The Night I Ate Roasted Beaver with Native Indians in The Arctic
And been taught the greatest lesson on healing and resilience
1. The Departure
I was studying at the University of Ottawa at the time when I met an atypical guide. I didn’t even understand he was a guide at first. He didn’t describe himself this way. Rather, he was an “Explorer”. We became friends, and after a few weeks he asked me if I would be interested to join him and 5 other people to Waskaganish, where we would meet a friend of him from the Cree community.
“I am asking only people with a straight heart — people who care about people”
I am honoured, and of course, I am interested! I finally could link my studies in Human and Environmental rights with something more real and adventurous.
2. Waskaganish
Waskaganish is a small town of about 2,100 people in Northern Quebec, on the south-east shore of James Bay. The Crees like to say that it is the southern point of the Arctic.
We hit the road with a Volkswagen van at the end of March 2014. From Ottawa, it’s a 16–18 hours’ drive through the still rough Canadian winter.
Our first night in a motel felt already like the end of the world.
Within five days, Romeo, our guide’s friend and a 20-year-old Cree — showed us how he and his family live in the deep north. He was proud to show us the practice of their land-based traditional values, culture, and language.
With Skidoos and dogs, we went to his grandfather fishing house in the boreal forest, which was simply a wooden cabin with no light and no electricity. Fire was the only source of heat. We were careful when going to pee in the forest because of bears and wolves. Couldn’t be more authentic and wild!
3. The dinner
Then one night we met Romeo’s mother at her house, she was roasting a beaver for us.
She started to tell us the ugly truth about the Canadian forced assimilation period. That she had to forget her traditions, culture and language, and be forced to become catholic, speak English and go to specialised schools. In those schools, children were often mentally, physically and sexually abused.
But today, Romeo’s mother have forgiven. Because she had to. It was her only way out. She managed to find power and strength in her past, and built resilience within. She became a Cree teacher, which was her way to keep her traditions and culture alive. She even gave us a crash course on writing in cree.
Despite the deep suffering of her past, Romeo’s mother found a greater strenght. She was able to transform her past. Romeo’s family is a living example that truth and forgiveness are both powerful ways out for healing, for people and societies.
