The Cree of the Eastmain (1975)

in January 1974 a road connecting matagi me to Fort George 450 miles or 750 kilometers was under construction it would eventually make possible the harnessing of three Great Rivers and thus create a huge hydroelectric power complex that rode snakes through an area which has been inhabited and judiciously exploited by the Cree Indians for thousands of years the present picture is about the way a group of those Indians are living during their temporary stay on their usual hunting grounds by the East Main River about five miles from the new road 70 miles 100 kilometers away from their village three men five women and two children are going to live six months in a tent Abraham and Emily within Capo have been hunting together for over 30 years their legs have become tougher than the snowshoe frames the Indians strive to bend into shape this winter Emily and her companion are hunting on the east main river for the last time William whiskey Chan and Clarence may Apple have shift their way to their trapping grounds 20 miles distant they are going to live in a real a tent within four or five days they will be back to the camp where the women will skin and carve the game the traps have yielded in the surrounding forest Mabel whiskey Chan and Margery weeping Koppel cut down trees these farm reserves which they leave in the forest in which later will be hauled to the tent and chopped there by March when the plane flies them back to their village Cathleen whisky Chan will be barely a month from giving birth to her second child as a wife to William and a loving mother of a son she quite naturally feels responsible for the other members of the group her real and only family for both Kathleen and William their life as a married couple meshes perfectly with the life of the community for want of deciduous trees the beaver feeds on conifers because of its great value this rodent which counts for three-quarters of all the animals trapped in those parts is much sought-after by the Indians who eat its flesh and get the better part of their income from the sale of its fur ruin our Forney the Indians who are entirely dependent on animals to survive respect them as they would benefactors a kind of all for all animals is felt even after their deaths thus after having skinned the beaver they hang its skull out of the reach of prowlers or predatory animals this sacred Rite is meant to keep man and animal in spiritual harmony it is the responsibility of the Indian woman to make mittens and caribou and moose today in the forests of the East main river the kree's live approximately the same way their forefathers did however they can no longer hear the distant beat of the drums through the wilderness their ears have already become accustomed to the cassette recorder

Channel: Roger Murray

Views: 21,508

Rating: 4.909091 out of 5

Keywords: Documentary (TV Genre), 16 min.

Id: PL5fR3fbeBQ

Length: 14min 58sec (898 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 02 2015