This is part of a series called Ann’s Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann’s Eye pieces by clicking here.
Hiya Nicholas is a plumber by trade, and knows too well how fiddlehead skins can get stuck in pipes.
That’s why when he takes people out to gather fiddleheads with him, he also teaches them how to properly clean the green ferns, a popular springtime dish in New Brunswick.
Ann’s Eye: A day by the Tobique River with a lifelong fiddlehead harvester
Hiya Nicolas of Neqotkuk (Tobique) First Nation has been gathering fiddleheads for years. Now he wants to share all he knows.
Indigenous peoples, of course, have been gathering fiddleheads for centuries, said Ann Paul, who recently went fiddlehead picking with Nicholas and his grandson, Easton Sockabasin, along the Tobique River in Neqotkuk First Nation.
“I appreciated going to get teachings from a different community,” said Ann, a member of St. Mary’s First Nation. “It was so calming and peaceful.”
It’s the act of connecting with creation that inspires peace, she said.
“When you feed yourself with the food from creation, it calms your soul.”
Scroll through the photos and watch the video to learn more.
Ann’s Eye
Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work.
