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Survival

Story as told by Doreen Patrick

Our Carrier people travelled with the season. In the spring we knew where to move for fish, and for drying of the fish. The people would set nets for fish and use gaft hooks for hooking the fishes. In the summer it was salmon season and everybody moved to Quesnel for the drying of the salmon. Our people used dip nets for catching the salmon. In the summer our people travelled to different areas where haying had to done and everybody helped. Our people also worked for local ranchers haying, building barns, sheds, and fences. In the summer and early fall it was time to dry moose/deer meat, preserving the meat and berries for the winter.

My dad told me that when there were no fridges/freezers, our people had different ways of preserving their food. One way was drying and the other was to bury the fish. He said when a lot of fish were caught they used to dig a deep hole and cover it and it stayed fresh for a whole year. The luwus (soap berries) were washed and spread on canvas and dried by the sun. The blue berries were also dried by the sun and canned for jam. Very few people carry on this tradition of preserving meat and berries. I am trying to bring this back as every summer for the last two summers we have been camping and drying moose and deer meat. When winter came around everybody trapped fur-bearing animals to sell for groceries and clothes for the family. Men and women would walk miles and miles to trap and hunt for the fur bearing animals, big and small. The women put hours and hours into stretching the different kinds of fur and it had to be done just right. The women hunted along with the men and they use to walk miles and miles to hunt squirrel.

My mom told me that she was a crack shot and only shot squirrels in the head. She used to bring home 200 squirrels in a day. The price of the squirrel hide was very low, 50 cents per squirrel, but they made it fun by seeing who could shoot the most squirrels each day. Our people always travelled together when they had an event happening; rodeos, potlatches, priest coming, bishop coming, helping other families making hay. They use to make and cut wood all by hand in -40 degrees below 0. It seemed like nothing stopped them from getting something done in cold weather; from hunting, getting hay for animals, making wood, any jobs that needed to get done. Our aboriginal people worked hard and there was no play for the children. It was all work. I was taught at a very young age to look out for my younger brother and sisters. I was taught to cook at a very young age and that was during the summer when we came home from the residential school. One summer when I was about 10 years old, our mom took sick, my older sister and younger brother helped dad in the field. I had to cook and look after my younger sisters and brothers. I remember making juice, coffee, and sandwiches to dad and siblings. I had to make the bannock and cook the supper for them.

Hunter-Gatherers · Use of the Caribou · Diet · Cooking & Storing · Clothing · Housing · Tools & Weapons · Story by Doreen Patrick