I don't know whether we're Mushuannu or Naskapi.
But they call us mushuaunnu
because we used to live on barren land.
Before the missionaries insisted on settling us here,
they wanted the children
and adults to be in the same place.
We lived on the land in harmony with the animals
we needed to survive.
They were Catholic priests.
Our people arrived on the land in the spring,
and they're happy there.
It's better than here.
I'm looking forward to when the community moves,
it'll be better for our youth.
We'll no longer have to wait for the ice
in order to leave the island and go into the bush,
we'll be able to cover greater distances
and the young people will be happier.
We lived in the bush where we hunted,
fished and gathered.
Everything else, flour, sugar, and the rest,
we bought from Whites to whom we sometimes sold our furs.
Hairy money!
The missionaries said
that if we brought our children into the bush,
the government would cut our family allowance cheques.
They also told us the family allowance would be cut
if the children didn't go to school.
I'd like it if the young people would visit the elders,
listen to them and learn from them.
That way, they wouldn't lose their culture.