We spent the last five days in Montreal doing research for my book, seeing the St. Kateri Shrine, attending masses, seeing St. Brother Andre Bessette’s tomb and relics at the St. Joseph’s Oratory, and we also ate some really great food!
Picture heavy/links to restaurants below:
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I think when it comes to marginalized groups in this country, it is important to remember that even though we attempt to celebrate them and honor them, we can still do that on the other 364 days of the year, and not just on “their” day.
Native American Heritage Month officially ended on November 30th, and Native American Heritage Day was commemorated on November 29th.
In addition to the post last week with links to the American Indian Museum in Washington, DC, I’d like to share the following links and travel recommendations for you to consider over the next 361 days.
The Akwesasne Cultural Center is located on State Route 37 in Akwesasne, New York, near the Canadian Border. They are a museum, library, and cultural center focusing on the history and culture of the Mohawk people as well as protecting Mohawk culture and artifacts. The museum and gift shop are open T – F, 10-6, and Sat, 10-2. The library is open additionally on Monday, 9-5.
The Kanien’keha’:ka Onkwawen:na Raotitiohkwa Language and Cultural Center was established in 1978. Its mission is to preserve and enrich the language and culture of the Kanien’keha:ka (Mohawk) of Kahnawa:ke. They are located in the Mohawk Territory of Kahanwa:ke, south of Montreal, Canada.
You can also find the Welcome Center, the Kateri Interpretive Center, and the St. Francis-Xavier Mission Church (on this site since 1716) in the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawa:ke. I have toured all three of these sites and it is well worth the visit.
From The National Museum of the American Indian at the Smithsonian: The “First Thanksgiving”: How Can We Tell a Better Story?
Bluesky Handle, Puff the Magic Hater has a thread of ways to support Native people, for everything from abortion care, defending voting rights, keeping Native families together, and more. Visit the thread here.
I’d like to close this post with the words of someone smarter than me. On Nov 29, 2024, historian Heather Cox Richardson wrote on Facebook:
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There is still a long way to go in acknowledging what the governments of the United States and Canada have done to the Native American and First Nations peoples of North America. I’m being naive in thinking that Native American Heritage Month in November when Thanksgiving occurs is completely unrelated. However, it is what it is.
I thought I would share some of the things and signage that I noticed on our recent visits to Canada. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto has a large First Nations exhibit. I think it took nearly an hour to get through it and I could have probably stayed longer.
In addition to the following photos, when we visited the Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, I noticed a sign at the entrance that said: Ingenium [Canada Aviation & Space Museum] offers free admission to all active Canadian military personnel, Canadian military veterans, Indigenous peoples, including First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and a support leader accompanying a person with disabilities. When available, presentation of an Identification Card is requested.
I noticed this in several museums including the ROM.
There was also a discount for the gift shop as well as Indigenous pins and souvenirs.
In the United States, it is on my bucket list to visit the American Indian Museum at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.. There is also a location in New York City. Check out the website for hours of operation. Admission to both locations are free.
While we wait for the election returns (whether that’s tonight, tomorrow, or the next day, I thought I would share some of the things that inspired me in the last few weeks.
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I plan to share some of the amazing vacation food we enjoyed on our visit to Canada. When we returned, we had our thirtieth anniversary and the end of summer through Labor Day and there was food fun throughout!
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SPOILERS FOR LOUISE PENNY’S ARMAND GAMACHE BOOK SERIES
Continue readingThe end of summer has brought on several inspirationals including some exciting places to visit and collect pins from as well as a Kamala/Walz lawn flag in my neighborhood which made me slightly giddy! Our yard sign should be coming next week. Our neighbor had one that I really loved so I ordered the same one.
A few of the pins already belonged to me but a few are new from the trip, from the places we visited and a couple from my family from their day at Fan Expo Canada.
What are some of the things that inspired, and continue to inspire you this summer, and as summer comes to a close?
We start planning for a vacation months in advance, right up until the moment that we actually get in the car to leave. In the last twenty years or so, I can count on one hand the number of times we’ve traveled by plane or train. We drive everywhere. This gives us a road trip model that works about 90% of the time, and with three kids that’s pretty much works out to 100% more or less.
Some of the most important things for a successful road trip never even leave the car!
You needs will, of course, vary and change over time, but these are the things I really miss when I forget them:
This quotation comes from Louise Penny’s twelfth book in her Chief Inspector Armand Gamache series, A Great Reckoning: A Novel.
In this twelfth book, we find Gamache as the head of the Surete Academy unraveling the mystery of another death while also investigating a mysterious map from Three Pines. The quoted passage is a conversation between Gamache and one of the professors at the Academy, Hugo Charpentier.
“Oui. It’s because maps are magic.” If he didn’t have the Commander’s full attention before, he did now. Gamache lowered his tea to the table and stared. “Magic?” “Yes. They’ve become so mundane we’ve forgotten that. They transport us from one place to another. They illuminate our universe. The first maps were of the heavens, you know. What the ancients could see. Where their gods lived. All cultures mapped the stars. But then they lowered their sights. To the world around them.”
-A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 