Paging Gazhekwe

[gazhekwe]

It is very good and so simple to make, it has proved invaluable in our house, too. In the old days, we might wrap this around a clean stick and bake it over a fire, or spread it on a hot rock and prop it near the fire to bake. Still an option if you have a fire and want to try something a bit different.

We traveled by train to Moosonee, a Cree village on the south shore of James Bay in Ontario. James Bay is the south end of Hudson Bay. Although no roads go there, there are cars in the village. It is accessible to outside by plane, train and boat. There we visited a traditional lodge where the women were making bannock, mixing in a bark container and baking the bread on sticks over the fire. The sticks were poked into the earth at the edge of the fire at about a 60 degree angle toward but not in the flames. We were able to buy a loaf and they passed a pot of butter for us to dip it in. In the old days, it would have been bear fat or maybe goose fat. Mide [[Mid day') is always an important part of any feast.