Cold weather doesn’t stop bannock deliveries

Tina Sainnawap braved the coldest night of the year to deliver raisin bannock, juice and warm hats and gloves to people on the streets of downtown Thunder Bay.
“It was good, I really loved it,” said the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug band member after completing her deliveries Jan. 22 in -34 C conditions. “(There were) lots of people helping and the turnout was good. The weather doesn’t hinder us from doing what we’re supposed to do. We keep doing it because it was a commitment I made and my aunt (helps) whenever she can join me.”
Sainnawap, her aunt Marion Morris and a group of friends have been delivering bannock and juice every Saturday evening to homeless people, street girls and any other passersby in the Simpson Street and Cumberland Street areas of Thunder Bay since 2009.
They usually hand out bannock to people who are picking upp soup from the Salvation Army soup van at 7 p.m. on Simpson Street, then drive around the area to find any other people who would like some bannock before heading over to Cumberland Street for the soup van’s 8 p.m. stop.
“I know First Nations people love bannock and this is an opportunity to share the skill my mom taught me,” Sainnawap said. “Mostly I will make baked bannock, but at times I will make fried round bannock. Sometimes I will put Klik in there.”
Elaine Bedwash said the bannock is usually “nice and soft.”
“It’s better than the one I make,” Bedwash said, noting her family finds the bannock especially tasty with jam and peanut butter. “They just love it.”
Bedwash, her husband Eugene Moonias and their five children have been picking up Sainnawap’s bannock for the past four months.
Sainnawap said there are usually about 30 people looking for bannock during the winter and up to 80 people in the summer.
“That includes the children,” Sainnawap said. “The majority of them are First Nations people.”
Sainnawap appreciates the help her aunt and friends have been providing, noting they love giving out bannock no matter how hot or cold the temperature is.
“We just come out here because I know people expect bannock every Saturday so we can’t disappoint them,” Sainnawap said. “It’s a commitment I made ever since I started it. I started with a bicycle and packsack and I rode around the neighbourhood.”
Morris has been helping deliver and make bannock just about every week when she is in the city, and her daughter Selena Morris also helps out along with her two daughters whenever she can.
“They wanted to come when they knew their grandmother was coming,” Selena Morris said. “They sometimes help her out when we are able to come.”
Sainnawap appreciates the donations she receives from various people and organizations such as the warm hats and gloves she received from the Ontario Native Women’s Association, who in turn received them from the Helping Hands Glove and Mitten Drive. People usually donate flour, baking powder and vegetable oil throughout the year.
Sainnawap received a $50 gift card donation this past Christmas, which she used to buy Christmas gifts for people on the street.
Agnes Shapwaykeesic enjoys the bannock she usually picks up from Sainnawap every Saturday for her children and grandchildren.
“I don’t know how to make bannock so it is a treat for all of us,” Shapwaykeesic said. “I really appreciate what this lady does.”
Shapwaykeesic said the bannock is filling as well as tasty.
“It keeps you full,” Shapwaykeesic said.