A Canadian Craft

The Totem Pole

The only time I've ever been to Canada was a quick trip with my husband and sister-in-law to Vancouver.  When I mean quick I mean we left Seattle at noon and were back in Seattle at 11pm !  So, needless to say, I didn't have time to soak up much of the flavor of Canada.  We did go to the Capillano suspension bridge, which is a long and wobbly bridge over a gorge in the beautiful forest, the park also has a little area with many totem poles and it tells you a little of the history of the totem pole. 

Totem poles are basically tall sculptures carved from trees.  They were (and are still) made by the aboriginal people of Canada, what they refer to as the First Nations.  They have probably been made for centuries or longer, but because they are made of wood, they decay quickly and no totems poles today are older than the 1880s.

There are many different reasons for the totem poles and each carver had their own style of carving, but they all were erected to tell some sort of story.  They were used to tell legends and fables, show a family history, or to mark a notable event.  Some were used to hold grave boxes and act as a kind of gravestone.  Some were used to bring ridicule or shame on others.  These were called "shame poles" and were put up to show a wrong that an individual or group did to the tribe, such as an unpaid debt or broken promise.  An interesting idea but they really must have held a long grudge since the poles probably took a long time to carve!

We decided to make our own totem pole - one that would represent our family.  This was an act of faith on their part.  I had an idea in my head but was totally unsure if I could make it actually work.  Let me just say I surprised myself.  If I say so myself, it is AWESOME!!  And because it is made out of recycled plastic bottles and duct tape it will probably outlive all of us :)

Make Your Own Family Totem Pole

For the project you will need:

• a plastic gallon-sized milk jug for each person
• misc. plastic bottles for any other animal you add
• something heavy to put in bottom (we used sand)
• dowel or pvc pipe- should be as tall as all the jugs stacked up and able to fit in spout of milk jug
• brown spray paint - and any other colors you want to add
• white, black and red duct tape (or you could use paper and then put a sealer over it)
• a sharp knife to cut holes in bottom of plastic bottles
• some imagination :) and a little ingenuity

1.  Drink a lot of milk.  Once you've collected all the bottles fill one of them most of the way up with sand, or rocks, or something heavy.  This is the base. 
2. Stick your pipe or dowel into the spout of the jug.  Note: it is very important that your pipe is not wider than the spout of a milk jug.  
3. Cut a hole in the bottom of the other milk jugs and thread them onto the pole.

4. For the top of the pole you can either end with a head or make an animal totem.  We have 2 animals - a cat and a butterfly.  Many of the real totem poles have a winged Thunderbird on top so we made our own winged creature.  We cut holes in the side of a juice bottle and stuck water and soda bottles on either side like wings.
5.  Right now you are probably thinking that this doesn't look like much of a totem pole.  I wasn't so sure I knew what I was doing myself, but the next step changes it instantly!  Spray paint your creation brown and it totally starts looking like a totem pole. I promise.
6.  Add some details - eyes, mouths, kitty ears - with the duct tape or by cutting them out and glueing them on then going back with a sealer afterwards.  The duct tape was easier and should last longer but was a little hard to cut.  I cut and the kids stuck them in the right spots.

7.  Stand back and admire your new totem pole.  Call the neighbors over to admire your new totem pole.  Give it a place of pride in your backyard :)

You can't see but we have eyelashes on the girls and kitty ears on the cat.  The butterfly has fuzzy pipe cleaner antennae :) This turned out better than I ever imagined and I think it would be a great project for your family or even a school project!  Think how tall it could go!!!!!  Thanks for checking it out!         

On the Menu: Canadian Food

Are you hungry?

When researching some foods to make this week I sure was!  There were many, many recipes that sounded so good.  And many avenues to go down- do I do a French dish from Quebec?(poutine) or an Inuit recipe?(caribou)! Something British-inspired? or something the people of the First Nations would eat?(pemmican)?  Too many choices.   So I went with what I considered a blend of both coasts -

Pacific Salmon with a Maple Glaze
recipe from www.tasteofhome.com
For the recipe you will need:

• 3/4 c maple syrup
• 2 T ketchup
• 1 T brown sugar
• 1 T apple cider vinegar
• 1 T Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/2 t ground mustard
• few shakes hot sauce
• salmon fillet - about 2 pounds (only 1 in pic)

1. Combine glaze ingredients in small bowl.  Save about 1/2 c to serve at the table.  Pour the rest over the salmon and let marinade in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
2. Grill salmon skin side up on lightly oiled grill for about 3-4 minutes to get some nice grill marks
3.  Next put the salmon on tin foil, pour some of the marinade on top, cover with some more tinfoil and make a tight little packet.  Put back on grill and grill 5-6 minutes. Watch out for the steam when you open it!!
4.  Serve with some of the sauce you saved.  We also had some rice and vegetables.

I'm not really a fish lover but I thought this was really good.  The fish was moist and sweet and not "fishy".  My daughter actually ate 2 whole bites (gasp!) but my son wouldn't try it.  The hubby and brother both thought it was really good too - and they don't usually eat fish either.  Try it!  Since everybody was so good about eating their "brain food" (except my son, who had ham)  we had some cookies for dessert.  And, since we are learning about Canada.....

.......they were Maple Leaf Cookies :) YUMMMMM!!!

The Languages of Canada

A Little Lesson in Inuktitut...

Canada is officially a bilingual country with those languages being Canadian English and Canadian French, but up north, past the tree line, where the native Inuit live there is a third language - Inuktitut.  In 1999, the area known as Nunavut was declared an official Canadian territory and since the vast majority of people living there are Inuit, the aboriginal people who have lived there for thousands of years, the official language is their own, Inuktitut.  There are other dialects of Inuit languages but Inuktitut is the most common with about 35,000 speakers.  Once the use of the language was declining but recently the government of Nunavut has promoted the teaching of it in preschool, elementary and secondary schools in order to preserve it for future generations. 

The language is written using syllabics, which are symbols drawn to represent the sounds.  The website I found for the Ottawa Inuit Children's Centre had a great chart you can download to learn more about the language and lots of information on the wonderful culture of the Inuit people.  They also had some common phrases translated into our alphabet AND spelled phonetically so I will teach you a few now...

How are you?  is spelled   Qanuipit?  and said  Ka-nwee-peet?
I am fine                Qanuingittunga         Ka- nweeng-ni-toon-ga
Thank you              Qujannaniik             Coo-yan-na-mee-ick
You're welcome        Ilaali                      Ee- lah-li
Good Morning         Ulaakut                   Ooo-lah-coot
Good Bye              Tavvauvutit               Tah-vow-voo-teet
Polar Bear                Nanuq                     Naa-nook
Walrus                     Aiviq                       Eye-vick
Dog                         Qimmik                   Kim-mick

A fun little language to learn and an interesting culture that has survived (and thrived) for thousands of years in some of the harshest areas known to man.  I wonder if I could even last one winter?  Probably not.

O Canada!!

Our Neighbors to the North - CANADA!

So I've lived in America for, ahem, over 40 years now and I am a little ashamed at how little I know about Canada.  So we're going to fix that, and you get to come along for the ride.  If you are already Canada-savvy, well consider it a refresher course, but if you're like me and the only image that pops into your head of Canada is a Mountie or a maple leaf, then pack your bags and let's explore Canada...

Canada makes up the Northern Area of North America and is the second largest country by area in the world.  It stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic and up to the Artic.  The capital is Ottawa in the province of Ontario.  If you are trying to find it on the map the coordinates are 45.42ºN/75.69ºW.  Ontario is one of 10 provinces and 3 territories that make up Canada, kind of like states in America.  The main language is English, but Canada is officially bilingual, with French being the other language.  In some provinces the aboriginal language of Inuktitut is also considered an official language.   Canada is a dominion of the British Empire, which means it is self-governing but the Queen is still the official "head of state" and her face gets to be on the money :)  But, had a few wars gone differently, France might have been in charge.  Care for a bit of history?

Of course, people have been living in the areas now known as Canada for thousands of years.  In fact, they have discovered human artifacts from as far back as 24,500 BC, and these peoples had permanent settlements, complex trade networks and agriculture, but areas of land were "claimed"  by France in 1534 and then by the British in 1583 and Canada was colonized by both countries. Unfortunately, the settlers brought with them many diseases that the native people were not resistant too and MANY of them died as a result.  What was left of the native Canadians are referred to in Canada as the First Nations - a respectful term I thought.  Canada seems to have a great deal of respect for the culture of the First Nations from what I can tell. In 1763, after the Seven Years' War, France gave most of its colonies over to Britain, and a century later, on July 1, 1867, the Dominion of Canada was formed.  This day is celebrated in Canada as Canada Day.  There is still much more to learn about Canada, but hopefully now you know a little more than you did before.  I've got a few kids to get to bed - g'night eh.  Sorry, I couldn't resist :)