I was happy because I was always looking forward to going back to our homeland, into the country, because I was a child and I was always excited to see animals, all kinds of animals. It was funny to see those animals, I was happy to see those animals, like beaver, bear, partridge, all these little animals were roaming on the land. I could see them and was pretty excited to see that. I enjoyed eating Indian food a lot – the food from our land. That’s why it makes me happy to think about that – to remember – I was happy to live that life.

Learning from the elders makes me proud of who I am and who we are as a people because there are a lot of bravehearts. We are a very strong people, going to different places on the land, covering long distances, vast areas of our homeland. I have heard people talking about going, for instance, to Nain, to George River, to Goose Bay, to go to other trading posts on the Caniapiscau Lake or up near the Cree land. That tells you the distance they covered and how strong and fit they were. And listening to the elders telling their stories, it’s as if I was there, part of their journey, that’s how I feel and I am very proud of it. We should be proud of our grandparents because they were strong, fit, courageous people, that’s what they were. And the land was a very difficult terrain.