Cree Elder celebrates 90 years

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To hear about his daily activities, it would be hard to believe that Beaver Lake Cree Elder Leo Mountain is 90 years old.

Celebrating the big birthday with friends, family and community members on April 28 at Beaver Lake's Maria Munro Hall, Mountain joked that he'd need to swipe his cap over the birthday cake if he was going to generate enough wind to blow out all the candles.

"I'll have to take my cap and swing it to blow them out," he said with a laugh.

Born at the Kehewin First Nation on April 30, 1911, Mountain moved to Beaver Lake when he was 10 years old.

Never afraid of hard work, Mountain has worked on farms, trap lines, in sawmills and on the railroad.

"I retired quite a while ago, but that doesn't mean I stopped getting around," he said.

An avid fiddler, Mountain still runs the bow across the strings every chance he gets, said his step-daughter Rose Nichols.

"He'll play four or five fiddle tunes every morning," said Nichols, who is one of Mountain's seven step-children.

Mountain also has three children of his own.

Although he is technically her step-father, Nichols doesn't refer to him that way.

"Leo was in our lives since I was a teenager, so he is my dad," she said.

Nichols' mother passed away in 1980; since then, Mountain has been taking care of himself. He's very independent, said Nichols.

"He looks after himself and cares for himself, and the community looks after him as well."

Nichols still has a hard time believing that her step-father is entering his ninth decade.

"Does he look or act 90? No he doesn't. It's hard to believe my dad is 90. It's unbelievable."

Mountain said he owes his good health to a strong work ethic, and the support of family and friends-and a decision to quit a couple of bad habits.

"I quit drinking 20 years ago, and I don't smoke anymore," he said.

Smoking was a long-time habit for the Elder, who took his first puff at the age of 11.

"I quit that just five years ago," he said, explaining that after more than 70 years of cigarettes, it was time to live healthy. "I just thought it was getting to be no good for me to smoke."

Although he stopped some habits, there's a new one that he can't stop and really doesn't want to.

"I go to bingo just about every day," he said. "I like it. I like playing. It's the only hobby I do a lot of now."

Surrounded by friends and family at the birthday party, Mountain was asked what kind of a present is good for a 90-year-old. After 89 birthdays, there's not many new presents left to get.

"They can buy me whatever they want to. I could do with money. That never goes out of style," he said with a smile.