Aakutaah

We are learning some new words! Aakutaah /ægʊdʌ/ means “ok”, “alright”, or “ok, bye”. We though it was a fitting title for this post since we are settling in and getting comfortable. Also, it’s a word that we hear all the time and it’s pretty easy to pick up.

We had a pretty busy week with lots of unexpected events and developments. We got confirmation on Tuesday that we would be travelling to Whapmagoostui (a community further up North) on the following Monday. After that, we had a whirlwind time getting materials together, gathering contact information for clients we will be seeing, and making travel plans. However, our busy work life didn’t keep us from attending lots of social events!

We were invited to go to a potluck at the beach with some other health professionals from the Cree Health Board.

We had a bonfire and spent part of the evening admiring the progression of the sunset and enjoying the beautiful Northern sky. Some people stayed later and saw the Northern Lights. We unfortunately missed them since we had to go to practicum the next morning.

Some teachers and health professionals get together every Wednesday night for sewing and knitting. One of the Cree teachers is showing us how to make baby moccasins based on her traditional pattern. We hope we will have time to finish our moccasins while we can still benefit from her expertise.

The highlight of our week was the Walking Out ceremony that we attended. A Walking Out is held when a baby is around a year old. It is symbolic of their first steps outside the mitchuap (teepee) and represents their welcoming into Cree society.

It is held at dawn, and the babies who are walking out are dressed in traditional clothing representing roles of women and men in Cree culture.

Our supervisor Anny with her daughter Emiliana during the Walking Out.

After the ceremony, the hosts provide breakfast, and later in the day everyone comes back to the mitchuap for a feast. Since our supervisor and her daughter participated in the ceremony and the hosts were some of the educators who work at the MSDC, we were lucky enough to be invited to attend and help out with preparations and cooking.

Our day started at 5 am cooking French toast for the breakfast. Ingrid, one of the occupational therapists with the Cree Health Board also came to help us out.

After the breakfast, we got started right away preparing stuffing for the nisk (goose). Our hosts taught us how to clean out the geese, stuff them, and sew them up to be hung around the fire for roasting. They were great teachers and they were happy to see that we were learning quickly. Then we spent the afternoon roasting the geese (hard work, since they have to be turned continuously) while hearing some stories and trying to learn some more Cree words.

The feast was delicious. The Cree sure know how to throw a party! Along with the goose and bear meat, there were plenty of homemade treats like fry bread, donuts, cupcakes, and 5 different cakes. According to Cree tradition, guests have to finish their plates or bring it back home but no food can be wasted. We ended up bringing lots home.

Looking back, it’s hard to believe we’ve only been here for two weeks. Looking forward to more travel and to discovering another Northern community next week!