Friday, March 2, 2018

The Tradition Of The First Nations

There were displays in Jacques Cartier Park as part of Winterlude, items from the Anishinaabe First Nations. This included a large teepee set up.


There were three members of the tribe close by, with traditional items spread out on tables, speaking about the process of making these. Furs were spread out on racks around them.


This man spoke of traditional methods of using wood and crafting it into things like drums, snowshoes, or other items, demonstrating as he spoke. The wood they use can't be too dry; green wood tends to be more flexible, which suits its use far more.


Here we have something that goes back in time. The Anishinaabe, as well as other First Nations peoples, had a traditional method of refining maple sap in this area. The trunk of a tree would be first hollowed out in this fashion to create a trough. When the sap was running, it would be poured into these. Stones would be heated up in nearby fires as hot as possible, and then moved- through the use of deer antlers as a tool to pick them up- into the troughs, which would heat the sap up and result in maple sugar. Aside from using it for food, tribes would use maple sugar for medicine.

31 comments:

  1. Interesting to know about the display items!

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  2. What a delightful event! I've heard that teepees could get very smoky and dark from cooking fires. I'd be interested in learning more about how maple syrup is made into a medicine.

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  3. Fascinating! Interesting how the sugar was made.

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  4. I love all of those traditional crafts made by the First Nation people.

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  5. Great views of all the handcrafts of the native people.

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  6. i am always curious as to how warm it would be in 1 of those ... looks so cold. always feel my hubby needs to find out his roots ... he is part Cherokee ... it is time ... need to trace it back. love me some history. ( ;

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  7. @Tom: very colourful!

    @Nancy: it is!

    @Lady Fi: I agree.

    @Lowell: that's one reason to have a spot up top for smoke to ventilate out.

    @Mike: it was quite a process back in the time, but resourceful!

    @Francisco: thank you!

    @Rosemary: so do I.

    @Marianne: thanks!

    @Beth: I found it warmer inside than out.

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  8. Fascinating to see William. Was interesting to see that the method of collecting the maple syrup, although now using more modern equipment is basically the same.

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  9. I find the old ways of doing things to e fascinating. It was very labor intensive but worked.

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  10. That traditional way of harvesting maple sap is fascinating.

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  11. What an interesting collection of displays, William. The maple syrup description was particularly interesting to me!

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  12. Great photos, William
    There was a lot of work to be done in those days. I can't imagine making maple syrup with a log an hot stones.

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  13. Maple sugar for all! It was worth figuring out a way to make it!

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  14. Fascinating heritage and culture!

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  15. Remarkable and fascinating to learn firsthand.

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  16. Excellent, nice to learn and see things made by the First Nations. The syrup process is interesting!

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  17. @Grace: the method isn't that different.

    @Red: yes, it did.

    @Sharon: I thought so!

    @Jeanie: it would have been a long tradition, pre-contact.

    @Maywyn: it's making use of the resources at hand, but it worked.

    @RedPat: maple sugar and syrup are part of life's great pleasures.

    @Marie: yes, I agree.

    @Christine: it was.

    @Jenn: I think so too.

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  18. I love First Nations arts and crafts.

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  19. The Native art crafts are beautiful. Their process for maple syrup is very interesting.

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  20. Wonderful displays honoring the First Nation and great photos!

    Happy Weekend to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  21. That tent is beautiful, but it's hard to imagine how people could survive in them in the cold climate.
    Wonderful displays of craftmanship.

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  22. Great photos. Anything as good as fresh maple syrup would have to be good for medicine.

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  23. Their history is so rich and diverse.

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  24. Really fascinating and nostalgic to see the old ways. They look so fitting and beautiful in the winter scene too, William

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  25. @Norma: I did too.

    @Bill: it shows resourcefulness.

    @Carol: thanks!

    @Jan: just stepping inside it, it felt warmer than it did outside. I expect a fire at the heart of the space would keep things comfortable inside.

    @Mari: it would be. They said it was good for a congested throat, for instance.

    @Catarina: vastly more complex than many European colonists would have thought.

    @Cloudia: they do indeed.

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