Questions and Answers In this section David will answer questions from students. If you would like to submit a question, please click here

Question:  What are the pictographs made with?

Answer:  The pictographs are made with a paint.  The paint is red in color and is made of red ochre which is a mineral that are found in the area.  This pigment is then mixed with animal fat and rendered sturgeon cartilage to form the paint that is used to make the drawings.  The fat and cartilage forms a glue that helps the ochre stick to the rock.  However, the ochre forms a molecular bond with the rock and that is why the paintings last so long. 

Question:  How many people live on the Indian Reservation?

Answer:  There are about 300 people that live on the reservation.   There are another 100 band members that live off of the reservation.

Question:  Where do the Indians get there food? 

Answer:  There is a store on the reservation where they can buy food and other things that they need.  There is also a road that was built several years ago that connects the reservation to the outside world.  They can drive several hours to the closest town to go out for pizza or buy groceries.  They also hunt and fish for part of their food.  Many of the boys set snares for rabbits and other small game.  They also hunt moose, deer and other animals in the fall, and fish are plentiful in the lakes surrounding the village. 

Question:  Do the children go to school on the reservation?

Answer:  Yes, there is a school on the reservation.  The school is K through 12 and then students have to leave the reservation if they choose to continue their education.  

Question:  Do you get scared at night?

  Answer:  No, I don't get scared at night.  It is nice to have Tundra around though.

Question:  Do you cuddle with Tundra?

  Answer:  Tundra likes it when you rub is belly, but he is not a big cuddler. 

Question: Does Tundra think that the sled is heavy?

  Answer:  Sometimes Tundra thinks the sled is heavy and sometimes it is easy for him to pull.  The sled feels really when you have to pull it up a hill, but on a flat smooth lake with out a lot of snow the sleds are easy for Tundra and I to pull. 

Question:  Does Tundra get tired? 

  Answer:  Tundra gets tired, but I try not to work him too hard because I don't want to tire him out to the point where he gets hurt or does not want to pull any more.  Tundra's day starts when I hook him up to the sled in the morning right before we leave camp and ends as soon as we get to the place we will camp.  He curls up in a ball and goes to sleep.  I have to spend two hours at night setting up camp and then another hour making our dinners and writing in my journal.  Then in the morning I wake up and make our breakfasts and take down camp and pack the sleds.  The whole time Tundra is asleep curled up in a ball.  I guess my point is that Tundra works really hard during the day, but then he sleeps a lot to make up for his hard work.

Question:  Are you having fun?

  Answer:  We are having a great time!  The weather is great and travel have been fast and fun.  I don't want the trip to end and I think Tundra feels the same.

Question:  How big is your tent and what makes it special?

   Answer:  The tent is 8 feet by 8 feet on the ground, with two foot vertical walls around the sides.  From the top of the 2 foot walls the tent tapers to a point at the top which is supported by an 8 foot pole.  The tent can sleep three people, but one or two people is more comfortable.  It is special because it is made out of cotton that feels like the collar of a dress shirt.  The cotton is very light weight and it breathes well.  Moisture passes through the wall of the tent which allows the inside to stay warm and dry.  This is a very old type of tent and is very similar to tents used a hundred or two hundred years ago.

Question:  What is a typical evening meal?  How do your meals vary?

Answer:  A typical evening meal would consist of spaghetti, and a sauce made of dehydrated sauce, vegetables, meat, and spices.  It would also include some tang or tea to wash it all down.  I try to make my meals in one pot so there is less mess.  Using one pot also makes meals faster to prepare and clean up.  I have three different breakfasts and three different dinners.  Breakfast is bacon, a bagel, and oatmeal, grits, or granola.  Dinner is spaghetti, burritos, or rice with meat and veggies.  Lunches are many different fruits, nuts, dried meats, chocolate, and other things that are easy to eat quickly because when it is cold you can not stop for very long before you start getting cold.

Question:  What factors are involved in the ease with which you can cross a lake?

Answer:  There are many factors that effect our rate of travel.   The main factor is if we are following a trail that some one has used recently or if we are breaking a new trail.  If we are traveling across an area that has not been visited recently which is often the case we have to pack a trail as we go.  This is had work and makes going very slow.  If we come across a trail that someone as already packed recently and there is not a lot of fresh snow on top of it then we can move much faster.  Also the wind pushes snow around and on big lakes the middle of the lakes often have less snow on them.  This makes travel faster, but when you get near the shore the snow has been piled up by the wind and travel is usually slower.  Slush is also a problem.  Slush forms between the ice and the top of the snow and if you sink into it you can get wet and cold.  The slush will also freeze to everything and make going much slower because every time you sink into the slush you have to stop and scrap the slush off of your boots, snowshoes, sleds, and everything else that it has frozen to.