Cree Mailing List Digest
November 1997

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-> James Bay Cree
     by Jonathan Patrick Bennett <(suppressed)@mail.usask.ca>
-> Re: James Bay Cree
     by (suppressed)@enter.net
-> Re: James Bay Cree
     by (suppressed)@aztec.asu.edu
-> Re: James Bay Cree
     by (suppressed)@accel.net (Siomonn Pulla)
-> Sharing Things About The Cree Culture
     by (suppressed)@sbe.scarborough.on.ca (Sandy Zamora)
-> Re: James Bay Cree
     by "Pete" <(suppressed)@vianet.on.ca>
-> Raw Meat
     by <(suppressed)@dial.pipex.com>
-> Re: Raw Meat
     by "Peter Bakker" <(suppressed)@hum.aau.dk>
-> Re: Raw Meat
     by <(suppressed)@dial.pipex.com>
-> Fwd: Chief Bernard Ominayak's testimony at FOL trial
     by Grant Neufeld <(suppressed)@achilles.net>
-> New Cree lesson #11
     by Grant Neufeld <(suppressed)@achilles.net>
-> Re: raw meat
     by Nicole Stuckenberger <(suppressed)@uni-muenster.de>
-> Re: raw meat
     by <(suppressed)@dial.pipex.com>


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Date: 2 Nov 1997 17:19:09 -0500
From: Jonathan Patrick Bennett <(suppressed)@mail.usask.ca>
Subject: James Bay Cree

hello folks,

I am doing a Native Studies research project on the James Bay Cree. Is
anyone on the list from that area? If so please contact me. . .

thanks,

Jonathan Bennett.


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Date: 2 Nov 1997 20:51:16 -0500
From: (suppressed)@enter.net
Subject: Re: James Bay Cree

I am a James Bay are Cree http://www.enter.net/~lcb
Click on Louise when you get to our family page.
                               Louise Brown


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Date: 3 Nov 1997 12:34:23 -0500
From: (suppressed)@aztec.asu.edu
Subject: Re: James Bay Cree


>
>hi
my name is jen.  i am currently an undergrad student at prescott college
in arizona.
with my previous college i did a course with Cree Culture and Hydroelectric
Development where we visited the dams and james bay cree villages.
i then lived for a winter with a cree family in the village and the bush
so i may be able to help with your native studies project.

you should GO to the people though.

good luck, jen


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Date: 6 Nov 1997 20:08:11 -0500
From: (suppressed)@accel.net (Siomonn Pulla)
Subject: Re: James Bay Cree

I am currently finishing my fourth year at Trent University in
Anthropoplogy and NAtive Studies - I just recently came back from a one
week feild trip up to a few Cree communities and to the LG-2 complex. If
anyone out there remebers us Trent Students Thank-You very Much for the
last miniute scheduling - especially Sam Gull in Waswanipi!

It is unfortanute accident that just Occured to a very respected man and
his daughter - how has this effected internal workings in the communintes
especially among the youth ?

I'm still trying to place my expereinec in the LG-2 complex and filter out
all the HQ propeganda - it was all quite overwhelming!

Cheers.

Siomonn

- ----------
From: STEITZ <(suppressed)@aztec.asu.edu>
To: cree@arpp.carleton.ca
Subject: Re: James Bay Cree
Date: Monday, November 03, 1997 12:31 PM


>
>hi
my name is jen.  i am currently an undergrad student at prescott college
in arizona.
with my previous college i did a course with Cree Culture and Hydroelectric
Development where we visited the dams and james bay cree villages.
i then lived for a winter with a cree family in the village and the bush
so i may be able to help with your native studies project.

you should GO to the people though.

good luck, jen


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 7 Nov 1997 00:40:35 -0500
From: (suppressed)@sbe.scarborough.on.ca (Sandy Zamora)
Subject: Sharing Things About The Cree Culture

Aaniin


My name is Sandy Zamora. I am 46 years old. My wife and I have 4 kids, and
live in Oshawa, Ontario. I have become an associate member of the Native
Canadian Centre of Toronto, in the past year. For many years I have been a
strong supporter of Native rights and of Native culture. I really like the
culture, and have learned a lot from speaking to Native People and reading a
big variety of writings by Native People. Within the last 4 months I have
learned to speak and write in the Ojibwe language. The person who I learned
the language from( Issador Latouse) was at the Curve Lake pow wow, that I was
at. He has a tape and book. He was selling things, including the book, at the
pow wow. He teaches Native Studies and language at Lake Head University, and
at Sutton High School.

 I would like to learn more about the culture. I would also like to learn the
Cree language. Is there anyone who would like to share things with me, from
time to time via e-mail? I hope someone will share with me, as I am being
sincere about what I have said.

Have a good day!


                                                                 Chi-Miigwech

                                                                   Sandy


- --

- --->>> sent via ScriBE --->>>
Scarborough Board of Education
Ontario, CANADA


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Date: 7 Nov 1997 02:35:28 -0700
From: "Pete" <(suppressed)@vianet.on.ca>
Subject: Re: James Bay Cree

Hello Jonathan,

My name is Kathy Tippeneskum. I am from Moosonee, Ont but i am currently
living in Kirkland Lake. My family still lives there and are full treaty. 
I was raised in a white culture but my Mother still speaks Cree although I
do not know the language maybe I can help you with  somethings. 

				Yours truly, 
					Kathy.

- ----------
> From: Jonathan Patrick Bennett <(suppressed)@mail.usask.ca>
> To: cree@arpp.carleton.ca
> Subject: James Bay Cree
> Date: November 2, 1997 5:17 PM
> 
> hello folks,
> 
> I am doing a Native Studies research project on the James Bay Cree. Is
> anyone on the list from that area? If so please contact me. . .
> 
> thanks,
> 
> Jonathan Bennett.
>


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Date: 21 Nov 1997 04:51:34 -0700
From: <(suppressed)@dial.pipex.com>
Subject: Raw Meat


  Dear Cree-List Subscribers,


  Can someone please answer a question ?

  It is usually said that the word 'Eskimo' (or originally French
'Esquimaux') is derived
  from the Cree word for 'eaters of raw meat'.

  Is this true, and if so, what is the original Cree word ?

   Thanks in anticipation,

    Dr M. Suleiman   (UK)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 24 Nov 1997 03:34:06 -0700
From: "Peter Bakker" <(suppressed)@hum.aau.dk>
Subject: Re: Raw Meat

Re: they etymology of Eskimo.
There are two competing etymologies for the word 'Eskimo'in the 
scientific literature. In both it would be an Algonquian word, 
probably Cree-Montagnais-Innu, the Northernmost Algonquians. One is 
by the Quebecois linguist-athropologist Jose Mailhot, herself a 
speaker of Innu-Montagnais. She claims it is from Proto-Algonquian 
ayaxkyimewa '(s)speaks the language of a foreign land'. This finds 
some confirmation in the 18th century Montagnais name for the 
Micmacs, which was ayasCime:w. Ives Goddard, knowledgable specialist 
on Algonquian languages, relates it to an Algonquian form for 
'snowshoe netter'. Goddard's can be found in the Handbook of North 
American Indians, Vol. 5 (Arctic), p. 6. 
Mailhot in: 
L'etymologie de *esquimau' revuew et corrigee. In:
Etudes/Inuit/Studies 2(2): 59-69.

There is a root for 'raw in Algonquian which is something like aSki- 
(S = English 'sh'). In Cree it is aski-. The Cree verb askipo:w means 
'he eats raw', which may have been used for the Eskimos. 
The root (final) -mo- would mean something like 'speak' rather than 
'eat', cf. Cree akayasi-mo-w, which means '(s)he speaks English', 
from the French word Anglais > agale > agaye. Whatever it means 
originally, it does not mean 'eater' of raw meat'. And certainly it 
was never pejorative, but it is of course preferable to use their own 
name Inuit/Yupik, especially as they prefer it - even though the 
etymology is not insulting.

Peter Bakker


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 24 Nov 1997 04:13:23 -0700
From: <(suppressed)@dial.pipex.com>
Subject: Re: Raw Meat

Many thanks to Mr Peter Baker for his enlightening explanation of the
etymology of 'Eskimo'.

I wonder if I might follow up with another, less linguistically-related
question, apologies however if I still remain in the Inuit domain.

Western scholars tend to regard the Inuit (along with the Aleut) as somehow
forming a separate entity from the Cree, and other Native Americans.It is
difficult to say why this should be so, unless it is the fact that they
span the Bering Straits. Was there, however, an awareness or recognition
amongst the Cree and other groups that the Inuit did somehow belong to
another world or another nation ?

If someone could answer this question I would be very grateful, and I
promise to concentrate less on the Inuit and more on the Cree in future !

Many thanks,

Dr Muhammad Suleiman


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 27 Nov 1997 11:53:55 -0700
From: Grant Neufeld <(suppressed)@achilles.net>
Subject: Fwd: Chief Bernard Ominayak's testimony at FOL trial

An excerpt from a posting to the Friends of the Lubicon mailing list:

- --- begin forwarded text

To: fol-l@tao.ca
From: (suppressed)@tao.ca
Subject: Day 20 of Daishowa v. Friends of the Lubicon trial

Friends of the Lubicon
485 Ridelle Avenue, Toronto, ON M6B 1K6
phone (416) 763-7500, fax (416) 603-2715, e-mail: fol @tao.ca

Court Update: Day 20; Tuesday, November 25, 1997
Chief Ominayak, "This Is Where We're From"

Mr. Owen Young, counsel for the Lubicon Nation and acting for the
Friends of the Lubicon in this action, began the testimony of Lubicon
Chief Bernard Ominayak by asking him about his background.  Chief
Ominayak was born in 1950 at Lubicon Lake and was brought up in the
Lubicon Cree traditions through teachings of elders.  He was taught in
Cree by his parents and was sent to help the elders, learning at the
same time how things were done in the past.  Through the elders Chief
Ominayak learned the traditional history of the Lubicon Cree.

He discussed how during the spring and fall ceremonies people shared
information about which families would be where in the coming months,
where hunting would be good, and people were made aware of those who
needed help.  Elderly people spoke about hunting and trapping
experiences, teaching how to do things and how to provide for the rest
of the people.

Chief Ominayak said that the stories of his people went back to the late
1700s and the Lubicon people hadn't come form anyplace else. Pointing to
a map that showed the Lubicon tradtional territory, Chief Ominayak said,
"This is where we're from."

The Lubicon had few problems where they needed outside help, said Chief
Ominayak, and the only way to the town of Peace River, about 100 km.
northwest, was by horseback or cart. Hunting provided the main food
source and the people gathering medicines in the surrounding territory.
Chief Ominayak said that the Lubicon "had no laws to say how things
should be done" and the people came together when help was needed.

Cree is the first language of the Lubicon, Chief Ominayak explained, but
he gets by in English but can't claim to be fluent.  He has to use
English to communicate outside of the community, including this trial,
indicating the courtroom.

Mr. Young asked Chief Ominayak to discuss the differences between native
and non-native communities.  Chief Ominayak said that he was brought up
to respect all people but in dealing with the Federal Government, the
Lubicon began to see that not all people were the same. He said that he
encountered an atmosphere of mistrust.  It was found that people wanted
to come onto Lubicon land and exploit the resources without regard to
the people and the environment.  Year after year the land was eroded and
the people had to protect the land for the future.  Chief Ominayak said
there was a lot of regulations that should have been abided by but it
seemed "the bigger the company, the more they get away with."

Chief Ominayak said the Lubicon would be wiped out if there was large
scale cutting of trees after suffering a lot of destruction already due
to continued oil and gas development.  He said logging would "finish our
people off."  It was very important to have an agreement in place before
sitting down and talking with Daishowa.  Special areas need to be
protected to save special trees and medicines, some of which they have
to travel farther and farther to collect now.  However, Chief Ominayak
said that companies had no regard or respect for the people's interest. 
It is not a situation where the Lubicon can survive.

Chief Ominayak said the Federal Government and Alberta Government have
tried to tell the Lubicon who belongs to the Lubicon Lake Nation but the
Lubicon people don't need either government to tell them who is Lubicon.
 Attempts were made to remove people from the membership list and people
were transfered from one band's list to another.  Pointing to the
government-created Woodland Cree, who have three different kinds of
members, Chief Ominayak said what the Lubicon needed was an agreement
that would benefit all the community, where all the people were equal
and not subject to government categories.

There was tension in the community when oil and gas companies moved to
exploit the resources on Lubicon land after a road was built in the late
1970s, Chief Ominayak related.  Seismic lines and other intrusions cut
across traplines without respect for the Lubicon livelihood, creating
animosity for the oil and gas companies.  The Lubicon have gotten the
companies to sit and talk about the people's concerns and Chief Ominayak
has noted a change of attitude with the companies showing more
understanding.

The impacts affected the people, however, and the Lubicon have suffered
greatly.  The health of the community has been affected and the economy
has been severly restricted.  Hunting is more difficult now and has
meant a change in social and cultural values explained Chief Ominayak.
The whole structure of the Lubicon community began to fall apart.

The Alberta Government has made efforts to assert authority on the
Lubicon through coercion and threats, said Chief Ominayak.

In the early 70s The Lubicon attempted to file a Caveat in Alberta court
that would protect their lands but the Alberta Government introduced
retroactive legislation that invalidated the Caveat while it was still
before the court.

Chief Ominayak said the Federal Government has undermined the Lubicon by
creating the Woodland Cree band to attempt to take away membership
through a divide and conquer stategy.  This new group doesn't have
historical roots in the area and is an attempt to weaken the Lubicon's
position in negotiations with the Federal Government.

Mr. Young asked Chief Ominayak about logging that the Lubicon had
experienced.  He answered that prior to 1988 there was some small-scale
logging from time to time.  In 1988, Daishowa announced construction of
a pulp mill in Peace River, Chief Ominayak said the Lubicon felt they
couldn't afford to let clearcut logging take place after experiencing
the damage from oil and gas companies.  He said the Lubicon still feel
this way.

On March 7, 1989 Chief Ominayak met with Daishowa representatives to
explain Lubicon concerns.  The Lubicon tried to get them to understand
that logging couldn't take place before the land claim had been settled.
 Chief Ominayak said Daishowa agreed and he left the meeting with the
assurance that Daishowa would not be logging on Lubicon land until the
land rights were settled.  Chief Ominayak said that traditional courtesy
meant that Lubicon made an effort to be pleasant in a letter to Daishowa
and didn't mention the agreement overtly but stated that there was a
failure to communicate.

Chief Ominayak said the Lubicon were pleased that Daishowa has, in a
sense, honoured the agreement because the company has not logged in
Lubicon traditional territory, but they needed a lot of help to do that,
especially the boycott.He said it is still uncertain that Daishowa won't
come onto Lubicon land and the people were uncertain "when all hell's
going to break loose."   He said that the people were prepared to stand
up and protect themselves.  Chief Ominayak hoped that Daishowa would
honour their committment and not waste time, gesturing toward the court.
 Chief Ominayak said that Lubicon attempts to protect their rights in
court have not been good.

A report by E. Davie Fulton in the mid-80s recommended to that one way
the Lubicon could achieve a land title was by a direct reference to the
Supreme Court of Canada. but the Federal Government was not interested
in the report.  Chief Ominayak said the Federal Government's position
has been consistent:  it does not want achieve a fair and equitable
settlement.  Instead the Federal Government has put forth a take it or
leave it offer which wouldn't provide what the Lubicons need.

Mr. John Hunter, counsel for DMI (and, apparently, for Daishowa Inc.),
cross examined Chief Ominayak for the plaintiffs.  Mr. Hunter asked
Chief Ominayak to comment on two letters regarding typical agreements
with oil and gas companies.  The Lubicon have had appoximately 200
similar agreements that say the the Lubicons won't oppose a particular
development. Those letters, he said, were required by the Energy
Resources Conservation Board because of their policies. Chief Ominayak
said it wasn't Lubicon policy to issue a press release and it depended
on the situation.

Cross examination of Chief Ominayak will continue Wednesday in courtroom
4-10, 361 University Ave. at 10 a.m.

For more background information visit the Lubicon supporter web page at:
http://kafta.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Lubicon/main.html

Complete Court Updates are available at http://www.tao.ca/~fol/

- --- end forwarded text

A good background is in the book:

  John Goddard. "Last Stand of the Lubicon Cree."
  Douglas & McIntyre Ltd. Vancouver, B.C. ISBN 0-88894-716-X. 1991.
  E78.A34G63 1991 - 323.1'1973 - C91-091491-5 [book]


- -- 
grant@achilles.net  http://arpp.carleton.ca/  O-  <*>
 To find out about the Cree mailing list send a message to
 cree@arpp.carleton.ca with the subject set to the word: help
 mailto:cree@arpp.carleton.ca?Subject=help
http://arpp.carleton.ca/cree/  ki'htwa'm ka-wa'pamitina'wa'w


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: 27 Nov 1997 14:36:03 -0700
From: Grant Neufeld <(suppressed)@achilles.net>
Subject: New Cree lesson #11

I've finished Cree language lesson number 11. It's available from:

  http://arpp.carleton.ca/cree/lesson/


I've also added a html style-sheet to the Cree pages, so those of you with
newer web browsers should get slightly "prettier" pages. This will have no
effect on those using older web browsers.


If there are any Cree speakers in the Calgary area, I'd appreciate hearing
from you <mailto:grant@achilles.net?Subject=Cree%20in%20Calgary>.

kinana'skomitina'wa'w

- --
grant@achilles.net  http://arpp.carleton.ca/  O-  <*>
 To find out about the Cree mailing list send a message to
 cree@arpp.carleton.ca with the subject set to the word: help
 mailto:cree@arpp.carleton.ca?Subject=help
http://arpp.carleton.ca/cree/  ki'htwa'm ka-wa'pamitina'wa'w


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Date: 28 Nov 1997 02:24:52 -0700
From: Nicole Stuckenberger <(suppressed)@uni-muenster.de>
Subject: Re: raw meat

Somewhere I have read that Cree used to fight against the Inuit. After
killing Inuit they cut out a piece of their body and ate it. I am sorry for
forgetting the place in literature where I found it, but I will search for
it. Cree usually have no cannibalistic rituals. Eating human flesh is or was
connected with the Windigo phenomenon. By eating animal flesh the special
abilities of the game was transferred to the person eating it (the
distribution of the meat reflected the social organizstion and gender and
status). By treating Inuit like animals (by eating a tiny part of their
bodies) it seems that Cree did not recognize Inuit as real persons.
Well, we have to be careful with old literature and this information should
be checked. Nevertheless it is the only one I have.

Yours Nicole


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Date: 28 Nov 1997 02:32:45 -0700
From: <(suppressed)@dial.pipex.com>
Subject: Re: raw meat

Dear Nicole,

many thanks for your reply to my query, if you can trace the original
sources, please do let me know.

Regards,

Dr M. Suleiman


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End of Digest