Alawa stood by the birch
canoe holding a leather pouch filled with various kinds of copper ore. Her
father, Etchemin, and her were going to trade with the Ojibwa. They were in
desperate need of food. Her brother and some other family members planned to raid
the Haudenosaunee for some corn and beans while they were gone. Their people, the
Algonquin and the Haudenosaunee had been rivals for as long as she could
remember. “I wish those Iroquois would share their nice, warm weather land.”
Alawa thought “Then we wouldn’t fight so much” “Alawa!” her father’s voice
jolted her out of her trance. He stood in the canoe below, arms outstretched
for the leather pouch. “Oh! Sorry!” she said, handing it to him. “It’s about
time we head out.” He said, “Everything is packed.” He held his hand out to
help her into the boat. After she got in they undid the rope from the stump
which held the canoe to the land. Then they shoved off to begin their journey.
“The trip was long, but
not as long as taking the St. Lawrence River to Cree” Alawa thought as she
helped her father paddle and watched the water stream by. Other Algonquin people
paddled alongside them, speaking of the wild rice they would trade their
colorful feathers and copper for. Her father spoke of the many manitok or spirits
that dwelled in the waters. “Let them favor us on our journey” he said
solemnly.
It took many days, even
weeks for them to reach the place where the Ojibwa usually dwelled. They had to
row to shore several times to hunt for food when they could not catch any fish,
in order to avoid starving in their boats. Luckily, the manitok smiled upon
them and they caught not only several squirrels and raccoons, but also a full
grown White-tailed deer: their most prized animal. “Land! I see Land!” someone
in one of the other canoes finally cried. Everyone sat up straighter in their
boats and stretched their necks, all trying to see the wonderful sight. “I see
it! I see it!” Alawa said to her father excitedly. She had spotted a group of
the Ojibwa’s wigwams not far from shore. “Yes” he said, smiling, looking at the
small cluster of homes “Hopefully they will have lots of rice to trade.”
It took some time for
them to all paddle to shore- for land is not always as close as it appears- but
eventually they all arrived safely on nice, firm, ground. “Father, look.” Alawa
said, pulling lightly on his deerskin sleeve. Several of the Ojibwa had come
out of their wigwams to greet them.
After the greeting was
over the trading began. “I will give you ten pouches of copper for 25 bags of
wild rice.” Her father told Eyota, one of the main Ojibwa traders. “No, that is
way too much for so little!” Eyota said loudly “I’ll give you ten for ten!”
“Ten for ten!” her father shouted “Even the Iroquois could scrape up a better
bargain than that!” “Surly copper is worth more than rice.” Alawa thought to
herself as she listened quietly. They both watched him intently, practically
seeing the wheels turning in his head. “Fine! Fifteen for ten!” Eyota said, “I
know you have come a long way, but take it or leave it. We have our living to
make too!” “Very Well.” Said her father “Fifteen bags of rice for ten bags of
copper. It’s a deal.”
They planned to stay for
several weeks with the Ojibwa to continue with the trading and catching up on
events that had happened since their last visit. Alawa hoped they would be able
to trade the colorful feathers and furs they had brought for even more rice and
other foods such as pumpkins and maple sugar. Sometimes the Ojibwa could be
stingy, but so far it had been a successful trading journey.
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