Natuashish – Old and New

Sunshine over the gathering in Natuashish.

As mentioned in my previous blog post I spent this week on the Labrador Coast bring the #IDThemDays project to Nain and Natuashish. The main part of my job this week was to meet with local people and have them identify as many unidentified photographs in their communities as possible. This went better than I anticipated with approximately 150 photographs identified in Nain and 130 photographs identified in Natuashish.

View of the church tent and several family tents.

The main reason I travelled to the coast this week in particular was to head to the gathering in Natuashish as suggested by Chief Gregory Rich. When I called Chief Gregory Rich early in February he suggested I come and stay at the gathering which takes place the week before Easter as I would have the best opportunity to meet with as many elders as possible. I was put in contact with Justine and Cajetan Rich by Judge John Joy, a big Them Days supporter, and they agreed to host me in their tent while I was in Natuashish. I borrowed a sleeping bag and stocked up on some food before flying out.

The Rich's tent.

I arrived in Natuashish on Sunday afternoon and hitched a ride from the airport with the RCMP. We talked briefly with Cajetan who said the tents weren’t ready yet but that they would pick me up Monday lunchtime to head out to the gathering. Sunday night I stayed in the Natuashish hotel and I’m very glad I did as the staff and guests were extremely hospitable. Monday morning I was feeling pretty excited and a little nervous about the trip when one of the other guests starting talking about a trip he has taken out on the land in -70° weather and asking about all my supplies. Needless to say I got a little panicked but the staff and guests rushed to my aid supplying me with extra food, facecloths and a blanket as well as snow pants (which I managed to forget in the rush of packing a computer, projector, camera and everything else I needed in one suitcase).

Warren and Fantasia - grandchildren of Justine and Cajetan Rich.

On Monday afternoon Justine’s family travelled by snowmobile out to the gathering site about an hour outside of the town. Once the bags and supplies were unloaded I was taken around by two of Justine’s grandchildren to meet several families who were setting up at the gathering. I explained the project and asked to come back the next day with photographs. On Tuesday I completed most of the identification work in the midst of a blizzard. Thankfully the Labrador tents are toasty warm inside so it was only going between the tents when the wind and snow were blowing that it felt like a blizzard.  On Wednesday there was even more snow and wind so I spent most of the day in the tent with the Rich family until I travelled back to Natuashish on the back of a snowmobile that evening.

Identifying photographs.

The one thing that really struck me during my time in Natuashish was the combination of new and old elements. Innu people traditionally hunt caribou, trap partridge and hunt and gather other food sources from the land. The yearly tradition of the gathering is a way to pass on that tradition and way of life to a new generation. This tradition is not static instead the tradition of the gathering is dynamic and combines new ideas and technology with older ones.

Preparing traditional food.

For example the tents we slept in were canvas tents instead of the caribou hide tents from years gone by. Some of these canvas tents were hand sewn while others were store bought. The process of setting up the tents is really ingenious and draws on the practice of using the branches and trunks of trees to lash down the tent and keep its structure. The floor inside the tent was made of spruce twigs which insulates the tent and keeps the supplies dry from the snow underneath. The stoves were propped up on four logs and all the firewood was chopped on site. The foods that were eaten ranged from the more traditional foods such as partridge, caribou and Innu bread to modern camping fare such as Vienna sausages, hot dogs and chips. Everywhere you looked there were signs of new and old traditions mingling. Women dressed in traditional dress with bandanas covering their hair wore Ugg boots while children who played games on IPods were gifted traditional moccasins. I believe the gathering is an extremely important tradition and one which I hope and believe will continue for years to come.

Preparing Innu bread.

It was a truly amazing experience which I am thankful to have had.

Lovely bead work earrings from Justine Rich.

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I’ve included this short video about Elizabeth Penashue from Sheshatshui in order to shed a little bit of light on the importance of getting back to the land. Although she is from a different community many of the sentiments described were also expressed during my time at the gathering.

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A huge thank you goes out to Justine Rich and family who were extremely generous and housed, and fed me while sharing their stories and traditions with me, to the staff and guests of the Natuashish hotel for hospitality, to the woman who lent me a mattress to sleep on, and to Robin McGrath and John Joy for their help before I set out.