In my days in the Yukon, I had the great pleasure of working with almost every First Nation tribe (Known by Indian Band, Indigenous or Aboriginal group depending on where you live). In my wonderful experiences two things always stood out:
- Wonderful meals
- An incredible sense of humor
In my recent travels into New Mexico, Texas and beyond, I was thinking about what would have been the most interesting culinary experiences. High on the list would have been eating moose guts and moose ribs at a fish camp by the Yukon River with an Elder, who once shot a grizzly bear running at him in his fish camp. The bear died on top of him, and he was trapped for over a day trying to free himself. All the while people back at work wondered where he was.
But the real toss up for me was what the most interesting food was? Was it moose nose (considered a delicacy), boiled for hours then pickled, at my friend’s 50th birthday – Headman of his Clan and a Chief. It was a wonderful event with close friends and family, which my son and I attended. Or was the most interesting food a fish head stew enjoyed around a fire, with Elders, at a General Assembly?
Fish Head Stew wins. But it wins because the Elders were laughing so hard, due to their steer pleasure at the ‘extra’ in my stew and my reaction to it.
One of the most unforgettable parts of my time in the North was experiencing the incredible sense of humor of the First Nations people. It’s truly off the charts—but to fully appreciate it, you have to be genuinely welcomed in. I was lucky enough to be a guest of a First Nation friend, and the Elders decided to have a little fun with the newcomer—the only non-Native person there. When we gathered around the fire to greet everyone, they asked if we’d like some fish head stew. Of course, we said yes.
Delivered in coffee cups, I was handed mine and the giggling of the Elder women started. I looked in my cup and staring back at me was a big giant fish eye.
My friend laughed and jokingly said that was mean as I had never had fish head stew and I was a guest. One of the Elders said, giggling away, it was the best part of the meal.
So, I did what any good guest would do, I drank the stew, eye and all and told them it was absolutely wonderful, I loved it! They loved it! The rest of the day was perfect, sitting by the fire listening to their stories.
Over time I learned that the sense of humor was necessary to get through hard times, and laughing at oneself and not taking the small stuff too seriously was an essential skill to get through many hard times. I have so many wonderful memories of working through tough topics and projects, always with a sense of humor… much of it directed at me which I cherished. Some stories I wish I could share but honestly, you had to be there.
One I can share… at a dinner in a full restaurant, one summer, I was sitting with a group of First Nation’s people. We had started a project and there was probably 8 people from the Nation and me – they were teaching me a great deal of cultural information so I could get started on a big project. A tourist came up to the table, an elderly lady from somewhere south of the Yukon and Alaska. She headed right to me and politely apologized but really wanted to know if I was a teacher and whether I was teaching ‘them’ something.
No, I explained nicely, rather stunned. They were teaching me.
But it didn’t stop there, and she really wanted to know if I was teacher and what I was doing there. The tone was rather demeaning to the group.
The table was silent, and I very nicely explained that the group I was with had all the knowledge and was graciously teaching me a great deal. That is when I noticed more than the table was silent, other people at the restaurant seemed shocked at what was, though unintended, an embarrassing and a very awkward, uncomfortable situation.
Confused, she walked away. The table was shocked, and we all just sat there for a moment quietly.
I couldn’t think of what to say so I did the only thing I could think of… I started to sing a song from Sesame Street… ’One of these things just doesn’t belong here, come on can you guess which one?’
The table erupted with laughter and I brought down the room. I offered to do another show at 9.
