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New Brunswick·Ann's Eye

'Peaceful' fiddlehead gathering in Neqotkuk First Nation

Ann Paul recently went fiddlehead picking with Hiya Nicholas and his grandson, Easton Sockabasin.

Hiya Nicholas teaches his grandson how to pick and clean fiddleheads

CBC News ·
A man and boy bend down in a grassy field, picking fiddleheads for their baskets.
Hiya Nicholas has been picking fiddleheads most of his life. Now he wants to pass his knowledge on to others. (Ann Paul/CBC)

This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.

Hiya Nicholas is a plumber by trade, and knows too well how fiddlehead skins can get stuck in pipes. 

That's why when he takes people out to gather fiddleheads with him, he also teaches them how to properly clean the green ferns, a popular springtime dish in New Brunswick.

WATCH | Connecting to culture through fiddlehead-picking: 

Ann’s Eye: A day by the Tobique River with a lifelong fiddlehead harvester

22 days ago
Duration 2:47
Hiya Nicolas of Neqotkuk (Tobique) First Nation has been gathering fiddleheads for years. Now he wants to share all he knows.

Indigenous peoples, of course, have been gathering fiddleheads for centuries, said Ann Paul, who recently went fiddlehead picking with Nicholas and his grandson, Easton Sockabasin, along the Tobique River in Neqotkuk First Nation.

"I appreciated going to get teachings from a different community," said Ann, a member of St. Mary's First Nation. "It was so calming and peaceful."

It's the act of connecting with creation that inspires peace, she said.

"When you feed yourself with the food from creation, it calms your soul."

Scroll through the photos and watch the video to learn more.

A man bends down in a grassy plain, picking plants from the ground. A river and trees are in the distance.
Some people pick fiddleheads to sell them — as a means of supporting their families — but others pick them to share with the community, Ann Paul says. Hiya Nicholas picks them to share with his family and Elders. (Ann Paul/CBC)
On the left, a photo shows a basket filled with green fiddleheads. On the right, a photo shows a tattooed hand holding a bouquet of green fiddleheads before a grassy field.
To store her fiddleheads, Ann Paul took the basket she recently made in a workshop with Kisuhs Perley in Neqotkuk. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A man crouches down in a grassy field, a woven basket sitting next to him.
The pickers spotted five eagles while they were out gathering fiddleheads by the Tobique River. 'You come here and you connect to culture,' Ann Paul says. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A man wearing a black hoodie and jeans stands outside on a gravel road holding a basket filled with green fiddleheads. A young boy stands next to him.
Hiya Nicholas uses the larger basket to sift through the fiddleheads, one of the first steps in cleaning them. (Ann Paul/CBC)
A man and boy, both wearing black hoodies, stand outside in front of a green field and white chapel.
The hope, Ann Paul says, is that younger generations will carry the teachings forward. (Ann Paul/CBC)
Green fiddleheads shoot up from the ground.
The trio gave thanks and offered tobacco for the fiddlehead harvest. (Ann Paul/CBC)

Ann's Eye

Photographer Ann Paul brings an Indigenous lens to stories from First Nations communities across New Brunswick. Click here or on the image below to see more of her work. 

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