My stepmother came to visit me on Monday to bring BP (Baby Peron) a surprise gift. She had lovingly restored the baby bassinet that me and my siblings, our father and his father slept in as babies. She had re-painted the wicker, hand-stitched ribbon around a beautiful lacey fabric and mounted it to the bassinet and she had carefully tied ribbons around it. In addition, she had added the four medicines of native tradition in order to protect BP. These medicines are sweetgrass, sage, cedar and tobacco.
Carmen will be BP's Kokum, which I believe is the Cree word for Grandmother. She lovingly refers to my father as her "Gray Bear". And as she was driving to bring the newly re-furbished bassinet to our house, she said it occurred to her that BP is "Little Bear".
This beautiful bassinet is a gift to all of the grandchildren of this generation, of which Little Bear will be just the first, I'm sure. And we will pass it on to the others when they need it. What a wonderful gift from Kokum - the gift of roots.
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