Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Buffalos and namoya (no)

Street Walker - iPhone photography by Kevin Russ:
Street Walker - iPhone photography by Kevin Russ
Watched another couple of episodes of "Moosemeat and Marmalade", in particular one where they shoot a bison.  It was strange how emotive that episode was.  The episodes hunting the beaver and a moose did not bother me, but the dead bison/ buffalo made me uncomfortable.  Perhaps a reflection of the strong symbolism of the buffalo?  Even the presenter seemed quite moved as he laid down his tobacco.  Sophie asked to watch the show last night which I found interesting.  She said "it is good to see the old ways being kept alive."  But was a lot of dead animals for a vegetarian who had recently been vomiting.

I made myself a number of posters with the Cree words for interacting with children on them.  I have been using them to tell the children I love them, that it is time for bed, to get up, and to get moving.  It is interesting how much more thoughtful I have to be when each word is an exercise to get out.  It is humbling to feel like a child trying to use new words and think about how they combine with other words I know.  When I used "go to bed" and Runa asked me to look up what the Cree word for "No" was.  I hope that we will be able to learn together.  It is exciting to hear them talking Cree on the Moosemeat show and to keep learning.  What you are learning right now? 

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