Listen as Harry Mugford reflects on his childhood and cultural experiences, legends of the past and challenges Indigenous peoples may face into the future
Elder Harry Mugford is interviewed by Hope Elson during the Timeless Voices Youth Podcast Program.
Mugford shares his childhood memories, including walking to school and the simple joys of growing up in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. He describes the differences between his childhood and the present, noting the increased pace of life and the loss of traditional values.
Mugford reflects on the challenges of maintaining cultural traditions and the need for flexible criteria in cultural organizations, as well as the legends and cultural stories he heard as a young child.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation that honors the voices of the past while empowering the leaders of tomorrow.
For accessibility, a transcript is provided with all podcast episodes.
Read more about the Program here: Timeless Voices
Music. Welcome to Timeless Voices. These interviews were recorded in July 2024. In this piece, you will hear Hope Elson interview Harry Mugford. Harry is an Inuk elder in Happy Valley-Goose Bay. He grew up in Happy Valley-Goose Bay and is 70 years old. We spoke to him at the Labrador Friendship Center.
What was your childhood like?
Wonderful. We left the house in the morning and come home supper time in the summer.
How was your life different in them days?
How was it different? It was more easy going like you didn't have worries, you didn't. There's nothing to be afraid of. It was just a more happier time. Like right now, the whole world's angry, so it's a different world.
How did you get to school?
Well, we lived in the valley, I walked. It was Hamilton well was this building first, and it was St Andrews Anglican school, Anglican, Moravian school. And then it was Hamilton Junior High, which is now Peacock, and we lived up the street here, so walked.
What was school like?
Really, really good time. It was the best time of your life. You don't realize it till you get older. All you had to do was study a little bit and get some good marks, and it was just a really good time.
How far did you go in school?
High school and college.
What is your culture?
I'm Inuit.
What did you do in your culture?
Growing up, hunting fish and stuff like that, out in boat and stuff, camping out in tent over ice fishing that was growing up.
How have you seen your your culture change?
Growing up in Upper Lake Melville area. You didn't, you didn't see as much of your cultures, but like, what your past was like, because around here, like, you went up the bay and you hunted and fished and went up Churchill Falls Road, but you didn't, you didn't see a lot of you, like, the old ways here, because we, everybody had electricity and running water, stuff like that. We didn't we didn't see of the old ways living here. Didn't see them at all. Growing, growing up. We weren't exposed to it. So you didn't think about it a lot. It's not till you get older in life and you start thinking about your past and reading about it and stuff like that. That's when you that's when you got more aware of it. I think like young people today are the same way. Most young people, they're not, they don't know their past, so they're not practicing as much like you're you're further away from your past and and so you don't practice as much. But like I said, growing up here, we didn't see a lot of it.
Do you have any worries about your culture in the future?
In this area, Upper Lake Melville, it's a dying thing, like, I'm a beneficiary of Nunatsiavut government. I think eventually you're not going to see any members here in this area. People, they move here from coast, but as they grow up, they marry somebody not of their culture, and their kids are, according to them, your bloodline thins. So eventually you probably won't see any members of Nunatsiavut in this area at all.
Why is it important to still practice your culture?
I think you learn, you learn from your past what you're going to do in your future. So if you understand your past, I think it gives you a path to your future, like the hunting and fishing, gathering and stuff like that. I think if you understand all that you can and you practice it, it helps with your future. Knowing where you come from helps you know where you're going.
How can the culture be perserved in the future?
I think they have to change, ease their criteria, because one of the big things was, once you turn 19, you could have your membership, you could be a beneficiary, but when you turn 19, you have to reapply, and you could lose it, and a lot of people do, and I think the criteria has to change of what they consider your culture and your blood and everything else. It has to change. They have to remove some of the restrictions for people that are running the organization in government. They have to change some of those restrictions as well, because eventually, while living in Nain, like the President has to be be able to speak Inuttitut, eventually, there's not going to be unless it changes language, there won't be anybody able to run because of that criteria. I think that that has to change. I think that has to be eased somewhat. Got to be a bit more flexible in their membership.
What kind of Legends did you hear growing up?
In this area here, we only had the green men. You ever hear about the green men? I think somebody started to keep the kids in at night, because they say the green men were in the woods all around town. And if you're out around, they would chase you and catch you and do stuff to you. It's only one we ever heard of around here is Greenmen. It's quite common knowledge. There's actually in Them Days books about the Greenmen. Your parents didn't worry about you. But I think somebody thought of Greenmen to control us, keep us out of the woods and being bad.
Where did he hear about the Green Man?
Every Kid in Goose Bay knew about the Greenmen. I don't know where it started, but every kid knew you were like when you were little. You didn't go roam around the woods in the summer whole lot, you'd bump into the Greenmen.
How did the way you were raised shape who are, who you are?
We were raised with with, well, we didn't have a whole lot, so we didn't expect a whole lot. Eight kids, two parents and a grandmother. We all lived in same house. It was very it was a very gentler time. You learn tolerance. I guess growing up taught me how to be more forgiving. I guess I don't know sometimes.
Through the years, what's been the biggest change you've seen?
The way of life. Like I said, it was more easy going was more gentle. These days, like I said, Everybody's angry. It seems like everybody's mad about something, and nobody has any tolerance for anything, and they fly off the handle for everything. There's no need of half the time. But that's the biggest change. I found it's more busier. It's people have less time. The worlds screwed up?
Were you married?
Yes, I was yes.
How long?
45 years.
Did you have any children?
Two, two boys.
What was it like raising them in them days?
Hard, same way it is now. Teenagers don't change. No matter what year it is, you're all teenagers and you don't change. But adults forget they were teenagers sometimes, but that's what it was like. Once a teenager, always a teenager.
What is your advice for teenagers?
Listen, listen, always listen. Show respect, like Jim said, but listen, if you pay attention to things and listen, you learn a lot of stuff, so you can't go through life without listening. And when you listen, you understand things. You can never go wrong listening, you learn a lot of stuff, all kinds of stuff, which all helps you.
What is your advice for people starting their careers?
Pick a career that you want, that you want to do, and if you don't like that career path when you're young, change it. You've got lots of time, but in the same breath, you got to think about what's going to happen later on down the road, like how you're going to support yourself, because it's like Jim said, You can't live on old age pension. You have to think about these things. But if you get into career and you don't like it while you're young, get out of it. Go do something else, because I find schools these days, don't prepare you for what you want to do in life. They don't. Not everybody wants to go to university. They should be teaching trades in schools, stuff like this, like I don't know if you all you people want to go to university or not, but you might want to do something else, like carpentry, electrician. Well, not everybody wants to go to university. My oldest John, he went to university for two years passed, and then he come home and said it's not for me and and not everybody wants to go there, but pick something that you're really interested in and do it. And if you don't like it, change, go do something else, but don't do it your whole life.