Hello I’m Susan Esau from Waskaganish. I was born on a January morning in an eeyou meechuuwap on my ancestral land called Minquaghan-jeeh; across the Rupert bay from Waskaganish.

My introduction will begin with a little story of my childhood.

Before I was taken from my family to residential school; I remember the days living on the land with my grandparents, my teachers. My grandfather taught me to set snares when I was very young. Every day, I would go out to check them. I would find a rabbit now and then, but I also found partridges, any type of small animal or even fish. My grandfather would ask me at the end of the day when he got back from his day-long hunt: “Did you check your snares today?” My response was “Yes, I did, how did a fish get caught in my snare”? He would say with a chuckle: “It must have jumped up from the creek, your snare is close to it”. For a long time I believed I caught all those weird things not normally caught in a snare. It was his teachings that kept me occupied, giving me the knowledge of hunting for small game and not to fear to go out alone. I still carry the teachings with me today.

My grandmother’s teachings were valuable. She showed me by watching her carry her role as the matriarch, taking care of her family. She picked boughs and berries, cut wood, cooked, sewed, fished with great patience and determination. I watched her end her day; bow her head and whisper a prayer. My grandfather’s gratitude and prayer were offering tobacco in a fire or water. Respect was everything was taught to me early. Respect for fellow human beings, for all animal life, plant life, bird life, water life and all earth life. My grandparents’ teachings and stories are passed on to my grandchildren.

My love for the land remains strong in my blood. I hope the many harvests I shared with my grandparents and family will carry on in the generations that will follow.

Today, I work for Eeyou Marine Region boards as the accounting/administrator since May 13, 2019. I came out of retirement; I did not find retirement to be satisfying for personal reasons.

I graduated in Business Accounting and I have many years of work experience in finance.

Working for Eeyou Marine Region has given me the opportunity to learn new skills with technology. I also learned to do accounting with a new software that I never used. In my previous job as an executive, I had assistants, I really had no need to keep up with the new latest technology unlike today.

It is a rewarding and fun experience to coming back to my roots in accounting. I did this type of work manually before technology. Processing invoices, payroll, disbursements, etc., is nothing new but the techniques are new, and interesting to learn.

I’m happy to be part of the Eeyou Marine Region team. Have a good day!

Nii, (me)

Susan Esau,