The Lansdowne Letters: Lessons with Father Ouimet

It's Friday ~ and time to share 
more of my father's tales 
of life in the northern Ontario bush 
from over fifty years ago.

During my father's time in Lansdowne House,
he studied the Ojibway language 
with Father Maurice Ouimet,
the Roman Catholic priest
in the community.

My mother Sara specifically
asked my father to share 
his Ojibway lessons with our family.
Mom had great curiosity
and an intense desire to learn
which she instilled in all of her children.

My Parents at Acadia University

My mother was the first in her family

to attend university,

and she had the opportunity to go

because of her service in the Royal Canadian Air Force

during world War II.

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

    
Thursday, October 13, 1960 
My father wrote:

Hi There:
I just had another session with the Father. 
I have gotten a few more words of Ojibway for you, 
so here we go on the weekly language lesson.

Father Ouimet with My Father, Don MacBeath

Lansdowne House,  Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Here are the words:
Adopowin--------------------------Table
Tesabiwin--------------------------Chair
Nipagan----------------------------Bed
Iskotegan---------------------------Stove
Tikinogan--------------------------Thing that Indian mothers carry their children in

Josephine Beaver with Baby in Tikinogan

Photo by Don MacBeath,  Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Ka Pimisemakaka-----------------Airplane 
(literally something flying, something inanimate, 
to distinguish it from a bird)

Peninshish--------------------------Bird
Otaban------------------------------Wagon
Iskote--------------------------------Fire
Iskotens-----------------------------Match (little fire)
Iskote Otaban----------------------Train (fire wagon)

Iskote Otaban ~ Fire Wagon
Train Station in Oba

Algoma Central Railway

Photo by Don MacBeath,  Fall 1960

© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue

All Rights Reserved

Iskotewaba-------------------------Any hard liquor 
(The literal translation is fire liquid, 
or as the white man has called it---fire water.)

Waba--------------------------------This word, 
if attached to any noun, means the liquid of that thing; 
for instance, Moosewaba means the liquid or blood of the moose.
It can also mean the gravy, if the moose is cooked.  
This word has no meaning by itself.

Moose

wikimedia

Nipi----------------------------------Water
Assema------------------------------Pipe tobacco
Mokoman---------------------------Knife

Kitche Mokoman------------------American 
(Literally big knife; 
didn’t the southern Indians call Americans long knives?)

Wemetigoshi-----------------------Frenchman
Shaganash--------------------------Englishman 
(and any other white man, 
except Americans or Frenchman)

Wiias-------------------------------Meat
Makate-----------------------------Black

Wemetigoshi ~ Frenchman/Coureur des Bois

Photo:  Paul Provencher

wikimedia

Now I want to give you a few colors; 
but first, I should explain that 
Ojibway has different colour words 
when they describe inanimate and animate objects.  

So here we go:
Colour Inanimate Animate
Black Makate Makatisi
Blue Osawashkwa Osawaskisi
Green Osawaska Osawisi
Yellow
(and brown)  Osawa Osawisi   
Red Meskwa Meskwisi
White Wabak Wabisi

wikimedia

Well, I hope I haven’t bored you all.  
I include these words at the special request of Sara.  

Besides, it does fill up space, 
and sometimes I am hard put to do this.  
After all, I don’t have the good fortune 
every day to watch Indians migrate or to fall in the lake.

I am still laid up with the flu, etc., 
and I won’t be going back to school till Monday.  

Mike Flaherty, the nurse, 
doesn’t want me to take any chances 
and have it develop into anything more serious.  

Today I had a slight temperature, 
but Mike was over and gave me some medicine to take.

Well, exactly one month ago today, 
I arrived at Lansdowne House 
in the middle of a snowstorm.  
It was as cold as hell.  
Today it rained all day and was quite mild.  

All the oldtimers up here predict 
that freeze-up will start within two or three weeks’ time.  

Last year, the Father walked on the ice 
from the Island to the mainland on October 10, 
but it takes a lot more ice to support an airplane, 
than to support a priest, 
especially a small one like the Father.

Freeze-up on a Northern Lake
flickr ~ dmffryed  

license

As I have said many times in the past, 
freeze-up takes from three to five weeks, 
and during that time no mail will come in or go out.  
So Sara, please try to get the typewriter 
up to me before freeze-up.  
The portable that is.

I guess that winds it up for another week.  
Will be starting another Lansdowne Letter tomorrow.  
If anyone has any ideas for 
making this more interesting, 
let me know, and I will try 
to incorporate the ideas in the letter.  
Well, bye for this week.

Lots of love to you all
Don

Till next time ~

Fundy Blue

Note:  It's been a challenge 
to blog from my hotel lobby!
I gave up visiting blogs on my vacation
after falling hopelessly behind.
Next Friday I'll be back in Colorado,
and I'll start visiting again.
Thanks for your understanding!