Goose Break or Spring Break?

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I had a warm welcome to the North when I was taught all about Goose Break! 

To all you American's, I hope you are enjoying a nice President's Day and week because up here not only do we not have a week off, we also don't even have a President! Unfortunately we do not have a Prime Minister's week, and unlike the rest of Canada, we don't have Family Day either. Today (Monday) was a holiday in the entire country of Canada, except for Quebec because we like to be different here. 

You might think that we must get some sort of Spring Break here since we aren't getting one in February. You thought (sort of) RIGHT! Our equivalent to Spring Break is called "Goose Break" and it is the first two weeks of May. This is very late in the school year AND is  2 weeks long. I guess that equals a February break plus an April break that most of you get in MA and in the US. 

Goose Break is exactly what you would expect...it is used to hunt geese in the bush. The CBC published an article about a program that took place in Ouje-Bougamau (a Cree community 1.5hr away from Mistissini) last year. Typically families leave their community and go to a camp in the bush and hunt geese and teach the youth to hunt geese for two whole weeks. It's also possible that Goose Break happens a little bit later than planned, because if the geese don't fly then the hunting is not over! So sometimes families will stay in the bush for an extra week or two to benefit from the Goose season. 
Geese

Another important part of Goose Break is the conservation of Cree tradition and customs. This hunting season has been a tradition for centuries and it connects the Cree youth back to their roots and to their culture. It is difficult in this modern day to conserve the Cree Culture fully in every community. The youth are more and more inclined to modernize their lives and sometimes that means leaving part of their Cree identity behind. The Cree Nation makes it an important value to uphold and pass on traditions, language and customs from generation to generation. 

Although it is getting warmer in other places, it is still very much winter up here! We got 8 inches of snow in the last 24 hours and it's expected to snow for the next week. Thank goodness I love the snow and don't mind throwing on a pair of snowpants and trek through the drifts. Lily definitely likes it too! She even gets lost in the deep snow and has to swim-crawl her way back to the path. It is a funny sight to see.
This weekend was also a nice weekend getaway to Quebec City, my second trip this school year. The views of the river were amazing and the sushi was the best I have ever had. 
I ate so much sushi that night I felt like I wouldn't be hungry for days!

Enjoy the warm weather down south everyone! 

~Vicki

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