Item 2008.3.1.211.1 - Mary John Tape 1 & 2

• Sound recording

1 audiocassette (90 min.)

Audio recording consists of an interview conducted by Bridget Moran with Mary John.

Audiocassette Summary
Scope and Content: Recording starts referring to this as a continuation of previous discussion. Mary John talks about fishing and refers to tools in Carrier language.

0’01” She talks about having her children and the use of midwives – and laying of hands by the mid- wives as a healing ritual. There were no doctors in area where Mary had all her children. Recalls in 1946 going to Vanderhoof to see a doctor for one of the more difficult births. Talks about use of mid-wives at Pinchi Lake mines when they [her husband and her worked at] cutting wood for the mines there

8’00” Mary John recalls coming to Fort George – living in tent camp near the tracks. Her Husband worked for a man named Koop

9’00” Mary talks about her children going to Lejac, the Indian residential school “they were lonely and we were lonely….there was silence….everyone [kids] were gone” She recalls that the dids didn’t come home for Christmas – left in September and came back in June. Talks about transport of the kids “big truck” came to get them in the fall to bring them to Lejac.

Mary discusses her own school life at Lejac in 1922 at age 7 – recalls her initial thoughts about going to school; being delivered to the school; remembers talking to her parents once on the telephone from Lejac and being very homesick. Describes where the “Mission School” was located; recalls there were about 40 kids there. Talks about the teachers who were nuns and recalls various students at Lejac; notes she was there until 1927. She left school and a Mountie was sent after her to bring her to Lejac but her mother needed her to stay to look after the other children

20’00” Recalls an “Indian doctor” who came to town from “down south” who was not trusted by the local people who was ‘taking sickness’ out of people and ‘charging for it’ – caused a scandal – “singing hymns” heard he was from the Kootenays. [religious zealot?] they were afraid the Missionaries would punish the children for going to him.

21’00” Mary talks about being punished at Lejac – recalls running outside doors before whistle blew, and the sisters would whip them with a dry willow; says she wasn’t strapped but recalls seeing many strapped

22’00” Mary notes that spoke Carrier as first language and then in Fort St. James took a year to learn a little bit of English. She wasn’t aloud to speak her language at Lejac – she now feels ‘quite bitter’ about that and especially now most parents don’t speak Carrier or teach it to their children at home now

27’00” Mary notes there was no option to send her own kids to public school in Vanderhoof as they had to go to residential school

29’00” Mary John recalls one nice Scottish woman who she worked for in Vanderhoof c.1927

32’00” Mary John talks about where her kids went to school. She continues to talks about where native kids now go to school including at the Price George College

33’00” Mary John discusses her educational experiences at Lejac –

34’00” She recalls that the quality of the food at Lejac– it wasn’t good; too much porridge; not much meat; her job was to clean the dishes of the nun’s dinner tables so she would eat the remainder off their plates. Remembers occasionally getting fish smoked from a community resident and enjoying this

36’00” Discusses the church services at Lejac; singing lessons

38’00” Discusses outings from the school on the weekends including Robinson Point

41’00” Talks about picking roots as her job; recalls that the boys and girls were separated at the school; noted you would be spanked if you talked to a boy at the school; sexual interest shown between the girls and boys

44’00” Bridget asks about the girls experiences with menstruation – Bridget recalls a conversation ‘years ago’ when Bridget brought out a girl from India and that girls in India had to be separated when menstruating; Mary John notes that native girls also had to be isolated; it was considered an unclean time. It was the native belief that if a girl/woman had handled the meat/food for preparation during menstruating, it was considered bad luck for the hunters so the girls/woman were isolated from the community during that time of month.

51’00” Mary John herself did not believe in this custom. So there was a sense of relief when menopause came

End of that session Then tape starts again
51’05” Bridget notes it must have been difficult to talk to boys after boy-girl separation at Lejac; notes she was too shy to talk to boys

54’00” Bridget asks her to talk about her (Mary John’s) ancestors
Her Mother was Angele Quaw; her grandmother was known as ‘Six Mile Mary’

58’00” Bridget refers to a tape that she did many years ago with Granny Seymour and that Mary John may be able to make out some of the recording; Mary John notes that her mother was born in 1900; had Mary when she was only 13 with older man

61’00” Mary John talks about her biological father; had difficult relationship with him; he didn’t want a relationship as father-daughter

64’00” Mary talks about her mother’s marriage to Johnnie Paul at age 17; and they moved to Stoney Creek; they had 6 children; her mother died in 1934 in child birth.

68’00” Mary’s mother’s husband had died a month before she did; Johnnie Paul and James Antoine died at the same time from drinking bad home brew

71’00” Talks about taking care of her siblings after her mother’s death from childbirth

72’00” Talks about Johnnie Paul being a trapper and having a trap line at Stoney Creek

74’00” They discuss Mary John’s mother and grandmother genealogy; Quaw family of Fort George

78’00” Bridget asks her what her early memories would have been of Stoney Creek; Mary recalls tending to her mother during the flu epidemic. Recalls people being buried in blankets; too many people and no time to build coffins. Recalls Father Cocola and Lejac again.

84’00” Mary recalls going to their family hunting grounds at Cluculz Lake in September to hunt; use tents to stay in while hunting; stayed there about a month to hunt/snare animals. Recalls having a shack at Wedgewood in the winter where her step-father worked for the logging contractor.

89’00” begins to talk about memories of Wedgewood

End of tape