Heritage

13 Apr 2017 Blog, Exhibits, Images, Information Craigend, Culture, Cultures Exhibit, Easter, Exhibit, Heritage, history, Lac La Biche, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Venice

Regional Cultures: Ukrainians

The_Museum

Ukrainian culture is right at home in our community, from delicious cuisine to lively dance. Canadian Ukrainian culture is special—it follows old traditions long left behind by most modern Ukrainians, creating an oasis of folk customs.

Ukrainian advertisement for land in Canada

The first wave of Ukrainian settlement in our region occurred in the Venice and Craigend areas between 1929 and 1932. During the early 1900s, the Canadian government’s immigration policy favoured farming experience over country of origin. This brought thousands of Ukrainian farming families to western Canada. The majority of Ukrainians who arrived in Canada came from western Ukraine under many names—Ukrainians, Ruthenians, Galicians, and Bukovynians. These Ukrainians were among many new Canadian farmers who put many hours of hard labour into clearing land to make it suitable for farming.

Many families learned Ukrainian at home as their first language, reading and writing in Ukrainian before learning English in school. In the early 1980s, the Ukrainian Cultural Society of Lac La Biche offered Ukrainian language classes as well.

“My grandfather was army personnel in Ukraine and he kinda figured there would be another war coming up. They said they had to get out of there. So him and his wife packed up six kids and got on the ship and came to Edmonton in 1930. They wandered around to get a homestead out here in Lac la Biche. They went to Wandering River; they [had previously] went to Peace River country and it was too far away from the markets and all that. Wandering River was still too far. They liked the train. There was a creek there and they settled right down in 1935. It took them 5 years to get a place for themselves. They were just like nomads walking around. Y’know, the challenges they had in those days… they were in a strange country, they didn’t know the English language. They came with a trunk of clothes packed with six kids.”

—Eugene Uganecz

Members of both the Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic religions often follow the Julian calendar for their religious holidays. The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is a Byzantine Rite Eastern Catholic Church, while Roman Catholics belong to the Latin Church and follow the Gregorian calendar. The Julian calendar, named for Julius Caesar, is about two weeks out of alignment with our current calendar, the Gregorian calendar, which is named for Pope Gregory XIII. This means, for example, that Christmas is celebrated in January. While the Catholic church in Ukraine follows the Julian calendar, churches in Canada sometimes have permission to follow the Gregorian calendar instead.

In 1931, the community of Craigend began planning for the first Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church in the region; however, services were eventually moved to Lac La Biche. In 1955, construction began on a new church, the All Saints Orthodox Church, which was built through volunteer labour and community effort.

One of the most important Ukrainian holidays is Easter. Joyous exchanges of “Khrystos voskres!” (“Christ has risen,” Христос воскрес) and “Voistynu voskres!” (“He has risen, indeed,” воістину воскрес) can be heard in churches as families bring a basket of paska (паска, round Easter bread), babka (бабка, cylindrical Easter bread), boiled eggs, meat, cheese, and pysanky (писанки, dyed Easter eggs) to be blessed by the priest. Pysanky (singular: pysanka, писанка) are decorated using dyes and beeswax. Wax is placed on an egg by a kistka (кістка), a tool with a small funnel attached where melted wax is inserted. The wax protects the colour underneath from the dye in which the egg is placed. There are several symbols used on pysanky, including (but not limited to) geometric designs, Christian images, plants, animals, and man-made tools. Dye colours also have special meanings, such as blue for good health and yellow for the harvest. In regards to Easter, this year (2017) is quite special—Easter falls on the same day on both the Julian and Gregorian calendars.

“On Easter we bake bread: paska and babka. We put them in baskets and take them to church. Everybody brings their baskets and puts them in a semi-circle where a priest comes and blesses everything. What else do we do at Easter? We have a little sip of holy water. He blesses the holy water and he brings some home.”

—Loveth & John Beniuk

Malanka (Маланка), the New Year’s celebration, is named after Malanka, the daughter of Mother Earth, whose return marks the beginning of spring. During Malanka, one can eat many delicious treats, such as kutia (кутя), a dish of poppy seeds, wheat, honey, and almonds, symbolizing peace, prosperity, and good health. Ukrainian staples such as varenyky (вареники, often called perogies or pyrohy by Canadian Ukrainians), grechka (гречка, buckwheat) pancakes, and kielbasa (колбаса, sausage, often called kubasa by Canadian Ukrainians).

Ukrainian dance is characterized by rhythmic stamps, acrobatic jumps, and elegant twirls. The national dance, Hopak (гопак, from the verb гоп, “to jump”), is the most popular dance with impressive solos. Concerts often begin with the Pryvit (привіт, “welcome”), a welcome dance complete with the traditional offering of bread and salt. Various costumes are worn for the Pryvit, showcasing the regional dances performed during the concert. Most other styles of Ukrainian dance are named for the regions they come from, such as Polissia, Volhynia, and Bukovyna (Polissian, Volyn, and Bukovynian respectively). The Lac La Biche Cerna Dancers performed these traditional dances on stage for many years.

Ukrainian embroidery is easily recognized. Traditional embroidery patterns vary according to region of origin and are often characterized by kalyna (калина, guelder-roses), poppies, lozenges (diamonds), and geometric patterns. Red and black are standard colours used for embroidery, but are often accompanied by blue, yellow, and green. Embroidery is put on the regions where evil spirits could enter the body to protect the person wearing it—at the cuffs, neckline, back, shoulders, and hem.

6 Apr 2017 Blog, Exhibits, Information Beaver Lake, Cree, Culture, Cultures Exhibit, Exhibit, Heart Lake, Heritage, history, Lac La Biche, Nehiyawak

Regional Cultures: Cree

The_Museum

Nehiyawak (ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐊᐧᐠ) is a common ethnonym for the people known as the Cree, meaning “those who speak the same language”. The term “Cree” comes from the Ojibwe word “Kirištino”, which was used by the Ojibwe to describe the people living around Hudson Bay; the French pronounced the word as “Cristinaux”, later shortening it to “Cris”.

The Cree are the largest First Nations group in the Lac La Biche region. In Alberta, there are two major sub-groups of Cree: the Woods Cree (in northern regions) and the Plains Cree (primarily in southern regions). They were not the first to this area, pushing other First Nations groups from the region (the Dene-zaa, Sekani, Sarcee, and Blackfoot); however, pottery found on Black Fox Island confirms Cree ties to the region by the 1500s at the latest.

The fur trade in Canada could not have operated without the Cree, who were initially known to the Europeans as the “Homeguard”, firmly established as middlemen between the fur companies and those who would come to trade with them. Cree women would often marry European fur traders à la façon du pays (“in the custom of the country”), which came with advantages and disadvantages. The greatest advantages for marriage involved the fur trade itself: Cree women knew trading customs, spoke multiple languages (at least her own and her husband’s), made moccasins and snowshoes, secured food, and were excellent guides. Essentially, a “country wife” often guaranteed survival for fur traders. In return, the connection would allow her to influence trade relationships, guarantee European goods through trade for her kinship network, and grant her a slightly easier life through her own access to European goods. However, life married to a European could also be difficult or hazardous due to cultural differences and greater exposure to European diseases. The Métis were the eventual product of these marriages.

Signatures from September 9, 1876, at the Fort Pitt signing of Treaty 6 (LAC GAD IT 296)

After Confederation, the Numbered Treaties were created to extract resources and give land to the Canadian government. The Beaver Lake Cree Nation and Heart Lake First Nation signed Treaty 6 on September 9, 1876, at Fort Pitt. At the time, many across Saskatchewan and Alberta were facing starvation and smallpox due to the encroachment of European settlers. It was felt by many that the treaty would be the only assistance they could receive. Signing Treaty 6 seemed helpful, especially with the inclusion of a medicine chest clause and the right to traditional land use; however, the Beaver Lake Cree Nation (Amiskosâkahikanihk) has been taking legal action to uphold their treaty rights in the face of industrial development.

The Cree are highly spiritual. This spiritualism can be seen in their language, dances, cultural arts, and more. Despite facing genocide, assimilation, and colonialism, Cree culture has persevered. The Cree “y” dialect, Nêhiyawêwin (ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ), emphasises interconnectedness and kinship (wahkohtowin, ᐊᐧᐦᑯᐦᑐᐃᐧᐣ) between all beings. Cree language and native arts programs are offered at both the local public schools and Portage College, allowing people to reconnect to their rich culture.

The Medicine Wheel is an important symbol—it encompasses the four seasons, cardinal directions, elements, stages of life, and aspects of the individual: mental physical, emotional, and spiritual. The metaphor of the Medicine Wheel is used in many ways to teach several things, including interdependence and balance.

The culture hero and trickster Wesakechak is one of the most famous Cree heroes, with endless stories told about him. His story cycles always have a moral. They link humans to creation and teach children about life in a humorous manner through a relatable character. These stories are only supposed to be told during the winter. Other seasons have traditional activities as well, such as making canoes in the spring.

Originally only among the Plains Nations, Pow Wows draw people together to celebrate life through songs, dances, ceremonies, and displays of unity. It is a living tradition, as dances evolve with each generation. The Pow Wows in Lac La Biche and Beaver Lake are usually competition Pow Wows, where dancers compete for prizes. Several dances are performed, with most portraying parts of nature; for example, during a grass dance, dancers attempt to imitate the swaying of grass on a windy day, and women’s fancy shawl dances imitate the life cycle of a butterfly.

Round dances, originally healing ceremonies using hand drums and singing, typically take place at night. Before the dancing begins, an elder offers food from a feast to the spirits present. Dancers join hands to form a circle, symbolizing unity and equality; their left hand is held open with the palm upwards because it is on their heart side and their right clasps the hand of the dancer next to them. The round dance continues as long as someone Is drumming and singing.

Cree decoration are intricate and often used on clothing, bags, and belts (among other things). Geometric beadwork, intricate quillwork, and fish scale art are among the many intricate crafts created by the Cree. Moose hair tufting, first used primarily in the north, was once a primary method of decoration clothing and is slowly reviving after almost disappearing. Portage College offers Native Arts & Culture programs in Lac La Biche, including classes on beading, hide tanning, moose/caribou hair tufting, dyeing natural materials, and carving wood and stone.

Elsie Quintal fleshing a hide (Portage College film, *Hide Tanning the Woods Cree Way*)

30 Mar 2017 Blog, Exhibits, Information Culture, Cultures, Cultures Exhibit, Exhibit, Heritage, history, Hylo, Italian, Venice, Venice Picnic

Regional Cultures: Italians

The_Museum

During the 1870s, the region that would become Alberta was transitioning into a land of agricultural opportunity under the Dominion Lands Act, providing settlers with 160 acres of free land in exchange for a small administration fee and an agreement to cultivate at least 40 acres within three years. Over the next sixty years, around 118 million acres were given away under the Act. Such an offer was tempting to the many Northern and Southern Italians who would come to call this region home.

With the assistance of the Italian Society of Edmonton (La Società Vittorio Emanuele Terzo), arrangements were made for an Italian colony to be established in what would become the Hylo and Venice settlements. The first group of settlers left Edmonton on July 27, 1914, headed by an Italian consular representative, Felice De Angelis. The other five members of this party were O.J. Biollo, Pio Bonifacio, Antonio Piemonte, Teofilo Piemonte, and Beniamino Maragno.

“They didn’t even know what type of animals we had, as far as wildlife goes. They were from Italy. You don’t have moose in Italy! So, it was quite interesting. The first […] gentlemen that came, they thought they saw a fox. A black fox […]. They wanted to catch this fox, and the fox ended up being a skunk! Of course, they got sprayed. Then, they had taken their clothes off and soaked them in a river or creek, trying to get the stink out. Can you imagine the smell of the skunk? Ugh! Terrible, terrible!”

—Rosanna Giacobbo

The group surveyed the area, walking through bush and muskeg, before making their return to Edmonton, content with what they saw. On August 28, 1914, the second group of settlers (numbering 22) left Edmonton for the area. Both journeys were meticulously recorded by De Angelis in his diary, providing an intriguing glimpse into the life of early Italian settlers.

These settlers constructed tents as temporary shelters until they could register their homesteads at the Lac La Biche Mission and build shacks before winter. It was difficult adapting to the harsh climate, clearing farmland, and establishing a living, but they succeeded. To earn money, people would trap, cut lumber, and work on the railway in addition to farming.

“It’s not accurate to say they mostly came to homestead. To say that many of them made their living on the farm, no. The railroad, cutting ties, working on the rails. My ancestors all worked on the rails. Just farming itself, very few. Not the original ones, they couldn’t make a living on the farm. They worked in tie camps or actually worked on the railroad itself, making it. Extra gangs. My dad din’t farm a lot. We took over the farm after and we did more farming ourselves, me and my brother. My dad worked on the railroad most of his life. He started farming with his father, but like I said, they didn’t just have one thing going. Their farming, their agricultural habit. Lumbering, sawmills, either working in lumber camps or railroad. […] A few had cattle, few pigs, mostly that was the food supply for the family.”

—Leslie Biollo

The small community grew at a fast pace. On September 8, 1916, one settlement formally received the name “Venice” and opened the first post office with O.J. Biollo as the postmaster. The other, Hylo, is said to have been named by A & GW Railway workers after a card game.

The early Italians were primarily Roman Catholic. Before the construction of the Venice church, priests from the Mission would come during the summer to say mass in a railway shack J.D. McArthur’s men left standing. Determined to have their own parish, the Venice church was constructed in 1925 using donations of labour and construction materials from the parishioners. The church is home to the Venice Picnic, which has been held since 1927. Dances were also held in the parish hall with Albert Michetti playing the fiddle. One particularly lively evening, the music played beyond midnight, prompting the priest to come and put an end to the festivities.

Traditional Italian cuisine remains popular, such as the Christmas Eve dish bacalai, salted cod with tomatoes and capers. Other traditional dishes include dandelion salad with sausage and polenta (made from cornbread) with spaghetti sauce. Cheese was a main staple for the Italians and Mrs. Joe Michetti had a particularly famous style of grating cheese. As with many other ethnicities, nobody leaves hungry from an Italian home.

16 Mar 2017 Blog, Exhibits, Information Cultures, Exhibit, Heritage, Lac La Biche, Lac La Biche Mission, Metis

Regional Cultures: Métis

The_Museum

The Métis are unique to Canada, born of the union between women of the First Nations and European men during the fur trade. They acted in a variety of roles during the fur trade, such as middlemen between the cultures they were tied to, making them some of the most valuable employees and allies for the trading companies. The Cree name for the Métis is “o-tee-paym-soo-wuk”, meaning, “the people who own themselves”. This name encompasses the spirit of Métis independence.

Lac La Biche has roots as a Métis community that primarily spoke Nêhiyawêwin (Cree “Y” dialect) rather than French or Michif. Between 1763 and 1821, Métis freemen lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle around the area, often working as farmers, hunters, fishers, trappers, and seasonal labourers for the Hudson’s Bay Company.

Alberta is the only province with Métis settlements, which are areas of constitutionally-protected land designated for the Métis. Two of these settlements are in our region—Buffalo Lake and Kikino, both of which received designation as an official settlement in 1938. Kikino received its name from the people living there; Kikino means “Our Home” in Cree. Although land was set aside at Buffalo Lake in 1938 under the name of Caslan, it was not populated until 1951 due to lack of access. People moved there from Kikino, North Buck Lake, the Lac La Biche Mission area, and other Métis settlements. By the 1960s, only eight of the original twelve settlements remained.

Although the settlements were legally created in the 1900s, many local Métis families have been present in the region since the 1700s. Many came as free traders, not under contract with one specific fur company.

The first documented appearances of the Desjarlais family begin with Joseph Desjarlais (b. 1745) and his wife, Okimaskwew. Two of their children, Joseph Desjarlais Jr. and Baptiste “Nishecabo” Desjarlais, was born at Lac La Biche in 1796 and 1787 respectively. He continued to live in the area, marrying Josephte Cardinal in 1844.

Joseph Soldat Cardinal (b. 1766), also known as Matchi-Pa-Koos, and Louise Frobisher were in the region several times before permanently settling in the 1820s. Later in life, he asked the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to set up a mission in the region for the several hundred Métis and Cree living there. In 1844, he guided missionary Jean-Baptiste Thibeault to Lac La Biche to find a suitable location. Notre Dame des Victoires was founded in 1853.

Joseph Ladouceur (b. 1777) came from Quebec and married Josephte Cardinal. Their children eventually moved to the Plamondon area to trap and farm. One of their sons, Joseph Ladouceur Jr., became an independent trader. Josephte Cardinal later married Joseph Desjarlais Jr.

“Culture entails all your ancestral beings, whatever they had going for them. You can try to relate the stories down and on and on.”

—Millie Lansing

Métis culture is largely shaped by their dual heritage, with a blend of Aboriginal and European influences shown in traditions, language, and art. For example, the official language of the Métis, Michif, is a mixture of Nêhiyawêwin (Cree “Y” dialect) and French. However, most in the Lac La Biche region spoke Nêhiyawêwin.

The Métis flag shows a white infinity symbol on a solid coloured background. Historically, the red flags represented working with the Hudson’s Bay Company and blue with the North West Company. The flag was a gift in 1814 from Alexander Macdonnell of the North West Company and was used in 1816 by Métis resistance fighters during the Battle of Seven Oaks. The infinity symbol has several meanings, including the perpetuity of the Métis people and the union of Aboriginal and European cultures. Today, the blue flag is used by the Métis National Council and the red flag by the Métis Nation of Alberta.

Introduced by Scottish and French fur traders, the fiddle is the national instrument of the Métis. Fiddling was accompanied with guitars by 1940s, but was historically accompanied with stomping and tapping. Fiddles were expensive, so many Métis handcrafted their own instruments. Tunes were learned by ear. Some famous tunes are Red River Jig, Duck Dance, Drops of Brandy, St. Anne’s Reel, Whiskey Before Breakfast, and Maple Sugar. Where there are fiddlers, there are dancers as well. Jigging is influenced by First Nations pow wow steps as well as French, Scottish, and Irish steps. There are two parts to jigging—basic step dancing and fancy jigging steps. There is also a constant competition on who can outdo the other between fiddler and jigger. Jiggers have to match the tempo of the fiddler, with the fiddler increasing his speed throughout the dance. Our region has been home to the Silhouettes Square Dancing Club and the Kikino Northern Lights Dancers.

The Métis are famous for their intricate, usually floral beadwork. The Métis are thought to have introduced beadworking to several First Nations groups. Beadwork is present on many things, such as jackets and bags. Examples of beadwork can be found everywhere. Even Métis “fire bags” ( also called “octopus” bags), which were used to carry flint, ammunition, tobacco, and pipes, were richly decorated with beads.

“My people will sleep for one hundred years, but when they awake, it will be the artists who give them their spirit back.”

—Louis Riel

The iconic Métis sashes, called ceinture fléchée or Assomption sashes, were historically used by voyageurs travelling through Canada and made in Assomption, Quebec. There were several uses for these sashes—washcloths, tumplines, rope, scarves, tourniquets, bridles, and sewing thread among others. Sashes were tightly wrapped around voyageurs’ waists to provide back support and prevent hernias, one of the leading causes of death among voyageurs. The colours and meanings of the threads used to make sashes are slightly varied, but there are two sets of generally accepted meanings.

In the first, blue, white, and blue refer to the colours of the Métis flags, black is for the period of Métis suppression after 1870, and green and gold represent fertility, growth, and prosperity.
In the second, blue represents the strength of the Métis spirit, red represents blood shed fighting for Métis rights, white represents the connection to the Creator, black is for the period of Métis suppression after 1870, yellow represents prosperity, and green represents fertility.

9 Mar 2017 Blog, Exhibits, Information Culture, Exhibit, Heritage, Lac La Biche, Lebanese

Regional Cultures: Lebanese

The_Museum

Lac La Biche is the site of one of the first permanent Lebanese settlements in Alberta and has the highest percentage of Lebanese people per capita (14%) in the province. Most of the Lebanese community today have roots in either Lala or Kherbet Rouha, both located in the Beqaa Valley.

The first Lebanese immigrants in Alberta, Ali Abouchadi (Alexander Hamilton) and his uncle Sine Abouchadi, came to Canada in 1905 intending to work the gold rush. Unfortunately, they arrived too late. By 1906, they were peddling goods between Edmonton and Lac La Biche; eventually, Sine opened a general store in Lac La Biche, which his nephew took over in 1913. By the late 1920s, Alex Hamilton was one of the biggest businessmen in town. Many other arrived in Lac La Biche around the same time, such as Mohamed Abuali Gotmi (Frank Coutney), who came to Lac La Biche in 1911. Initially, he worked for Alex Hamilton, but later started an independent fur trading business. He learned English, Nêhiyawêwin (Cree), Dene, Ukrainian, Swedish, and French.

The largest wave of Lebanese immigration took place in the 1940-1950s, and many worked in mink ranching. For exmaple, Jim Tarrabain and Sine Abougoush’s mink were among those in the community recognized for their high quality across Canada. Anne Tarrabain maintains that working with her husband on their mink ranch in Lac La Biche helped preserve the language, morals, and traditions of her family’s culture.

“We talked about tolerance, understanding, and always having those strong morals and values. Honesty, hard-working and trusting… because the community allowed us to practice our religion and culture, we never felt other than comfortable and we belonged.

–Anne Tarrabain

Most Lebanese in our community are Muslims, but they did not have a mosque, or masjid (مسجد‎‎ ), for several decades after their arrival in the area. Without a mosque, families would meet in their homes for prayers and other gatherings. In 1958, construction began on the first mosque, a place to pray, gather, and educate their children. This was the second mosque built in Canada. In the 1960s, an Imam arrived in Lac La Biche to serve the community. The current Al Kareem Mosque was constructed in 1986.

The largest holiday for Lebanese Muslims is Eid, which follows Ramadan, a month long fast during daylight hours from sunrise to sunset. Eid-al-Fitr is full of celebration and delicious food, such as fatayer, a turnover pastry made with spinach. For dessert, baklava, phyllo pastry layered with nuts and honey, is popular.

Arabic is still a common language spoken among the Lebanese is Lac La Biche, due in part to its necessity for Muslim prayers. Classes have been available at the Al Kareem Mosque and J.A. Williams High School. Poetry in Arabic is usually sung, creating a beautiful harmony of prose and melody.

“A lot of cultural habits go hand in hand with the language. Arabic is different than English. English is kind of a left-hemisphere language. Arabic is a right-hemisphere language. You can describe abstracts better than English, where English is very straightforward—it’s an accountant’s, lawyer’s language where everything is specific. It helps me, knowing both languages, because if I can’t get a concept in one language, I switch thinking into the other language, and it’ll come to me. […] In Arabic, you can describe an abstract idea in three or four words, while in English, you may need a while.”

–Zicki Eludin

The traditional dance of Lebanon is called dabke. It originated from repairing mud roofs that were damaged by weather change. To fix the roof, people would hold hands, form a line, and start stomping their feet on the roof. Today, dabke is a much livelier line dance performed at special occasions such as weddings and social gatherings.