Qunninipeash is here!
Qunninipeash - KUN-neh-NI-pey-ash – is Algonquin in the dialect of the southwestern region of New England; the language of my grandmother’s people. Broken down - Qunni means "long" as in qunni-tuk-ut for "the long river" (Connecticut) and Nipeash means "waters of the pond." So technically the meaning would be "the long waters of the pond" but could be interpreted as "waters of the long pond."
Until my grandfather passed in 2009, my grandparents made their home on Long Pond near the Mashantucket Pequot reservation in Connecticut. They moved there in 1996 after spending most of my life on our reservation in northwestern Connecticut. They lived in a small 1-room cottage on the beach. It was small but all the grandchildren loved it there.
Every morning, my grandfather would sit and have his coffee on the patio watching the sun come up over the lake. He enjoyed watching the birds dip into the water to catch fish as the morning mist would rise up around them. Grampa Dave loved it there. He loved watching the grandchildren and great-grandchildren learn to swim and jump off the deck into Long Pond. He loved the family BBQs and birthday parties there with all the kids running around. He took the kids fishing and showed us the plants that he grew; there was always tomatoes and tobacco.
During his time at Long Pond, my grandfather fought his battle with cancer. He lost that battle on June 28, 2009. He spent his last days in the small cottage and took his last breath there surrounded by family. At one point during his fight, he had even said to my grandmother that he wanted to be cremated and spread over Long Pond so he could always be with the grandchildren. When the time came, the decision was made to bring him home to Akwesasne and it was the right decision as he won his last victory for the Mohawk people on the day of his funeral. But that is another story for another time.
A few months after Grampa Dave passed, Greg received last minute orders to deploy to Afghanistan. He and Grampa Dave shared a special bond through their military service and often had lengthy talks about Grampa Dave’s 2 tours in Vietnam as a Green Beret. This was something very rare for Grampa Dave.
While Greg was deployed, a few uncanny things happened that kept him safe and out of harm’s way. My grandmother had sent some of Grampa Dave’s tobacco with him and I prayed hard that the Creator bring him home to me. Often, when I went days without hearing from Greg, I asked Grampa Dave to please be with him and watch over him. Once, after a week of not hearing a word, I had a dream in which Grampa Dave told me in no uncertain terms to stop worrying so much, Greg was fine.
Greg came home from Afghanistan on November 23, 2010, just shy of a year away. Despite taking careful precautions, we learned I was pregnant on December 10. It was a huge shock and then the disbelief grew when we learned after 4 daughters, we were having a son.
We felt we needed to honor Grampa Dave in naming our son and that is how we came to Qunninipeash, waters of the Long Pond. Grampa Dave loved his time there. My grandmother has since left Long Pond but the waters of the Long Pond will always be something special for our family.
His name will be Qunninipeash Michael Cason. Michael is Greg’s middle name and also the name of my uncle who recently passed away. Fittingly, Kunu & Uncle Micky now share a birthday!
We will still call him Kunu or Quinn for short. I look forward to bringing him to Long Pond and telling him about Grampa Dave.
So Hand Over the Coffee... This Momma's in for some restless nights!
