THROUGH MY EYES

Cooking with Bones: The Science of Cooking with Bones

2013-11-19T08:11:00.001-08:00

Cooking with Bones: The Science of Cooking with Bones

New Blog

2013-11-19T07:35:00.000-08:00

I have just created a new food blog, Bone Marrow & Bannock. I don't really want to write about healthy living I want to write my memories of growing up along the foothills of the Rockies in Alberta through food. I also want to explore our Native history through food, how European ingredients and cooking methods have impacted our cultures.

Basic Cooking Skills According to Bourdain

2013-11-15T21:56:00.001-08:00

"I do think the idea that basic cooking skills are a virtue, that the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill, should become as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one's own ass, cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money." Anthony Bourdain, Medium Raw

No one says it better than Bourdain. Basic cooking skill should be taught to the young. I was never taught how to cook, I had to enroll in a culinary program in order to learn how to handle a knife, make stock from beef bones and cook a meal from scratch. Cooking has changed a great deal, no one cooks from scratch at least not where I am currently living. "Traditional Native American" meals are heavily influenced by European cultures they came in contact with and today by the fast food world. I don't see too many vegetables on the dinner table and when I do they are over cooked and cooking from scratch means it comes out of a package, can or bottle. Here is a shorten list of Anthony's basic skills.

Basic knife handling such as chopping, slicing and dicing.

Cook eggs and especially the ability to cook an omelet.

Roast a Chicken.

Grill and rest a steak.

Cooking vegetables- most people, including Montana Man over cook vegetables, they don't have to be mushy, after all most vegetables can be eaten raw so why over cook them. People should also know what vegetables are in season.

How to gut, clean and cook fish properly.

How to roast and braise meat this includes cheaper cuts of meat. The sign of a GREAT cook is the ability to cook cheaper cuts of meats.

How to roast a potato as well as make mashed potatoes.

Cook beef bourguigon.

Make stock by roasting bones.

(all images found on pinterest)

Vintage Christmas Decorations

2013-11-04T05:27:00.001-08:00

Yep with all this snow, especially all the snow on the pine trees, makes me think of Christmas. While I was cutting a fresh trail in my mother's vintage cross country skis, I was thinking of an old fashion Christmas.

Christmas was a good time in our home and both of my parents loved Christmas, it brought out the best in them and in our family. We were not a perfect family we had our issues, but

I don't remember a bad Christmas.

My mother was in charge of the decorating and our home was decorated wall to wall with Christmas decorations. Our tree was always fully loaded with vintage tree ornaments.

My father was the entertainer. He would buy boxes of alcohol, chocolates, nuts, Christmas candy and oranges. My mother would bake shortbread and gingerbread cookies. My father was always cooking a pot of soup or stew for visitors. When my parents went grocery shopping during the Christmas season there was a ton of food in the house. And we ate and ate and it was awesome.

During the Christmas season the house was always full of people that stopped by for a Christmas drink, I remember pour drinks for my dad and his guests. Christmas music was always playing. We also watched every Christmas show that was on our 12 channel T.V.

I remember sitting in the back of the car staring out the window while my parents discussed which tree to cut down.

Christmas day was our day guests didn't come over it was strickly family time. My brother and I would open our presents, my parents would cook a brunch style breakfast, then it was off to either my aunts or my grandparents home. More presents and food.

Between Boxing day and New Years Eve we spent those days traveling Alberta visiting family and friends.

Vintage Christmas Cards

Snow and Kidneys

2013-11-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

Its the first real snowfall of the season and I am cooking kidney for supper. Its going to snow for the next two days perfect stay at home weather and the plans are to finish painting the basement bedroom (I am still at my mothers) and read. My plans on Monday are to bust out my mother's vintage cross country skis and ski around the property a few times.

My mother's back yard

I finished Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential and I am now reading Gabrielle Hamilton's book, Blood, Bones & Butter. Its another memoir of a chef's life but her book I can relate to because it reminds of my own childhood and unplanned years of working in the service industry. Gabrielle is the owner of Prune, a well known New York restaurant. Her menu consists of food that is reminiscent of her childhood.

Food such as, Bone Marrow & Parsley Salad

After a few chapters I started to feel...well... reminiscent of my own childhood so I went out and bought some kidney, french bread and green beans for supper.

So on this snowy evening I am cooking kidney for supper and once I am finished with supper and this post I am going to read a few more chapters of Hamilton's book.

So excited :)

Chairman Meow Meow

2013-10-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

Chairman was dropped off on my mother's lawn when he was a kitten. Usually my mother's husband who is like a mafia dude usually "takes care of" animal disposals. For whatever reason my mother put her foot down on this one and decided she would take care of the kitten and look for a good home. She never found one so she named the kitten Victoria. Victoria was going to be raised as an outdoor cat as the older cat was getting to old to hunt mice. When Victoria was taken in to get fix thats when we found she was a dude. My mother's husband renamed Victoria, Chairman Meow Meow.

Chairman stays in the garage most evenings. The Chairman also likes to stay out all night and in the mornings comes sauntering into the garage, his tail curled at the end, looking for someone or something to rub himself up against. After he rubs himself he then laps up a little fresh water and sits around waiting to see what the humans are up to for the day. The Chairman allows only one human to pet him and thats the Mafia dude who was going to"take care of" him when he was a kitten. Chairman Meow Meow is camera shy, I am lucky to get a couple of pictures of him. The Chairman tolerates my presence he will not allow me to get to close although, I am the one who saves his cat butt most nights from the coyotes.

Beebee and the Chairman are buds

There is a pack of coyotes in the neighborhood or should I say we have found ourselves living within coyote territory. So Beebee and the cats are fair game, but its Chairman I worry about.

Last night at 12:13am I woke up to the sound of coyotes howling in the yard. I lay there for a few minutes listening to the coyotes when I thought about the Chairman. Did we let him in? Is he safe in the garage? I got out of bed, limped down the stairs to the front entry way, I opened the front door, yelled at the coyotes to get out of the yard, then I checked the garage. The Chairman was not in, shit! I hit the automatic garage door button and stood in front of the door while it opened and waited. A couple of minutes later the Chairman came bounding into the garage, I hit the garage door button again as soon as I saw Chairman was safely inside. As the garage door closed, I stood there while he sat beside me, both of us looking out into the darkness and listened to the coyotes howling at each other.

He is a handsome dude

Memory

2013-10-27T17:31:00.002-07:00

The worst nightmare for a any parent is getting that late night telephone call. It was June 2011, a month after my son graduated high school, at 1:00am my phone rang and rang. I answered the phone in a bit of a panic (because I never get calls that early in the morning) and it was the way my son said, "mom" that I knew something serious had happened. He had been arrested and charged with a serious offense and I had to go to the station and pick him up. I was in a daze when I got dressed, I stumbled my way to the car and drove to the station. The whole while I was numb with disbelief that this was happening to us and then I couldn't stop thinking about the day he was born.

My son was born 10lbs and 2oz at 9:16am after two hard days of laborious hell. My son was very comfortable in my uterus and did not want to come down the birth canal. He went into fetal distress and I was given a cesarean but once I held him in my arms he was worth every minute of pain I went through. When I looked at him I already knew what he was going to look like. I always knew I was going to have a boy and his name came to me when I was a teenager. I spent years praying for him and waiting for his arrival.

I do have my regrets and I thought about those regrets as I waited for the arresting officer to take me to my baby. I didn't bring my son home in a moss bag, his father had thrown out his belly button cord and he was not given an Indian name. These may sound like little things but in Cree culture they make a big difference when a child is beginning their life's journey. I also regret that he was not raised in a financially secure home with both of his parents.

I was a single Native mother and I felt responsible. I had wanted him so badly and I had waited years for him to be born only to let my teaching job come before my son. I decided after I talked to the arresting officer and took my son home that I was not going to allow him to become another Native statistic of the justice system. I hired a lawyer and I fought for my son's future. I had prayed for his birth and now I was praying for his future. I took my son to sacred sites, we made our offerings and I made sure he was given an Indian name.

Today its snowing, its the first snowfall of the season and its my son's birthday. This will be the first birthday of his that I have not been there for him. But this time its OK, I phoned my son to wish him a happy birthday, apparently he had a good one. Tomorrow my son will be heading up to Northern Alberta for the next two weeks. He has a good job and makes more money than I did during my first two years of teaching. I am proud of who is becoming.

All images found on Pinterest

Awesome Book

2013-10-26T13:20:00.000-07:00

The Daring Book for Girls, by Andrea J. Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz, is a book for girls before the iPhone and all its apps, laptop computers with wi-fi and high speed Internet, game systems and satellite TV.

The book is about the days spent outside playing tag, hide and seek, skipping rope, hopscotch and building forts. I used to be a fort builder both indoors and outdoors with my friends. We lived in the foothills of the Rockies so we spent a great deal of time in the forests that surrounded us trying to build forts lined with moss. Those were awesome forts.

The girls and I also built a few traps. One of our favorite traps was to dig a hole in the ground big enough for a pale of water then cover it over, it took us all day but we did a fantastic job and it worked! I also joined Brownies when I was 6 or 7 years old although, I wasn't in Brownies for the badges I just wanted that litte leather pouch and belt.

The Daring Book for Girls

List of Essential Gear

1. Swiss Army Knife

2. bandanna

3. rope and twine (and knowledge of some basic knots)

4. journal and Pen (and an extra pen)

5. hair band

6. bungee cords

7. flashlight

8. compass

9. safety pins

10. duct tape

11. deck of cards and a good book

12. patience (no one is perfect on the first try)

A Girl's Toolbox

1. safety glasses

2. claw hammer

3. nails (and some screws different sizes)

4. screwdriver

5. wench

6. pliers

7. glue gun

8. tape measure

9. saw

10. drill

Knots to know

1. stoppers

2. loops

3. square knot

4. sweetbend knot

5. tautline hitch

6. around-the-pole hitch

7. timber hitch

You can also learn how to; make a willow whistle, build a fire and paddle a canoe, how to make the coolest paper airplanes and change a tire. Its an awesome book, buy it and enjoy your childhood memories. Especially if your in your 30's and 40's because you will remember playing most of the 17 different games of tag listed in the book.

Dreams of Living More Sustainably

2013-10-24T13:53:00.002-07:00

(all images found here)

Maybe my Culinary Arts year was not a waste of my time or money. When I enrolled in the Culinary Arts program I was a single mother and could not do complete the final cooking class. Its the class were you cook for the public, I was only one course away from receiving a certificate. So I didn't get a certificate saying I completed the course, so what did I get out it?

Well, you do learn how to cook a good stock from beef and chicken bones. You can turn that stock into a good soup or a great sauce. You learn how to bake bread. Day old bread can be made into bread pudding, french toast and bread soup. You can take the middle part of the bread put that in a Cuisinart and make crumbs for soup. You can also take the crust of the bread and make crumbs out of that for breading. You learn how to make and cook pasta properly as well as vegetables and eggs. You also learn about all the different cuts of meat and how to cook those cuts of meat. Special note, if you order a well done piece of meat your not always going to get the best cut. When you go to any restaurant other than a four or five star restaurant and order a steak sandwich do not complain about what you eating, because you ordered it therefore, you deserve what you get.

What does all of that have to do with sustainable living?

I did not always appreciate the food that my parents put in front of me because it was not what my friends were eating. Growing up we rarely ate out in restaurants and all my friends were going to all the cool fast food places like McDonald's. There was no way in hell my dad was going to take us to McDonal's when there was wild game to be eaten, fresh eggs, whole milk and garden vegetables. When I could eat out at fast food places and restaurants I did and it did not matter if the food was good for me or if it was a good restaurant.

My parents and grandparents lived a sustainable lifestyle, minus the solar panels, and it was a good life. Today I am reaping in the benefits of living such a lifestyle. I rarely get sick, my joints are good and so is the skin. We ate grass feed beef on the bones and plenty of wild game. My brother and I drank unpasteurized milk and butter made from that milk. Free range chickens and lots of homemade canned vegetables and fruits. I want that lifestyle back, I want to eat that kind of food again. Now I have the cooking skills and knowledge about food in addition to my knowledge about epi-genetics and now I don't care what my friends are eating.

2013-10-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

I am half way through Anthony Bourdain's book, Kitchen Confidential. What he has written about the food industry is true. I know because I worked as a waitress for years and eventually enrolled in the Culinary Arts School in Calgary to become a chef. However, the truth of it is...I was a horrible waitress I hated restaurant customers and I never did completed the Culinary Arts program which was a good thing. My waitressing and Culinary Arts days was a confusing part of my life that I avoided discussing until I started reading Bourdain's book. Now I am ready admit...I was a waitress.

I started working in the restaurant industry at the age of 19 and quit the industry at 26. I worked 3 years as a full-time waitress for an Asian couple, they were awesome. After 3 years I decided to go back to school, so I worked at dive restaurants in the city while attending Mount Royal Collage. I then met my son's father, quit school and worked as a waitress for a couple of years. By then I was the most horrible waitress and I was not making any money in tips. I made a dramatic exit out of the restaurant industry by quitting during the lunch rush, just before I got pregnant with my son.

I made good tips for the first three years of waitressing but after some awful experiences with customers I began hating customers. I did not care about the food I was serving. Not like the cooking shows on the food network today. I never thought about how the food was prepared and cooked. Where the ingredients come from, how fresh the vegetables were, does the chef use fresh herbs, the cut of meat and so on. None of that was asked or discussed by me or the customers. Most of the time I was thinking what I was going to do after work and that my feet hurt.

When I started waitressing there was a lot of drinking and drugs. I was young and many of the other waitresses I worked with were high school friends so between Thursday to Saturday we ran our asses off and then we drank. Just as in Bourdain's book, the cooks, dishwashers and bartenders have the drugs or the drug connection and are just waiting to get you high after work. I did my share of drinking and drugs. You would also be amazed to know that many wealthy married established businessmen are also waiting to get the waitresses drunk or high.

I grew tired of waitressing fast and it was clear that I was not going to make a career out of waitressing. I worked with women who were career waitresses. They were often in their thirties but they looked dated and old. These men and women were not easy to work with, they were often territorial and mean to younger waitresses. They were back stabbers, if you made a mistake or missed something during the opening or closing routines they were the first to literally run and tell the manager or owner.

This happened to me once. I worked in this dive of a restaurant downtown Calgary when I was attending collage. It was my fourth day and I took the drink order of a large group. One of the women did not order right away so as I took the food order, she also ordered her drink as well as her meal. So I put the food order in the kitchen, grabbed her drink and served it to her. I had no idea that this shit was looking over my shoulder and reported to the owner that I was some how stealing drinks. I had poured a large glass of orange juice and did not write it down, right away. I was fired right there and then for stealing food.

The cooks were interesting. Some of them I would not want to eat the food they cook because of their lack of hygiene practises. I never bothered to get to know the chefs or the kitchens in the dives I worked for, I saw no point. The only cooks I knew well were the Asian cooks when I first started working as a waitress. These cooks began as dishwashers and then became apprentice cooks trained by the owners to be head cooks. To cook the food they way the owners wanted their food to be cooked and for consistency.

A couple of the cooks were recent immigrants and I needed an interrupter to translate, that was interesting and fun. I worked with a cook who was a child solider in the Vietnam war. He was scary but a good cook and we had been instructed not to get him angry or excited.

My firsts working in the industry

I began drinking coffee for the first time as a waitress. I was the bionic woman hopped up on caffeine and I cleaned everything in sight. The manager often served me coffee.

I met my first transvestite working at a dive restaurant in the city. She was interesting and it was only at that particular restaurant that she could get decent service. She often came in when the restaurant was slow.

Chinese restaurants do attract Asian gang members. Back in those days it was hard to guess who was a gang member because they often wore brand name clothing, drove really expensive sports cars and were disciplined cooks but they did carry chains and machetes in the trunk of their car.

In a Chinese restaurant the really good food, the No Reservations food that Bourdain eats on his show, is cooked and served when the owners and the cooks eat. This was the first time I ate fish heads eyes and all.

No lie, no exaggeration....the first time a "drunk" customer threaten me, "You have no idea who I am do you? I can have your job for this! Your going to hear from my lawyer!"

2013-10-21T12:49:00.002-07:00

Today I am sitting outside Starbucks drinking a venti chocolate chai tea latte. This is my life now that I am unemployed. Its really a beautiful day. The farmers almanac predicts that the 2014 winter season its going to be very cold with lots of snow. So days like today you have to take advantage of the weather.

Fall is a great season, one of my favorites next to spring.

You get to pull out all your comfortable , blankets, pillows, sweaters, scarves, vests, jackets and boots.

All Images found on Pinterest

Marilyn Monroe does Yoga

2013-10-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

During my morning routine, I make myself a cup of Vietnamese coffee and then I spend some quality time on my Mac researching, I some how came across these images of Marilyn Monroe in various yoga poses. I am impressed, she was in fantastic shape.

Check out the original post here on Eric Shaw's blog

Settling In

2013-10-09T12:56:00.001-07:00

I have spent the last two months resting mind, body and soul from the stresses I left behind in Canada. I am almost a resident of the state of Montana (red tape stuff). I moved to a picturesque community that is situated in the Bearspaw Mountains, a short drive across the US/Canadian boarder, however it is a community that is politically fragmented.

Bearspaw Mountains-Western view

I have put a great deal of thought into how I am going to proceed with my life in this beautiful but politically charged community. I am not young, I should be at the stage of my life where I have everything, but I want to start over and I want to live simply. I want to go back to my childhood days and live with the land. I day dreamed about starting over as I was packing and cleaning I have a choice to live with less and be content with what I have. I moved down to Montana with a few boxes and two suitcases and a day dream.

Sentinel Hill-Northern view

the Sweetgrass Hills-Canadian boarder is north of those hills.

Floods

2013-06-23T11:44:00.001-07:00

Well its crazy here in Southern Alberta. Its been a wet and cold spring in Alberta. Last week my son and I saw this weird looking cloud formation. Turned out to be a tornado cell, a funnel did form but did not touch down. I took this picture while I was walking Beebee our Shitzu.

The rains began this past Wednesday and Thursday. This storm front came in from the States and some how got trapped, so it just pour rain in a localized area. The result too much water in a short period of time caused the rivers to swell and rise along the Bow and the Elbow. Thousands of Albertans who live along the river had to be evacuated, an estimated number 65 thousand people in Calgary, thousands lost their homes. Its been estimated that some communities will be without power for a week and others as long as a month. Some communities cannot drink their water.

This is worst flooding Southern Alberta has experienced.

When there is so much water, the water will cut another pathway, which has been happening. This is why areas that have never experienced flooding, are now being flooded out. This is the Elbow that ruins through downtown Calgary. Downtown Calgary will be closed for weeks, there is no power.

Another shot of downtown Calgary

Stampede grounds

Stampede is in two weeks, apparently Stampede is a go, which is ridiculous because it will cost millions and a great deal of human resources to get the grounds ready. So many communities will be put on the back burner while the city focuses on the Stampede grounds.

I have heard that so many people who live in communities that do not flood, they don't have insurance. They will have to pay, out of their own pockets, for any flood damage they may have experienced. And the city is worried about Stampede? Really?

This is the town of High River, the whole down is flooded. There is a story I had heard about this place. The Blackfoot had a name for this town (rough translation-high river) and had tried to tell the settlers that this place experiences floods.

This is the reserve

Many Elders and families have been evacuated. The school where I work has been closed. The reserve people will be the last to receive any help. The province does not provide any disaster aid because we are under Federal jurisdiction. The Federal government in Canada is usually slow in its response to provide any financial aid to reserves.

Most recent update: We are still in a state of emergency.

I will miss you!

2013-06-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

I love teaching. I am pretty sure I have said this before but my students have saved me more than they know. When I feel like quiting because of the politics of teaching they snap me out of it. They know I care about them and they let me know when I am their favorite person that day. They are merciless in letting me know when I look tired, sad or mad. After a successful lesson they will say, "I like the way you teach." I teach them how to solve linear equations, that there are 23 pairs of chromosomes in every cell of their bodies, how to write an essay and how a bill is passed in parliament. They teach me how to txt, the music they listen too and the lastest slang.

I will miss the teasing and the laughter when we make silly mistakes. The arguments that I have with them when we are frustrated and impatient with one another...they are like family to me. I have been called, auntie, grandma, mom, dad and I have been called by my first name. Teaching on a reserve school has its challenges and its issues but when I walk into my classroom and see those brown smiley or tired faces I do not want to teach anywhere else.

When I told my students that I would not be returning in the fall they responded letting me know that they will miss me and who is going to be teaching them when they are in grade 10. I am already missing them.

A beautiful Saturday :)

2013-03-02T10:34:00.002-08:00

Lately I have been detoxing my forty something body and wow what a difference. I was inspired to detox after watching the documentary, Hungry For Change and I feel so much better. So before I head out the door to explore the western side of Alberta here is another great inspiring video....

I Believe I can Fly ( flight of the frenchies). Trailer from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

Morning Routine

A tall mug of warm lemon water

A green smoothie

2 egg omelet with spicy salsa!

Have a great Saturday!

2013-03-01T12:42:00.001-08:00

Kilian Jornet: Back to the source from sebastien montaz-rosset on Vimeo.

I was at a workshop for literacy a couple of days ago. You know the kind of workshop where the presenter provides all kinds of wonderful Internet resources. Well, this is not one of them but one link leads to another link and so on. I found these beautiful videos on Vimeo. I love the lifestyle and the philosophy of these young men. Watch, enjoy and be inspired.

Taking A Break

2013-02-20T19:10:00.003-08:00

Wow that took a few weeks. I could not log into my blog? finally figured it out. I am here in Rocky Boy. I woke up and it was snowing. Huge big flakes of snow. Its a peaceful morning after a whirl wind day of cooking. My husband had a ceremony yesterday and we cooked all day for it.

Tripe soup

Dry meat soup

Chicken noodle soup
three kinds of meat
a salad

Bannock

Berries

Kidney
&

Tea

I have been preoccupied with politics lately. I have been researching and asking a lot of questions about, bill-c38, bill c-45 and the education act. I have been discussing my thoughts and feelings about our future as First Nations people in Canada with anyone and everyone who will listen and who is interested. These heavy subjects have weighted me down, it was time to take a break.

I took a break these past few days and I feel so much better. The movement behind Idle No More is not just about rights, but our relationship with the land. Helping my husband and his daughter cook for his ceremony brings me back to the centre of my own life and who we are nehiyawak.

Did I fail to mention salmon, yeah Montana Man cooked up a 2 whole salmons

2013-01-14T17:06:00.001-08:00

Learn to like what doesn’t cost much.

Learn to like reading, conversation, music.

Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.

Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.

Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different…different from you.

Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction doing your job as well as it can be done.

Learn to like the song of birds, the companionship of dogs.

Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.

Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.

Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.

- Lowell C. Bennion

Images reblogged from Pinterest

News Years Resolution

2013-01-13T17:43:00.001-08:00

I no longer make New Year resolutions on New Years eve but I like to think about it for awhile. So no running to the gym or trying another diet, I have not signed up for any classes or made any promises to myself that I will not follow through with. My New Years resolution is to continue to re-connect with the land and to learn from it. Idle No More has so many voices to it, but Tanya Kappo, one of the many educated women behind Idle No More, said it the best. Idle No More is not only about our Treaty rights to the land its about our relationship with the land. First Nation people have developed a mutual relationship with the land that has lasted for thousands of years. The land gives us what we need to survive and in turn we take care of it and respect it. First Nation's value systems are based on this relationship with the land. One of the values we developed is sharing what the land has to give, its resources. When Treaties were signed First Nations people believed that we were sharing the land and all its life giving resources with the newcomers. When First Nations tribes signed treaties this did not mean we were giving up our relationship with the land. Who we are does not only begin with tribal identities, languages, ceremonies, and Indian names but our identity as First Nations people really begins with the land and the land holds memories of who we are.

Merry Christmas 2012

2012-12-25T10:49:00.003-08:00

Wishing the Best for the Year 2013

All images found on tumbler and pinterest

Idle No More: Movement of The People

2012-12-23T12:36:00.002-08:00

Sounds familiar right? I have been sitting and watching the Idle No More movement. What began as "teach ins" about the impacts Bill-C-45 and then demonstrations against the passing of the bill, has evolved into a movement of resistance.

(Holiday Village Mall, Havre, Montana)

I am proud of the many people I know that have participated in the flash round dances, my own Montana man helped to organize a flash mob round dance in Havre, Montana. There have been organized road blocks and walks of solidarity happening all over Canada and around the world.

So why should non-Native people care? Well its a very long and complex history First Nations tribes have with the Canadian government. If I were to take what is happening at the marco level and take it to the micro level, one on one, it would sound something like this....

This Idle No More business is really about our dysfunctional relationship with one another. Lets face it we have never understood one another. We were never given the time to get to know one another and to develop a healthy mutual relationship that benefited both of us. Our relationship has been built on misunderstandings, suspicions, and false images of one another. Through out the years we have thought the worst of each other. We never learned to communicate with each other. I am just going to say it, it has been a one sided relationship. You have never treated me as your equal, you thought I was inferior to you and you have always treated me this manner. You believed that I would just go away. Well I haven't.

I am going to tell you how I feel. Because we never learned how to communicate with one another. But that is not from the lack of trying on my part, I have tried to communicate with you, but you refuse to really listen to me. You hear only what you want to hear, but you have never listened with your heart. You were always to busy scheming and creating.

But I want to ask you, Have I not given you everything you wanted? Do you not have possession of everything that I once had. The land is yours and everything that is found within the land. I have settled with bits and pieces of what once was all of mine. I have wept for the destruction of the land and all living things destroyed by your thoughtless ways. And have you not prospered? Yet your still not satisfied? What is it about you that you cannot be satisfied with all that you have?

Now you want it all. What is to become of me and my children? What about the promises you made to me and my children? We made a treaty but you have not honoured the principles that our treaty was built on and please don't hide behind your ideals of democracy. I have experienced your idea of democracy and it has not always worked out for me. Tell me do all democracies starve and bully people into doing what they want? Because this has been my experience. You can't honestly stand there and argue with me that these things did not happen. You can't really believe that one little apology was going to work.

I have heard enough of your lies. Its been exhausting and frustrating trying to work it out with you. If you can't be honest with yourself, then what is next. What do I have to do, to stop the lies and to open the lines of communication so that we can get to the truth. Do I really have to starve myself so that you will talk to me? I am telling you, I am not going to sit idling by any longer, our relationship is at a crisis point and there is no going back if we can't fix it now. I have decided that I will fight for what is left of mine. I will no longer allow you to make decision based on what you think is good for me. I know what I need and what is good for me, and right now I need to look after my children and leave something behind for my grandchildren. I am not going anywhere. I have learned to survive in this dysfunctional relationship but its time for me to move forward and I will without you if necessary.

Idle No More-Black Hills

This should not come as a surprise, we both have seen this coming, I tried it your way. You knew I could not just let it go, I would have to do something. So whats next for us? Where do we go from here?

Part 2: Democracy or Dictatorship

2012-12-13T20:15:00.003-08:00

I am going to focus on the legislative process first before I dig into the meat of each bill that was passed under the omnibus Bill C-45. Bill C-45 is about 400-500 pages long and makes amendments to over 60 pieces of current legislation. Legislation such as the Indian Act of 1876 and our Canadian constitution. Bills such as, Bill S-2: Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act will impact our inherit collective rights to the land. Our inherit collective rights to the land by the way was recognized in our Canadian constitution. I am not sure how Bill C-45 extinguishes our collective rights and I continue to ask myself (take a deep breath), how did Steven Harper manage to extinguish our collective right in the Canadian constitution without our knowledge? Can he do that? is that possible?

This is how he did it. Steve Harper by-passed the political process and did not consult with First Nations tribes. It is stated in the Indian Act of 1876 that First Nations people will be informed and consultations will take place of any proposed amendments to the Indian Act or any piece of legislation that will impact First Nations rights. The majority of First Nations tribes across Canada remained ignorant of the contents of Bill C-45.

However, First Nations tribes were not the only ones left out of the political process, so too were our elected members of parliament. This is how a bill is passed in Canada:

Parliament

First Reading
First reading in either the Senate or the House of Commons. Bill is printed.
Second Reading
Second reading in the same House of Parliament. Members debate and vote on the principle of the bill. The House may decide to refer the bill to a legislative, standing or a special committee, or to Committee of the Whole.
- Consideration in Committee
  Consideration by the appropriate parliamentary committee (clause-by-clause study of the bill). Committee can summon witnesses and experts to provide it with information and help in improving the bill.
- Report Stage
  Committee reports the bill to the House clearly indicating any amendments proposed. House considers amendments and votes for or against them.
Third Reading
Debate and vote on bill as amended.
Once bill has been read 3 times in the House, it is sent to the Senate for its consideration

Royal Assent

Bill is presented to the Governor General for assent.
The Governor General may assent to Bill in the Queen's name, withhold assent or reserve assent.
When Bill is given Royal Assent it becomes law.

Between the second and third reading its the responsibility of all elected members of parliament (MP's) to study the bill, inform their constituents, consult with various interest groups, lobbyists and committees to ensure that the bill(s) will reflect the interests, concerns, and needs of the Canadian people (constituents). So what happened? Steven Harper by-passed the committee and reporting stage and went from the second reading to the third reading giving the MP's a month to study the 400-500 page omnibus bill. He never gave the MP's a chance to do what they were elected to do. That is the real issue. Not enough time was given to really study the omnibus bill, how the bill will affect the 60 pieces of current legislation, and no consultations with First Nations took place. No one in Canada was given a voice and when MP's did voice themselves in parliament they were ignored. So what is real intent and purpose of the omnibus Bill C-45?

Controversial bills in question:

Bill C-27: First Nations Financial Transparency Act
Bill C-45: Jobs and Growth Act, 2012 [Omnibus Bill includes Indian Act amendments regarding voting on-reserve lands surrenders/designations]
Bill S-2: Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act
Bill S-6: First Nations Elections Act
Bill S-8: Safe Drinking Water for First Nations
Bill C-428: Indian Act Amendment and Replacement Act [Private Conservative MP’s Bill, but supported by Harper government]

Then there are the Senate Public Bills:

Bill S-207: An Act to amend the Interpretation Act (non derogation of aboriginal and treaty rights)

Bill S-212: First Nations Self-Government Recognition Bill

I am not sure if I live in a democracy or if I live within a dictatorship. I am not sure Steven Harper embodies the true intent and principles of democracy. It is clear he has no interest in consulting and working with First Nations communities. Canada also has a history of violating minority rights in this country. Today Harper has not only violated First Nations collective rights but he has violated our individual rights by operating above the political process.

Christmas Decorating Ideas 2012

2012-11-15T05:56:00.004-08:00

This year I am going green and simple...

really simple

Happy Holidays....

Mispon-Its Snowing

2012-10-21T13:01:00.001-07:00

Image found on Pintrest

This morning I opened the blinds and discovered snow. I love the first snowfall. Its never to cold and the snow usually melts within a few hours. This morning my thoughts go to the pond. I can't help but wonder how the geese and ducks are doing and if the blackbirds have left for a warmer climate.

I am moving to the States in June. This is my last winter here in Alberta. I will miss the pond and the sounds of the geese, ducks, swans and the blackbirds every spring and fall as they make their way back to the pond.

I have learned to pay attention to the morning skies of fall, the mornings are a busy time of year. I have noticed large flocks of ducks forming a large funnel and they circle their way down and onto the fields. I have also notice large flocks of Canadian geese in the skies also making their way to their day time places. They will often cross my path honking as they fly over my car. Then there are the large flocks of blackbirds that fly as if they are a school of fish in the sea. I have seen them gathering along barbed wire fences, tree tops and telephone poles and wires. The colors of the sunrise are so intense the sky looks as if its on fire and in the evenings the last bit of sunlight before the sun sets is intensely bright.

There is already snow on the Rockies. I will miss the site of Rockies from my classroom window. I will miss my morning walk with Beebee, time spent with my little dog as the morning air stimulates my blood and all my senses as I say my morning prayer. I love this place where I am at and I will miss it and I can't help but feel a little sad.

However, I have noticed in the past few years that the geese, ducks and the blackbirds do not always stay in the same place. Yes, they do come back to the same area but not always gather in the same place. They move around gathering in different places. Its the same with people. A few will always return to the same spot but others move on. It is my time to move on and learn to pay attention to my new place.

I have been taking Beebee for walks down this road for 3 years. I will miss these trees.