I was very interested to find these Aboriginal cradles in the gallery at the MOA. I chose to capture this photo because I am fascinated by how they are still used today! During my CFE, I was fortunate enough to spend three weeks in the Nemiah Valley on the Xeni G’wetin reserve. On our last evening, myself and a fellow teacher candidate were invited to a community dinner at the Naghtaneqed school. As the supper winded down, I got to watch one of the community members place her 6 month old in a cradle such as the one pictured. I was amazed as I watched her swaddled her child with leather rope and pick up the cradle to rock her to sleep. I found this so fascinating because we live in a world where children’s safety devices can be such a contentious topic. Can you buckle your child into a carseat wearing winter jacket or not? Is that bottle BPA approved? I wish I had the opportunity to speak to the mother about the cradle and the cultural meaning behind it. It was meaningful to see traditions such as this being passed down to the younger generations in the community.
