Walking Through Time

The evening is warm and still. You can hear the hum of lazy bees. They hang on the summer clover. The sun lies low in the sky. But it won't set for a few more hours.

A stocky man with copper-coloured skin and straight black hair comes walking over the green meadow. He listens to the bees. He watches an eagle. It glides gracefully overhead. The eagle is heading for its nest in the hills. The man is going into the bush. He turns away and walks into the trees.

Michael Joe is a Mi'kmaq Indian. He is the traditional chief of the Conne River Mi'kmaq band. Michael Joe does a lot of office work—like the mayor of any small town. He also settles arguments about trapping areas. A big part of Michael Joe's job is to keep the spiritual and cultural traditions of his people alive. He started a traditional singing and drumming group for the youth of Conne River. He helped organize a trapping and hunting training camp. Young people learn how to live and find food "on the country" at this camp. Michael Joe also practices the old way of making medicine and healing the sick.

Yesterday a woman came to Michael Joe with a sore throat. She had medicine from the doctor, but it wasn't working. She asked him to make her some traditional medicine. Michael Joe doesn't keep his cures on hand. They must be gathered fresh for each new person. Michael Joe has come to the woods to find the things he needs.

He stops at a small stream. This is his special place. He calls it a healing place. Michael Joe has high blood pressure. He sits beside the stream and prays. He feels himself becoming calm. He feels his heart slowing down. He feels the stream healing him.

Michael Joe gets up and walks on through the bush. He is looking for a wild cherry tree. He passes young fir trees. They are good for vitamin C. In the 1950s many of his people became sick with tuberculosis—a disease made worse by poor food and living conditions. Their chief told them to eat the inner core of a new shoot. It tastes sweet, almost like an orange.

Michael Joe sees a witch hazel bush. He thinks about how his father taught him to peel the bark from the branches. He sucks them for strength. They have a mint or winter green taste.

Michael Joe comes into a sunny opening in the bush. He sees the cherry tree. He stands praying for a long time. He asks the Great Spirit to help him make a good medicine. He asks for permission to take a part of the tree. Then he carefully cuts off a branch. Michael Joe knows how to cut it so it won't damage the tree. He takes the branch home and peels off the outer bark. He peels off the inner bark and boils it in water. He saves the branch. He won't throw it away or burn it. It is a special branch now. It will help heal a human being.