Ruth Christie attracts good crowds on her visit to Iceland,

Kent Lárus Björnsson

Reykjavik, Iceland

March 29,2003

Ruth Christie continues her storytelling, this time in Iceland. I have long admired her story telling so I did not pass up the chance to see her in person. I was not able to attend her session on Friday but I was happy that I took the time to attend this afternoon. Friday was a real good turnout and today, Saturday was 25+ so I am sure the organizers are happy. Ruth started by introducing herself and saying that she was happy to be in Iceland. She was excited to tell everyone that she had been swimming in the morning, outside no less and that it must be summer because that is the only time she swims outside. She informed us that since it is summer she wore a summer dress and after taking off a couple layers of clothes and reassuring us that, that was all she was taking off we could see a traditional summer dress. Her talk was very interesting. She began by talking about Lower Fort Garry and her work there. Then she took us on an interesting and insightful explanation of various native traditions and beliefs. She explained the creation of man, as they believe. She explained how weather forecasting was done, for example if the squirrels buried their nuts on the ground there will not be much snow, if they put their winter supply of nuts high in the tree there will be lots snow. She even mentioned that after the Icelanders arrived, it was easy to tell when it was going to be a long cold winter, the woodpile outside to the house was really big.

Building and setting up a tepee was next on her list. She even handed out diagrams and explained everything about the tepee from the 13 poles, 13 for the 13 moons of the year, what each was called and where it was located. She even explained how the women set up the tepee. She mentioned things like Air conditioning and heating, things that I never knew before. I had to come to Iceland to learn about native cultures. She explained the sleeping arrangements and the order in the tepee. She even pointed out that many marriages occurred in the winter because it was much warmer to sleep with someone than alone.

The arrival of the Europeans was mentioned and some of the good and bad things that that entailed. Trading, new goods and technology was a great help but alcohol and disease was the downside to the invasion. She even mentioned more modern times and the effects that it has had on today´s native society. She mentioned fast food, video games, television and transportation. The world is changing but it is affecting some societies and cultures more that others. She spoke briefly about hydro development and how it has forced people off their land. Ruth even got emotional when she was mentioning that people have a dificult time fishing above the graves of their family members that lie below the water now as a result of hydro development.

She gave us a brief family history and her links to some of the people that were some helpful to the Icelanders in their settlement of the new land. She spoke of her father and how important he was to the community of Loon Straits. She spoke of the community of Loon Straits and its demise and rebirth. She explained how 1 boating accident can change a community, she spoke of an accident that occurred in 1965 when a number of the community drowned and people started abandoning Loon Straits. She did mention that people have been returning and that in 2000 they had a big reunion and the turnout was fantastic.

She showed us a brief video about the Cree language and besides having numerous artifacts to show us her storytelling was fantastic. People did not want her to stop and she keep saying that maybe she had gone on too long but no one left or complained. She spoke of her Ojibwa name “White Cloud Woman” and what it represented. She brought her talk to an end by explaining the turtle on her necklace. It is the symbol of a traveller and a storyteller and I believe that Ruth is a true storyteller so that was a fitting end to her lecture. She invited people up afterwards to look over the artifacts and information she had brought with her from Canada.

The list of Ruth’s sponsors is long but the Icelandic National League was the main driving force behind the visit. I am happy that this trip has become a reality. I look forward to more such exchanges between our 2 great countries. I invite people to check out my web site, I have more photos and information available there.  www.nordictrails.org