Holiday season

Preparation for the big trip: While we have been on the rez. I have of course been preparing for the trip to South Africa. There is so much to do before leaving, getting documentation ready and copies to the necessary authorities, buying airline tickets, getting physicals, contacting the University of KwaZulu-Natal to get an affiliation, etc.

While we prepare for the big trip we participate in various activities and help people get ready for Turkey day. For instance last night we went to Joe’s little cousin’s first wrestling meet and when we returned to his aunt’s house on the reservation we found out she was going to embark on a baking mission the following morning. I offered my help which she gladly accepted. Joe had an eye exam scheduled for 11:30 am so we arrived at around 10:30am. Actually he slowed down enough to let me jump out the car then zipped off to go visiting. I traded in my coat and hood for an apron and began to smooth out little pieces of dough which would become rolls. I soon found that working with the whole wheat dough was much easier than the white dough; perhaps it is just my bias towards wheat bread. When I was done with that task I was given the chore to take the rolls out the oven, place them on cooling racks, then bag them, while the master baker prepared the dough for the papooses, a long Danish like pastry with fruit and sweet cheese filling.

One thing I learned from the experience was that many people on the rez have their own enterprises and skills and that people will patronize their neighbors if they make pies, rolls, breads, and even full meals. We were able to get 14 dozen white rolls, 8 dozen wheat rolls, and roughly 17 papooses made. My feet were so tired, as was my entire self. Participating in these activities not only allows someone like me to learn a bit about baking, and do a friend a favor, it also allows me to get to know more people. At the end of the day Joe and I got to take home a dozen wheat rolls and a blueberry/raspberry papoose, which we happily ate for dinner in conjunction with a rice dish made by Joe’s uncle in the Falls.

Thanksgiving is a good time for Joe to catch people at home and reconnect with those he might not have seen for awhile. Going to aunties and uncles’ houses finds all the family there so cousins you won’t see outside because of the cold can be found for conversation. Tomorrow is the big turkey day and we will have four or five homes to visit. I just hope we can make it home after having been exposed to soo much good food.

Food: We have had moose burgers, moose chili, elk steak, “Indian corn” soup with goat and venison, fry bread or scones, black berry pie, sassafras tea – which thins the blood and if you drink too much really makes you cold. We also have had plenty of fresh veggies from gardens. Potatoes, yellow and green squash, carrots, onions, beets, tomatoes, lettuce, fresh strawberry puree, etc. From some of this that was gifted to us I made lasagna and tons of muffins, mostly zucchini because there were sooo many of them. A lot of times we eat Subway if we’re on the go. It’s cheap, fast, economical, and reasonably healthy.

One of the things we got to do during the summer was to visit at people’s gardens. Many people on the reservation plant corn, beans, and squash. These are called the three sisters and they are the Indians’ gift to the world. Though many people have gardens off the reservation there is a special way to plant these three gifts. Bean plants were placed next to corn so that they could use the tall corn stalks to creep up as beans do. Squash and pumpkin were also planted near the two other sisters because them being creepers on the ground with their large leaves they protect the roots and bottom parts of the stalks of the other two plants from insects. Not only that but the interaction between each one of the plants benefited the viability of the soil and enabled each plant’s yield to be more abundant and more nutritious than had they been planted alone!

For more information please read here:

http://www.unce.unr.edu/news/article.asp?ID=1291

In the meantime Joe is doing his interviews and finding out some great information. Everyone has been very receptive to his research and open their homes. Many times people share what they have in their cupboards, fridges, and gardens. Sometimes I get to sit in on Joe's meetings so I too am learning a lot of stories and histories about the land and about life in general. We are both very thankful for the opportunity to meet such amazing people and are so grateful to each person for sharing with us.

Nya:weh

Also to read more about the Tuscarora and who they are especially regarding their interaction with the environment and sustaining a distinct cultural identity please check out their newsletter.

http://tuscaroraenvironment.com/default.aspx

Taxes

Another controversy that was very public and involved the sovereignty of the Iroquois nation was the issue of taxing the cigarettes that are sold on the reservations. Because all cigarettes sold on the reservation are not subject to tax and New York State has been going through extremely rough fiscal times one way Governor Patterson decided to make up some revenue was through breaking the treaty regarding the taxation. The state announced that come September 1st, 2010 all non-Indians buying brand name cigarettes would be taxed. With this news came protests to bring awareness to the local people. Both Indians and smokers were highly upset and many people (mostly women) took to the roads outside of the smoke shops and off the reservations and picketed, passed out flyers, and spoke to passersby as they stopped at the red light.

Fortunately, September 1st came and went with not too much issue. The supreme court judge postponed the tax collection for about 2 weeks. People were tense and feared that things might get violent, however, when the time ran out a decision was made to finally allow the tribes to continue selling tobacco without being taxed.

While personally I am not a smoker and think it is a terrible habit I understand the principles behind the fight to keep this non-tax status. So much has been taken away from indigenous peoples of America they figure if Indians continue to allow small things such as a tax-free status to be taken away eventually they will have nothing.
For further reading on the topic please see the following article:

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/home/content/NY-cigarette-tax-law-stopped-105522053.html

Borders

Border Crossing. Every year in the summer the Indian Nations that make up the Haudenosaunee participate in an event called “border crossing” which signifies not only the fact that the First Nations peoples were here prior to European arrival, the event also represents an agreement/treaty that was ratified by the governments of the United States and Britain in 1794. The Jay Treaty actually states that the First Nations people have the right to cross the northern border between the States and Canada without passports or levies in order to trade or travel. Thus, every year individuals and groups of Indians gather together on alternate sides of the border to do a parade across one of the bridges to the other country. The beginning point of the parade alternates between Canada and the US. After the parade all the people congregate in a close park to celebrate the event and their culture. Crafts are brought out, people sing, people eat, and people chat. It is a very festive time but all to make outsiders, as well as other Indians aware of the fact that Indians have this right as a treaty between the two nations and it should be honored.
Please read more about the treaty: http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/lwsch/journals/bciclr/24_2/04_FMS.htm

Sports and passports

I myself am not a big sports fan or follower but one of the big news events involving lacrosse was the controversy surrounding the Iroquois League and their struggle to get to England on their Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) passports to play in the indigenous games. The team 20 strong ended up being stuck in limbo in New York City while the politicians fought over whether they as a sovereign nation were able to travel on their own identity documents or were required to travel on American Passports. In the end the team did not get to go because the team felt the American and British governments were undermining their rights. This incident hopefully brought a greater awareness to the nation and their struggles.

For more information please see the following article: http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2010/07/spirits_of_iroquois_nationals.html