“Mishkaawiisinidah”

I worked at Red Lake today. It was a surreal day, working in close proximity to the school buildings, with parking lots virtually deserted, with the exception of a larger police presence than I have ever seen in Red Lake. Police cars barricaded the entrances to each school building and police officers stood watch. The high school is next door to the casino, and the middle school is about four blocks west of the casino, but both are on the main street of Red Lake. Both are heavily guarded and off limits to all but the police, until schools re-open, possibly next week.

As it should be, every flag is at half-staff, out of reverence for the dead. There are ten white crosses along the chain link fence in front of the high school, each standing about five feet tall and with the name of one of the victims of the violence of last Monday. For about fifty yards, the fence is completely covered with flowers, signs and posters with messages of support, thoughts and prayers, and there are stuffed animals, teddy bears and other mementos. No one is speaking about the deaths openly, as the tribal customs require the names of the victims to remain unstated during this time of remembrance. The people I worked with were speaking in muted tones and the names remain unspoken, in deference to the customs among the Chippewa regarding mourning.

I did hear that part of the grieving process for the Chippewa Indians, who have a close-knit, family-based culture, is to have a two-day wake. Part of that includes prayers by a holy man, and a fire is built that is kept burning day and night until the wake is over. The logs for the fire are stacked to allow the wind to travel under them and aid in the deceased Chippewa’s journey to the afterlife. After two days, a traditional Christian funeral follows.

All seems to be calm now, but it is surreal, and I am sure that the closeness of the community has been severely shaken. From an outsider’s perspective looking in on a close-knit community, all I can say is, God bless them, and help them to be strong.

“Mishkaawiisinidah” is Ojibwe for “Let’s be strong.”

First Rain/ Thunderstorm

Gabriel slept through his first thunderstorm this morning. It stopped thundering after awhile and continued raining. He did see a bit of that. Being that he was a winter baby like me, this was the first rain he has seen. I credit us making noise while Gabriel sleeps for his ability to sleep through the thunder. I'll like that later when I don't have to share our bed with a scared kid who woke up during a storm. I'm not saying that it will never happen, just that it is less likely. By the way, the rain did more than just entertain Gabriel. It proved to me that the dripping from the skylight that Doug experienced the other day was not leaking. It was just condensation from our inadequately ventilated house.