Up a Creek without a Paddle

The bunkhouse continued to take shape today with more sawing and hammering and hauling!

We cut the last of the joists this morning, then it was cutting of blocks to go in between them and make the whole structure solid.  Finally we cut the pieces of timber to go around the outside and formed a hammering production line to connect everything together. 

We are now ready for the plywood flooring to go on tomorrow and the structure is really starting to come together.  It gave us a great sense of achievement to see this first vital part of the bunkhouse almost complete, and to know it was measured, cut, carried and hammered into place by every one of us.

After we finished work, a group of local Blackfeet children came over to visit us and to go rafting down Two Medicine River on inner tubes and a raft.  We traveled by bus a few miles up river from our camp site to Carol Murray’s place to inflate the tubes and rafts and threw them in just below a weir.

Our trip should have been a leisurely float for an hour back to our campsite, but the river level had dropped over the last week and we ended up spending two hours floating a little, walking and dragging a lot, to get to a point where the bus could pick us up.

It was team building to say the least!  We were tired and cold by the time we made it back to camp, but warm showers, good food and the wonderful company of the local Blackfeet people. 

Tonight the local Blackfeet Cancer Support Group put on an barbeque with us.  We would love to have had more time with them, but the extra hours on the river got us back quite late.  The local group has an annual Cowboys for Cancer ride – last year with 250 riders – that starts 10 miles outside of Browning to raise money for cancer support.  Half the money raised goes to an organization in Great Falls, with the rest used locally to support patients who have to travel for treatment.

The group had put together wonderful gift bags for all of us with donations from the local people – an incredibly touching gesture.  We just wished we had more time to spend with them.  Donna gave little koalas, kangaroos and pencils with an aboriginal design on them to all the children which was a great hit.

One of the most special moments of the night came from our friend Mary, a local Blackfeet breast cancer survivor who had visited us on several nights.  At last year’s auction for the Cancer Support Group, she bought a blanket that was made with patches of denim from local cancer survivors on one side, and an Indian blanket design on the other.  When she bought the blanket a year ago she said she would hold on to it until she met the right person to hand it on to.

After talking to Deb earlier in the week, Mary was touched by her personal story and so tonight she presented the blanket to Deb to take home with her and on her future journey into the Grand Canyon.

Patti from the Native American Bank was here again tonight and we talked some more about the fantastic work they are doing.  When the allotment scheme was introduced in the 1880s the intention was for the Blackfeet to become farmers, but with land and no capital to buy equipment or stock or seed, it was impossible.

Today, since that land is still held in individual trusts, they cannot apply for traditional mortgages or loans which in many cases leaves them with land and a basic hut, but no money to build a proper house.  The Native American Bank has gone through the process of negotiating with the government to be able to offer Trust Mortgages, and have helped many Blackfeet now to take out loans and build their own houses, or open businesses.  It is a truly inspiring story.

About half of our group curled up in their tipis for an early night's sleep, while the other half gathered around the campfire. We taught the Australians how to make smores and Jiffy Pop and had a lot of laughs. The stars were again amazing, and sharing the beautiful night around a warm fire with such good friends was yet another incredible experience in this very full day.
 

Tomorrow we will finish our work on the bunkhouse at lunch time, and then leave for our two day retreat in the mountains with local Blackfeet leader, Pauline Matt.  We won’t have internet access in the mountains, so this will be the last Blog update until we return on Saturday night.