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Aboriginal essays
These are stories that I collected as I talked to the elders and other people on reserves that I visited. What I have tried to do is present a different point of view to accepted aboriginal history and culture.
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| Trapping wild pigs |
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Saturday, July 19 2008 @ 10:33 AM CST
By: Jack Funk
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This story is an allegory on the life of the aboriginal people and their relationship with the European immigrants.
Alphonse Little Poplar, Cree elder, very good friend, very wise and thoughtful man whom I used to visit so I could hear his stories. I always brought along a package of cigarettes because a gift of tobacco is a sign of respect. We sat, drank tea (which had been sitting on the back of the stove), and talk. He used to tell me of I was "his non-typical moonias (whiteman)" because I didn't always do all the talking, once in a while, I listened. I used to introduce him to my friends as a real Indian who would, tactfully and respectfully, scalp you with his tongue.
In the tradition of h is people, Alphonse did his teaching by telling stories. One day he asked me if I knew how to catch wild pigs. Knowing Alphonse, I knew this was not a frivolous question. I knew there was more to come. I watched him light up a cigarette, take a few puffs, followed by a sip of tea and then he started. "First you find a place where they pigs gather. In that place scatter food and other stuff that pigs like. The pigs find it and begin to come everyday to eat the free food and enjoy the other stuff. Every day they will come. Soon they will be there waiting. That is the time when you can put a fence down one side of the place. The pigs will inspect the fence, walk around it but in the end they will accept it and go back to eating the food. After a few more days, you put up another side of the fence. In a few days, they will get used to that change. Continue the process until all four sides of the fence in place. Make sure there is a gate in the last side. The pigs, which are used to the free food, will come through the gate to eat. Then you slam the gate shut and the whole herd is trapped.
'Suddenly the wild pigs realize they have lost their freedom. They squeal and run around inside the fence. Soon they will get tired of squealing and making stupid noises and go back to eating the free food. Soon they will lose any incentive and knowledge of how to forage in the woods for themselves. They will accept their captivity. In fact, sometimes even if the gate was left open, very few will go asked out. As long as they go up their food and stuff, they were content.'
That was the end of the story.
The story bothered me because I knew there was more to it than just the old adage that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Alphonse was teaching more. Finally, I went back to Alphonse with my gift of tobacco, seeking wisdom.
After lighting another cigarette and drinking some tea, Alphonse continued his story,
"The wild pigs were the Aboriginal People, the First People. The Europeans were the ones setting the trap. In the beginning they needed the pigs to supply them with food, show them where to go and provide them with knowledge of the country. Calling them pigs was appropriate because the Europeans saw the People as less than human. The People were good for rooting around in the woods and finding treasure that the Europeans could not find but wanted. The place to set up the trap was the People's country, the bait included food, trinkets, trade goods, guns but mostly, it was alcohol.
"The first fence to go up was Christianity. This fence got the People ready for the other fences to come. The second fence was the extermination of the bison. The third fence was The Indian Act which established The Department of Indian Affairs and Indian Reserves. The fourth fence which had the gate which slammed shut was the residential schools.
"For a long while, the Indians were unhappy and ran around inside the fence but after a while they settled down in what had become a pigsty, feeding themselves on the rations which became welfare and alcohol. White people would look over the fence to see the "pigs" wallowing in the mud and exclaim, "You would think they would find better things to do after all the money that is given to them?"
"Then one day the People realised that they were not pigs. They began to break out of the trap. They found people (elders) who could teach them how life had been before they had been trapped. Slowly they rebuilt their society and take their rightful place in society.
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