January 2017






In This Issue
In This Issue
The articles in this Newsletter are the opinions of the authors and not necessarily those of the producers of The Feathers In the Wind Newsletter. 

What Does It Mean To Be Métis?

As a Métis person you are not only caught between two cultures, but are also part of a culture unique unto itself.

The feeling of not fitting in - or not knowing where one fits in - is something that many Métis people experience.

"I grew up being regaled with stories or tales of [my family's] upbringing, all of which have very obvious tidbits of the Métis culture in them," says Jayme Menzies, from Manitoba.

"But if you asked my mother and my [grandmother] if they were Métis, they would deny it still. Unfortunately they grew up in a time when they were encouraged to deny that blood in their culture."


The Secret Life of Trees: The Astonishing Science of What Trees Feel and How They Communicate

Trees dominate the world's the oldest living organisms. Since the dawn of our species, they have been our silent companions, permeating our most enduring tales and never ceasing to inspire fantastical cosmogonies. Hermann Hesse called them "the most penetrating of preachers." A forgotten seventeenth-century English gardener wrote of how they "speak to the mind, and tell us many things, and teach us many good lessons."

But trees might be among our lushest metaphors and sensemaking frameworks for knowledge precisely because the richness of what they say is more than metaphorical - they speak a sophisticated silent language, communicating complex information via smell, taste, and electrical impulses. This fascinating secret world of signals is what German forester Peter Wohlleben explores in The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate (public library).

12 Books by Indigenous Women You Should Read

Poetry, novels, short stories, memoir and young adult: These 12 books by Canadian Indigenous women are amazing reads.

Gutsy Gourmet Native American Recipes

The Gutsy Gourmet Network do a wonderful job of collecting recipes from many countries and cultures. This is a fantastic list of Native American Classic recipes. We hope you enjoy them!

Christi Belcourt Interview: Walking With Our Sisters

Rebeka Tabobondung interviews Christi Belcourt for MUSKRAT Magazine about the Walking with our Sisters exhibition/memorial hosted by G'zaagin Art Gallery at the Parry Sound Museum. The exhibition ran from January 10 to 26, 2014.


10 Foods Natives Had Before Europeans

Much confusion surrounds Indigenous foods. "Before 1492, tomatoes, potatoes, wild rice, salmon, pumpkins, peanuts, bison, chocolate, vanilla, blueberries and corn, among other foods, were unknown in Europe, Africa and Asia. Today, we think of tomatoes as an Italian staple, of potatoes as quintessentially Irish or northern European, and even of peanuts as native to Africa. But Native American farmers cultivated and developed these foods over hundreds of generations, long before Europeans exported them throughout the world," 
explains Kevin Gover (Pawnee), director of the National Museum of the American Indian Smithsonian Institution, in the foreword for The Mitsitam Café Cookbook: Recipes from the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian by executive chef  Richard Hetzler.


Ontario Métis Family Records Center


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New Submissions

Our editors are always looking for original submissions that would be of interest to our community. Do you know of any upcoming events that you would like to share through the Newsletter, Facebook, or our new website?  

If you have something you would like to add to future issues we would be happy to consider it; please call or email us with the title "Submission" on the email.  Thank you!
 
.omfrcinfo @ gmail.com

  1-613-332 -4789 
 













 
"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."

~ Edith Sitwell
Source:  Goodreads

The beautiful coast of Nova Scotia

On The Blog: A Legendary Man - Chief Membertou

Chief Henry Membertou was a central figure to the story of the birth and growth of Acadia, and the legacy of the Mi'kmaq people.  His legend has been celebrated, but this historic and legendary figure was a very interesting man. On our blog this month, a story of Chief Membertou's life and legend.
 


Métis Scholarships and Bursaries for 2017

It's that time of the year again, when students are planning their educational path for the next year.  As we do every year, we have compiled a list of the Scholarships and Bursaries available for Metis Students for 2017.  We've created a new page on our website with the full list, as well as a downloadable PDF version.  We plan to update this list throughout the year.  If you are aware of any Scholarships or Bursaries we might have missed, please let us know!


Opportunities Lost 

By: Thomas Shoniker 
  a member of the 
    Painted Feather Woodlland Metis community

In our October submission, we reviewed the evolution of the Métis . We gave credit to the spirit and strength of our grandmothers who, prior to the birth of Canada as a nation, gave birth to our culture. We also reviewed the negative effects of colonization on Indigenous women and the crisis that has come to be known as the 'murdered and missing' Indigenous women and girls. We praised the Trudeau government for its efforts to bridge the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures, particularly by commissioning a $54 million inquiry to examine the social determinants that contribute to the flight of Indigenous women away from their communities andinto danger. Imagine our surprise when it was announced in the very next month of November that in fiscal 2015, Indigenous Affairs let more than $1 billion that it was allotted to improve the lives of Indigenous women, families and communities go unused and unspent! One can only wonder how many opportunities for improvement were lost, and how a federal government that has promised to improve the condition of our Indigenous peoples could have allowed this to happen. 


Gloria Hope
A Colouring Book For All Ages: The Seven Grandfathers Teachings

Painted Feather Woodland Metis member Gloria Hope a talented artist, using such mediums as sculpture, visual arts, murals, as well as writing and illustration.  She facilitates art and nature programs close to home.  Now, in conjunction with best-selling Metis author of The Seven Sacred Teachings and Dream Catcher, David Bouchard, she's created a Colouring book to help teach the Seven Grandfather Teachings. 

The Seven Grandfather teachings honor the seven gifts neccessary for living a simple, balanced life as seen through the eyes of animals.  Her gorgeous illustrations will not only allow others to express their creativity, but to learn and grow as they do.

Gloria says "I have walked the way of the natural world since I was a little girl.  Running barefoot with the wind, on our hundred and fifty hectare farm.  Gathering rocks, feathers and wood that spoke to me along the way.  For as long as I can remember I have known, felt, and lived a deep magical connection to the Earth.  With an intuitive communication and profound reverence for all living things, I create with the vision, tools, and materials of Mother Earth.  Nature is my inspiration!"

A percentage of all of the book sales will go to the DAREarts "First Roots Program" - raising funds and awareness for Indigenous children in remote communities dealing with poverty, isolation, modularization and suicide. 

"I was smitten when I first saw this colouring book. Not only have colouring books come into vogue, but Gloria's art and understanding of our Sacred Teachings are uniquely amazing! To allow children the pleasure of becoming a part of the book while coming to better understand the Sacred Teachings is nothing less than brilliant." says David Bouchard.

We hope everyone will support this wonderful community member, and a wonderful cause!  You can order your own copy of The Seven Grandfather Teachings here.

Native American Woman May Have Made It to Europe 500 Years Before Columbus Was Born

The first Native American to arrive in Europe may have been a woman brought to Iceland by the Vikings more than 1,000 years ago, a study by Spanish and Icelandic researchers suggests.

The findings boost widely-accepted theories, based on Icelandic medieval texts and a reputed Viking settlement in Newfoundland in Canada, that the Vikings reached the American continent several centuries before Christopher Columbus traveled to the "New World.".

Spain's CSIC scientific research institute said genetic analysis of around 80 people from a total of four families in Iceland showed they possess a type of DNA normally only found in Native Americans or East Asians.



Music Video -  Carlos Nakai: Earth Spirit

This collection of solo flute pieces from Navajo-Ute musician R. Carlos Nakai is an evocative delight. The album consists of mostly original material, from the composition "Canyon Reverie," to the improvisational "In Media Res," to "Athabascan Song," an arrangement of a traditional song. The latter in particular stands out, with a faster rhythm and more lilting melody than most of the other pieces. There's also "Ancient Dreams," performed on a bone whistle; the instrument almost exceeds the upper range of human hearing, and Nakai occasionally sounds like he's imitating birdcalls. A classically trained musician, Nakai blends musical traditions to create a whole that reminds one, on occasion, of Japanese shakuhachi music.