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“Daily Life” told by Glecia Bear,reprinted from kôhkominawak otâcimowiniwâwa – Our Grandmothers’ Lives as Told in Their Own Words,translated from Cree and edited by Freda Ahenakew and H.C. Wolfart.
(the original Cree, which appears in the published text, is not included here)

[Freda A:] Right, now we can start again.

[Glecia B:] Now we will begin again.

[Freda A:] Yes.

I [Interviews with Old Women]

Well, now I will also tell about it; for I used to work all over, I took a job, I used to go about in my work and visit old people all over, I used to travel to ten reserves all over in this work; all over the north, Waterhen, Joseph Bighead, Mudie Lake, and also further north, I worked at these ten reserves over there.

And I would visit old people and ask them questions about everything. I had worked at a fish plant for ten years, and I had worked for the F.S.I. people, I also worked there for a very long time, at the F.S.I. [sc. Federation of Saskatchewan Indians]; and at the old folks’ home here in paskwâwisâkahikanihk, I had begun to work there when they first opened it; and I had also worked at the Indian Hospital [sc. at Battleford], and all my children [sc. daughters] had worked there too; when they got married and worked elsewhere, then I for my part had also gone and worked over there. I have always worked terribly hard and all over. I used to work in a restaurant for thirty-five dollars a month, I used to get there at six o’clock in the morning, travelling there on foot; and I would come home at midnight, also on foot. I worked terribly hard, emptying pails, very big slop-pails, I have done everything. But finally I began to make good money, oh my, then I thought, “I am really making good money working for F.S.I.”

II [Running a Household]

And from then on I also worked for Health-and-Welfare. It was then that I travelled all over. And when I would be visiting these old people, I would sit with them and talk to them, sometimes I would stay for a such a long time over there at Waterhen and talk to the old people. I wanted to try to know everything, how things had been in the old days.

Well, I told this one old woman about it, “Grandmother!” I said to her, “How did your family live in the old days?” I said to her; this old woman was very old. And she is still alive, Larocque is the name of this little old woman from Waterhen, she was the one to whom I was talking. “How did you live at first,” I said to this old woman; “you know, when there was none of this White-Man’s stuff here in the old days, not even these houses, when there were none of them,” I said to her.

“Grandchild!” she said to me, “We used to prepare the hides when the men had killed an animal; we used to collect the hides when we had finished them, and we made a lodge, a lodge made from hides,” she said. And, “That kind [sc. hide] is all we wore,” she said, “we made hide pants for the men, shirts made from leather, pants, moccasins made from that kind, mitts. We [sc. the women] too wore that kind,” she said, “there was no cloth available then,” she said, “or anything like that, and there was never anything like the thread of today, what they all use now, there was never anything like that,” she said.

Then, “But what did you sew with, Grandmother?” I said to her. “We took it from the moose,” she said, “back there from their back,” she said, “and we dried that, ‘loin-sinew’ it is called,” she said, “it was that with which we used to sew,” this old woman said.

“But what about needles, what did you use since there were no needles?” I said to her. “Well, some small deerbone,” she said, “my husband used to make needles from that,” she said. “He used to grind it to a point with a stone,” that old woman said. “For there were no knives, either,” she said, “there were none,” she said; “a bone,” she said, “they used,” she said, “and they made a knife for themselves,” she said; “it was that one,” she said, “with that stone they used to grind the bone to an edge, they used to thin it to an edge when they made knives,” she said.

And then, “But then,” I said to her, “what did you eat from?” I said to her, “from what did you eat since there were no dishes?” I said to her. “Birch-bark, everything was made of birch-bark,” she said, “they made dishes,” she said; “and for water as well,” she said, “in that kind [sc. birch-bark vessels] one hauled water,” she said, “pails were made of it,” she said, “and the water was hauled in those,” she said.

And then, “What did you do, since there were no boiling pots?” I said to her. “Grandchild,” she said, “in the old days one did not do any boiling, since there were no pots, one simply roasted everything, on the campfire, outside,” that old woman said; she used to roast everything on a spit, she said, outside, she said. “And then, since we used to be inside in the winter,” she said, “there would be a rack there, one would make a rack,” she said, “inside,” she said.

“But how was it that the hide [sc. of the tent-cover] would not shrivel when a fire was made in there?” I said to her. “It did not,” she said, “for the lodge was big,” she said, “and up there at the top it was open,” she said, “everything went up there,” she said, this old woman.

“But what did you have for blankets?” I also said to her. “Oh,” she said, “moosehide,” she said, “we would scrape it,” she said, this she said, “and then we would leave the hair on it,” she said, that one, “when we came to dry it,” she said; “that was the way,” she said, “and we would take these spruce-boughs and we would put them on the floor in the lodge,” she said, “and then we would place that moosehide there,” she said. “And soft deerhides,” she said, “we would sew together,” she said. “And we would use that as sheets, we would put these on top of the hair-side of the moosehide; and that kind also, the moosehide,” she said, “we would finish, but it would be left white,” she said, “we did not smoke it,” she said, “when we used things like this,” she said, “for where we slept,” she said. “And we also used that kind [sc. moosehide] as covers,” she said; “and for pillows also deerhide,” she said, “we sewed them closed,” she said, “and then we would use bulrushes, we would fill that kind [sc. bulrushes] into that kind [sc. deerhide pillowcases] and sew them closed, and these we would use as pillows,” that old woman said, “we would use moosehide and deerhide,” she said, “for everything,” she said, “that is all we wore,” she said.

And then I also asked her, “But what did you use as spoons?” I said to her, “what did you use?” I said to her. “The name is ‘shells’, they are in the lake,” she said, “and they usually have little covers,” she said, “they were that kind,” she said, “with these we used to eat,” she said; “and there was not tea in the old days,” she said, “there was only Labrador tea and also the rose-bushes and,

[Freda A:] – rosehips; -

[Glecia B:] – yes; -
those too we would boil, boiling the branches [sc. of the Labrador tea],” she said, “hey it tastes very good, and at the same time you use it medicinally,” she said.

And then I said to her, “How did you use to wash your hair, what did you use?” I had said to her. “Grandchild!” she said, “Today all of you,” she said, “have so much white hair and your heads go bald,” that old woman said, “since you use so much of all that White-Man’s stuff on your heads,” she said, “as for us, we used none of that; when we would want to have a bath, when we would want to wash our hair,” she said, “we would go into the sweat-lodge,” she said, “there we had a bath,” she said, “and cleaned ourselves,” she said, “and also on our heads,” she said, “none of these things were ever used so far as anyone would know,” she said; “still today, many old people, especially those of the old times, do not have white hair,” she said; “for none of these strange things were used,” she said; “you were just as clean when you went into the sweat-lodge,” she said, “you cleaned yourself properly,” she said.

III [Midwifery]

And then I also visited another little old woman, “Grandmother,” I said to her; “in the old days,” I said to her, “who used to be midwife to you all when you were about to give birth?” I then said to this old woman, another one, well, but that one has since died, Mrs Blackbird had been her name.

“Grandchild! Today it is the rule,” she said, “that every woman goes into the hospital when she gives birth to a child” she said, “as for us, we used to be midwife to ourselves,” she said, “we did not have a midwife,” she said, “we used to be midwife to ourselves,” she said; “well, we would even simply go off into the bush, giving birth to the children there and then bringing them back from there,” she said, “and be midwife to ourselves. We never used to lie down, we never would be lying down, we straight away made a medicine drink for ourselves, and we straight away were back at work, we never used to lie down,” she said, “the children had no sooner been born when we were back at work; so long as we would have a support tied around here [gesture], around our abdomen,” she said, “and at the same time we also drank medicine, Cree medicine,” she said; “well, today, that must be the reason why people are strong,” she said, that old woman said
- it was really something!

And, “But then what would you use,” I said to her, “for much blood is lost, Grandmother?” I said to that old woman. “Well Grandchild,” she said, “moss! We would use moss,” she said, “a lot of that was used,” she said, “we would wrap it up,” she said, “and that,” she said, “we would use,” she said, “we for our part,” she said; “we who are still alive today,” she said, “we have seen difficult times, and I can also say that we had a good life in the old days; for everything was there for making one’s life in the bush,” she said. “And today the White-Skin has destroyed that, too, he has killed everything that was ours, they use all kinds of these poisons and spray the earth with poison; and when they drop bombs [sc. as part of military exercises at the Cold Lake base], they kill everything,” she said. “And God has put these things down for people to live on,” she said, “He has given us everything, berries, He has been giving out everything, (rabbits, ducks, prairie-chickens, fish), all things (moose). Man never used to go hungry,” she said, “and one always had enough,” she said. “And the men, they used to make birch-bark canoes for themselves,” she said, “and they would go about in their canoes,” she said, “and kill every kind of game,” she said.

“Hey, life used to be good,” she said, that old woman, “I for my part think we used to have a good life,” she said; “and today, now that all this stuff, this White-Man’s stuff has come about (it had never been known for flour to exist), and today, there are all these things,” she said, “all these various things to eat,” she said; “that is the reason why people used to live long and did not fall ill often,” she said, “for they ate good, clean food,” she said, “and today, also, I cannot say that anything is clean, when one kills something,” she said, “the bush food, for there is too much poison in everything, and the moose, too, eat everything all over,” she said, “and they are being killed by everything,” she then said, “and then we, too, are eating that,” she said.

“And one used to have good dwellings then,” she said, “one camped about just any place, the people never stayed in one place,” she said, “one moved about with one’s camp, one moved about by boat, going about and getting food ready for the winter,” she said, “and so the men would kill game, and (they killed everything),” she said, “and we prepared dried meat,” she said. “And of course one did not sell the hides,” she said, “you kept them all for yourself. When a child was born, the mossbag was of that kind, of hide, the baby wore that kind [sc. a mossbag] – everything was of hide,” she said; “and so the children also were warmly swaddled,” she said. “And the children were breastfed,” she said, “what more could one wish for,” she said, “I usually think when I think back today,” she said. “Today they pay for everything, they even pay for diapers, they follow every one of the White-Man’s things,” she said, “and they spend all their money on them,” she said, that old woman. I was amazed to hear her story, when I had her telling me stories.

IV [Drinking and Prophesies]

And then I also asked another little old woman, this one from Mudie Lake, about everything. “In the old days this thing did not exist, the fact that today there are so many religions,” that old woman said, “in the old days when you worshipped,” she said, “the one who is master over us all, who watches us from above,” she said, “we speak to him in our worship,” she said. “At that time, it seems, one’s worship received more of a hearing,” she said, “for you lived properly, there was no evil in you; and when a person killed something in the old days, one went about and food was provided for other people,” she said; “you fed them when you had something, you had an obligation to feed them, too,” she said. “Today there is none of that, not one person will give you food for nothing when they kill game; you have to buy it from them,” she said. “Even when you go into a house today, you are not even given tea to drink,” she said, “for they follow the White-Man’s customs,” she said, “everything is dead. In the old days they used to hold a feast, if a person killed even a single animal, all the people used to be invited, and they would do a great deal of cooking in a big pot, outside,” she said. “And people were invited and everyone ate outside,” she said, “you invited them,” she said; “none of that is ever seen today,” that old woman said.

“And this business of people getting married in church,” she said, “in the old days there was none of that marrying business; when you found someone, a man for yourself to marry, you straight away married him, you never separated from him,” she said. “As you had married him, so you remained with him by virtue of that fact,” she said, “there was no church marriage, and thus they lived together until one of them would depart from this world,” she said. “And today,” she said, “some only marry for the sake of getting married, I wonder if some merely want to try and have that nice ring that will glitter,” she said; “but they do not remember that it is God,” she said, “who joins them in marriage, they forget Him,” she said, “they show off with that ring. For one month, or sometimes not even for a month, they live with their husbands and then they leave them,” she said, “that did not use to happen,” she said; “in the old days one used to have proper respect for everything,” she said, “and one used to lead a proper life.”

“Many times,” she said, “when I am lying down thinking, I almost cry when I think about it,” she said, “how my very own children, too, have come to grow up, they take alcohol to such an extent, they abandon their children, and my daughters are always being beaten,” she said, “their husbands always beat them so severely,” she said. “But I cannot take up for my children,” she said, “they deserve it when they are beaten,” she said, “they run around and leave their children behind,” she said; “I cannot take up for my children,” she said. “But in secret I always cry because of it,” she said, “so much do I hate the way they live,” she said.

“It does not matter if a person really leads a proper life, as I will be able to say for myself,” she said, “I have never done anything bad,” this grandmother of mine said. “I have been living a proper life, I have never gone alone when I went some place, I went with my husband, and when we had children we took them with us, the whole lot,” she said; “now today, you never see that any more,” she said, “there is so much misery; people are miserable,” she said. “Many times I think of my grandchildren, they are so miserable when they see their mother being beaten,” she said, “when they see that,” she said. “And later, I think,” she said, “those children will never forget what their father has shown them, when he beat up his wife, and they may even themselves try to follow the example set for them, I tend to think about them,” she said, “when they are grown up,” the old woman said.

“Life is very difficult. And there is going to be so much misery in the future, that is even becoming visible already,” she said, “there is so much misery,” she said. “There is no work, nothing,” she said, “our grandfather had said this long ago,” she said, “and he spoke the truth,” she said, “‘Later in the future,’ he had said long ago, our grandfather,” she said, “‘there will be nothing then, in the future, soon nothing will travel on the ground, everything will travel through the air,’ he had said, one little old man had prophesied,” she said. “It is true, and some of what he had said is happening already,” she said, “‘Everything will travel through the air,’ as he had said,” she said, “that must be the airplane now,” she said, “which travels through the air,” she said. “‘There will be something that will at some time destroy things, the White-Skin will destroy people, later on there in the future,’ he had said,” she said, “and we have already begun to see all these things,” she said. “For instance the alcohol which is destroying them” -~
[external break]

[Freda A:] -~ if you want to tell more.

[Glecia B:] Hey, soon now I will probably wear my mouth out, by golly!
And then that one, that grandmother of ours, also said, “Hey,” she said, “we must not give up, Grandchild!” she said; “you, too, persevere nevertheless, counsel your children, counsel your grandchildren! You must not give up in this, one must persevere to try to turn them around; one day perhaps they might think about how things had been in the old days,” she said. “But, of course, they have a low opinion of the things about which they are told,” she said.

“There is going to be a great deal of misery there, later, when people will starve,” she said, “it is becoming visible already,” she said. “I simply find it mind-boggling, how these young people will be able to survive – we for our part will survive for we are able to kill things for ourselves and to take up the traditional way of life,” she said. “But these young people, of course, they do not know anything,” she said; “the only thing they do know is to get into a car and to go about drinking and to go about having a good time, for they do not think about their parents, that they would even think about how they might show respect to the old people,” she said, “or that they would cause them terrible worry,” she said, “many times there is much crying because of alcohol,” she said, “when people get killed in an accident, also children,” she said, “and all that is the fault of alcohol,” she said.

reprinted from kôhkominawak otâcimowiniwâwa – Our Grandmothers’ Lives as Told in Their Own Words, translated from Cree and edited by Freda Ahenakew and H.C. Wolfart. Saskatoon: Fifth House, 1992. Reprinted Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 1998. pp. 67-83.
Used by permission.

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