Yellek, Ontario

2,468 miles

The moment I first saw this place name on the map, I was curious about its derivation.  It doesn’t resemble the Anishinaabe names in the area, although it looks like some of the Inuit names of Alaska.  Yellek is possibly similar to the Ukrainian names I saw in Saskatchewan, rather exotic & spiky.  It certainly bears no resemblance to the Scottish names that the Canadian Pacific Railway bestowed so abundantly.   Well, it turns out that Yellek was named for a Canadian Northern Railway trainmaster, R. J. Kelley.  Not a Scottish name, but Irish.  And not used as-is, plain & simple, but instead spelled backwards.  For ethnic political reasons or just whimsy?

side-tracked by a railroad siding

Yellek was established by the Canadian Northern Railway in 1915 as a rail siding.  A siding is just a section of railroad track next to the main track of the “running line” or “through route”, used for rearranging or side-tracking train cars.  It doesn’t sound like this place even rated a station.

Personally, it seems that the side-track should be my totem symbol, representing my distractible mind.  But I prefer the ampersand to symbolize my multidimensional curiosity.

As I was cruising into Yellek using Google Street Views to see what I could find, I saw the sign for the “How Convenient” store.  What amusing wordplay, I thought.  I assumed that it was a convenience store, also known as a c-store, at least in parts of the Midwest (Bruce Crossing, Michigan).  

On the roadside sign, the store advertises “Native Crafts” as well as groceries.  The few online listings I found for the store placed it in the category of “Gift Shop, Variety & Souvenirs”.  I began to suspect that it was one more “roadside attraction” trying to snag road trip tourists with cheap Sioux-like or Navaho-ish trinkets made in Asia.  And I began to suspect hidden racial stereotyping in the How Convenient name, as in the “How!” greeting heard in old western movies.  Was I being too suspicious?

Who owns this store?  Who is selling “native crafts”?  What natives made them?  Who is buying them?  I expect that if there are real native crafts made by Anishinaabe people, the store would have a website to display & even sell such distinctive merchandise.  Maybe just stickers, T-shirts, & keychains with Anishinaabe symbols.  Maybe wood carvings & small boxes decorated with beaver, trout, & moose.  I couldn’t find out anything about the store’s souvenir merchandise online.  I did come across an old picture of this store decades ago, but it did not tell me much.

I did – finally – discover that Yellek is on the Nipissing First Nations Reserve, so Anishinaabe people are a significant part of the regional society.  

Since this area has always been a geographical crossroads, it became an economic & cultural exchange point too.  To the west the Nipissing trade routes extended as far as Lake Nipigon and their Ojibwa neighbors, and to the north as far James Bay, where they traded with the Cree and, later, the English. Their trade network to the east extended as far as present-day Quebec City.  

Huron-style pottery example found

The Huron lived nearby to the South.  Long ago, the Nipissing integrated some Huron styles & techniques in their pottery.  

Today the Nipissing First Nation is a member of the Union of Ontario Indians, a tribal political organization representing many of the Anishinaabe First Nations in central and southern Ontario. 

I really started learning about the Nipissing Anishinaabe First Nation and the “How Convenient” store when I discovered Bob Goulais’ Anishinaabe Blog.  He elucidates many issues, controversies, and events around his community.  I was so impressed with his insights that I e-mailed him with my questions about the How Convenient store.

Bob Goulais’ response to my questions is so articulate & nuanced that I will include it verbatim:

“Some may feel the name of the convenience store plays upon Hollywood stereotypes of indigenous people. Likely, the owners thought it was cute. In the grand scheme of things (and on the spectrum of negative stereotypes) this may be rather mild. I'll give them points for creativity.

 How Convenient and many other smaller stores on-reserve mainly sell cigarettes. They are often referred to as "smoke shacks". But in an effort to diversify their sales, stores also sell local handicrafts, gifts, food and convenience items for residents who live close by.

 There is a lot of controversy over smoke shops and First Nations tobacco products. Governments are critical over this market because it has little regulation and they do not get tax revenue from these sales.

The convenience store lobby has been critical over perceived unfair competitive practices and the lower costs of on-reserve tobacco products. Our products are not taxed.  As a result, our merchants and products are branded with terms such as contraband tobacco, smugglers, black market tobacco, smoke shacks, organized crime, etc.

 The reality is that indigenous people were the first to provide tobacco to the European explorers and settlers. We have been trading in tobacco for 500 years. The people that run these shops, as well as the wholesalers and manufacturers are selling the same products that are sold in mainstream convenience store, tobacco shops and gas stations.

 Tobacco is a sacred gift given to us directly by the Creator. It was the first gift given to our people to use in ceremony, in prayer and when we need to ask things of each other and the Spirit World.  When I speak to audiences, I always differentiate the good and proper use versus misuse of tobacco.

 But not all our people carry these teachings. The smoke shops, in reality, are an integral yet unhealthy means of economic benefit for many business owners and impoverished communities.  They provide jobs and local benefits as well.

 Interestingly, one section of gifts at How Convenient has fancy glass pipes, bongs, hookas and other paraphernalia. You can also buy Cuban cigars in a rather intricate humidifier.

 At this store and others you can also buy fish from Lake Nipissing. Our people have harvested and traded in walleye and other species for many generations. You can buy our walleye, 2 filets, vacuum packed and frozen for $7. Mmmmm.

beadwork
by Dean Couchie
of Yellek

Local crafts include medicine wheels, dream catchers, local paintings, beadwork, birchbark baskets and wood carvings. The vast majority of their crafts are authentic and made by Anishinaabe people.

birchbark baskets

 For such a small store, they have a rather large selection of moccasins. Some are locally made, but most are made by Canadian manufacturers such as Manitobah Mukluks and Bastien Industries. These are indigenous businesses and their products are made in Canada.

beaded moose hide moccasins
by Bastien Industries

 They indeed sell fireworks. Again the reason why fireworks are sold a lot in these on-reserve stores is because of lack of clear regulations. Their logo either has fireworks or brightly coloured feathers. I'm not sure. Lol”

I’m so grateful to this man for being so hospitable and enlightening me so thoroughly about his community.  He ended his letter by saying that, if ever I’m actually in the neighborhood, “You are welcome to visit and enjoy our First Nation.”  It’s a gracious invitation that I feel privileged to share with my blog readers.

beautiful tangle

I’m left with complex thoughts & mixed emotions.  Our North American cross-cultural interactions have been such an opportunity for growth, but they have been so tortured by fear & greed & misunderstanding & cruelty.  The playful double or triple entendre of the How Convenient store name is marred by hidden implications.  Tobacco, a sacred gift from the Creator, & spiritually useful on ceremonial occasions, is overused profanely & kills its users.  Same for alcohol, for that matter.  The First Nations & French & Metis & Anglo-Canadians try to live in harmony, but relations are so tangled!  And we keep trying, because that’s the only way forward.

info: Wikipedia.com

images:  Google Images

info:  http://fishwiks.ca/communities/nipissing-first-nation-on/community-partners/

Bob Goulais' blog:  http://www.anishinaabe.ca/