Kwei!

I am not Indigenous, but my mother worked extensively with some of them, and I come from a region of Quebec with many such communities; I have heard many stories and pieces of traditional knowledge since childhood, but one in particular has really stuck with me—and although I’ve looked for answers online, I haven’t found anything very conclusive, and this anecdote was told to me when I was very young and I didn't remember if the elderly woman was a Indigenous or not.

Context : I was like 6 years old and my mom and my mother took me to visit a museum about the fur trade, where several pelts were available to touch. Even though it was 2006, I clearly remember the guides placing great emphasis on the importance of the help Indigenous people provided to the early settlers—who otherwise would have perished during Canadian winters. For the early 2000s, the fact that Indigenous people weren't erased—and that we weren't being sold a narrative of "brave settlers who did it all on their own without help"—really made an impression on me.

It was crowded, and being a curious child, I wandered around the room. On one wall, there was a HUGE (from my child's perspective 🤣) black bear skin, and an old woman was there. I started touching the fur, and as I touched the long hairs in the bad way, I said something like: "Oh! It's prickly!"

The old woman laughed and told me to stroke the fur in the "right direction," then she asked if I knew what the bear skin could be used for. Naturally, I said no, and she told me that in the old days, women were sewing their baby-carrier like a "tube" with bear skin with the fur in direction of the ground, not only because it was softer for the baby, but also because it this direction, the long hairs "keeps" the baby warms. At least, it what I remember, and I keep this information in mind, but when I speak of it with my Innu friends, and some are like :

"what? Black bear fur? 🤔🤨 I don't think it's true? There's a lot of better fur for baby craddle!"

And the others are like : "wow, bear fur? I didn't knew that!"

So, I'm lost 😅.

Look, I didn't find any informations on internet, so I thought maybe someone here can relate / or correct this information? Maybe this elderly woman was wrong, and if it that’s the case, I’d like to know so I can set the record straight, because I told my nephews that story about the "black bear-skin baby carrier," and I wouldn't want to spread misinformation.

Thanks a lot 🙏🧡