Northern Exposure...Summer Beaver: Trip to the school today...................

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Trip to the school today...................

So wazzup for today, well went to the school to check for head lice this afternoon. Good news only one case in the school. Wanted to get into the school just to see how things worked here. The school actually goes up to grade 8 and they have to leave the reserve for high school and go to Sioux Lookout or Thunder Bay. While at highschool the kids end up having to stay in a residence during the school year. One of the teachers told me that over half end up back home by March of the same year because they

are homesick or they have been asked to leave due to bad behaviour. It must be very hard on the families to be separated from each other at this time of their life when they are in need of a bit more guidance and support. The school is very typical of any primary school I have posted a picture of this just below the red building...and worked at the clinic this am. The school in Summer Beaver was more intersting with the artwork on the walls and such. Did not see any of that at this school.

I have been invited to a feast this weekend at the boat launch. Sounds interesting so may have to check it out what do you think, think I will go? Most of the snow is gone only found in a few places under the trees near the lake. I took this picture nice spot see the snow. The ice is mainly off the lake just a few spots now. The locals tell me that this is the latest that is has been melting off the lakes. Well it keeps the bugs at bay anyway. The picture at the top is an old church. Not using it anymore as a church but thought it was an interesting building. As you can see the roads are dirt so lots of dust when you are out walking. Well I have to run, take care and will talk soon almost two weeks left and counting.......

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: SURE YOU WILL GO TO THE LUNCHEON, IF YOU WOULD GO FISHING YOU CAN DO THAT

NOT LONG NOW

eve; June 5, 2008 at 9:16 AM
Anonymous said...: I agree with Eve, what a culture experience wouldn't miss it, and great way to meet people, have fun enjoy and take pics wish I could be there with you...Luv Rob; June 5, 2008 at 9:36 AM
Anonymous said...: that sounds like so much fun!! GOOOO!!!! xoxoxo
love Cait; June 5, 2008 at 6:20 PM

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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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