Minnie Mameanskum and Julie-Louise Mameanskum examine the weaving detail on an old snowshoe made for children. Photo by Benjamin Jancewicz.
Chiiwaahtaaw. In Naskapi, it means “to bring home.” It is also the heart of what has been happening in our community over the past month, and now Radio-Canada has told the story to the whole of Côte-Nord.
On August 13, Radio-Canada’s morning show Bonjour la Côte aired a segment on the return of our ancestral artifacts to Kawawachikamach. For the first time, the Royal Ontario Museum agreed to lend and return Naskapi ancestral belongings to the territory: painted and carefully sewn doll clothes, netting needles, and hunting tools dating from 1927 to 1950. The loan lasts only a month.
Our Chief on the air
Radio-Canada’s Lilou Ann Santos spoke with our Chief, Louise Nattawappio, about what this homecoming means for our community.
A documentary in the making
To keep a lasting record of this reunion, our community engaged Wapikoni Mobile and filmmaker Lysandre Leduc-Boudreau to produce a documentary. What is happening here this month is history, and it is being captured so that it stays with us.
Listen to the segment
The full segment runs about 10 minutes and is in French, on Radio-Canada OHdio:
What’s next
Our belongings are returned to the Royal Ontario Museum at the end of our visit, but the conversation about bringing them home for good continues. Chiiwaahtaaw. We are grateful for this month with them, and for the record being made so our children can carry it forward.