STORIES / Okara’shòn:’a
Myth: “We Can’t Find Indigenous candidates.”
Some employers believe hiring an Indigenous (Native, Metis or Inuit) worker is not worth the hassle because of the unknowns. But this is the wrong way to look at a population that is growing fast, more educated than ever, and eager to tackle many different jobs, if given a chance.
Same hurts and issues
London was with the Oneida people and the Delaware. Hamilton and Brantford were with Six Nations and the Ojibwe people living in that particular area. Toronto was everybody across the country from the Mi’kmaq all the way down to the other end.
Shooting the flag
The older guys used to make a fire at the base of the tree, and they had some kind of ceremony. The men would shoot with shotguns until the tree broke because it was on a pole. It was maybe 10 or 12 feet in the air or a little bit higher.
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.
Little Caughnawaga
There was a lot of ironwork in New York City. That’s why there were so many Mohawk families throughout Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.
How things change
Right here, on our community, our small, little reserve. Why couldn’t it have happened someplace else? Because the government thought they could do what they want with it. So, they put a seaway through, they put bridges through, they put highways through.
The way man thinks
On the Earth, we make the Earth small by thinking that the Earth has no power to regenerate and heal Herself. She’s already in the process of doing that.
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.
Beginnings in the Longhouse
I had absolutely no inkling of the Longhouse or that it even existed. My mother didn’t make any effort to educate me about it because of the conflicts that were going on between the Longhouse and Band Council at the time.
Get that boy to a powwow
We drove there on a Friday, slept over and went to the powwow on Saturday morning. Grand entry was at 1:00 pm so we got there early. He wanted to get dressed right away. I said, “Kawerashatste, we got a 2 hour wait,” but no he wanted to get dressed.
Taking work home
"Yes, you bring the people back home with you, the kids back home with you. It’s sometimes very difficult."
My own fear
Luckily for me, my children love me so it doesn’t matter what I do. I suppose it does matter but they’ll never judge me or be upset with me. I’ve never had backlash from anybody.
Doing our best
We felt that all of the teachers were doing their best. I don’t think any of the teachers were slacking in that department.
Time to come home
When I turned 18, me and my good friend Eddie Brown decided to join the Marines. We enlisted under the buddy system and were together most of the time.
My shoes came off and moccasins went on
I didn’t learn to speak English until I started school, because we only spoke Mohawk in our home, I had nobody to speak English to in the house. My grandmother didn’t even speak English so, my grandmother and I conversed every day and I never lost my language.
Taking a walk down Memory Lane
It was a great life; School time in New York and summers in beautiful Kahnawake.
No electricity
I don’t know how long we would have meat for because we didn’t even have a fridge. No fridge, no freezer, no electricity.
The need to laugh
Humour is the best thing I can do because it puts people off quilter, and then you can talk about anything. You use your opponent’s strength or their attack against them. And if you’re not attacked, you dance!
Opening doors
I try to open whatever doors I can for them by teaching them. I'm starting with manual stuff. Next week, we're doing dream catchers with the kids. Later, they’ll help me teach about 60 of their teachers and supervisors how to make them.