From Grandmother to Granddaughter

Sitting in the living room, a young woman is rocking in a rocking chair. She is wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans. A little further away, sitting with her back to the TV, her grandmother is busy sewing what seems to be moccasins. The room is furnished by a sofa covered with an orange blanket, a dark red armchair and a work table. Next to it, is a large kitchen along two walls, surrounding a long wooden table. A garden door behind the young girl shows a person sitting in a solarium.

Lydia Mestokosho-Paradis

Kuei! Hello! My name is Lydia Mestokosho-Paradis. I’m a Métis Innu and Quebecer, New-Brunswicker. Uh...I come from Mingan, an Innu community of about 680 people. And, uh, today, we’re at my grandmother’s house, Anne-Philomene Mollen. Her maiden name; she doesn't use her matrimonial name.

[Laughter]

And at my grandfather’s, Tommy Mestokosho, who’s in the bedroom right now. He's resting. Basically, for me, uh, here, this is an important place. Because it's like the place... It's like a personal cultural centre for the Mollen-Mestokosho family.

Whether it's... Uh, if I have any questions about, uh, my life in general or crafts or, uh, questions about territory, well, I go see my grandparents. They always have an answer. The same goes for my Quebec and New Brunswick family, my grandmother is the reference: Marielle. For any question, whether it be about my life in general also. About crafts as well. She does a lot of crafts. And that's it. It’s like, uh, a book... My grandmothers are history books. They’re the ones who... the last generation to know the generation before. So, I’m very close to them. And I hope that they know that I love them very much.

And that's it! Thank you... Cut, Jean-François!

[Laughter]