Waubgeshig Rice - Moon of the Crusted Snow

From his spot behind the table, Evan scanned the room. He saw his mom, dad, and sister, Sarah, sitting to the side about halfway back. They had all kept their dark snowmobile jackets on. Most people did now. A persistent chill pervaded every room on the rez. Once again, his brother didn’t seem to be there.

“It looks like there’s enough fuel to keep the power on throughout the winter,” said Terry. “But only if everyone cooperates. As long as there’s power for the water treatment plant, it can keep pumping in water from the lake. Our goal is to keep running water in your homes for the whole winter. If we run out of diesel for the generators, we’ll have no water in our homes. It’s that simple.

“Our biggest concern right away, though, is food.” As Terry steeled himself to explain the upcoming rationing, Evan scanned the crowd for Donny Jones, the Northern’s manager. He couldn’t see him anywhere. That asshole really should have handled things better , Evan thought. And he should have the balls to be here .

“We don’t think we’ll be getting a truck anytime soon,” Terry began. “The service road is snowed in, and we don’t know if Hydro is going to be around to make it drivable for the winter. It might be too late, with all the snow that’s already come.” Fear squeezed itself into the gym.

“We all know there wasn’t enough food at the trading post to last us for the rest of the winter. And all that food is gone now anyway. So we have to use our emergency supply. There is a cache that will last us for a while. But again, we have to be smart about it. We’re going to assess each home’s need, and set rations according to that. That means we’ll be visiting your homes over the next few days to see what you have. I know it’s not ideal, but it’s the only way we can do this fairly.”

There was an eerie silence among even the most outspoken of the rez people, the corn soup and bannock they’d eaten before the meeting still settling in their bellies.

Someone in the back shouted, “So I spend all summer fishing and all fall hunting to feed my family in the winter, and the lazy-ass people in this rez get food for free?” Evan tried to spot the heckler. He was there with Isaiah to serve as security in case the assembly got out of hand.

“Yeah, what the hell?” someone else called out.

Walter rose to his feet and attempted to restore order. “Okay, okay, calm down,” he shouted into the racket. “Quiet!” His booming baritone hushed the entire gym.

“Nobody’s getting any kind of special treatment. And we’re not gonna keep any food or supplies from anyone. This is a goddamn crisis! We have to act like a community. We’re going to support each other until this all gets sorted out.”

Evan wondered whether this meeting had served any good purpose.

Walter took a deep breath, lowered his wide chin to the white buttons of his denim shirt, and buried his face in his rough hands. He dragged them slowly down his cheeks, pulling his lower eyelids down and exposing his bloodshot eyes as he exhaled. “I’m sorry,” he said. “This has been a tough time for everyone here. I’m sorry I yelled.”

“It’s okay, Walter,” shouted someone from the back.

“Yeah, Walter, it’s okay,” said a new voice through the open door at the back. Everyone turned to see the tall, bald, muscular white man walk into the room. His heavy workboots made loud thuds on the tiled floor. Justin Scott had arrived for the whole crowd to see.

“What the fuck is he doing here?” Terry whispered to Walter, loud enough for Evan to hear.

“We told him to stay put!” Walter growled. He shot a cutting gaze at Evan, as if expecting him to contain the situation. Evan could only shrug.

The crowd’s uneasy buzz grew. Evan caught his father’s eye, who furrowed his brow and mouthed “Who’s that?” as Patricia bit her thumbnail beside him. Evan tried his best to keep his face blank. Scott stopped and finished his sentence. “We’ll get through this. Together.” He beamed and raised his fists high above his head and pumped them.

Evan’s cousin Mark Whitesky shot to his feet and yelled, “Who the fuck are you?” as Evan and Isaiah moved to stave off any confrontation.

Walter tried to placate the room. “Calm down, everyone. Please allow me to introduce Justin Scott. He’s arrived from the South and is with us for a little while.”

“Aaniin, everybody,” Scott said, as if he thought he could pacify the crowd with a greeting in their language. He folded his big arms over his chest, smirked, and nodded, his bodybuilder’s neck even wider than his large head.

“We were going to wait to introduce Mr. Scott,” Walter said, staring sharply in Scott’s direction. “I guess we just got our lines crossed.” He let the last part of his statement float in the air.

“Oh, my apologies,” Scott said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just wanted to say hi and meet some of the fine people here. I’m here to help. I’m sure we’ll all get to know each other very well over the next little while.”

“Miigwech, Mr. Scott,” said Walter before Scott could say anything else. He looked over his shoulder and said loudly, “Evan, maybe it’s time you showed our guest around.” The councillor cocked his head in Scott’s direction and diverted people’s attention back to the front of the gym, saying, “Okay, now Debbie McCloud is going to explain how the food distribution is going to work,” he said, welcoming the small woman outfitted in a pink tracksuit. She pushed her glasses up her nose and stood, explaining the plan in a booming, cheerful voice.

“Hey bud!” chirped Scott as Evan approached. The breezy greeting made Evan’s skin crawl. He nodded for Scott to follow him.

Once they’d rounded the corner into the hallway that connected the gym and the health station, Evan turned to face him.

“What the fuck are you doing, man?” he whispered harshly. “We asked you to stay put.”

“I must not have heard properly,” Scott replied. “I thought I was to meet you all in the gym after the meeting. I thought it would have been done by now.”

“You could have waited when you saw it was still happening.”

“But if I’m gonna be a part of this community, shouldn’t I know what’s happening?”

“You’re not a part of this community.”

“Oh no?”

“No. You have to step up, just like everyone else. And then we decide if you can stay.”

“You don’t think I can?”

“I don’t know you.”

Scott towered over Evan under the pale glow of the fluorescent lights above them. Evan knew that he was no match for this man in a fight. He wasn’t intimidated; though he wasn’t quite sure why. He eased back from their confrontation and the stranger relaxed.

“Well, let’s get to know each other then. So what of this tour?”

Evan decided to show him the shop and then take him to the band’s main offices. For the first time, Evan considered the man’s own vulnerability. He’s stranded , thought Evan. He needs us more than we need him.

Maiingan stood on the counter on his tiptoes and peered into the dark cupboard. He gripped the bottom shelf with his left hand, a little nervous about the height from the floor.

“Okay, sweetie, tell me how many big cans there are,” asked Nicole.

The boy reached in with his right hand extended and touched each one as he counted the cans of tomatoes. “One… two… three…” He carefully tallied the wide tins wrapped in the familiar no-name label. “Four… five… six… seven!” His voice piped with pride when he got to seven.

“Good! Way to go, bud,” said his mother. “Now do it one more time just to make sure.” A tedious task for any older child, this was a fun counting exercise for Maiingan. He was thrilled to be able to help his mother with an important chore. And to be able to stand on the counter.