Before there were towns, cities, and provinces and territories, there was a land that was home to Cree, Métis and Dené people. The natives who lived here had a unique culture, language and way of life, living off the land they survived.
Before there were towns, cities, and provinces and territories, there was a land that was home to Cree, Métis and Dené people.
The natives who lived here had a unique culture, language and way of life, living off the land they survived.
"There was not a thing we wanted for. There was lots of clean water; the buffalo were still around and all of the other wild animals for food, and fish, birds and foul. Everything was provided for," said Linda Boudreau-Semaganis, Métis elder.
For fun, they would ride horses and play games of their own creation including foot races and wrestling.
"The kinds of things we did to amuse ourselves, well we did a lot of hard work. We gathered and harvested berries and wild plants and herbs... We also went swimming in the rivers, creeks and lakes, we had lots of traditional games that were taught to us by our parents and elders in our communities," said Boudreau-Semaganis.
Kids in those days didn't have the same time frame as kids of today. Their days were filled with chores.
"We didn't have time to get bored because we hauled water and wood, and we assisted with all of the chores that parents had to do. We had bigger families back then, and everyone had a role to play," she added.
The men were known as the providers, and were in charge of hunting. In some cases, they would be gone for days searching for buffalo. During these times, children would be responsible for helping their mother with chores around the home.
The women were the first teachers, teaching their children about the basics of survival. They were also responsible for taking care of others in terms of health issues.
"They were helping others if someone passed on. They would all work together to make sure that everyone was taken care of and things happened the way they were supposed to," explained Boudreau-Semaganis.
As the months changed, so did the routine of those living in the area. For example, in the spring, some communities would move closer to the lake to fish, hunt and scavenge for berries. Once the colder weather began to set it, they would relocate to the north, where there were bushes to provide cover from the cold blowing snow.
"They were so used to the weather that they knew what to do," said Agnes Gendron, executive director for the Cold Lake Native Friendship Centre, adding once they had what they needed, they would head north.
"I imagine the weather was a lot warmer in the thick bushes, than if they were to stay in the prairie," Gendron added.
One story Gendron has heard was of a man crossing Cold Lake in the winter. A blizzard swept across the area, so the man crawled under the ice waiting for the storm to pass.
Gendron described the native communities as very efficient and creative, making baskets out of various materials and using feathers for their clothing.
During the colder months, they would wear coats made of thick fur such as wolf hide. In the summer, they would wear lighter furs.
Each group was different however one thing remained the same; their culture was imbedded deep within their community.
"There has always been a cultural base for Aboriginal people and Indigenous people across the country, and depending on what group you are from determined what your culture would be," said Boudreau-Semaganis. "Culture and spiritual beliefs were really strong. They held the community together with a set of values and principals that governed the community."
For Métis, their beliefs included burials with four days of someone's passing, a tradition Boudreau-Semaganis herself was taught.
"We tried to send the physical body home within four days because that is how long it takes the spirit to journey to it's place of rest with the Creator,' she explained.
Gendron said she heard of communities rolling their dead in birch bark and laying them in a bush or on a platform built from trees.
Languages varied by group, however their was one language, known as michif which was a mixture of Cree, French and English or other languages, which was spoken by many of the communities.
Prior to the arrival of settlers, it is said that one of the members had a dream of white men coming into the country, and as a spiritual culture that relied heavily on dreams; they took it as a sign.
"In his dream, there were strange people coming into the country, so they sent some people there to investigate and sure enough there were settlers coming," Gendron described.
The settlers and the native communities worked together, showing each other how to survive, sharing their knowledge of farming and hunting. They also shared items such as pots, pans, and guns.
"They helped each other, and that's how they all survived," Gendron said.
