The Doig River First Nation Visit

By Arisa Shimamoto

I saw a moose's skin at the first time there. It was hard and a little bit disgusting because there were some blood vessels and hnair. When the First Nation woman wrung that out, it looked very hard. The bread was baked by me and it was very delicious and the hotdog was also delicious. But it was very cold that day. When many elementary school students danced around the fire, they looked very fun. We joined that only one time. It was a little fun.

Visiting the Doig River First Nation

By Haruna Tonomura

I was a very good experience for me to go to the Doig River First Nation. I was surprised that there were a lot of children. I met students of the Upper Pine Elementary School. I was glad they remembered me.

The location was very good, and I enjoyed the beautiful natural view. At first, I didn’t want to see the moose’s skin because I thought it was revolting, but it was very soft and beautiful. I took a lot of pictures. The process of making a moose’s hide is very long. A woman said it would cost $700 to buy.

After studying how to make a moose’s hide, we ate bannock. It was the first time I had eaten it, and it was very good. I like to eat it with jam. When I was eating, a very cute dog came. The dog liked people. I stroked his stomach. There were three or four dogs. I took many pictures of them. Then I enjoyed First Nation’s traditional dances and songs. There are similar dances in Japan. Before I came to Canada, I went to an international exposition. I learned about First Nations cultures. I saw a lot of art objects and clothes. I’m interested in First Nations’ cultures, so I really enjoyed this valuable experience.

A Visit to the Doig River First Nation

By Rina Takamatsu

I went to Doig River. I could have a good experience. I saw a moose hide and I saw the process to make the shoes, clothes and so on. I touched the skin. It was soft. That had a big impact on me. I didn’t know that. I knew our ancestors’ life many years ago. They had great knowledge.

Then I ate bannock. This tasted like bread. I saw their dance. It was wonderful. They looked excited, and I heard First Nation’s story. I’m glad I heard the story. I sometimes couldn’t understand, but I think I almost understand. I want to appreciate my ancestors because I’m so happy now.

We Visited Doig River First Nation

By Young Dae Jang

Yesterday, we visited the Doig Rive rFirst Nation. We learned about First Nation culture. It was very interesting. First of all, we watched stage 2 [of preparing a moose hide], scraping because many elementary students came there. So my group started to watch stage 2. The stage 2 scraping showed us how to remove the moose hair. Scraping does take time and patience of a day.

Second, we watched Stage 3, Grease and Brain. Stage 4, Soaking and Wringing, Stage 5, Flouring and Tanning/smoking. It was very marvelous.

After we watched, we ate a hotdog and bannock. Especially, I like bannock. I ate bannock with jam and butter. It had a very good taste.

Third, we crowded in the middle of the centre where a First Nation explained about First Nation history. We could listen to First Nation culture, but I couldn't understand all things. I just understood 10%.

Finally, the First Nations were singing and dancing with a steady rhythm. The dancing was turning round and round by a fire.

I really enjoyed that time. I took a lot of pictures. When I go back to Korea, I will explain about and show my family First Nation culture.

About Doig Day Events

By Mana Nishihara

I attended a Doig Day events. I had never seen such a spectacle. First, I saw a moose hide. After I touched it with my hand, it felt strange. It was stretched and tightened around the frame. I didn’t smell something. I saw animal furs. The animal kind is a bear and a fox. Secondly, I made bannock. I experienced it for the first time. I spread jam on bannock. The, it tasted delicious. After, I heard a traditional native game and listened to the beat of the drum. Finally, I joined the round dance. The, the children were happy. It was fun. It was a good experience for me. Thank you for inviting us.

Doig River First Nation

By Chikako Hirashima

I went to Doig River First Nation Doig River Reserve yesterday, and I experienced various things. First of all, I saw the hide preparation. Fleshing work seems like hard and steady work. The hide is very soft which workers finished all process. Then, I made like a bun [bannock], and I ate it. It was very delicious. Next, I saw a bear’s stuffed specimen and a fox’s stuffed specimen, but I couldn’t touch and see very well because I was scared of them. Finally, I saw a traditional dance. I thought elementary school students enjoyed it, and what kind of hides are musical instruments made from? I was happy because a girl greeted me, and she hugged me again who hugged me when I went to Upper Pine Elementary School. It was cold because it was raining, but I experienced things that people generally can’t, so these experiences are my treasures. These are my experiences at Doig River First Nation.

Doig River First Nation

By Martina Stocker

At nine o'clock, the bus came and brought us to the Doig River First Nation. Then we saw several stations. First, a woman scraped the moose hair from the hide. After scraping the hide was very fine. Secondly, we saw a woman on the hide and she scraped the fat and the flesh from the hide. In front of this woman was a finished moose leather. Next to the finished leather wasa hide over the fire. The next station was soaking and wringing. The woman showed us that. Next to the river was a woman. She hung the meat over the fire. She was very modern with a knife from the time today!

After these stations, we can make snake bread [schlangenbrot in German] or bannock. The snakebread was good.

Later, we saw an acheological dig. The children had very fun. At last we saw skins from several animals. Then Martn and I sat on the platform around the fire and we heard a story from a Beaver storyteller. I can't understand this story. After the story, six men came and they made music on the drums. The children jumped around the fire to the music.

Finally, we got an ice cream and went home.

Doig River First Nation

By Mayu Matsubara

I went to Doig River last Thursday. In Doig River, poeple explained to us about a moose and taught a traditional dance. When I watched a traditional dance, it looked like easy. But I tried to do it, and it was a little bit difficult. In addition, it was the first time to make bannock. A boy who I sometimes meet on the bus supported me to make bannock. I spread jam and butter on my bannock. It was so tasty.

Many elementary students visited Doig River, so, I was able to meet Upper Pine School students. They were very cute and remembered me. I was very happy. I was a good experience. I had a very good time.

Doig River First Nation

By Miho Yoshioka

I went to Doig River First Nation last Thursday. The weather was a little bit chilly. The people who live in Doig River First Nation taught us about a moose hide and how to make bannock. The bannock is like bread. When I was making the bannock, it was very fun and tasted good. We saw a Doig River First Nation traditional dance. It was very nice. The Japanese girls joined them and danced.

These were grand experiences for me. I had a good time.

Doig River First Nation

By Kotomi Taniguchi

I went to see First Nations yesterday. It was one of my great experiences for me in Canada. First I rode a yellow school bus to get to there. It was exciting for me because we don’t have a yellow bus like that. I’ve seen it only in a drama or movie. Next, when I got there, I saw how to make cloth from a moose skin. Some First Nations women showed us how to do it. They were using bones and wood as tools. It was ethnic and very interesting, but the moose skin was a little bit grotesque for me. Third, I ate bannock, a traditional bread. I burned it with fire, and I ate it with jam. It had no taste without jam, so I was wondering how First Nations eat this in the old days. After that, I saw many animal pelts there. It was hard to see and I smelled something very bad. I couldn’t touch it. Later, I listened to a First Nations story and I could talk with the First Nations speaker (story-teller). He told me about their old life with horses. It was really interesting. As last, I saw traditional dance. I thought it is simple and the music isn’t rhythmical like nowadays, but their clothes were really fashionable. I like ethnic clothes very much. This experience was a great experience for me because I don’t have a chance to meet them (First Nations) in Japan. I never forget this experience.