Annie Bare Shin Bone
Annies's Old Story
Annie's Message
Q. Annie, what advice would you give to a family who wanted to go to a ceremony but knew nothing about their culture?
ANNIE: Well, the first thing I would tell them is to make sure you are sincere about learning this way. Then you have to get tobacco. Tobacco represents the peace pipe that the treaties were made on. You have to go to an Elder and give him an offering of tobacco and some material stuff like money and a blanket or material. Then you tell him the purpose of your visit. Tell him that you want knowledge about your culture and traditional way of life.
Elders are always willing to help when you go to them in the right way.
Knowing where we come from is important. I come from very cultural parents. My mother was never educated in the school. Her parents were very cultural and never did anything with the Anglican or Catholic ways. My parents wanted us to be very cultural in our spiritual way of life.
Q. Annie, we live in very stressful times. As a traditional woman, how would you advise our families to deal with stress?
ANNIE: Yes, I know. I have been in situations like that back in my grandmother's days. When she saw anyone who was stressful she would ask them to sit down so she could talk to them. She would say, "I know something is bothering you." And she would tell you, you have to get that off your chest. You must talk to someone. If you don't, that is where the problems start in the family. Those are the people who should help you with your problems. You should go to the one you are closest to in the family. You must talk about what's inside you, and you must share your thoughts about what is bothering you with a family member so you can get their help and understanding of the problem.
Q. Annie, do you think that the role of women is to act as an example of peacefulness and calm? Do you believe that a traditional woman should not yell and argue?
ANNIE: When my aunties or my mother had something that bothered them, their grandmothers always told them, "Sit down and tell me about this." Sure enough, they would start talking and they would get it out and off their chest. It's important to find someone you trust and then when you talk things out, you will usually find something comes up to help the person.
Q. If a person is upset should they wait until things settle down before they make a decision?
ANNIE: I don't know what you mean. If my girls are upset, I tell them stories about whatever to keep the conversation going. I try to get their minds off the things they are thinking about. I ask them questions like, "Did you hear about this or that?" These are the questions we should ask when we see someone who is stressed. You need to talk about it and get them to talk about it.
Q. What about talking about other people?
ANNIE: That is what we are never allowed to do. When you hear about something that someone has done that is good, you need to praise them. We should never talk about the negative things. We should say things like, "She did good things when she made a good speech or she did a good thing." But you cannot talk about the negative things or about another person.
Q. Annie, do you think education is important?
ANNIE: Yes, it is very important. We have to keep up with the times. It is very important to go to school and learn modern ways.
We should encourage our children to go to school. It is important to learn math. I used to help my children but I don't know anything about the math they teach the children today.
