Day 4 - 93 -- Cultural Competance

A long day for the first of the week involved almost 12 hours at the office. Many things were part of a usual Monday -- classes and student meetings. The less common items were a faculty meeting at the end of the day and a seminar in the middle of the day. The meeting was my last as Chair of that group, a post held for a two year term. The seminar was by an intern who is the first in a program designed specifically for indigenous students. He shared his experiences with us all -- working in First Nation and aboriginal communities on Cape Breton and in Labrador in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and smaller communities along coast. He outlined some of the wonderful food and dietetic experiences he has had, always including phrases in the local languages of Innu, Inuktitut, and Mi'kmaw. Linguistically I learned things; that nouns are not thought of as male or female as in many languages, but rather as animate and inanimate -- though not without some complexities with those categorizations.  The seminar began with sampling of food made by a chef from Paqtnkek, just east of town. It was eel soup and a bannock type of bread. The soup was wonderfully peppery, made from three different broths, vegetables and of course, eel. The spiciness reminded me of the bison stew from home.

Listening to the news this morning and again this evening, there were many highlights from the Juno awards last night -- Canada's music industry awards. The show opened with  an indigenous band and dancers. The group later won the award for producer of the year. Their style comes from a combination of many music genres, with indigenous music as the central component. The drumming is quite captivating. I'm sharing two of their songs here tonight. It seemed to fit the cultural awareness that was central to my day. Enjoy!

Stadium Pow Wow -- A Tribe Called Red ft. Black Bear

Bread and Cheese -- A Tribe Called Red ft. Black Bear