Ernest Ottawa. Jean-Marc Niquay
March 30, 2011
Manawan

"In my dreams, the moose told me: go back, go see your parents."

Ernest Ottawa, Nehirowisiw

Over the past few decades, the way of life of Indigenous people has changed drastically. In their dreams, young people no longer talk to hares or moose and in return, they no longer respond to them. Chicken delivery boxes have replaced the partridge hunt. And that’s the case in several areas of life. What’s not passed on is lost and adds weight to the hearts of elders who want nothing more than to offer their knowledge as a legacy to future generations. One day, when Ernest Ottawa wanted to serve his children partridge, he told them, "Eat, it’s just like chicken!"

Indoors. Ernest Ottawa is sitting on the left side of the screen. He’s wearing a red plaid shirt, a sleeveless navy blue fleece jacket and glasses. On the right, Jean-Marc Niquay is wearing a blue striped shirt and tinted glasses. A horizontal freezer is behind them.

Ernest Ottawa

When I was young, I sometimes had dreams. I would dream about meeting a moose and being able to talk to it. Or I would meet a partridge who could talk to me. And I talked to it. And it understood me. And we talked, we communicated. Or it was a hare, you know, uh, that I could talk to. I wouldn’t hurt it. It wouldn’t hurt me. No one would get hurt.

Even the moose, it sometimes said to me, “Go back home. Go see your parents”. Sometimes I dreamt of it, uh, and sometimes I share this with my... my children. They don't have these types of dreams because they haven’t... haven’t experienced what I have. They haven't lived like, uh... Well, that’s to say, uh, with modernity and, uh... They haven’t... They haven’t quite experienced these things probably.

Uh, furthermore, I remember once when, when we were in Quebec City. I lived about fifteen... about fifteen or so years in Quebec City. And, uh, sometimes we'd go to the restaurant on Sundays, uh, well at St-Hubert BBQ. And we would eat there. Sometimes we'd go out and eat chicken and, uh, my kids, they liked it, very much.

And then, one day, we came, uh, to vacation here, uh, for three weeks. We stayed in the woods, and I killed a lot of partridges. And then, well, I..... My children watched me prepare the partridges, remove the feathers and then, well, open it all up, dismember it. And my kids, well, it, uh... it probably had an affect on them, seeing me do it. In such a way that they didn’t want to... they didn't want to eat it.

As for me, I remember the first time I ate chicken. It was, uh....I was young. My father had come to the store here and bought a chicken. And then, well, my mother, she cooked the chicken, and I thought it was disgusting. I found it disgusting, y’know chicken eh... White and, uh, white meat and, uh, white skin. I found it disgusting. I didn't want to eat any. And my mother said to me, “Eat! Come on! Eat!” She said to me, “It's the same as partridge. It's the same as partridge.”

Well I, well, y’know, uh, I barely managed to eat a little bit, y’know. Finally, when we came here on vacation, as I said eh, with my, uh... with my daughters, they didn't want to eat partridge. And I would say to them, “Eat! It's the same as chicken!”

[Laughter]

Interviewer

Struggling…

Ernest Ottawa

That's about 30 years later. Between 0 and 30 years, it has completely changed.

Interviewer

Yeah.

Philip Peastitute. Élisabeth Kaine. Donald Peastitude. Phil Einish
March 4, 2011
Kawawachikamach

"You can't erase where you come from from your memory. "

Philip Peastitute, Naskapi

Elders who go from a nomadic existence to a sedentary lifestyle take with them some of the soil of their ancestors, the soil of their identity. Uprooted, without having made the choice, they’re more sensitive to wind movements and the wind of change blows hard. In Kawawachikamach, in the middle of February, in his overheated house, Philip Peastitute lets his eyes and memories escape through his kitchen window. His grandson’s watching television. Outside, a snowmobile goes by.

Indoors. Two men are sitting at a table. A window behind them shows a few houses in a snowy background. Philip Peastitute is sitting to the left of the screen. He is wearing a green shirt and a blue tuque. On the right, Donald Peastitute is wearing a black and red plaid shirt.

Phil Einish

He says he was about 20 when they arrived here.

Interviewer

And are they brothers?

Phil Einish

Yeah, they’re brothers.

Interviewer

Ok, so he was like 33?

Phil Einish

Yeah.

Donald Peastitute

[Donald Peastitute speaks Naskapi]

Following scene. Close-up of Philip Peastitute. Behind him are large traditional snowshoes shaped like bear paws and an old radio placed on a piece of furniture.

Interviewer

But you know from then, they are 20, they are 30, they have lived a nomadic life, and now they live in a village. How was it emotionally for them, to go from one way of life to the other? And I would like Philip to understand.

Phil Einish

[Phil Einish speaks Naskapi. He talks loudly.]

Philip Peastitute moves to hear better. Donald Peastitute moves closer to him.

Donald Peastitute

[Donald Peastitute speaks Naskapi]

Philip Peastitute sits down again. Zoom out to a long shot of Philip and Donald Peastitute.

Philip Peastitute

[Philip Peastitute speaks Naskapi]

Phil Einish

That was a different lifestyle, where his original home is, yes there was many hardships. But after, but after the federal government stepped in, things got better, things got better for the, the ways of living.

Close-up of Philip Peastitute.

But still, we cannot erase memories, where you come from. You have to know where, where the identity is.

Donald Peastitute

[Donald Peastitute speaks Naskapi]

Phil Einish

It’s very important that the young people, the young population, know their roots, where they come from. It’s very important. And it is after... Why they left it’s because of the disposal of the federal government, asking them and giving new benefits [inaudible]… they still miss his homeland, the way he used to treat with cautious the land, the resources, ‘cause they didn’t get any education, there was no education at the time. They had to depend on the land or resources. So they were their own bosses.

Following scene. Close-up of Philip Peastitute and the snowshoes behind him.

Phil Einish

Not far from here, few miles from here, kilometers, no ski doo, just snowshoes, took them all the way to Kuujjuaq. That’s how they did it.

Donald Peastitute

[Donald Peastitute speaks Naskapi]

Phil Einish

The only thing that astonished him, as far as he can remember when the fur traders were coming in, was this motor boat, motor, it was new to him, that was something he had never seen before, to push a boat, you know, fast, something surprising. They always used to paddle and to portage and carrying packsacks…

The camera moves to the right. Close-up of Donald Peastitute.

Donald Peastitute

[Donald Peastitute speaks Naskapi]

Phil Einish

Toboggan, snowshoes, and so and so... [Inaudible] Today, you take the ski doo trail and you get there in two days. But then, they had to hunt, to fish and trap along the way. Just with snowshoes and toboggan. No ski doo.

Donald Peastitute

[Donald Peastitute speaks Naskapi]

Phil Einish

Many, many people in that area during the days he’s talking about. People were always meeting other groups on the way, sharing you know, telling stories in overnight camps, and lately move on. One family, feast together, hunt for a couple of days in the area, and move on again. That’s how they lived, nomadic people.