Winnipeg to Saskatoon

Hiki on a buffalo hide at Lower Fort Garry, down river from downtown Winnipeg. There were lots of fun and games to be had at Lower Fort Garry.

I only had two sleeps in Winnipeg but had an absolutely jam-packed, fun-filled, mad time. And yet Winnipeg is one of those places some people had suggested avoiding. I couldn't quite make out why but I think it may have been a race thing. MaryJane and Kiera, like Sabrina and Sue at Six Nations, and Danielle in Ottawa, and all their friends and family that I've met and hung out with have totally spoilt me. So Winnipeg was more food and laughter and conversation and tiki-touring and learning and more shopping. It's the kind of stuff that leaves me speechless when it comes time to say thank you and au revoir.

One of the places MJ insisted on taking me was Lower Fort Garry which was a trading post, fort and site of the signing of the first of the Crown's eleven treaties with the First Nations peoples. It's now a natinal park and contains some of the best examples of early (lime)stone buildings in Western Canada. The fun part of the park is that the interpreters or guides are all in 1850s costume and in role-playing mode. And no matter how much you bait them they stay in character the whole time. And they play real characters. No matter how much I cringed, I had so much fun there.

The thing is that this is an early western north american fort, and part of the original fort wall remains. It's a site of colonial violence against the indigenous people. And yet when we asked about things like whether natives would've really been welcome guests in the big (governor's) house we were assured that race and class were not issues at Lower Fort Garry. I asked what period we were talking about, and was told 1850s. We got a similar response at the trading store when we asked whether the natives got the same prices as the whites. MJ insisted that Kiera and I were harassing the poor uni students that take on the jobs of interpreters. But I insisted we were just asking questions. The whole place had this surreal peace and love vibe about it. One of the nice ironies was to do with a couple of school groups that were there when we visited. Some of them got etiquette lessons in the big house, while others played croquet, while others still did military drills with wooden guns. Is learning to handle a gun 1850s etiquette? I felt we should've line up against the wall and feigned execution. Apparently the costume and role-playing is what the Canadians do in their national parks, it's a way of educating the public to love Canada's loving and peaceful a-colonial past. Fabulous.

Kiera's choice: Hiki climbing through the fort wall.

Hiki and Queen Viki. I have to say I don't think I've seen a pic of Queen Vic at such a young age. Unfortunately there was no date in the details of the image, and I wished I had my women in the 19th century notes so I could try and date the pic according to the period in which the dress would have been in vogue. Oooh, what an historical feat that would have been.

Hiki on one of the wagons at Lower Fort Garry. MJ and Kiera said I was endangering her by letting her balance precariously in such a dangerous place. I said she was catching the wagon to school and would come home all whitened up and assimilated, and replete with the benefits of colonisation.

After Lower Fort Garry and another amazing feed, MJ and I high-tailed it to Saskatoon - an 800km drive away. I did a lot of the driving while MJ played with her new A5-sized pink laptop that I have been coveting. Well, she didn't really play with it, she took notes while her and I talked about this chapter we're writing together. The drive was across the plains, in a manual car with the gears on the right-hand side, and everytime I went to indicate the wipers came on. And a couple of times when I had to make a left-hand turn I turned onto the right-hand side of the road, and my dear friend MJ just laughed at me. I was so pleased to be able to entertain her. The drive took us through the Manitoba and Saskatchewan plains, which can be boring if you're not into that kind of landscape, but we were fortunate to be treated to a spectacular lightning storm, arcs of pink and blue light forking from the sky to the ground. Loved it.

The last of the conferences I'm attending started today, and four of us who have been working on some of the iwi projects did a workshop. I think it went well. It wasn't as tightly prepared as I usually prefer, especially my part, but we got plenty of questions and met some wonderful people. It's a good conference so far. The University of Saskatchewan seems to be up to some good stuff, especially where indigenous scholarship is concerned. And there are lots of good people to meet. I give an academic paper in the morning - still milking the PhD research - and in the evening we're off to the Neville Brothers who are opening the Saskatoon Jazz Festival. Sounds like a plan, yeah? I'll let you know soon enough if it's a good one.