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Ralph Cook- Cimate Change- Precipitation
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This audio clip discusses the extremely cold weather that was present in the past, but not in modern time. This audio clip is in Cree and the English translation is below.
"During extreme cold weather, there was a sound coming from the crust of the snow, which is rarely experienced now. Another dimension of change in snow that you see is, it is soft and wet."
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Ralph Cook- Climate Change- Temperature
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This audio recording talks about temperature in the past versus modern day in Brochet and in general. This audio clip is in Cree and the English translation is in English.
"The climate has changed. When it was cold, it got really cold. It is not like that anymore, that is gone. The very cold weather has disappeared."
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Roderick Thomas- Climate Change- Precipitation
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This audio recording talks about the impact of harsh winters of barren caribou. This audio recording is in Cree, and the English translation is below.
"When the snow was falling and the wind was blowing, it was eight feet deep. And those barren caribou. They all died of starvation, even the woodland caribou because the snow was so deep."
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Roderick Thomas- Culture in Canada- Traditions
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This audio recording talks about the importance of the involvement of children learning the traditions of of the land. This audio recording is Cree, and the English translation is below.
"The children have to be taken on the land, is it not true. They have to observe you doing this activity. Even when you go beaver trapping, you have to show them. They need to learn and observe, everything including hunting, is it not true. You tell the children, these are moose tracks."
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Seasons
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Image of fallen leaves., There are 6 seasons in the Cree calendar:
- Winter
- Break up
- Spring
- Summer
- Freeze up
- Fall
Each season is important for different sources of food and different types of activities.
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Temperature
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An image of a snowy landscape., Water and air temperature are significant to the survival of plants and animals. Many of the these plants and animals have evolved unique adaptions to the Boreal environment. When described by elders, the changes in temperatures can be significant source of concerns.
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Thomas Mckenzie- Culture in Canada- Traditions
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This audio recording talks at length about traditions in Canada. This audio recording in Cree, but I the English translation is provided below.
"Learning how to survive on the land, was both by observation and participating through instruction. How to make fire and how to build a shelter, where there is no cabin or tent. Experiential learning included; how to survive in the wilderness, how to trap, how to prepare and dress the animals and how to hunt successfully. This also included how to fish and make bannock. I was taught how to make bannock on a fire. How to travel in this terrain and to be always aware of the weather patterns. I was taught to be careful of slush and to be able to determine and indicate whether the ice was strong enough. This was imbedded as a strict teaching because it important for survival."
"I was taught how to speak Cree properly and fluently. I was taught to share or gift traditional food. If moose hunting is successful, I share the meat. When I set the net, I share the fish that I catch. We have a feast together and everyone has a share of the catch, the people that live close by and family also get their share."
"I also observed how the people worked. My father is the one that taught us this. I saw how he worked. Now that I am older, I understand why it was important to observe and participate in the traditional activities that we were taught. How to work and take care of the people around you."
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Traditions
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Picture of a landscape., "Traditions" as a term can be quite vague, we focus on aspects of daily life that have been passed on by teachings, oral history, and legend.
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William Sewap- Climate Change- Extreme Events
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This audio recording talks about the break up of ice in the springtime. This audio recording is in Cree and the English translation is below. "Every year it changes, this place. The way I look at it, it's changing every year. (In springtime to[o]?) Yup, it's a slow spring. (You don't see the breakup of ice anymore?) Yup, it's slow. (It's a slow breakup of the ice. The ice spoils slowly.) Yes, it only melts away now. There used to be 4 feet of ice that time, 5 feet flowing in there before [the E.B. Campbell] dam in there. When you block [the Saskatchewan] river, all the water will back up, it used to flood all over the place. (It was a big spectacle, the Saskatchewan River was breaking up- oh could hear it from Cumberland, just like thunder.) Yes, it made lots of noise, that big thick ice chee- boooommm- just like a bulldozer sometimes in the bank."
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William Sewap- Culture in Canada- Livelihoods
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This audio recording discusses how elders passed on knowledge trapping and fishing which allowed William
Sewap to earn a living and sustain his family. This audio recording is in Cree and the English translation is below.
"From a very early age I learned from the Elders how to fish and trap and how I made money to feed my family from trapping and fishing. I helped the old people to fish on Cumberland Lake. That was my living that's the only way I learned to put some new clothes for myself that day."
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Wilson Halkett- Culture in Canada- History of the People
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This audio recording discusses the ways in which Wilson Halkett hunted and fished. The audio recording is in Cree and the English translation is below.
"We used snowshoes to go hunting for sustenance. Also, the fishing nets were not abundant, they had to be repaired using thread.
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Wilson Halkett- General Biology- Habitat
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This audio clip discusses areas caribou resided and were prime hunting spots. This audio clip is in Cree, and the English translation is provided below.
"They remained in this area [area omitted for privacy] during the summer. When i was hunting with my farther as a child. I would see the tracks of the woodland caribou. That was their habitat. It was a big island. They are no longer seen in that area.