An Elder’s Story

Julienne Malec - I had 14 children, but only went to the hospital twice, and the last time was for my twins. I had those babies by C-section. I think I had an easier time in the bush than at the hospital. Three old women from Natashquan helped me with the birth of my first twins. In the past, pregnant women couldn't even imagine having difficulty giving birth in the bush. When a child was born, we named it, then waited to have it baptized in the village when we returned four months later. Dating didn't exist when I was young. Marriages were arranged. I myself was not in love when I married. I didn't want to marry a man who wasn't from Natashquan. So I refused the offers that came from outside the area. In the end, I married a widower from Natashquan.
One day, after giving birth, a woman caught cold and her breast swelled up. We set up a matitushan for her, so she could sweat and expel the cold. We also prepared a poultice with Labrador tea. But her breast was full of pus. My husband, who was with us, made a small incision with a razor blade. There was pus everywhere. Once he had drained her breast, and without stitching it up, he applied a poultice of fir gum and protected it with the skin of a hare. He put a muskrat skin over the incision. This skin has the capacity to pull out toxins.
Narrator - After the cold spell, around the end of February, some very special visitors arrive directly from the North. Hundreds of white-tailed ptarmigans arrive on the land, looking for food. This is like a gift for the Innu, a delicious variation to their diet at this time of the year. It's also a new opportunity to gather, since these ptarmigans are found in certain mountainous areas, such as "nutapineuan". That's where we gather once again on our way back towards the sea.
Music - Rodrigue Fontaine, Bill St-Onge, Luc Bacon

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An Elder’s Story

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