Whatever He Says

When we got permission to stay at Missabay Community School for our week in Mish, I thought that our team would occupy the sprawling large school alone, since it was closed for the summer. But that was not the case. People came and went at all hours.   I got up early each morning to have time alone, and sometimes;  as I padded my way to the girls' washroom on bare feet,  with the early morning sunshine pouring through the windows at 6.00 a.m.; would cross paths  with Marita the custodian, coming down the hallway to start her day's work .    I was always looking for somewhere to be alone for a few minutes before the busy day got started, and one morning I thought that the office was the ideal place where I could close the door, read for half and hour, and write in my journal. But one of the staff  came in to use the computer and started filling out some paperwork, nodding hello to me and carrying on with his business as I sat awkwardly with my journal. It dawned on me

One week in Mish left me with a heart undone. I have  only   to close my eyes and little Tabitha is sitting beside me in the front seat of my car with her laughing, dark, almond eyes. She is smart and funny and makes me laugh when she tells me that someone wanted to buy her puppy from her. "Give me the money first and I'll give you the puppy," she said she told the potential buyer. She still had the puppy, so I guess the money didn't materialize. As we drove into the parking lot of the community centre on Sunday, our first day on the reserve, some children ran up to our cars, recognizing members of the team from earlier visits. Christina, a spunky little girl with a serious expression and hair falling to one side over her eyes, knocked on my car window and motioned to me to wind it down.   Her sharp eyes had spotted something of interest. Pointing to  the almost empty bag of chips on the car seat, she said, "Chippies! Can I have some?"  The children o

Several weeks before we began our journey to Mishkeegogamang, Paul commissioned a painting to be done by our granddaughter Tippy, as a gift for  Chief Connie Gray-McKay, both an honoured leader and friend.   Tippy did her very best, painting a beautiful picture  in vivid primary colours,  of a crouching wolf with other creatures within its flowing frame. The colours and creatures were each chosen for their symbolism. I was worried about it's fragility and wrapped it carefully in two soft pillowcases, surrounded by generous layers of bubble wrap. Over our three day journey I made sure that the picture was safe as lug gage went in and out of the vehicle . I could not wait for Chief Connie to see it. When we arrived though, Chief Connie was away, and not expected back until later in the week. After all of my anticipation, it felt anticlimactic to have to wait longer, and we weren't even sure if we would be able to see her then! One of our team, Sharon, had been working on