August 24, 2008 by
Harry
Hi
all, apologies for not posting before, we were too busy cycling,
getting fed by friendly Canadians, watching bears and visiting doctors.
I wil write about all of that soon, but first as promised, our day in Champagne:
We woke up to a nice day, which means: no rain 
Before heading out towards the seductions of Whitehorse, we decided to cycle around in Champagne,
which appeared to be a ghost town. We spotted some good campsites near
the community hall, wondering why our ‘hosts’ had not pointed these
out. Just when we were turning around to start our trip towards
Whitehorse, noticed some smoke coming out of a building. We checked it
out and found a few ladies cooking in a large kitchen.
‘Do you want some breakfast?’ One asked.
Letmethink-yes!
‘Sit down, you can stay for the Potlatch.’
We had no idea what the Potlatch (often called Potluck) was, but we found out during this wonderful day. It was one year ago that one elder of the Champagne-Aishihik
First nation had died. Now, one year later, a spirit house was built on
her grave and all friends and family came together for the celebration
of this occasion and to remember her.
So during the day a row of people came into the huge community hall,
from very young to very old.. We were happy that we could help out
during the day. I helped making al the tables and chairs ready for 200
persons and grilled several hundred of ‘Hooligans’: some small type of
fish. Ivana helped serving the people, there were many courses. We got
fed ourselves as well: from Moosejaw soup to fish eggs to salad and
salmon. Ivana convinced teh shy children that she could turn them into
animals by painting their faces. We talked with the elders as well as
the younger generations. It was all great.
I spoke a while with Yoyo, one of the elders.
‘So you can tell your friends that you were with the Indians and that they all wore feathers and such’, Yoyo remarked.
I told him that that stereotype was not my impression of the First
Nation people we had met so far. He looked at me, decided that I was
good and started to talk about his past.
‘You know, the younger generation cannot speak our language anymore.
I am one of the last ones to speak it. Our language is lower to the
ground, closer to the earth. If I forgot my gloves near a tree in a big
forest 60 miles away, I could explain a friend where to look for them
in a few minutes. In the high speech, this is impossible’.
‘We were happy, but when the white people came, they took our
children and put them in religious camps. They had to learn the bible
and forget about all that our ancestors had taught them. Most came back
broken, cut off from their traditions. Now slowly we get some rights
back, but the connection with our past is gone forever…’
‘In our tradition, there is no hierarchy, no rich and poor. We share
all things. Some people might have a better harvest, a better hunt or
nowadays a better salary. We share all, so everybody can live well.
This was forbidden in the Indian Act, as the missionaries said it was
‘non-Christian’ to have no ranks and to share everything…’
During the day the tables in the back were filled with all kinds of
things: food, blankets, plastic stuff. It was a bit strange to see all
that, but we found out that all items would be given away to the
‘Wolves’. The Indian ‘Band’ was divided in Crows (Ravens) and Wolves,
an ancient way of preventing bloodlines to become too limited: a wolf can never marry another wolf etc.
One of the organizers, Ted, gave me a red ribbon and told me to wear it, I was an honorary wolf
and therefore would participate in receiving gifts. One of the first
things I received was a huge warm blanket. Very nice, but completely
unpractical on a bike, so I asked if they could give it to somebody
else who might need it more. One of the people in charge came to us and
told us with a serious face that it was very impolite to refuse gifts
at a potlatch.
We got the hint and happily received heavy items, food and other
things. In teh end we gave most of it away to some family members who
seemed to need it more.
There was a young and very shy couple -of which I am not sure if
their parents had kept to the Wolves/Crows code- that was incredible
happy with all the gifts. At one point the young man and woman softly
spoke a few words that for me summarizes a lot of the people of Alaska
and the Yukon: “Great, now I do not have to go hunting for a week!’.
‘And we can invite all our friends and share this with them’, his
girlfriend replied cheerfully…
One of the interesting things is that most relatives donated money.
The received amounts were read aloud: Mr x has donated $5. Mr Y and
family have donated $250. All donations were received with applause and
ranged from $5 to $750. At the end of the day, the money was used to
pay off the kitchen staff, for any other costs that had been made, and
for the gifts. What was left, was handed out to all people, where the
elderly and poorest clearly got their share first. They even donated
$10 to me and as I was not allowed to refuse, we came out ahead on this
day, but in many more ways than just financially…
Some background information about the Aishihik First nation & Potlatches:
Champagne and Aishihik First Nations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations is a First Nation in the Yukon Territory in Canada. Its original population centres were Champagne, Yukon and Aishihik, Yukon, but most of its citizens moved to Haines Junction, Yukon
to take advantage of services offered there such as schools. The First
Nation government has its main administrative offices there. Other
settlements used included Klukshu, Yukon. Many also live in Whitehorse where the First Nation government has offices. The language originally spoken by the Champagne and Aishihik people was Southern Tutchone.
The Champagne and Aishihik First Nations was one of the first four First Nations to sign a land claims agreement in 1992. The First Nation is also pursuing a land claim in its traditional territory in the northwestern corner of British Columbia.
External links
From their website:
In 1993, after more than 20 years of negotiations, CAFN’s rights to
the Yukon portion of its traditional lands and resources were finally
confirmed with the signing of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Final Agreement between CAFN, the Government of Canada
and the Government of Yukon. Land claim negotiations concerning the
portion of CAFN territory within BC are as yet incomplete, but in the
interim, an innovative and precedentsetting agreement between the BC
government and CAFN has been reached which provides for joint
management authority of the newly created Tatshenshini-Alsek Park.
The road to the Yukon Land Claim Agreement was a long and difficult one. Many Champagne
and Aishihik members, beginning with the late Elijah Smith, provided
creative leadership in initiating and negotiating an Umbrella Yukon
Land Claim Agreement. Elijah organized the Yukon Native
Brotherhood and, in 1973, he presented Together Today for our Children
Tomorrow, a position paper on the Yukon comprehensive claim, to then
Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau. CAFN was one of the first four
Yukon First Nations to conclude their final agreements.
CAFN’s Dave Joe was the Chief Negotiator for the Council for Yukon Indians
(now the Council of Yukon First Nations) was instrumental in completing
the Yukon Umbrella Final Agreement. The late Harry Allen and Dorothy
Wabisca, along with Chief Paul Birckel, were also key players in the
successful negotiation of these groundbreaking agreements. CAFN’s Land
Claim Agreement provides for the ownership of some 2,427 square
kilometers of land. It also continues to provide guaranteed access to
fish and wildlife resources. Most importantly, the agreement
establishes the CAFN government as co-managers of all natural and
cultural resources in its traditional territory. CAFN is now a full
partner on the Kluane National Park Management Board, the Alsek
Renewable Resources Council and has representation on numerous other
regional and territorial boards that make recommendations on heritage,
educational, environmental and economic issues. In addition, the
self-government agreement provides CAFN with the power to enact laws on
a wide range of matters affecting the rights of its citizens.
On September 17, 1998 the Champagne
and Aishihik First Nations made history by passing three acts: the
Income Tax Act, Fish and Wildlife Act, and the Traditional Pursuits
Act. These acts became effective on January 1, 1999. A variety of
municipal services, (housing, roads, water and sewer) as well as social
services (health, nutrition, employment and training) are fully
administered by the First Nations’ government. The Department of Lands
and Resources, which also includes Heritage and Economic Development,
manages CAFN’s traditional lands and integrates education and training
of its citizens. CAFN has undergone radical change in the last 100
years. Not long ago, the Southern Tutchone people of this region lived
as part of the land. Today, they are working on the establishment of
their own government and CAFN is becoming the steward of its homeland
as it builds a sustainable economy.
Wikipedia: excerpt from Indian Act:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Act
1885: Amended to prohibit religious ceremonies (such as potlatches)[6]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potlatch
A potlatch[1][2][3] is a festival ceremony practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in North America, along Pacific Northwest coast of the United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia. This includes Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Tsimshian[4], Nuu-chah-nulth,[5] Kwakwaka’wakw[6] and Coast Salish[7] cultures. The word comes from the Chinook Jargon,
meaning “to give away” or “a gift”. It is a vital part of indigenous
cultures of the Pacific Northwest. It went through a history of
rigorous ban by the Canadian government, and has been the study of many
anthropologists.
The potlatch is a festival or ceremony practiced among Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. At these gatherings a family or hereditary leader hosts guests in their family’s house and hold a feast for their guests. The main purpose of the potlatch is the re-distribution and reciprocity of wealth.
During the event, different events take place, like either singing
and dances, sometimes with masks or regalia, the barter of wealth
through gifts, such as dried foods, sugar, flour, or other material
things, and sometimes money. For many potlatches, spiritual ceremonies
take place for different occasions. This is either through material
wealth like foods and goods or immaterial things like songs, dances and
such. For some cultures, like Kwakwaka’wakw,
elaborate and theatrical dances are performed reflecting the hosts
genealogy and cultural wealth they possess. Many of these dances are
also sacred ceremonies of secret societies like the hamatsa, or display of family origin from supernatural creatures like the dzunukwa.
Typically the potlatching is practiced more in the winter seasons as
historically the warmer months were for procuring wealth for the
family, clan, or village, then coming home and sharing that with
neighbors and friends.
Within it, hierarchical relations within and between clans,
villages, and nations, are observed and reinforced through the
distribution or sometimes destruction of wealth, dance performances,
and other ceremonies. The status of any given family is raised not by
who has the most resources, but by who distributes the most resources.
The hosts demonstrate their wealth and prominence through giving away
goods. Chief O’wax̱a̱laga̱lis of the Kwagu’ł describes the potlatch in his famous speech to anthropologist Franz Boas,
“We will dance when our laws command us to dance, and we will feast
when our hearts desire to feast. Do we ask the white man, ‘Do as the
Indian does?’ It is a strict law that bids us dance. It is a strict law
that bids us distribute our property among our friends and neighbors.
It is a good law. Let the white man observe his law; we shall observe
ours. And now, if you come to forbid us dance, be gone. If not, you
will be welcome to us.”
Celebration of births, rites of passages, weddings, funerals,
namings, and honoring of the deceased are some of the many forms the potlatch occurs under. Although protocol differs among the Indigenous nations, the potlatch
will usually involve a feast, with music, dance, theatricality and
spiritual ceremonies. The most sacred ceremonies are usually observed
in the winter.
It is important to note the differences and uniqueness among the
different cultural groups and nations along the coast. Each nation,
tribe, and sometimes clan has its own way of practicing the potlatch so as to present a very diverse presentation and meaning. The potlatch,
as an overarching term, is quite general, since some cultures have many
words in their language for all different specific types of gatherings.
Nonetheless, the main purpose has and still is the redistribution of
wealth procured by families.
History
Before the arrival of the Europeans, gifts included storable food (oolichan
[candle fish] oil or dried food), canoes, and slaves among the very
wealthy, but otherwise not income-generating assets such as resource
rights. The influx of manufactured trade goods such as blankets and
sheet copper into the Pacific Northwest caused inflation in the potlatch in the late eighteenth and earlier nineteenth centuries. Some groups, such as the Kwakwaka’wakw, used the potlatch
as an arena in which highly competitive contests of status took place.
In rare cases, goods were actually destroyed after being received. The
catastrophic mortalities due to introduced diseases laid many inherited
ranks vacant or open to remote or dubious claim—providing they could be
validated—with a suitable potlatch.[8]
The potlatch was a cultural practice much studied by ethnographers. “Potlatch
is a festive event within a regional exchange system among tribes of
the North pacific Coast of North America, including the Salish and
Kwakiutl of Washington and British Columbia.”[citation needed] Sponsors of a potlatch
give away many useful items such as food, blankets, worked ornamental
mediums of exchange called “coppers”, and many other various items. In
return, they earned prestige. To give a potlatch enhanced one’s reputation and validated social rank, the rank and requisite potlatch
being proportional, both for the host and for the recipients by the
gifts exchanged. Prestige increased with the lavishness of the potlatch, the value of the goods given away in it.
Potlatching was made illegal in Canada in 1885[9]
and the United States in the late nineteenth century, largely at the
urging of missionaries and government agents who considered it “a worse
than useless custom”[citation needed] that was seen as wasteful, unproductive which was not part of “civilized” values.[10]
The potlatch was seen as a key target in assimilation policies and agendas. Missionary William Duncan wrote in 1875 that the potlatch was “by far the most formidable of all obstacles in the way of Indians becoming Christians, or even civilized.”[11] Thus in 1885, the Indian Act was revised to include clauses banning the potlatch
and making it illegal to practice. The official legislation read,
“Every Indian or other person who engages in or assists in celebrating
the Indian festival known as the “Potlatch”
or the Indian dance known as the “Tamanawas” is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not more
than six nor less than two months in a jail or other place of
confinement; and, any Indian or other person who encourages, either
directly or indirectly an Indian or Indians
to get up such a festival or dance, or to celebrate the same, or who
shall assist in the celebration of same is guilty of a like offence,
and shall be liable to the same punishment.”
Eventually it became amended to be more inclusive as earlier
discharged on technicalities. Legislation was then expanded to include
guest who participated in the ceremony. The indigenous people were too
large to police, and enforce. Duncan Campbell Scott convinced
Parliament to change the offense from criminal to summary, which meant
‘the agents, as justice of the peace, could try a case, convict, and
sentence.”[12]
Continuation
Sustaining the customs and culture of their ancestors, indigenous people now openly hold potlatch to commit to the restoring of their ancestors’ ways. Potlatch now occur frequently and increasingly more over the years as families reclaim their birthright.
See also
Related posts
Tags: Canada, Champagne, goodies, Indians, inspirational, Native, Politics, Potlatch, Religion, Wolf
