Camping in teepees
When we got off the train, big Vital Francoeur was waiting to take us to Village Innusit, his own Native-style camp in the heart of the Upper-Mauricie forest. Big, tall Vital, who was wearing traditional Native garments, showed us to his boat, which he steered with the assurance of a great chief. Undoubtedly impressed by our host's size, we let him guide us without too many questions. Team photographer Denis Bouchard then asked me softly:
«Do you think I can take his picture?»
«Sure. Just ask him», I reply, just as softly.
Denis didn't dare approach our imposing host, at least until Vital finally did away with the various fears forming in our young, impressionable minds; after a few minutes, Vital gave us a large smile that could have melted a glacier:
«For once, we get Quebecers visiting the area!», he said, laughing.
Vital Francoeur, who, as we were about to discover, is a big, tender-hearted bear, explained that Village Innusit mostly does business with European travellers, especially French visitors. But today, he announces, the camp is empty and our expedition team would be the only one lucky enough to huddle together under a teepee.
We have Vital Francoeur and his wife Lorraine Hallé to thank for the night that we are about to spend sheltered by our teepee. In 1994, after months of hard work, they finally made their dream come true. In the heart of the forest, with a boat as the only possible mode of transportation, Vital started clearing this land in 1993. During this time, Lorraine was starting to weave together the first teepees. The following summer, the teepees stood proudly in the middle of the Upper-Saint-Maurice forest, and a few tourists began arriving to the reconstructed Native village.
We saw those teepees from far away, as the skies were threatening to pour down on us at any moment. Nestled in the forest, multicolored teepees stood on the horizon, as if laughing in the face of any climatic danger.
Despite the fact that Vital and Lorraine chose to build teepees, they explain that those weren't used by the area's Native people, but rather by those in the Prairies; teepees began to be associated with all Native people after being immortalized in countless American westerns. Teepees are still used today in the Great Plains, and elsewhere in North America, as part of traditional festivals, but also, as is the case at Village Innusit, to house visitors who are curious about Native cultures.
In older days, the nomad Prairie Natives needed portable housing. Because they are warm in winter, and cool in the summer, teepees made perfect shelters. What's more, they could be put together rapidly, and were weatherproof so that they could stand up to even the most difficult weather conditions. That evening, we were about to experience these advantages first hand as the sky, which had been menacing all day long, finally opened up and drenched the countryside, but we slept quietly in our teepee and kept our sleeping bags dry!
Beyond their practical side,teepees are still representative of Prairie Natives' beliefs. Their conical shape allows light to flood the inside, thus giving the spirits the space they need to blossom. The circular floor also symbolizes the cycles of nature: the earth, the sky, the seasons; in other words, life itself.
In the Plains culture, tribal women made, owned and erected the teepees. Since teepees belonged to the women, men had to ask their wife's permission before decorating the exterior of their homes. When they moved about, Plains Natives carried the skins used to make the teepees and the poles that held them up. Since branches of that size were rather scarce in this region, the poles were considered to be considerably valuable.
In Upper-Mauricie, though, branches aren't rare at all, and we gathered some in order to make a fire in the middle of the teepee. Surprisingly enough, the smoke from the fire went straight up, directly into the hole at the top of the teepee, without ever bothering any of us. We layed down around the fire, exhausted and feeling stuffed after our trout dinner. Denis Bouchard, his camera finally full with images of the great Vital, told us, the following morning, that he dreamt he was flying over the trees, looking for the spirit of the wind...
