STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a
Big giant hole
I used to play in the Seaway while it was being dug. My grandfather’s house, where I would stay in the summer, is just one street up from the river. They call it the Church road. From there, we used to just walk down to the river that used to be there. The riverside was where most of us would spend almost every summer day. It was within a football field’s distance.
A different life
I grew up in Kahnawake, but only during the summer time. My parents lived in Michigan, but always brought my brother and I back to stay with my grandparents in Kahnawà:ke every summer until I was around 12 years old.
Little paper
The Indian agent in Canada was like a monarch. He was the justice of the peace, he could hold court, pass judgment and so on. Everything had to go through him.
Don’t fish in my net
Stuart Myiow’s father lived on the other side of the tunnel. His name was also Stuart. He had a gas station and a teepee that he put up.
Before the seaway
The swimming area for young people was what they called ‘the wharf’. It was in front of the hospital, about where the water filtration plant is today.
Where I grew up
It’s a joy to see my grandchildren where I grew up. I never thought I’d have grandchildren. All of a sudden, you’re raising your own family, then the grandchildren come along.
Kahnawake before 1955
There’s a little house on the map named Tom Jacobs. Right behind that, by the river, there was a Manhattan beach, they called it. It was my brother’s place, William Cross The River.
Brick house by the riverside
My father built that house in 1925. It was there 1925 to 1955. They took it away for the Seaway in 55’.
The river and the land
When I was born, the seaway had just opened. The water at the river was still clean. I don’t think you could drink it at that time, but the water was clear.