Fish, fish, fish.
That’s most of my diet at this time.
Shawna wasn’t kidding when she said the Nisga’a eat a lot of
fish. Irene had made KD and weiners the
other night, and I had chosen that over the smoked salmon fettuccini, because
I’ve eaten mostly fish. I’ll make sure
to eat that tomorrow for lunch, so it doesn’t spoil. On the brighter side, I now am no longer
afraid of fishbones.
The fish that has been made has been amazing, but there
comes a point where you just overdose on it, and you don’t really eat anything
else. It’s all noms, but I’m not sure if
I’m able to have a diet on just one thing.
I was spoiled growing up.
I went to a feast the other night. It was horrible. Wolves ran the first feast; Killer whales ran
this feast. There were two feasts – one
for a girl with many medical problems, and the other for a stone moving. The girl passed away last year, and they
wanted to keep postponing her feast, and the stone moving was not
impressive. I can’t go into detail, but
let me mention a few things that happened.
Not many ‘elders’ spoke in Nisga’a. I was disappointed, because I was spoiled in
the first feast. The first feast,
everyone was treated well, and this one, people were just sat down and
forgotten about. There were two tables
of food. This food was not exactly the
best, as there was a lot of bought “Chinese” food, and practically everything
had fish in it. They even served KD with
smoked fish in it. Apparently there was
sealion somewhere. I didn’t even see it
(it’s easy to notice, since the meat is black) I had a piece of meat in gravy
that tasted like silverside; that was kinda nice and reminded me of home. I had a problem with the food, because I
thought the only food that was to be served, other than refreshments was the
Nisga’a stew. I never had that
either. Next thing was the gifts. We received a lot of gifts, but some of the
people never managed to receive a lot of them.
Everyone received different gifts, because of rankings, but most of it
is dollarstore stuff, still had the labels on it. Next thing was the rapid attacks on other
elders. I understand that if you have a
problem with someone, you take it out on them, but not in public.
“I gave you this name, and I can take it from you too”.
That was from an elder who wanted to pass on a name to her
brother, but because of his “disease” of being an alcoholic, he’s not
allowed. I can understand – but you
don’t need to announce it to everyone.
There were guests from outside of town.
Church folks, doctors from Vancouver, and me. That’s really not appropriate for any of us,
especially if you’re saying it in English.
Pretty disappointing.
The last feast received $27,000. This one received $10,000 for both the stone
moving and the funeral.
Mind you, this is the first combined feast that was ever
performed. They’re worried about losing
their culture, but if they keep changing it to allow small things like that,
then they’re gonna have nothing. Irene
mentioned that the Nisga’a are becoming “Hollywood Indians”. Little do they know, she’s right.
The “New Beginning” is something small. I had received my course outlines for two
courses – FNST 220/320. I’m hoping that they
are both credentials for transfer, especially going into Linguistics. FNST 220 is an introduction to Linguistics,
based on FNST languages of Northern BC, the ones I happen to love. The website associated with the class is at http://www.web.unbc.ca/~smalgyax/
. The teacher, Margaret is focused on
the Ts’msyen language, and that’s the one that we’re focusing on. I believe that Nisga’a is a part of
the Ts’msyen language family also. 220
will teach me about the things I need to know about, such as the IPA,
Phonology, Morphology, Syntax and so.
320 is what I really want to do. I’ll be dissecting a language. (I just realized that I need to purchase a
Nisga’a dictionary.
Awesome.) The thing that I’m really
excited about that I was nervous about was that there’s no final exam. I’ll be doing a final project on one of the
following:
·
Words, and word parts
·
Different kinds of words, and how to recognize
them
·
Basic sentence patterns (Intransitive or
transitive)
·
Expanded Sentences
·
Variation on basic sentences.
I’ll become more comfortable creating a project once the
class continues on. I’m actually
thinking that I could create an interesting sounding Germanic-Ts’msyen/Dene
conlang after completing this course, and I’ll be able to continue using the
IPA in succession too!
I’ll find out if I’m going to Terrace on Friday for the
weekend. I’m crossing my fingers, as
it’s been forever since I’ve seen my friend.
I’m gonna be online all day tomorrow, as I’m going to be studying the
Nisga’a alphabet as it’s part of my first lesson that I /may/ be
missing. May as well catch up,
right? These are the reasons why I moved
to Gitwinksihlkw in the first place, and I’m more than excited to begin
learning Nisga’a properly – even off first voices. I may ask Irene if she is able to help me
with the alphabet sometime too!
I’ve decided that I’m gonna edit my personal
appearance. The beard is getting chopped
into stubble when I move back to PG. I
really don't like my beard too long, as it’s becoming annoying with split ends,
and I don't have anything to manage it with.
I may trim when I get to PG, with Jay’s help. Otherwise, I’ve found myself munching on
it. With my hair, I’m growing it long,
though I’m shaving the sides. I’m
hoping to grow it long in the middle, and have a plait growing down my
back. I’m thinking of getting rid of all
but three piercings on my face – my third eye, septum and labret. I’m not sure how people will think about
that. :)
I’m going to MoNo this summer too. Planning on ordering my ticket tomorrow. Gonna see if anyone can give me a ride down,
and I’ll pay for half gas, or the fraction – depending how many people are in
the vehicle. I just want a weekend away,
with no worries about my health or anything else. I feel this is the right decision, and I know
this is what I want. I also get to run
around naked too.
Food part: Irene made
“Nisga’a chips” the other day.
Get some fish skin, put it in the oven and bake them with a little
salt. Quite delicious, even if they’re a
little fish tasting!
Seems that my life is kinda full at the moment. Oh yes, Hobiiyee practice too. I’ve started to drum in the community with
Irene’s drum, and I’ve saved some sound files from the practices. I’m not gonna upload any, ‘cause of privacy
purposes, but if anyone wishes to listen, I’ll gladly play them for you in
person :)
Turns out I love “David’s Song”, heh. Although it’s an adjustment from a religious
song, it’s ironic that a song I love is named the same as my brother. :P
Irene appreciates me being a drummer for Hobiiyee, because I
bring soul and spirit into the performance.
I hope I’m allowed to preform with the Nisga’a.
