The Cree language is amazing. Sometimes just one word can mean so much. Take for instance Akootinisho. This refers to a person or persons who have gone out to their traditional family hunting and trapping grounds before freeze up. It also means that they stay until they can come back over the frozen water by snow machine. See what I mean? Just one word describes all that.
This time of year people still leave the community with great joy to welcome the coming of winter on their traditional lands. When most people would think that with the coming cold winds, snow and ice the best idea would be to hibernate, some of my people in Attawapiskat can hardly wait to get back out on the land.
You might find one or two houses boarded up this time of year in the coastal communities along the great James Bay and chances are that, the entire family is Akootinisho. They will be prepared well for this special trip. At this time of year if you don’t know how to survive in my part of the world any trip can be dangerous. As part of the preparation for this family adventure often a snowmobile will be left over from the previous winter at the hunting camp or perhaps brought over during the summer by boat. This guarantees an easier trip back to the community once the lakes and rivers are frozen.
This voyage is very costly as it is necessary to bring enough supplies to last from the beginning of November to the point of freeze-up which usually happens around Christmas. Those who still embark on this journey do so by freighter canoe, powered
by gas-guzzling outboard motors. These traditional hunting and trapping camps are spread all along the coast, along the rivers and out in the bay on Akamiski Island. It can take hours of hard going through the cold and freezing rain on rough water to reach the campsite.
Once the family has arrived, a return to life the way it was hundreds of years ago becomes reality. The boat is put up for the winter, the motor stored and walking is the only way to get around until there is enough snow for snowmobiles. Here is where the young ones in the family have the opportunity to learn about the traditional Cree life. This is a chance to learn and develop skills that will mean survival in harsh conditions on the land.
Now is the time for being out on the land, setting the traps, gathering wood and hunting to ensure survival. The family is close now and nurturing around the fires at night and snuggled up together in warm sleeping bags.
There is a certain freedom being out on the land this time of year because once the freeze up starts, as the ice begins to build, boats are useless as are snowmobiles. No one can leave the community by land or water for a couple of months. Happily, those who have chosen to Akootinisho are enjoying life that harkens back to another time.
The snow is softly and slowly falling in big flakes. The water edge has become icy and a puffy pure white blanket covers everything. A wisp of smoke drifts up from the stove pipe by the camp and the odor of fresh rabbit stew and dumplings is in the air. The sun is fading behind a cool and gray northern sky. They are Akootinisho.
