Creewegian
- Eric Standing | October 03, 2022
As many people in the community know, I am roughly half Norwegian and half First Nations, my band or tribe being that of the Cree people.
It is for this reason that I have created a new ethnicity, that of the Creewegian, or Norwindian, if you prefer.
So far our numbers are fairly low, as it is just me and my friend Steve. We alternate Presidency based on other commitments and, so far, most of our nation building time has been taken up with arguments over what our flag should look like. I want a bearded buffalo with a shield and Steve prefers a feathered axe.
Through my own research, I have discovered that the Cree, though a plains people, were known canoe makers and often excellent swimmers. This, combined with the fact that the Norse were well-established seafarers, is what I feel leads to our love of all things water, especially swimming, boating and fishing.
However, Steve and I’s expeditions to sail off and conquer new lands by either force or diplomacy have not been very successful.
At one point we were chased off by an angry herd of cattle and our only claimed territory is a sandbar on the Souris River that may no longer exist.
The Creewegian Empire is a work in progress.
I was delighted to learn that funeral processes of both cultures (as I learned them) both involved fire and a water vessel.
Norse mythology indicates that persons of high status, such as the current vice-president of the Creewegian nation, would be laid in a ship with their riches and most treasured items then a flaming arrow would be shot into the ship and it would be set to drift and burn in the sea.
Ideally, the ship should be of one’s own design and build, however, that sounds entirely too labor intensive.
I have decided that my funeral, hopefully many decades from now, should consist of me being coated in barbecue igniter, placed in my plastic canoe with my treasured hammock from Menard’s and lit on fire to drift into Skjermo Lake.
I might need to reconsider this as the time draws nearer, however, as melting plastic would most certainly be bad for the perch and frowned upon by local fish and game officers. Also, kids swim in there.
Saskatchewan is unique as it is the one place where I am recognized as being Norwegian, and I was actually asked to join the Sons of Norway chapter here.
It is safe to say that, based on appearances alone, I do not look very Norwegian.
Regardless, it is a heritage I am quite fond of, even if it does make it hard to decide between lefse and frybread sometimes.
My attempts to introduce a lutefisk on fry-bread sandwich were shot down at the restaurant I once worked at.
With the introduction of such genealogy sources as 23 And Me and Ancestry.com, I expect the Creewegian nation to expand rapidly and, as a result, I had better start planning a meeting hall of some sort.
For now, we settle for the Tim Horton’s in Moose Jaw.