In 1979 Mary John was named Citizen of Year in Vanderhoof Published: January 06, 2009 11:00 PM The Legacy of Mary John
http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/ominecaexpress/news/37105464.html In 1979 Mary John was named Citizen of Year in Vanderhoof - she was the first aboriginal person to receive the honour, and ten years later Mary's life was chronicled in "Stoney Creek Woman - The Story of Mary John." In 1992, Mary was presented with the Governor General's Medal, additionally receiving an Honorary Doctorate of Laws Degree from UNBC. And in 1997, she was invited to Ottawa where she was presented the Order of Canada. Mary John was born in Lheidli June 16, 1913 and passed away in the Vanderhoof Hospital on September 30, 2004. She was the daughter of Anzel Quaw and grew up in Saikuz with her mother, her stepfather Johnny Paul and siblings Mark, Bella, Melanie and Alec. Anzel was 14 when Mary was born and when both parents where struck by the Spanish Flu in 1918, as a five year old, Mary boiled water for them and recalled years later how she was so small she could barely reach the stove top. Mary John was granny to Gladys Michell, one of her eighty some grandchildren. Although she doesn't say it directly, Gladys had a very, very special relationship with her grandmother. For all the words Gladys could use to describe their relationship, she never referred to the woman she admired and who taught her so much as 'a Governor General medal winner, or an 'Oder of Canada' winner - she was the warm, loving person who humbly went about her life offering encouragement and support to everyone around her. She lived her life about others, and, confirms Gladys, while she preferred to be in the background she was a leader and a role model in every way. Gladys Michell of Stellat'en speaks with such fondness of her grandmother, that you realize instantly the love affair did not end with Mary's passing four years ago. I remember when she was so sick at the end. We visited her the day before she died and because I wasn't feeling well myself, I didn't spend the night. She tricked everybody, she went silently without a fuss - we all gathered at the hospital later and said prayers. If a person was down, she instilled in us to pick that person up and that's what we did as we went about making arrangements. We knew it was going to be a huge funeral, but it wasn't until we got to the church that day, did we realize just how many people were there. There were over 2000 people and we fed them all just like granny would have wanted. Her casket was homemade by the family and her cousin Shana Schwentner painted the grouse (clan) on the lid and we picked balsam bows to line the bottom. Her sister and I dressed her and braided her hair. We brought her back home where she spent the four days before the funeral. Hundreds of people came through the house, and we laughed and cried and everyone shared their stories about granny. During that time there was always someone there to lift your spirits. We hired about 17 people to help with all the arrangements, it was overwhelming how much support we had from the community. Because there had been some recent family deaths and illness's, my Mom who was just newly diagnosed with cancer said we should perform the black-thread ritual. To symbolize death, we wrapped thread around grannies fingers and unravelled it, extending an end to all the family members who surrounded her house. Each took hold and we wrapped it round and round the house ending up back at her casket. The thread was cut off at the casket symbolizing that the death stop there. The thread was then all wound up and put inside. On October 4th, the day of the funeral, the family gathered at the house to escort granny to the churchyard and beyond. She was carried lovingly out of her house and onto a horse drawn wagon for the procession. Everyone fell in line, singing and laughing, sometimes crying - down the road to the church. On the way, some horses in a field kept running up to their fence and neighing very loudly - it was almost ritualistic. Members of the RCMP led the procession and as we neared the church, we could hear the Louie Singers singing and drumming. Grannies' ceremonial traditional blanket was draped on the top of her casket and our first stop was in the big tents to receive blessing. We gave out cameras that day so people could take pictures - we got lots of them back. Granny said about a funeral service, "This is the last thing you can ever do for me." and on the day when she could no longer help herself, we gathered hundreds deep just to be there for her one last time. As the family members took turns lowering the casket, my cousin began to sing a beautiful totally unrehearsed song. It was so amazing. There was so much care taken by everyone, all day long. When the memorial CD didn't play, we knew it was granny at work, keeping it simple. She never wanted a big thing made of her, even when she accepted the Order of Canada she accepted it on behalf of all women. In everything she did she was quiet. She was always very humble, she had simple tastes. I used to say growing up, "Granny tell us a story." And she would She never turned anybody away. She never got mad. - An excerpt from Stoney Creek Woman which was the final line at the Mary John Eulogy: We must keep our language, our culture, so that even in Canada we can still feel that we have our own country. And while we preserve these things, it is my hope that some day we will also have reserves where the young can be educated, where there is employment for all and where my people will choose to live, and work and finally to die and rest in peace [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Native News North List info{all lists}: http://nativenewsonline.org/natnews.htm Yahoo! 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