less about the father but holding that little angel in my arms was an inspiration for me. I felt like I could conquer anything that came my way. As the attending nurse came to change my baby I gave her one last kiss and whispered in her ear I guess its just you and me and she led out a loud giggle and I looked over at the nurse and asked , "Did you hear that?" She nodded her head and that is when I asked her to take that picture of my baby and me.
8. A MEMORABLE PHOTOGRAPHDear Editor
9. LETTER TO THE EDITORARE THEY REALLY ROLE MODELS OR ARE THEY THE CAUSE OF ALL THE SUICIDES?
Children as young as 11 years old to teenagers buying ten dollar joints and forty dollar bottles just to get a sense of acceptance.
Pukatawagan is a small reserve with approximately 3000 people, mostly children. These are the children that keep going to the bootleggers and the drug dealers. Are these so called adults really there for these children? I think NOT!
The biggest issue that we face on this reserve is SUICIDE! Everyone keeps asking them selves what the problem is and the problem is them. They are the ones that supply the depressants to these children. They are the ones that keep selling to the miners. Who are these people? They are the biggest gamblers around the reserve. They sell drugs and alcohol to these children just to support their own gambling habits. We have been experiencing a lot of attempted suicides and their has been six successful suicides two adults and four children. Why can't these people understand that they are the one's killing off the younger generation?
As days go by unheard of the children screaming out for help. The bootleggers and the drug dealers are the only one's who are getting what they want and that is the MONEY!
The only thing that I wish is that these so called role models quit their evil ways and let these young people strive for the best and show them that ALCOHOL and DRUGS is not the way to go. So please hear our cry for help and leave these children be if you want money to gamble you don't have to take our children down with you! If you want to go to the bottom of the dark barrel then do it yourself and leave our CHILDREN ALONE!
Amy
10. A PUK TRADITIONI would like to discuss the sacred drum that my mother uses in different traditional ceremonies. When my mother sings and plays her drum there is great pride that goes through each of our ears just listening and hearing the drum is a great reward that can be passed down for generations to come.
My mother's drum is a symbol of life and harmony. The sound of the drum is the heartbeat of all the people put into one voice. The sound of the drum is the first sound that we hear when life begins which is when we are in our mother's womb. The heartbeat is the sound of life and all that is sacred, therefore the sound of the drum brings life and sacredness to the people. The drum can open the coldest heart to the beauty of life.
When my mother plays her drum the drum beat can be heard throughout the four directions of the world and the spirit world. When the drum is played it opens the sacred doorways to the heavens and to the earth. Hearing my mothers drum gives me peace and harmony and it feels great knowing that its my mother that's up there singing and playing the peace that she has to offer to anyone that's there to listen to the sacred drum.
Anyone who uses the drum has to know that it is sacred and it should be treated with respect. It is to be used with a clean and pure heart, mind and body.
Dear Dajay,
12. LETTER TO A PEN PALHi. How are you? How is it over in China this fine morning? I am doing fine my daughter says hi. The morning over here is bitter cold I would say its around -40 degrees out. The sun is shining and you could see all the chimney's with their smoke rising to the sky. Well its been two months since I last wrote and in the last letter that you wrote you mentioned that you wanted to come down to visit me during the summer.
I hope you can make it down for the month of July because that is when I would be able to take you out more when I am finished with my studying for the year. The summer's here are fun. I could take you to this favorite place of mine I like to go it's called ninety-four. It's a falls out by the tracks and it's a good fishing place. My grandparents and I use to go by that falls when we use to go to my grandfather's cabin down in Mink River. I could even take you to go see that cabin it still stands to this day. That is where I use to go as a child so it's a special place for me.
This other place I would like to take you is called blood stone falls this particular falls is bigger than the one at ninety-four. A lot of us go there to go fish and swim all day long. Towards the evening we usually have a fish fry with all the fixings. I am getting so exited to finally meet you. You will probably be amazed at some of the things that we have down here.
Can you picture yourself sitting on a boat with the wind blowing in your hair and you have all your camping gear with you just cruising the lakes of Pukatawagan. There are still so many other places that I could describe to you but I will just wait until you come in and see for yourself.
I hope you come in around the beginning of the month so it will give us a whole month to spend with each other and that should be long enough for you to see all the different sights there are to see here in Pukatawagan. Until then take care of yourself and god bless.
Your friend
Amy
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
|