Dateline - June 29, 2009

My take on Spirit Way, Thompson, and my family
By Hilda Fitzner 

Tansi (Cree greeting for ‘Hello, how are you’):  I am Hilda Rose Fitzner.  I am a Northern Manitoba Cree Aboriginal, raised in Wabowden, Manitoba, a bay line community 109 kilometres south of Thompson.  I wish to share some of my history with you.  My Cree name translates to Woman Who Turns Around—I am named after the wind that turns around.  I was given this name by a much respected and powerful medicine man from my maternal grandmother’s clan.  I joined the board of Spirit Way, Inc. and recently was nominated for Vice President, which I graciously accepted.  

I come from a family of 18; 16 children, my mother Hilda Mae (nee Tait) and father Frederick Fitzner, World War II Veteran.  Sadly, my mother suffered loss of premature twin boys—born too soon and weak to survive in that time of no incubators; also lost one boy to epilepsy.  We were raised basically off the land on a diet of fresh fish, rabbits, ducks, geese, spruce hens, moose meat (yummy), caribou, elk, and sometimes smoked muskrat, beaver and lynx; and plenty of bannock, roots and berries—whatever was in season.  I remember my mother and father’s teachings about respecting what Earth gives up for us.  We only take from the land what we needed to survive with and we were to do this with much respect.  My mother also bought us through many childhood illnesses with medicines from the bush; medicines that she learned of from her Elders.  We had no doctors or pharmacies to bring us through these illnesses.  She carried much respect for the medicines of the land and would not take medicine without leaving an offer of tobacco in turn.  Today, I carry much respect for the ways of our people and the medicines that were given us.

My maternal grandmother is from the Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (NCN) located north of Thompson in Nelson House.  Before my mother was born, their home reserve NCN was on what is known as Wuskwatim Lake.  Two of my aunts were born on that lake and my mother was born at the mouth of the Grass River in Setting Lake across from Wabowden.  My maternal grandmother’s family were the bloodline Chiefs from 1700 to 1907 when it was turned over to elections.  My grandfather, Joseph Tait, was from Big Trout Lake, Ontario, an Ojibway Aboriginal who come to NCN to find his bride.  My grandfather Tait was a very strong, very determined man who worked hard to raise his family off the land and was deeply religious.

My paternal grandmother is from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, located at The Pas, Manitoba.  Her mother’s family was the bloodline Chiefs of OCN.  My father would tell me as a 7 year old child to be proud of whom I was, to hold my head high, because I come from royalty.  Sadly, the only royalty I learned of then was Queen Elizabeth—we had to sing to her every day in school.  Also, at this time of my life, I learned where society placed us Aboriginal people on the social latter—at the very bottom.  So, in my seven year old mind, I thought we were distantly related to Queen Elizabeth and at least I could feel good about that, I seen how unaccepted Aboriginal people were.  At 8 years old, I asked my father how we were related to the Queen, he gently laughed at what he thought was the silliness of an 8 year old child, and told me we weren’t related to the Queen.  I asked him about my royalty; he then explained about his grandmother’s brother and father being the Chief and his father before him.  I felt crushed and didn’t want that; I had to face that I was one of the “unacceptable” ones.  I left that part of me alone until I reached my teenage years; I didn’t turn away from my mother and father’s lessons through stories, I just didn’t share them with the outside world where I wasn’t at all important and I didn’t feel I belonged.  Then one day, I thought about our Cree ways and life and how my mother and father worked so hard to make sure we always had food and a warm and happy home, and my fierce pride and love for our people surfaced.  It never left me, I left it alone for a few years….and it will never leave me nor will I ever leave it alone again.  When I think about who I am, why I am, and where I want to go, I feel I carry the pride and courage my strong Grandmothers had before me and I need to set the same path for my future generations.  One that will help them, too, to be proud people and respect all that Mother Earth has provided for us.

I have two children—my daughter Angeline and my son Brian; my daughter died five years ago from a fatal accident but I say I have two children—she will always be my child, death cannot separate that.  My son lives in Thompson and works for the City of Thompson; he has a three-year old son Braiden.  My daughter has a son Tristan, he was only four when his Mommy was called away.  I am raising Tristan and I try to teach him to be kind and helpful, be proud of his accomplishments, to accept his failures with grace, to be humble to our Creator and follow His teachings, make choices to be proud of himself, and to take care of our sacred gift, our Mother Earth and all her creatures.

My Sundays are usually reserved for my grandsons.  During the warmer months this is our Sunday together:  first we go to the Thompson Zoo—the first animal we visit is the wolf…Braiden howls like a wolf, his daddy taught him that when Braiden was a year old and then we carry on to the eagle and then the rest of the zoo.  Our next stop is the Aviation Tribute, the Norseman restoration (a definite favourite for little boys)…and always a drive past the Robert Bateman mural and the rock face wolves.  Spirit Way has created some totally wonderful places for us to share with our children and always an opportunity to squeeze in a lesson or two about conserving nature, looking after our Mother Earth, and community pride and care.  I tell them we have to respect the hard work and dedication community people have devoted to giving us mystical and magical places to visit right in our own community.  To see the beautiful, soul searching gaze of this wondrous creature captured by Robert Bateman’s artistic touch portrayed on the side of a lit-up ten-story building is just that….mystical and magical; and I feel connected!!

Our native wolf and our Cree people in northern Manitoba have had a very special relationship since we Cree settled in northern Manitoba thousands of years ago.  The wolf is a symbol of one of our sacred teachings, it holds very strong spirit.  I, myself, feel the wolf is one of my spirit guides; he helped me choose to come back to Thompson with my grandson Tristan to build a better life for him.

And the rest of Spirit Way’s accomplishments: the 49 wolf statues (see them all in this website) —each one individualized by the artists the sponsors selected for its painting; the Aviation tribute—how the many hours dedicated to its re-creation shows the determination of this group; the rock face wolves—another honour to our brother; the wolf enclosure at the zoo—how many times my grandsons and I stood there visiting with the wolves and thinking they should have more space to live in, now Spirit Way Inc. is fundraising to enlarge and rebuild the wolf enclosure;  and now for their next vision…..the Centre for Aboriginal Art.

All of my life, I have seen many diversified artists in our people—my mother was one, she beaded many different creations….mukluks, mitts, hats, jackets, pants, all hand stitched and with much pride, they lasted forever and ended up in many different parts of the world; the artists that picked up a piece of driftwood and seen something in it that just needed the right touch to bring it out, the one that looked at the northern lights and just had to paint them to capture them forever or the spiritual etchings of an eagle, the dancer who naturally took to hoops and awed audiences with his magical way of dancing through all the hoops, the singer and drummer who, with one song, could wake up the call of the drum, the heartbeat of our Mother Earth, in any Aboriginal person even if they didn’t grow up in Aboriginal customs, the person who picked up a piece of soapstone and bought it to life portraying an Aboriginal person running a dog sled team, our rock face paintings from thousands of moons ago, etc. etc.  Our people have so much to offer and share with the world….this next Spirit Way vision will bring that forward too.

In closing, I would encourage you not to stay away from this website too long.  You may miss out on fantastic steps of bringing the next visions forward!!  Stay tuned….better yet come and see for yourself what Spirit Way has to offer.

Ekosi maka, Nitotemak!! (Cree for ‘all’s good then, my relations)