Earth Day 2015 - 25th Anniversary of the Odeyak

Yesterday was an inspiring day to honour an inspiring and heroic voyage. Earth Day, April 22, marked the 25^th anniversary of the journey of the Odeyak from Whapmagoostui to New York City. Youth delegates Elders along with past and present Cree leaders from all corners of Eeyou Istchee gathered together at Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute (ACCI) to commemorate and celebrate the remarkable effort of the Inuit and Cree peoples to stop the damming of the Great Whale River.  

Daniel Bosum Sr.

The day was launched with a warm welcome from Joshua Iserhoff, Youth Grand Chief of the Cree Nation Youth Council, ACCI’s president Abel Bosum & Willie Iserhoff, Director of Culture for the Cree Nation Government. A beautiful blessing from elder Daniel Bosum Sr. and opening hand drum song from Redfern Mianscum set the tone for the day.

Original paddles from the Odeyak voyage were reunited with the watercraft. One paddle coming from Vermont, donated by Dr. Hans Carlson, and the others coming from Eastmain, donated by CBC’s own Christopher Herodier. We thank them for their generous donation; the paddles will become part of the permanent collection at ACCI.

Odeyak Paddlers & Nishiyuu Walkers

The day was not only a day of commemoration, youth empowerment and environmental stewardship, but also day of celebration! CBC North’s Christopher Herodier broadcast live from Aanischaaukamikw during the lunch hubbub for his radio show Eyou Dipajimoon, when delegates and participants had a chance to mingle, chat with old friends and meet new ones. After lunch Powwow dancer Darren Saganash danced as the Waseshkun Drummers from Waswanipi filled the Billy Diamond Hall with the heartbeat of the drum. Lloyd Cheechoo, Richard Bosum, & Diane Bosum sang beautiful songs for us. Christopher Herodier made an impromptu performance with some great tunes. The day ended fittingly with a stunning vocal performance from rising star Miriame Hasni. 

The Cree Nation Youth Council and ACCI could not have realized this important regional event without the generous support from the Cree Nation Government’s Department of Culture, the Ministry of Culture of Quebec, Air Creebec, Cree Outfitters and Tourism Association, Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association, and Ouje-Bougoumou Cree First Nation. 

Feast

Our first visitor using a mountain bike

Michel Bayard is from Albany, New York.  He is 70 years old.  He started his journey using his vehicle from Albany to Montreal and continued by bike to Ouje-Bougoumou.  He travelled using forestry roads through Obedjewan.  He plans to continue his journey to Waswanipi.

If you see him on the road, please do stop and greet him.  Show him Cree hospitality.

We want to wish him safe travels…

ACCI Hosts Major Tourism Announcement by Minister of Tourism

The Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute has once again hosted a major tourist gathering in the region. The Quebec Minister for Tourism, Pascal Bérubé was at ACCI to announce a Funding Agreement totaling $1.4 million to be invested in the region for tourism development.

Representatives from the Crees and Jamesian along with The Cree Tourism Association , Eeyou Itschee and James Bay Tourism were present to hear this exciting news.   ACCI President Diane Ottereyes-Ried welcomed the Minister Bérubé to ACCI.  Abel Bosum, of the Ouje-Bougoumou Council, welcomed the Minister to the Community.

Minister Pascal Bérubé did not hide his admiration for the building that houses the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute. 

Minister Pascal Bérubé’s message in the guest book reads…

“A wonderful visit to the heart of the heritage of the great Cree Nation.

A fascinating culture that is worth being known.

Long life between the friendship our two peoples”

Actor Adam Beach visits ACCI

Wednesday, July 31st saw a visit to ACCI by Adam Beach, star of the popular TV series, Arctic Air. Adam was in Ouje for a gathering of the Cree Youth Council and walked up to see the museum with his host, Joshua Iserhoff.

Stephen Inglis, Adam Beach & Joshua Iserhoff

It was a pleasure to have this gifted actor show his appreciation for the spaces and the exhibits and he was unfailingly gracious in stopping for photographs with staff and visitors.

Adam grew up on the Dog Creek First Nation, Lake Winnipeg and started acting in high school. His list of roles in film and television, awards, and achievements is long and varied, both in Canada and the U.S. 

ACCI Staff with Adam Beach

We wish him continued success and trust he inspired the youth of Eeyou Ischee!

Our First Royal Visit

ACCI was honoured to receive our first royal visit on June 24, 2013!

Dr. Mingying La, a princess of the Na (Mosuo) people from the northwest of China, came to explore our unique culture and exchange ideas about cultural preservation. Dr. Mingying La, who is associated with the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, was joined by Madame Cao Jian Ping, the director of the Mosuo Cultural Museum in Lugu Lake. They were accompanied by Dr. Shaoting Yin, the Head of Anthropology Museum at Yunnan University, Mrs. Wuyun Tuya, a PhD candidate from Lanzhou University in China, and Dr. Qing Li, from the University of Ottawa.

The Na people are an ethnic minority in China facing similar challenges to us. Like us, the Na are concerned with cultural maintenance wishing to preserve their culture for future generations and assist younger generations in learning about their culture. As we recognize at ACCI, future generations are the key to survival for any culture; working to preserve invaluable objects important to knowledge of our history, and creating engaging and relevant learning opportunities is at the heart of much of our work.

The Na have a unique language that many younger Na today loosing proficiency in. As in Eeyou Istchee, there is a great deal of work by the Na to be completed to ensure the survival of their language. The Na language, like Cree, has an oral tradition; the history of their people was learned by priests and passed by word of mouth from generation to generation. Because the use of writing system aids in language maintenance, the Na are urgently working to create a written form of the Na language. They will use this writing system to ensure that their history and stories are recorded for future generations.

Having a visit from a very interesting group of people is not new to ACCI.  We welcome unique groups often, but the opportunity to welcome a royal guest was a first for us. We tried our best to be of use to them as part of their mission of learning. We discussed our work and what we do to protect and preserve our culture and cultural objects. After coming to see our state of the art building, the group left with ideas about to how to run their cultural centre so that it can be highly effective in achieving their vision.   Hopefully this new found partnership will bring forward wonderful opportunities to share and discuss in the future!

For more information about the Mosuo and their cultural development project, please check out their website.