Why I need Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries in 250 words

Proud library card holder for as long as I can remember.

I recently filled out the survey located at the bottom of this page about the library system review. I was given 250 words to make a statement about the importance of libraries and this is what I said:

My local library is important to my community because it provides a space where intergeneration learning happens and knowledge is shared. It is a place where a senior can learn to use a computer, type, send email, and how to open the internet browser.  The library is also a place where children learn to read and experience the joy of learning for the first time. It is a place where local events are held – lectures, meetings, clubs, etc. It is where people may learn to knit (physically though a knitting circle, electronically when accessing the internet, or through the “old-school” way of reading a book). It is where I learned to read. I went to the library every week growing up. Every summer I would sign up to read X number of books each year trying to beat the number from the previous summer. It is where I first experienced Harry Potter which instilled a love of reading, an interest in the fantastical and taught me many life lessons.

The library is where I grew up. I knew the librarians by name and they watched me grow and develop my intellect. They helped me choose books and learn about new topics.

While I continue to use the library today – renting books, dvds and attending events – I don’t need the library for me. I need the library for the children of tomorrow and the seniors of today. I need the library because everyone should have the opportunity to learn, and grow.

I highly encourage everyone go to the link, or the public consultation sessions to give your input on the importance of libraries across the province.  Libraries are not just important to communities but they create communities. They create a space for learning and sharing information and ideas that is necessary in this province. We should be funding more libraries not closing them down. We should be created more programs not cutting jobs.

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.

*****
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.

*****

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.

Coastal Labrador

I just wanted to write a quick update and say that this week I am traveling to the coast of Labrador. I arrived this morning in Nain and I head to Natuashish on Sunday. I experienced a couple of firsts today.

View from the plane during take off.

I had my first experience on the coastal twin otter planes. I was warned ahead of time by several people that they were small planes and they did not exaggerate. At 5’4” I couldn’t stand up and I think my outstretched arms could almost reach both sides of the plane. I was even asked if I wanted to rebook my flight when I arrived at the airport this morning. The receptionist explained that they expected a fair bit of turbulence and asked if I wanted to fly tomorrow morning instead. I decided to go anyway and I was surprised at the ease of the flight. Don’t get me wrong it was small and there were bouts of turbulence but the roaring engine was reassuring and I fell asleep during the flights between the coastal communities until we landed in Nain.

Nain, Labrador.

Once I received my baggage I experienced another first – my first snow mobile ride. I picked up my massive bag filled with a laptop, projector, sleeping bag and snowshoes I hitched a ride to my host’s home where I had a cup of tea and a sandwich. In the afternoon I went to the Nunatsiavut government’s office where I met with six community elders and we reviewed old photographs of Nain. They were able to identify quite a number of pictures and were interested enough to want to stop in tomorrow morning to review more photographs.

Moravian Church, Nain.

It is really interesting to hear some of the stories that come out of a single photograph. We even came across a photo of Lisa, the community health worker’s parents which she had never seen before and who she didn’t have any photos of before. I love hearing people’s stories about photographs. I’ll share some stories in another blog post from a meeting I had last week in Goose Bay with a woman who was originally from Hebron. We had an hour long chat over one photograph!

Siutit (ears!)

After the photo identification event I borrowed my host Fran’s dog and went for a walk around Nain. The mountains that surround the community are beautiful and I’m looking forward to the next couple of days here before I head out on the land with the Innu for their annual Easter Gathering. A happy St. Patrick’s day to anyone celebrating and I hope that Sheila’s brush is over swiftly!

Nain, NL.

Big Land, Big Fun

View of the Mealy Mountains from North West River.

I took a couple of days off this week as my boyfriend Jordan came down for a visit. It was lovely to have someone to go exploring with and to enjoy the beautiful winter here in Labrador and I was thoroughly sad to see him go. (Not to mention I missed him - I s'pose.)

Jordan and I decked out in some World War One helmets in Northern Lights.

Our first day exploring we got our rental car and explored some of the sites to visit in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. We stopped into my favourite stores - previously mentioned on this blog. In Slippers and Things we drooled over the beautiful crafts and handmade slippers. We explored the small military museum in Northern Lights a store (also known as bullets to bras for its wide selection of items to purchase). We also made a quick stop into Them Days where I showed Jordan the office, archives, and the magazine.

Cable car in North West River.

After a quick lunch we took a drive to North West River where we went for a walk, checked out the local convenience store Groceries and Things and met some interesting people. It was a beautiful albeit chilly day. Unfortunately we were unable to check out the museum as it was snowed in from a storm earlier in the week. We did see the cable car I was told about by my pop who worked as a roofer on some buildings in North West River. He vividly remembered taking the cable car across the river and told us to have a look out for it. We returned to town and finished off our first day in Goose Bay with a deadly feed of wiener schnitzel at Bentley's restaurant.

Medium cheddar cheese, black truffle cheese, devil's rock creamy blue cheese, jalapeno muenster cheese, and ginger cheese! CHEESE OVERLOAD

We decided to pack in as many winter activities as possible because Jordan has been unable to do much of anything in St. John's' slushy winter and because we both love the season. The following day after a breakfast of cheese and crackers we headed out to Birch Brook Nordic Ski Club. The building is beautiful and the trails are excellently maintained. They were a bit more of a challenge than the cross country trails in Pippy Park or on Three Pond Barrens! It was an excellent ski and was topped off by a hot chocolate and chat with two of the people responsible for starting and maintaining the club. We headed back to Goose Bay for a potluck at my boss Aimee and her boyfriend John's house. The potluck was in celebration of the end of February and the end of the health challenge several co-workers and spouses completed. We didn't win the challenge but we had a great and healthy meal with friends and had a lot of fun trying to meditate for extra health challenge points.

Skiing selfie at Birch Brook.

Jordan borrowed John's snowshoes and I brought my pair with me so we started Monday off with a snowshoe on Birch Island. The island was inhibited until resettlement in the 1960s and is a beautiful spot for a walk. It is so calm and peaceful you really don't feel like you are minutes from Goose Bay.

The view on our snowshoe adventure.

Snowshoeing at Birch Island.

Monday afternoon we went dog sledding with Northern Lights. It is nowhere near as fast paced as it looks on TV but it is an excellent way to see the countryside and the dogs keep a steady pace. Jordan and I took turns standing on the back of the slide or sitting in the front. After our ride Scott showed us around the kennel, explained some of the reasons he keeps dogs and the importance of dog sledding in Labrador. He mentioned that there are roughly 60 Labrador Huskies left and he feels it is really important to keep the tradition of dog sledding alive and well in the Big Land.

Northern Lights dog sledding.

Dog sledding fun!

The whole team rearing to go.

After a couple of eventful days we took some downtime to relax, read books, eat good food, and watch bad TV. Jordan flew back to St. John's Wednesday evening so it was a bit of a strange work week as I only worked Thursday and Friday. It is hard to believe that is now the start of the tenth week and I am already over halfway done my work term. I'm excited to head back home but I will definitely miss my time here in Labrador.

Work and Play in the Big Land

It's been a busy couple of weeks. I've been meeting with lots of community members and identifying and dating photographs. I've also been pulling together pictures and captions for when I travel to the communities of Nain, Natuashish and Cartwright later in the month and in March. I have been updating Them Days' social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with weekly photos for #MysteryMonday/#MilitaryMonday, #WhereIsItWednesday and #FlashbackFriday. We have been getting some response through social media which is great! The more photos identified the better.

I am currently going through our miscellaneous section and deleting the duplicate photos which belong in other sections of our photograph collection. The collection is broken up into regions of Labrador which have been given letters of the alphabet. It is funny how almost everything in an archives is more complicated than it initially sounds. Deleting a few files for example can take up most of a morning. We had a computer program scan the 22000+ photos and find duplicate files. I am going through the duplicate photos and deleting the second copy. Once I delete this copy I must also delete the entry from our electronic database and remove the card from our old school filing system. Then I have to go in the back room and physically remove the duplicate negative and refile the negative in the correct region of Labrador. So while I spent most of Tuesday and Wednesday "deleting files" I was doing a little more than pressing a button.

#ArchivesShelfieDay, Aimee's hair leg sealskin boots, Amy and Linda at the Town Hall.

This week we celebrated Heritage Day on Monday. We took a trip to the town hall where the mayor signed a proclamation to celebrate Heritage Day in the community. We also shared photos on social media for #ArchivesShelfieDay. I enjoy that while the archival work at the office can be tedious at times we also have a lot of fun working together!

Heritage Proclamation for Heritage Day.  Photo from the town council.

On Thursday Aimee and I went to the Museum Association of Newfoundland and Labrador's (MANL) workshop on preserving and displaying textiles. In the morning we learned about the fibers that make up textiles and the environmental and physical threats to museum and archival collections such as light, humidity, temperature, physical stress, etc. In the afternoon we had hands on activities where we practiced how to correctly roll textiles for storage and how to sew labels onto textiles without damaging the artifact. It was a great way to spend the day and will come in handy when storing and displays textiles in museums, archives, and in the home.

Sarah Wade demonstrating how to roll a textile for storage.

Participants trying their hand at rolling textiles.

There has been lots on the go around town. A couple a weeks back my roommate Martina who is an engineering student here on a work term was asked to host the open mic night at Grafter's uptown in Goose Bay. A group of residence students went to listen to her and another student Greg sing the night away. They have beautiful voices and sing really well together.

For pancake day CBC's Labrador Morning hosted a huge pancake breakfast in the college gym and the proceeds went to support homeless shelters. It was a packed event with everyone from babies to seniors enjoying pancakes. Another event I've been attending is the Tamarack Camera Club's bi-weekly meeting. There are presentations about photography styles, and techniques, and discussions of cameras, developing film, and using photo editing software. We are doing a project in the club where all the members are making folios of their photographs. The folios have 10-12 printed pictures in a folder and the folio follows a certain theme. It is hard to narrow down the pictures and decide on the theme but the supplies for the folios where brought to the last meeting so I'll have to get in gear and finish choosing and editing pictures.

Pancake breakfast, Tamarack Camera Club.

It seems like the time is flying by and I'll be back in St. John's before long. I'm sure I'll miss Goose Bay and Labrador but I'm sure I'll be back - hopefully next time to see the big land in the summertime.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

While St. John's, NL and the rest of the Avalon Peninsula is dealing with the aftermath of another storm and enjoying a snowday here in Goose Bay, NL we are enjoying unusually warm temperatures. I removed my hat, mitts and scarf this morning on my walk to work as it was just too warm! I must admit I am quite enjoying the outdoor activities Labrador has to offer. I am looking forward to ice fishing and hopefully dog sledding in the coming weeks.

Last week at work was quite a busy one as our latest issue (Floaters, Stationers, & Livyeres - 39.4) which is based on the Labrador fishery arrived and we spent most of the week stuffing, sealing and stamping envelopes and making up retail packages. Once these were dropped to the post office and retailers' shops the office looked a little bit empty! I also attended my first marketing meeting and learned a bit more about some of the other events Them Days has hosted including their summer walking tours.

My co-worker made my day on Tuesday when she brought in a feed of smelts, mashed potatoes, and homemade pickles. After a week straight of ham sandwiches from the cafeteria the taste of a homemade lunch was a welcome change!

On Wednesday evening a small group from residence went out to open mic night at the local bar. My roommate Martina and our friend Greg sang and played quite a few tunes. They were so popular that Martina was asked to host the open mic night in two weeks time so if you're in Happy Valley-Goose Bay on January 27, 2016 drop into Grafters.

On Friday my boss, Aimee, and I went to an elder's social held at the Nunatsiavut Health and Social Development Office. The elder's social was a drop in lunch so I said a little bit about the project before joining a table and talking with some elders. I ended up with contact information for almost twenty people. This will be great for getting smaller groups together to look at pictures from one community to identify the people and places in the pictures. We were also lucky enough to be feed lasagna, salad, ice cream cake and tea and welcomed back any time we'd like. The group was extremely friendly and it was great to get out and meet some lovely locals. 

The weekend was filled with a few winter activities. On Saturday morning I went for a quick snowshoe behind the residence on the skidoo trails before brunch in the cafeteria. Today I learned that the community is lighting up a snowshoe trail across the street from residence a couple evenings during the week so I'm hoping to take that in Thursday evening. Martini, Tyus (from res) and I also went skating Friday and Saturday night at the outdoor rink. The rink is up on the base and is maintained by the local community and while we were there Friday night two people showed up to snow blow the ice which left the ice nice and clear. 

The weekend nights were spent with a group from res talking, playing music and learning card games. I'm including a picture of the crazy Crazy Eight rules I learned from Brandon. They were the rules he played with in the paper mill in Corner Brook and they are a step up from the ones I usually play with.

This week I have settled in to the archives and I am trying to sort through our Avis McCurdy Collection. While 30 pictures have captions with names and dates the majority of the pictures have no information. It is going to be interesting to see what I can find and how many pictures can be identified. Here's to another full week in the archives! Fingers crossed we identify some more.

A Week On The Goose

Hi everyone and welcome to my newly established blog. I'm Terra Barrett and I am a folklorist who is living and working in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am currently completing my Master of Arts in Public Folklore and I am finishing my last semester. This semester I am completing the second work term for the folklore masters program with Them Days. Them Days is a non-profit oral history magazine and archives based in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador. This is my first time in Labrador and I am looking forward to sharing the experience though this blog.

I'm excited to be here in Goose Bay! I've been here for a little over a week and I'm slowly getting to know my way around. I arrived last Saturday evening and I was greeted by my boss Aimee and her boyfriend John. They were kind enough to let me stay with them and on my first evening here we went to a dinner party at one of their friend's houses. There was a lot of great food and it was nice to meet people on my first evening here. I was surprised to learn that with the exception of Aimee everyone at the party was from outside of Labrador. From what I've heard so far it seems like a fair number of people come to Goose Bay to find work and start their careers.

On Sunday afternoon Aimee and John took around to some of the stores in Goose Bay and explained some of the basic history of the community. We also took a trip to the top of a mountain from which you could see the Hamilton River (also called Churchill River) and Churchill Falls. In the evening they dropped me to the College of the North Atlantic Residence where I am staying for the next four months. I'm lucky to have a roommate Martina, a MUN Engineering student, who is also here for a work term and is also quite excited to be in Labrador and eager to take part in winter activities.

I don't have a vehicle in Goose Bay so I walk to the Them Days office. This has given me a chance to do a little bit of exploring and I have stopped into a couple of shops during my walks home. One of my favourite shops so far is called Northern Lights - although it is also known as Bullets to Bras (because it seriously sells everything from bullets to bras). They have camping, fishing, and hunting gear, wedding and prom dresses, local artwork, toys, a military museum, and a large display of Labrador taxidermy animals.

Another favourite local shop is Slippers n' Things which is a craft store with locally made snowshoes, jewelry, moccasins, sealskin slippers, knitwear, Innu tea dolls, and also stocks fabric and fur so you can make your own crafts. As I am a big fan of local craft I feel like I could easily spend my entire paycheque here. In addition to the crafts they also sell frozen seafood such as smoked char and frozen shrimp. On Saturday mornings the store offers free toutons to the customers with your choice of jam or molasses. Something I took advantage of this weekend. 

I started work on Monday morning and I've had a rather busy week. My first few days were simply understanding a bit more about the organization and included watching some old Land and Sea episodes and trying to familiarize myself with the archives. My official job title is Project Researcher and I have been hired to research, sort, and identify over 12 000 photos and negatives in the archives which have little or no information about them. I'm going to meet with community members in Goose Bay and surrounding areas (Sheshatshiu, North West River, and Mud Lake) in order to find out the names of local people, places and activities. I will also get the opportunity to travel to three communities along the coast - Nain, Cartwright and Natuashish to identify photos and talk to people in the communities.

In order to kick off the project we hosted an event on Friday afternoon called Tea with Terra. This was simply an informal public event in order to introduce the project, my position, and hopefully identify some photographs. I was invited to talk about the project on Labrador Morning so I went to the CBC studio first thing Friday morning before heading to the office. We had eight community members drop in to Tea with Terra to name photos, chat and have a cup of tea. The group was extremely enthusiastic and helped name over a hundred of our printed photographs which gives me lots of work this work. Looking forward to delving deeper into the project and meeting with more people during the coming months as well as participating in some outdoor fun.

~Terra