Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Culture

We have some arts and culture... see? lol

All joking aside though, this guy's really got some good stuff. This song is called James Bay is Calling Me, which I think is also the title of his album. I think this video might have been shot at our curling club. Kinda cool.

I'm also trying to get my hands on "Through Black Spruce" (I think? perhaps it's three black spruce?) which was written by a man from up here. It's a fiction novel, but apparently if you actually know the history of the area it's not quite so fictitious, just slightly embellished. Some names have been changed to protect the innocent and such, but a lot of it happened. There was a plane crash with a drunk pilot at the yoke. Mention it, and the locals know exactly which crash they're talking about. That was so-and-so's plane, he was in no shape to be flying. Two characters who die in the book can be visited at the local cemetery, their names on two little white crosses. I think it would be neat to read.

In terms of more visual arts, a lot of people up here dabble in different things. Anything that has "traditional native" connotations is big business up here, from paintings of very tribal style animals, to soapstone carvings, and geese woven from tamarack twigs and stuffed with sweet scented herbs. There's a gift shop that caters to our trickle of a tourist trade. A lot of artists hit up nurses, doctors, medics and teachers with their wares, knowing that we're likely to want a piece of James Bay to take with us when we inevitably move back south. They aren't shy about it either. They'll walk up, knock on your door, show you a piece they've made and tell you what they'd like to get for it. Especially in the areas that are known to be teacher and hospital housing. Enterprising youngsters, I'll give them that.

Ps. The water levels rose enough to make even the Elders, who are familiar with a life time of break-ups feel edgy, but they appear to be receding now. The emergency level on Moose Factory has been downgraded, and the water has dropped a bit. Now, apparently there are two more dams further up river that still haven't been opened, and we can expect there might be another slight rise in water levels, but we should be mostly out of danger now, though the local radio station frequently reminds us to stay prepared and vigilant.

2 comments:

small farm girl said...

I'm glad you didn't have too much problems with the water. Floods scare me. lol

Unknown said...

oh me too! I think everyone was a little edgy this week because of it.