Northern Exposure...Summer Beaver: 4 sleeps and counting........

Monday, June 16, 2008

4 sleeps and counting........

Four more sleeps, well I am up really really late so maybe only three more for me. Had a busy weekend with various calls. Rainy and overcast all weekend. I thought I would post the pictures of the two stores located here. The one to the left is run by the band office and the one below is called the Northern Store. They are located directly across from each other. The Nothern Store only basically has food and other store run by the band has items such as clothing, jewlery, fishing items etc.

There was a very unfortunate incident that occured in a very close reserve Big Trout, a murder on Sunday. A 20 year old mother of two was shot in the face. I guess it happened in the wee hours of the am and drugs were involved. So sad but extremely prevalent here.

Very busy day at the clinic today and up late doing homework.....I did have a break and watched the sunset tonight over the lake it was breathtaking. The skys in the North are amazing. I had seen some pics from one of the nurses here of the Northern lights, it was unbelievable. They are viewed in the fall and early winter months. I did take some more pictures to share but I cant post the pics until I go to Summer Beaver on Thursday night but stay tuned have I got a few good ones for you. I will post on thursday night the 19th of June. My final post will be from home sending yout the final picutures of my last days, minutes and seconds....... I have been talking to Elijah from Summer Beaver and he is working night shift on June 19th so will be nice to see him at the clinic. Oh yeah you should have seen me tonight. I have been having lots of fun down at the water walking along jumping from rock to rock. Up until tonight I have done this without a soaker but tonight not one but two, fell off the rock right into the water up to my knees and it is COLD. I also think I am leaving in the nick of time because the mosquitoes are starting! Anyway take care and talk soon!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...: YES WE ALL COUNTING THE DAYS MY FRIEND,MISS U AND THE PIC ARE JUST PERFECT.
PLAY SAFE AND ENJOY YOU EXPERIENCE.TALK SOON CA.; June 17, 2008 at 9:14 AM
Anonymous said...: Ok jumping from rock to rock, what happens when you fall knock yourself out and know one finds you ..What happened to Play safe...Come home in one piece ...luv Ya..Rob; June 17, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Anonymous said...: Sounds like you are having FUN! Pretty pictures...Soon u will be home, I bet u can't wait! So sad about the murder rate there...Keep Safe... Love Valorie :) xoxox; June 17, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Anonymous said...: Cyndi another great sunset....can't wait to see all your pics...mosquitoes will be abundant, you are getting out just in time...may see a few extra in Summer Beaver as their climate is a bit different I suspect.....see you soon....love Jerry and Shirley...; June 17, 2008 at 1:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Can't wait to see ya Friday! I'm thankful for your blog I have certainly learned a lot about what to expect when Josh and I move up there! I'm sure there are many stories yet to be told, can't wait to hear them all! I hope you are proud of yourself, we are all certainly very proud of you!

Have a safe trip home :)

Heather

p.s. We are almost at 30 for Panama!; June 17, 2008 at 7:20 PM
Anonymous said...: It's Thursday now, so you are back in summer beaver, saying good bye and preparing to come home. You must be filled with mixed emotions, but I'm sure its mostly excitement about coming "south" to your family and your beautiful home. I hope the girls looked after your flower gardens for you!!! See you soon Shar-dog; June 19, 2008 at 7:41 AM

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Pemmican, one of the ladies had made this for the feast.......

Pemmican was a staple of the Plains people’s diet with the name originating from the Cree word, “pimikan”, or ‘manufactured grease’. Pemmican was made from buffalo meat, although antelope, deer, elk and moose were also used. It was a mixture of dried meat pounded to a powder, a quantity of rendered fat, Saskatoon berries or choke cherries, and sometimes peppermint leaves. The whole mixture was stored in parfleches, or skin bags, where it could be stored indefinitely. Pemmican was portable and highly nutritious with 1 kilogram equaling 5 kilograms of fresh meat. It was one of the most important contributions native people made to the survival of the Europeans through the harsh Canadian winters.

How to Make Pemmican
To make pemmican the Indians began by cutting meat into thin slices or strips and drying it either in the sun or over a fire. After the meat was dried, it was spread out on a stone-headed mauls and then pounded. This pounded meat was called "beat meat" by the natives. "Beat meat" was then mixed with melted fat and marrow. One early European observer noted that 40 pounds (18kg) of fat were added to 50 pounds (22.6kg) of beat meat. Sometimes a paste made of fruits or berries were added to this mixture.
Pemmican was stored in folded rawhide containers called parfleches. They were flat which made them easy to store and transport. Parfleches were greased along their seams to keep out air and moisture. Pemmican could therefore be kept fresh for years. Three-quarters of a pound (.34kg) of pemmican a day was a sufficient ration of food, although a hard-working traveler might eat between 1 and 2 pounds a day.
"... to make this essential food, the women would cut buffalo meat into very thin strips and hang them on hooks or a rack over a slow, smoky fire. The fire was used mainly to keep flies off the fresh meat. After a day or two the fire was discontinued and the meat was allowed to dry in the sun and wind. Three or four times a day the women would crack the meat open to allow the outsides of the strips to dry. After the drying process, which took about a week, the meat was broken into small pieces and put inside a flour sack. The women then pounded the meat into powder. This powder was mixed with dried berries, and melted buffalo fat was used to bind the substance together into balls. The pemmican balls were then placed into bags made of green (untanned) buffalo hid, and sewn up tightly. A bag of pemmican, made properly, could be cached in the ground for several years and still remain usable.
Rubaboo is the name for a stew made of pemmican and any wild vegetables at hand. Boiled in a pot of water, the chunks of pemmican would fall apart. Additions - the likes of onion, turnip, asparagus, parsley, sage, bullrush root, cattail heads, dandelion root, wild parsnip, wild carrot, mushrooms, pine nuts, daylily roots, or wild rice, would turn it into an appetizing stew.

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