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INTRODUCTION
I am a seventy-two-year-old Metis Cree man from Alberta. Writing
has always been a passion of mine. Life through verse poems began
long before losing my sight twenty-nine years ago. They have
since developed a determination of their own through enjoyment. I
have written and recorded close to one hundred and fifty life
poems. I dedicate these to my two young, beautiful
granddaughters, Kiana and Raine.
Tools for the trade include a tape recorder, microphone, knowledge
of the English Language and Grammar, and a lot of living.
Virtual realities have been added to this booklet to support my
granddaughters in seeing the way things were in the 20th Century,
and how things are in the 21st Century.
For all the readers out there, please enjoy my life-in-verse
poems. I have always loved my Metis Cree family, my Nisgaa
family, and my Friends. It really is all about you and me living.
For those that knew me before I lost my sight, here is another
miracle, in my eyes you are Forever Young.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS GOD SENT HIS ANGELS
Transcription of Poems Juliette Robertson & Rodd Parnell(20)
1st Draft Table Contents & Booklet Compilation Eva & Eric Clayton
2nd Draft Redress CPP
3rd & Final Format, Design, Compilation, Desktop Publishing CPP
CREE TRANSLATIONS
Noosimuk - Grandchildren
Squee-sis Baby Girl
Mooshum Grandfather
Mee-Witch-Ski Poopy Burn
Nee-Chee-Wa-Gun My Friend
Kokum Grandmother
Koma Great Grandmother
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1. The Valley In Peace (VIP)
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The carvers, weavers and the smokehouses too
All work with fine cedar, considered the best.
This valley has nothing to get tired of
Nass Valley really is a peace of mind
You really don't need much around here.
It's like Elvis.... only one of a kind.
God blessed this place a Valley in Peace.
A place to set your mind back on reset
It's something you view in amazement
A place your heart will never forget.
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2. Mighty Eagles
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3. Santa's Eagles
They leave the North Pole coming through the Northern Lights.
With the eagles leading, Santa never gets lost.
The first stop is always the beautiful Nass Valley,
Pretty as a picture with moonbeams twinkling off the frost.
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4. Eddy the Eagle
Chief Joe Gosnell and his beautiful sister, Matriarch Emma Nyce,
Adopted me as their brother,
Welcoming me into their powerful Eagle clan
Where newborns inherit the clan of their mother.
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5. Rainbow and Squee-sis
Dearest Noosimuk,
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6. Stone Moving
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Afterwards the tables are all cleared up-
There are a few speeches made for a while.
There're suddenly many big gifts handed out,
So many, so big, they make a pile.
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7. Prince Rupert All Native Tournament
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8. Our Daughter, Lana Plante
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9. My Boy, Sonny Plante
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10. My Interpreter
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11. The Cougars
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12. The Smokehouse
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13. The Oolichans
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14. Nass Valley Road- Highway One Thirteen
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15. Crystal Beauty
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16. I THANK YOU, NEE-CHEE-WAA-GUN
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17. What Resolutions?
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18. Face To Face
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We find little tricks as we get older-
Like first, putting your belt through the loop
And going to the bathroom to sit down
Then doing your laces or Velcro while you poop.
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19. Mee-Witch-Ski Rodeo
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20. Homework in Verse
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It meant the summer jobs are here.
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21. Rooski R.I.P.
We were each other's shadow;
We were each other's light.
Nothing ever got between Rooski and me
We were like two magnets, solid and tight.
A bond that lasted a life time was
Something special which was really great.
He was not just a special buddy-
He was my shipmate and also my soul mate.
We worked in the constructions together
And both became skippers and fished the coastal tide.
On the day he got married
I was his best man standing right by his side.
From our teens into our sixties
We never once had a bad day;
We were just like Siamese twins
A double happy feeling in every way.
Then at the last days of his life
We bear-hugged and said our last goodbyes-
We both said "I love you, partner",
As heartfelt tears filled our eyes.
Rooski passed away at home peacefully
With his music, family, and good friends.
I will never forget our last October '08
Even in death our friendship never ends.
Everyone just knew him as Rooski
But George Auger was his legal name-
We knew each other as partner
Two of a kind- we were exactly the same.
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22. Across the Track, Beach Front Property
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Even commercial fishing has changed a lot;
From gillnetters, they've now become hookers.
They caught and sold their fish before;
Now they're caught and only used as cookers.
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23. NOW JOBLESS
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We worked long and hard hours
Every day was a tough heavy lift
With little education we had no choice
A strong back was our Lord's gift.
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It was a very small bush camp
The logging part was done by horse
But hey I just came from Grouard
I just fit right in there, of course.
32
Cree was spoken in and around Chetwynd
So with the locals I did roam
Now I lived in a lumber camp
One big province away from home.
33
We started working on the fish boats
Scraping off old paint, sand and dirt
Using an old antique gas blowtorch
Pumping in air pressure till your thumbs hurt.
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A hundred fish boxfuls are crushed today
All filled with a shovel by hand
Then it's delivered down to the dock
The boats get all they demand.
35
They helicoptered us out to the camp
Where tents and few gear were supplied
There're 4-gallon backpacks called way jacks
Theyre just super soakers with a different name.
It might work on the birthday candles
There's no way I'm dousing this flame.
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Sometimes a boat would have an empty bunk
Then I would go out and work free.
I was learning to fish the Coast
This was where I wanted to be.
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Well we must have made a good impression
Because a job offer came our way.
The boats were not the same company
That didn't matter, we were in to stay.
38
I just turned 19 and now it's November.
Dwayne's mom and dad had a mink farm;
It just happened to be pelting time
And I'll try pelting, there's no harm.
39
Sometimes we work in for a month
It's a closed site where we now drill
There're even spies out there with binoculars
Hiding in the bush on the hill.
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My job there was doing the choking-
That's making a cable loop around the tree.
Then a few trees are pulled uphill
To be stacked and the cables set free.
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I skippered the whole B.C. coast
From Alaska down to Washington state.
I circled the Queen Charlottes and Vancouver Isle
I kept all boats afloat and running
That's worth a pat and a smile.
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Many things can get tangled in the propeller
Beach line, cork line, even your own net.
I cleared off a lot of propellers
And never once split a lead line yet.
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It's summer now we start the salmon season.
There's a new greenhorn skipper this year;
I was first to shake his hand
Sharing a drink with Captain Rooski.
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I'm only blind in the day time
We all go to sleep at night.
A power failure is no big deal
I don't need lights to get around.
Hey, remember I got here from Grouard
There wasn't one light bulb in town.
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24. My Parrot
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25. My Real "Mary Christmas
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The icing bowl just fits around my bannock face
So I dove in like a washing machine.
My puppy was glad my whole face was sticky
So then he'd lick me spotlessly clean.
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26. Our Very Merry Christmas
From our family, Merry Christmas to you all and God Bless!
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27. Happy Birthday Nee-Chee-Waa-Gun!
Cheers,
Eddy
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28. Doggone Mike Grendler
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The boat was docked by the Co-op cannery;
The water was bloody and slimy all over.
Mike was 'sauved up' and dressed to kill
We threw him over board- that's one for Rover.
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29. Our Summertime
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Then it's two handfuls for the picker
And one for the little red pail;
Later on it's one for the picker
And two for the little red pail.
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Well now this is really not fair;
We just got through the saskatoon pick
And now the two gardens that we planted
Their weeds are coming out really thick.
55
There was always dried moose meat around
I guess that was our energy bar
It's always been our in-between snack
If you got hungry- camp wasn't far.
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I'm excited our school year has begun
New kids, new teacher and new clothes.
Gone are the days of picking berries
Picking weeds and planting spuds in rows.
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It didn't take long to catch fish
We'd catch half a dozen then drag them up hill
They'd get fully covered with dust and grass
Hard to find the tail or the gill.
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They do that three or four times
And the breeze blows away the dirt;
Low bush cranberries are real tough
Getting tossed around, they never get hurt.
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30. The Final Chapter
Just lately I feel my life really is complete
With our Lord's help I'm seventy-one this year.
I've had two children; now both are parents and
Mooshum knows these babies have nothing to fear.
While hugging and kissing Raine and Kiana,
My eyes and heart tear with happiness and fulfillment
Like the last page of a great book
A lifetime of special parental love and endearment
The unforgettable feeling of fatherhood just overwhelmed me
Sitting with my two children and two grandchildren.
There's nothing in this world to top this-
Just hearing the baby cry was a win-win.
I can rest in peace whenever God wishes
And thank him for giving me this day.
And to all you lucky Mooshums and Kokums:
There's more than bingo tonight around Buffalo Bay!
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