STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a
International Hotel
That house was so big and he had built big rooms. They made it into a hotel after he passed away. They called it the International Hotel because it was on the border.
Couldn’t come up with a quarter
He was cutting hair in the front room of our house and was charging a quarter for a haircut. When the Depression came around, some of the guys couldn’t come up with a quarter so he was cutting hair for free.
Grandmother and Grandfather
In the springtime they help kickstart the renewal. With their thunder, they shake the Earth. All the animals who hibernate, they wake up, and they start a new cycle.
Born in Ganienkeh
The water came from the lake. They cut a hole in the ice, put the water in barrels, and delivered it.
Keep me busy
I started painting and, well, when you first start something, it doesn’t look too good. But once I kept on going, it went. Next thing you know I know how to paint.
Nine leopard bathing suits
He would come back on a Friday. It was a long drive from New York. The cars didn’t go as fast as they do now and there weren’t the same roads there are today. He’d get home at maybe five in the morning.
His name is George
Meeting the family was overpowering, because the first year was beautiful, like a pink cloud. Then life struck, and that’s how I retreated into my own problems. From there, we kind of drifted.
We don’t even need words
When I'm talking with others, telling a story, I might ask, “Do you get what I’m saying?” Usually, people will sit there and sort of go, “Yeah,” but you’re not really sure that they get it.
Don’t consider it scary
I used to sleep with my aunt, who was a teenager at the time. Sometimes she would try to scare me, she liked to tease me. She would come in with her coat over her head late at night. I knew it was her but would scream anyways.
She knew what she wanted
She broke off the engagement and stayed here in Montreal. She seen something on TV about adoption and thought to herself, “Oh, well let’s see about that,” because she just wanted to be a mom.
Promises made in heaven
He’s very introverted and always has been. He wasn’t the type of kid that liked to be rough and tough. It set him apart from the rest.
Mohawk name
That little girl entered this world, waving her little hands and arms. I thought to myself, “Look at her! She is already showing off her wings, our beautiful little snipe.”
Brightsun Bakery
Baking was in my blood—my mother was a baker. When we were kids, we’d run down the road to deliver hot bread straight from the oven to people who had placed orders. She also made meat pies, which she’d store in an upstairs unheated room to keep them cold.
Way off-Broadway
In those days, nobody knew about Natives. No one gave a shit about us. Some Natives would go and watch, if they knew about it. They would put ads in the paper under current events for their plays.
A story with a lesson
Fishing alone, the man would reel in his net and catch more than he needed. Not being mindful, the man would choose all his favourite fish for himself and his family and chuck the rest ashore.
Horse ranch surprise
For Lionel’s 80th birthday we went to a horse ranch; It was called Ridin-Hy. He figured that it was only supposed to be him and I, with our daughter, Natalie, and her husband, Tim.