Oh I'm sure there where lots of giggles & snickers, & Harper wore it well. Good on him!!
Me, my history on the Reservations was a little different, so no. I kept track and as a younger man I'd been on 68 different Rez's, repeatedly. Every non-fly-in in Saskatchewan, and several into western Manitoba and eastern Alberta. I've driven across the ice onto the island of Cumberland House in the Winter and walked the pallet chain across the water coming out across the ice break up dragging a fridge cart more than once. I think they have a bridge now. I'd almost been run over in Pelican Narrows and got to the point where I could drink the water in Sandy Bay, and been in and out of La Loche more times than I count keep track of. I've talked my way out of the pointy end of hunting rifles on two different reserves and been chased with table legs on two others. I've never been invited in as an honorary Chief on any of them, but covered my arse with BCR's on most of them when I could. I could follow the conversation in Cree (Dene always escaped me) when I was younger but only remember a handful phrases at this point. Luckily there may have been 40 words for snow but none for Pawn Shop in the Native languages I was exposed to. Anyway, that's almost a lifetime ago back in the 80's & 90's and I got out of that game when the times where changing (gangs and needle drugs where becoming rampant) and I became a single parent so it was time to drop that paid adrenaline rush for a different direction with less risk of not coming home some day.
