April 11, 2013 Volume 40 Number 14

Future of Nishnawbe-Aski Police up in air PAGE 7

Polar bear numbers high on Hudson Bay coastPAGES 10-11

Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice since 1974

April 11, 2013 9,300 copies distributed $1.50 Vol. 40 No. 14

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While hunters across the north await the first geese on the southern horizon, trappers celebrate high prices and lots of marten. And on Hudson Bay, polar bear numbers seem to be up despite

what the province says.

Marten numbers are up, and ‘backyard trappers’ are making money on high fur prices (page 8). Experts predict a normal year for migrating geese numbers on James Bay (page 9). And Fort Severn says polar bear numbers are up along Hudson Bay, as international attention focuses on Canadian polar bear populations and Ontario calls the bears threatened (page 10). In photo: Morris Carpenter Jr. near Moosonee in 2008.

Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

ᕑᐃᐠ ᑲᕑᐃᐠᐊᐧᐊᐧᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐃᐧᓇᐣ

ᐊᒋᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᑭᑕᑲᐧᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᐃᐦᑯᐱᐳᓂᒥᑲᓇᐊᐧᓂᐠ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐯ ᐁᐃᓇᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐨ 1,000 ᑭᓫᐊᒥᑐᕑᐢ ᐊᐱᓯᓇᑲᐧᓂ ᐅᐳᒧᓭᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᐁᐃᐧᔓᓂᔭᑫᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᐁᐱᒧᓴᑌᐠ ᐅᐡᑭᒪᒋᑕᐦᐃᑯᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᐃᔑᓂᑲᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ.

“ᐊᐱ ᑲᐊᓂᐊᐱᑕᑭᔑᑲᐠ ᑲᓇᐊᐧᑫᐧᓂᐠ ᓂᑭᐱᑲᓄᓂᑯᐠ ᐊᔕ ᐁᑭᒪᑌ ᐅᑎᑕᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐧᑎ ᐃᐧᐣᑎᑯ ᒥᑲᓇᐠ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᑎᐣ ᐱᕑᑎ, ᑲᐅᒋᐱᒥ ᓇᓇᑲᒋᐦᐊᐨ ᐅᑯᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᒥᑕᓱ ᐅᐳᒧᓭᐠ, ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐃᐁᐧ ᓂᑭᐱᓯᒧᐣ 8 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ . “ᓂᐦᓱᑯᐣ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ ᒥᑐᓂ ᐱᑯ ᑭᐸᐸᔑᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᒪᐧᔦ ᐊᓂᓄᑌᒪᒐᑕᒧᓂᐠ ᑲᐃᔑᐱᒧᓭᐊᐧᐨ ᐱᐳᓂᒥᑲᓇᐠ.”ᐅᑯᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᐱᒧᓭᐊᐧᐨ , ᐊᔑᐨ

ᑲᑭᐱᐃᐡᑯᓄᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᑌᓂᐢ ᑲᕑᐊᒧᕑᑎ ᐦᐊᔾ ᐣᑯᓫ ᕑᐊᐣᑐ ᐸᕑᐠᒪᐣ , ᓫᐊᐢᓫᐅ

ᐊᒋᓴᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᐱᒧᓭᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᑭᑭᓄᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᑲᐯᔑᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ

ᑲᒥᓇᐊᐧᐡ, ᑫᐱᐣ ᓯᒥᐟ, ᐃᐧᓕᔭᑦ ᐅᑦᐸᐡ, ᔕᕑᒣᔾᐣ ᐸᕑᐠᒪᐣ , ᒉᓇᐱ ᐱᕑᑎ ᒥᓇ ᑌᐱᐣ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐃᑭᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᑲ ᒪᔑ ᐦᐊᔾ ᐢᑯᓫ ᑲᐃᑯᐡᑲᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᕑᒪ ᐸᕑᒪᐣ , ᑭᕑᐊ ᐸᕑᐠᒪᐣ , ᒥᓇ ᒉᓂᓴ ᐸᕑᐠᒪᐣ , ᐊᒋᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᒋᐅᐣᒋᒪᒋᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᓂᑭᐱᓯᑦ 5 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐃᐧᑲᑫᐧᑕᑲᐧᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐯ ᓂᑭᐱᓯᒧᐣ 22 ᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ . ᐅᐃᐧ ᑲᑫᐧᓇᓇᑕᐃᐧ ᔓᓂᔭᑫᑐᓇᐊᐧ ᓄᑯᒥᑫ ᑲᑭᐃᐧᐣᒋᑲᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᑌᓇᐢ ᑊ ᕑᐊᐣᐠᓫᐃᐣ ᑲᕑᐊᒧᕑᑎ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑎᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ ᑲᐯᔑᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌᐠ , ᑭᐃᑭᑐᓇᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᒋᑕᐊᐧᑯᓯᐠ 2015-16 ᐊᐦᑭᐊᐧᐠ.

“ᐃᐧᓇᐊᐧ ᑲᑭᐃᓀᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᒪᒋᔭᓄᑲᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᔓᓂᔭᑫᐃᐧᓂ ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᑕᐧᑦ ᑲᒥᓇᐊᐧᑕᒥᐣ , ᐊᐧᓭᔭ ᐱᒥᐃᐧᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧᐨ “ᔕᑯᐨ ᑕᐡ ᒪᔭᑦ ᐃᔑᑲᑫᐧᐊᐧᐸᑕᐦᐃᐁᐧᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᐃᐧᑭᑫᐣᑕᑯᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐃᐧᐃᔑᑫᒋᑫᔭᐠ .

ᐅᑯᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᑲᑫᐧᓇᑯᑕᒪᑫᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᑎᔑᒋᑫᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᒥᓇ ᐁᓄᒋ ᑭᑭᓇᐊᐧᑕᐸᑕᐦᐊᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᐧᒋᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐣ.”

ᐊᐧᓭᔭ ᐱᐃᐧᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᐅᑭᐃᐧᐣᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᐅᓇᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᒋᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌᐠ $15 ᒥᓫᐃᔭᐣ ᑕᓴᐧᐱᐠ , ᒋᐊᑭᑎᑲᒥᑯᐊᐧᐠ , 55,000

ᑕᓱᑲᑲᒥᓯᐟ ᒋᐃᓂᑯᑲᐧᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᑌᓇᐢ ᑊᕑᐊᐣᑭᓫᐃᐣ ᑲᕑᐊᒧᕑᑎ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᑲᐯᔑᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᐱ ᒥᑭᓯᐃᐧᐱᓯᑦ 27 ᐊᔑᐨ ᐁᑭᐱᔕᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ, ᑲᐧᐣᐯᑐᕑᐁᔑᐣ ᑲᐧᓫᐃᐨ ᒥᓇ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐯ.

“ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᑲᔦ ᐃᒪ ᑕᐅᐣᒋᒪᑲᐣ ᑫᐅᒋᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᐧᓯᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᐅᑌᓇᐠ ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᑲᒥᓇᐊᐧᑕᒥᐣ . “ᐯᔑᐠ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᐣ ᐅᐣᒋᑲᐡᑭᑲᓂᐊᐧᐣ $25,000 ᐊᑯᓇᐠ $30,000 ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᑲᐱᒥ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑯᓯᐨ ᐯᔑᑯᐊᐦᑭ, ᐁᑲᐧ ᑕᐡ 150 ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᐃᔑᒪᒪᐊᐧᑭᐣᒋᑫᔭᐣ , ᓇᐱᐨ ᐃᑯ ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᐃᓀᐣᑕᑲᐧᐣ ᒋᐃᔕᐨ ᔓᓂᔭ ᐅᑌᓇᐠ.”ᑲᒥᓇᐊᐧᑕᒥᐣ ᐃᑭᑐ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐅᐡᑲᑎᓯᐨ

ᑲᐱᒧᓭᐠ ᓴᑲᓱᐊᐦᑭᐃᐧᓀ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐠ ᒥᑕᓱ ᒥᓇ ᓂᐦᓱᔕᑊ ᑕᓱᐊᐦᑭᐃᐧᓀᐊᐧᐠ.

See page 3

Youth from Sachigo Lake are walking 1,000 kms to support DFC’s planned student living centre.

2 Wawatay News APRIL 11, 2013 ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

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Your fast, courteous delivery of Wawatay News to our northern communities is appreciated.

ᐅᐗᓂᐦᐃᑫᐠ ᐅᒥᓉᑕᓇᐗ ᐁᐃᐡᐸᑭᑌᐠ ᒪᓇᑕᐣ

ᐅᐗᓂᐦᐃᑫᐠ ᒥᓯᐌ ᑭᐌᑎᓄᐠ ᐃᑭᑐᐗᐠ ᐁᒥᓉᑕᒧᐗᐨ ᐁᐃᐡᐸᑭᑌᐠ ᒪᓇᑕᓇᐠ ᐅᐅᐌ ᑲ ᐊᐦᑭᐗᐠ ᐃᐃᐌ ᑲᐃᓯᓭᐠ ᑲᐃᐡᐸᑭᑌᑭᐣ ᒪᓇᑕᓇᐣ ᒥᓇ ᐁᒥᔑᓄᐗᐨ ᐗᐱᔐᔑᐗᐠ ᐁᐅᒋ ᒥᓄᓭᐗᐨ ᑲᐗᓂᐦᐃᑫᐗᐨ ᐁᐊᑕᐌᐗᐨ ᐅᒪᓇᑕᓂᐗ᙮

ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᑊ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᑖᓂ ᒨᕒᐃᐢ ᐃᑭᑐ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᐠ ᐁᐃᔑᓂᑲᑕᒧᐗᐨ ᑲᐃᐡᑾ ᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲᐠ ᐗᓂᐦᐃᑫᐎᐣ, ᐊᓂᐡ ᐗᐱᔐᔑᐗᐠ ᐱᔕᐗᐠ ᐯᔓᐨ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᒥᓇ ᑲᐃᓇᑭᑌᐠ ᒪᓇᑕᐣ ᐁᒥᓈᔑᐠ᙮

ᒨᕒᐃᐢ ᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᐸᑯᓭᑕᐠ ᐗᓂᐦᐃᑫᐎᐣ ᑲᐱᑭᐌᐡᑲᒪᑲᐠ ᒋᐱᒥᓭᐠ ᐅᐅᐌᑎᓀᑫ ᓂᑲᐣ ᐊᓂᐡ ᐅᒋ ᐎᒋᐦᐃᐌᒪᑲᐣ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐊᔕᒥᑎᓱᐗᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᐠ᙮

Page 8

Trappers enjoying high prices

Trappers across the north are hitting the jackpot this year as a combination of high fur prices and an abundance of marten have made trapping a lucrative trade.

KI Chief Donny Morris said community members are calling it weekend trapping, as the marten are being trapped right near the community and the prices for furs are good.

Morris said he hopes the trapping revival will continue in the future as it helps put food on people’s tables.

Page 8

INSIDE WAWATAY NEWS...

ᑕᐣᑐᕒ ᐯ ᐅᒥᓄᐗᑕᓇᐗ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂ ᐊᓄᑭᐎᐣ ᐅᓇᒋᑫᐎᓇᐣ

ᓂᓱ ᐊᐦᑭ ᑲᑭᒪᒋᑕᐗᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂ ᐊᓄᑭᐎᐣ ᐅᓇᒋᑫᐎᓇᐣ, ᐅᑌᓇᐠ ᑕᐣᑐᕒ ᐯ ᐅᑭᒥᓄᐗᑕᓇᐗ ᒥᓂᑯᐠ ᑲᐱᑕᓄᑭᑕᒧᐗᐨ᙮

ᑲᑭᐎᒋᑐᐗᐨ 16 ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐤ ᐱᒥᐎᒋᑫᐎᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᐸᑭᑎᓂᑫᐗᐨ ᐃᐃᒪ ᐅᓇᒋᑫᐎᓂᐠ ᑭᑭᑕᑭᒪᐗᐠ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ ᑲᑭᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲᐠ᙮

ᐳ’ᕒᐟ ᐎᓬᐃᔭᒼ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᐱᑐᕒ ᒑᓬᐃᐣᐢ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐊᔕ ᐁᑭ ᐃᓯᓭᐠ ᒋᑭᔭᔭᑭᐸᐣ ᐅᐅᐌ ᑎᓄᑲᐣ ᐅᓇᒋᑴᐎᐣ, ᒥᓂᑯᐠ ᑲᒪᒋᓭᐠ 140 ᑕᓱ ᐊᐦᑭ ᐎᒋᐎᑎᐎᐣ᙮

ᐹᕒᐊᐣᓯᐢ ᐌᓯᓬᐃ ᐃᐃᒪ ᑲᐃᔑᐊᓄᑭᐨ ᑕᐣᑐᕒ ᐯ ᐅᑌᓇᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐤ ᐅᓇᒋᑫᐎᐣ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᐗᐸᑕᑭᐣ ᐁᓂᒥᓄᓭᐠ ᑲᓂᔑᐊᐣᒋᓭᑭᐣ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᐅᐅᐌᑎᓀᑫ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ ᓂᓱ ᐊᐦᑭ᙮

Page 3

Thunder Bay celebrates Liaison Strategy

Three years after starting its Aboriginal Liaison Strategy, the city of Thunder Bay is celebrating the progress that has been made.

The contributions of 16 Aboriginal organizations to the strategy were honoured last week.

Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins said it was about time to have such a strategy, after 140 years of strained relationships.

Frances Wesley of the Thunder Bay Urban Aboriginal Strategy said she has seen positive changes over the past three years.

Page 3

ᐊᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᐅᒥᓉᑕᓇᐗ ᐱᒪᑕᐦᐁᐎᐣ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᓇᐣ

ᐁᑭᐎᒋᐦᐃᑎᐗᐨ ᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᔕᐠ ᐃᐃᒪ ᐊᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ, ᑭᑭᓄᒪᑎᐎᑲᒥᐠ ᐃᐃᒪ ᐦᐆᕒᐢᐟ ᒥᓇ ᐯᔑᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕒᐃᔪ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᐡ ᐁᑭᐅᒋᐨ ᑎᒥᐣᐢ ᐁᑭᐱᑐᐗᒋᐣ ᐱᒪᑕᐦᐁᐎᐣ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᑭᐡᑲᒋᑲᑌᑭᐣ ᒋᒥᓇᑲᓀᐗᐨ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᐃᐃᒪ ᐊᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᒥᓇ ᐁᕒᐅᓬᐊᐣᐟ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓇᐣ᙮

ᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᐡ ᒫᕒᐠ ᐳᐹᕒᓬᐊᐣᐟ ᐅᑭᐅᓇᒋᑫ ᒋᑌᐱᓂᑲᑌᑭᐣ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᓇᐣ ᐁᑭᑌᐱᓇᒧᐗᐨ ᒋᑌᐱᓭᐗᐨ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᐃᐃᒪᓀᑫ ᐊᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ᙮ ᑲᑭ ᐃᐡᑯᓭᑭᐣ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᓇᐣ ᑭᔑᐎᒋᑲᑌᐗᐣ ᐃᐃᒪ ᐁᕒᐅᓬᐊᐣᐟ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ᙮

ᐳᐹᓬᐊᐣᐟ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᑭᒥᓉᑕᐠ ᐁᐗᐸᒪᐨ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐣ ᒋᐱᒪᑴᐸᐦᐃᑫᓂᐨ ᐃᐃᒪ ᐊᑯᒋᐠ ᐱᒪᑕᐦᐁᐎᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᑲᔦᒪ ᐃᐃᒪ ᓀᐗᑯᒥᑲᓇᐠ ᐁᑭᑭᐡᑲᒧᐗᐨ ᐅᐡᑭ ᐱᒪᑕᐦᐁᐎ ᑭᑭᐡᑭᑲᒋᑲᓇᐣ᙮

Page 15

Constance Lake youth enjoy hockey equipment

A partnership between NAPS in Constance Lake, an elementary school in Hearst and an OPP officer from Timmins has brought hockey equipment to youth in Constance Lake and Aroland First Nations.

NAPS Cst. Marc Beauparlant organized the equipment drive that brought more than enough hockey equipment for youth in Constance Lake. The excess equipment was brought to Aroland.

Beauparlant said it was nice to see the youth playing hockey on the community’s outdoor rink or on the streets in their new equipment.

Page 15

By now you have probably seen the new SEVEN in the April 4 issue of Wawatay News.

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1 Wawatay News APRIL 11, 2013 ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ Wawatay News APRIL 11, 2013 ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ 3

Sachigo youth walking for DFCRick GarrickWawatay News

A group of Sachigo Lake youth have completed the winter-road portion of their 1,000-kilometre Journey of New Beginnings fundraising walk to Thunder Bay.

“At 12 o’clock I got a call from them saying they were at the Windigo Road already,” said Dean Beardy, spokesman for the 10 walkers, on April 8. “They pushed it for last three days before the winter road got too wet.”

The walkers, including for-mer Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School students Randell Barkman, Lazlo Kaminawash, Kevin Smith, William Ombash, Charmaine Barkman, Gene-vieve Beardy and Devon Thun-der and elementary school stu-dents Karma Barkman, Keyra Barkman and Janessa Bark-man, left Sachigo Lake on April 5 with the goal of reaching Thunder Bay on April 22. They are looking to raise funds for the recently announced Den-nis Franklin Cromarty Living Centre, which is scheduled to be open by the 2015-16 school year.

“They are sort of kicking off the funding campaign,” said Tom Kamenawatamin, Wasaya Group’s president and CEO. “But the main thing is they are raising awareness of what we’re doing. The youth are setting a good example and they are potential good role models for other young people.”

Wasaya Group announced plans for the $15 million, two-storey, 55,000 square-foot DFC Student Living Centre on March 27 at DFC along with represen-tatives from NNEC, Confed-eration College and the City of Thunder Bay.

“There are going to be a lot of benefits (to the city),” Kamenawatamin said. “Each

student brings in about $25,000 to $30,000 while they are in school here over the year, and when you count that times 150 students, that is quite a bit of economic (benefits) that they bring into the city.”

Kamenawatamin said the youngest walker is nine years old and the next two are 10 and 13.

“It shows that the students are willing to go after their dreams, something they hope to see in the future, rather than just sitting back and hoping and wishing for something,”

Kamenawatamin said. “Go and do it and do whatever you can to achieve your dreams. It gives them responsibility as well as pride in doing this. I certainly am very proud of them, seeing the potential leadership there by what they are demonstrating they can do.”

Beardy said the two young-est students’ older brothers had attended DFC in the past, so they knew what the walk was about.

“The DFC Living Centre sounds exciting to them, espe-cially when you’re looking at

attaching a youth centre to it,” Beardy said.

Beardy said the walkers have been pleased with the support received from communities along their route.

“They passed through Musk-rat Dam on the first day and the hospitality they received was outstanding,” Beardy said. “It’s the same thing with Round Lake — the Elders went out and greeted the walkers as they were coming into their commu-nity.”

The walkers are scheduled to arrive in Pickle Lake by April 11.

“We’d like to see the other communities get involved or make a pledge,” Beardy said. “We do have a lot of people that want to go to DFC from up north, so it would be good if they made contributions to this important initiative.”

Pledges and donations can be made through the Sachigo Lake First Nation Chief and Council at 807-595-2577.

Photos and information about the walk are available at the Journey of New Beginnings Facebook page.

Submitted photoThe Journey of New Beginnings walkers take a break during their 1,000 kilometre fundraising walk from Sachigo Lake to Thunder Bay.

From page 1“ᐅᓇᑯᑐᓇᐊᐧ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ

ᐁ ᓂ ᐱ ᒥ ᓂ ᔕ ᐦ ᐊ ᒧ ᐊ ᐧ ᐨ ᑲ ᐃ ᔑ ᐸ ᑯ ᓭ ᓂ ᒧ ᐊ ᐧ ᐨ , ᒋᐊᓂᐊᐧᐸᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᓂᓂᑲᐣ , ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᔦ ᒋᒧᒋᐊᔭᐱᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᐱᐦᐅᐊᐧᐨ ᑫᑯᐣ ᒋᐊᓂᓯᓭᓂᐠ ᑲᐃᔑᐸᑯᓭᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᑲᒥᓇᐊᐧᑕᒥᐣ . “ᓇᓇᑐᓇᒧᐠ ᑕᐡ ᐃᒪ ᒋᐅᒋ ᑲᑫᐧᑲᒋᑎᓇᒪᓱᔦᐠ ᑭᐸᑯᓭᓂᒧᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ . ᒥᐦᐃᒪ ᑲᔦ ᒋᐊᓄᒋ ᑭᑫᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᑲᐡᑭᐦᐁᐃᐧᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᒥᓇ ᒋᑭᒋᓀᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᑲᑐᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ . ᑫᓂᐣ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᓂᑭᒋᓀᓂᒪᐠ ᐅᐁᐧ ᑲᐃᔑᐊᐧᐸᒪᑲᐧ ᐁᑐᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ, ᐁᓇᑯᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᑭᐊᓄᒋ ᑲᐡᑭᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᐊᓂᔑᐸᐸᒥᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᓂᑲᓂᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᐃᓀᑫ ᑲᐃᔑᐊᐧᐸᒪᑲᐧ ᑲᐃᔑᑲᐡᑭᑐᐊᐧᐨ.”ᐱᕑᑎ ᐃᑭᑐ ᐅᑯᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᓂᔑᐣ

ᑲᐅᐡᑲᑎᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᐅ ᐃ ᐧ ᒋ ᓂ ᑕ ᐃ ᐧ ᑭ ᒪ ᑲ ᓂ ᐊ ᐧ ᑭᐱᐃᐡᑯᓄᐸᓂᐠ ᐃᒪ ᑌᓇᐢ ᑲᕑᐊᒧᕑᑎ ᐦᐊᔾ ᐢᑯᓫ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ , ᐅᑭ ᑭᑫᐣᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᑕᐡ ᑫᑯᓀᐣ ᑲᑭᐃᓇᐧᑌᓂᐠ ᐱᒧᓭᐃᐧᓂ.

“ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᐅᒋᑫᐣᑕᒥᐦᐃᑯᓇᐊᐧ ᑲᐃᐧᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌᓂᐠ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᑲᐯᔑᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᓂ , ᐃᐧᐁ ᐅᑎ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᑭᐃᑭᑐᓇᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᒋ ᐅ ᒋ ᑕ ᑯ ᐅ ᔑ ᒋ ᑲ ᑌ ᐠ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓯᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ ᐃᒪ ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᐱᕑᑎ.ᐱᕑᑎ ᐃᑭᑐ ᐅᐳᒧᓭᐠ

ᑌᐱᓇᐁᐧᓯᐊᐧᐠ ᒥᓂᑯᐠ ᑲ ᑭ ᔑ ᐊ ᐧ ᐸ ᑕ ᐦ ᐃ ᑕ ᐧ ᐁ ᐃ ᐧ ᒋ ᑲ ᐸ ᐃ ᐧ ᑕ ᐃ ᐧ ᑕ ᐧ ᑲ ᑭ ᐱ ᔑ ᐊ ᔭ ᑭ ᓀ ᐡ ᑲ ᒧ ᐊ ᐧ ᐨ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ.

“ᐊᐧᒐᐡᑯᓂᒥᐠ ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᑭᐊᓂᔑᑕᑲᐧᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᑲᐧᔭᐠ ᑭᑐᑕᐊᐧᐊᐧᐠ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᑲᑭᐊᓂᐱᒥᔭᐊᐧᐨ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᐱᕑᑎ . “ᐯᔑᑲᐧᐣ ᑲᔦ ᐁᐧᑎ

ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪᐠ — ᑭᒋᐦᐊᐠ ᐅᑭᓇᑕᐃᐧ ᓇᑭᐡᑲᐊᐧᐊᐧᐣ ᐁᑭᓇᑕᐃᐧ ᐊᐧᐊᐧᒋᔦᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐱᑕᑲᐧᐦᐊᑐᓂᐨ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ.”ᐅᐳᒧᓭᐠ ᐅᑭᐃᔑ ᐅᓇᐸᑕᓇᐊᐧ

ᒋᑕᑲᐧᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑲᓯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᓂᑭᐱᓯᒧᐣ 11 ᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ.

“dᓂᐸᑯᓭᓂᒪᒥᐣ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐠ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᐸᐸᑲᐣ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᒋᐦᐊᐊᐧᐨ ᓇᐣᑕ ᒋ ᐸ ᑭ ᑎ ᓂ ᑫ ᑲ ᑕ ᐊ ᐧ ᐊ ᐧ ᐨ ᐅᑯᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᑲᐱᒧᓭᐊᐧᐨ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᐱᕑᑎ . “ᒥᔑᓄᐊᐧᐠ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᑲᐅᒋᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐸᑯᓭᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᐃᔕᐊᐧᐨ ᑌᓇᐢ ᑲᕑᐊᒧᕑᑎ ᐦᐊᔾ ᐢᑯᓫ , ᑕᑭᒥᓇᐧᔑᓂᐸᐣ ᑕᐡ ᑫᐃᐧᓇᐊᐧ ᒋᑭᐅᒋ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᐧᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᑲᑭᒋᓀᐣᑕᑲᐧᓂᐠ ᑲᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ.”ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᐸᑭᑎᓂᑫᐊᐧᐨ

ᒥᓇ ᐸᑭᑎᓂᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑕ ᑭ ᐃ ᔑ ᓂ ᔕ ᐦ ᐃ ᑲ ᑌ ᐊ ᐧ ᐣ ᐊᒋᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᒥᓇ ᐅᓇᔓᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᓇᑭᑕᓱᓀᐊᐧᐨ 807-595-2577.ᐅᒐᑲᑌᔑᒥᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᒥᓇ

ᐅᑎᐸᒋᒥᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᑲᐱᒧᓭᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐊᐧᐸᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᐃᒪ ᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᐠ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᒪᒪᐃᐧ ᐊᐧᐸᐣᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᒋᐃᓇᑲᐧᐦᐊᒪᐣ.

ᐊᒋᓴᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᐱᒧᓭᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᑭᑭᓄᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᑲᐯᔑᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ

“ᐊ ᐧ ᒐ ᐡ ᑯ ᓂ ᒥ ᐠ ᓂ ᐢ ᑕ ᑦ ᑭᐊᓂᔑᑕᑲᐧᐦᐊᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᑲᐧᔭᐠ ᑭᑐᑕᐊᐧᐊᐧᐠ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᑲᑭᐊᓂᐱᒥᔭᐊᐧᐨ ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᐱᕑᑎ . “ᐯᔑᑲᐧᐣ ᑲᔦ ᐁᐧᑎ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪᐠ — ᑭᒋᐦᐊᐠ ᐅᑭᓇᑕᐃᐧ ᓇ ᑭ ᐡ ᑲ ᐊ ᐧ ᐊ ᐧ ᐣ ᐁ ᑭ ᓇ ᑕ ᐃ ᐧ ᐊ ᐧ ᐊ ᐧ ᒋ ᔦ ᒪ ᐊ ᐧ ᐨ ᑲ ᐱ ᑕ ᑲ ᐧ ᐦ ᐊ ᑐ ᓂ ᐨ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ.”

Rick GarrickWawatay News

The contributions of 16 Aboriginal partners were cel-ebrated on the third anniver-sary of Thunder Bay’s adop-tion of the Aboriginal Liaison Strategy.

“It’s nice to be recognized as a contributor to the strat-egy within the city because not only were we the first Aboriginal organization that the city has funded, but they also recognized it was a worthy way to invest their money,” said Tammy Bobyk, executive director of Shkoday Abinojiiwak Obimi-wedoon. “They are getting a lot in return for invest-ing in the Aboriginal youth that we provide services for and the number of people we do employ through the Biwaase’aa program.”

Bobyk said her organiza-tion serves about 300 Aborig-inal children and families per day. She accepted the honou-rary scroll award from Thun-der Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs during the April 3 celebra-tion, which also celebrated the June 2010 signing of Thunder Bay’s Declaration of Commitment to strengthen its relationship with urban Aboriginal people.

“After 140 years, why did we wait so long to create a

partnership with the city,” said Fort William Chief Peter Collins. “It’s about closing those gaps and about closing those racial tensions that we have in our community and with each other.”

Collins hopes it doesn’t take another 100 years to close the gaps and racial ten-sions that exist in Thunder Bay.

“There’s a lot of work that has to take place on behalf of

all of us,” Collins said. “We have to keep up the work; we have to keep pushing for-ward. Let’s not lose focus.”

Frances Wesley, strategy planner with the Thunder Bay Urban Aboriginal Strat-egy, has seen positive changes since the Aboriginal Liaison Strategy was implemented in 2010.

“It’s the partnerships that we’ve opened up with our community that has really

helped a lot in the work that we do, specifically in the Aboriginal community,” Wes-ley said. “And recognition of the issues that surround our people in Thunder Bay, par-ticularly the racism. I think that people are willing to work together more and that is what I appreciate very much about working with the City of Thunder Bay.”

National Aboriginal Day committee member Bear

Waabshik was thankful for receiving the honourary scroll award.

“I’m looking forward to building a new relationship with the city and the Anishi-nabe community and the (non-Aboriginal) community around the National Aborigi-nal Day celebration.”

Presentations were also made to the Elders Advisory Council for their contribu-tions to the city.

“As Metis and Aboriginal Elders, we form a voluntary advisory council whose role it is to sit at the table and and guide, inform and advise the discussion and decision mak-ing of the Aboriginal Liaison Unit of Thunder Bay,” said Isabelle Mercier, a member of the Elders Advisory Council. “In 2008, the City of Thun-der Bay prepared its first annual traditional feast and invited citizens to gather and celebrate the contributions of First Nations, Metis and Inuit people. Not only was this the first step of our jour-ney together as a community, but it actually underlined the city’s commitment to honour all citizens.”

Hobbs said the Declaration of Commitment has been rec-ognized across the country.

“It’s the way to go — we can’t do this alone, we have to work together,” Hobbs said.

Thunder Bay celebrates Aboriginal Liaison Strategy

Rick Garrick/Wawatay NewsBingwi Neyaashi’s Patricia McGuire accepted an award for Agnes Hardy, who recently passed away, dur-ing the third anniversary celebration of Thunder Bay’s Aboriginal Liaison Strategy.


Medicine Wheel

From the Wawatay archives

Wawatay files

Pikangikum, checking fishing nets. Date unknown.

Commentary

That Cree itch

16-5th Avenue North P.O. Box 1180 Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B7

Serving the First Nations in Northern Ontario since 1974. Wawatay News is a politically independent weekly newspaper

published by Wawatay Native Communications Society.

ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᑲᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᑌᐠ 1974 ᐁᐅᒋᐊᓄᑲᑌᑭᐣ ᑭᐧᐁᑎᓄᐠᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᑕᐃᑦᔑᑫᐧᐃᓇᐣ. ᑕᓱᓂᔓᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲ ᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ

ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ ᒥᓇ ᑲᐧᐃᐣ ᐅᓇᔓᐧᐁᐧᐃ ᑲᓇᐧᐊᐸᒋᑫᐧᐃᓂᐠ ᒋᐃᔑ ᐸᐸᒥᓯᒪᑲᐠ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓂᑫᐧᐃᓇᐣ.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Neegan

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICERDavid [email protected]

EDITORShawn [email protected]

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHERRick [email protected]

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHERLenny [email protected]

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHERStephanie [email protected]

ART DIRECTORRoxann Shapwaykeesic, [email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNERMatthew [email protected]

SALES MANAGERJames [email protected]

CIRCULATIONAdelaide [email protected]

TRANSLATORSVicky AngeesFred Jacob

CONTRIBUTORSChris KornackiRichard WagameseLindsay SarazinPeter Moon

Guest editorials, columnists and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views of Wawatay News.

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There’s a thin, bubbly creek I walk to that spills out of the mountains and

through a small meadow a mile or so above our home. The walk is easy enough. The terrain climbs gradually without the sheer slope you might expect and walking there is a medita-tive thing. Over the years it’s become a private joy and one of the treasures of our experience here.

I have a favorite log I sit on set back in the shade of spruce, fir and pine. The creek streams by a yard away. The sound there is magnificent; all cascad-ing water, soughing breezes through the trees, birds and the deep, rich silence in the gaps that eases me. It’s a resting place. There’s nothing more peaceful than the time spent on that log becoming entranced by the world again.

When you come to the land there’s a sense that you’ve seen it before, even if you’ve never

been to that particular place. It’s in the way it feels on your skin, the way its smell trans-ports you, the way it floods you with recollection.

Sitting beside that tiny creek in the mountains I suddenly remembered how it felt to catch minnows in a jar. The goggle-eyed sense of wonder at those silvered, wriggling beams of light darting between stones and the feel of the water on my arms, cool and slick as the surface of dreams. I was 12. I lived on a farm in southwestern Ontario, far away from there.

I lived my life for the sudden flare of sunlight when I broke from the bush back then. The land beckoned through my bedroom window so that some-times when the house was quiet I stood there just to hear the call of it, spoken in a language that I didn’t know. But I knew that it was calling me to it. Just knew it with that magic understand-ing of children we sadly allow to fade as we grow.

The creek ran out of that farmland and wound its way through the bush to a reservoir behind an old mill. I fished that creek when it widened. I spent many an hour watching my line and bobber with the voice of it a chuckle, its edges dappled

by the shadows of old elms and its light like the dancing bluish green eyes of the girl on the bus I could never find a way to say a word to.

Back in the trees where it was still a slip of current, I’d lie across a long flat stone to dip a mason jar elbows deep into a pool. I hung there, suspended while minnows flitted about and nibbled at my fingertips. I would let that arm dangle until the feeling went away then I’d raise it with minnows frantic in the sudden absence of their world. They entranced me. The fish of my dreams all wriggling fingerlings captured in my hand.

I couldn’t keep them. I knew that. I couldn’t just carry them home like a carnival prize, give them names or place them in a bowl on my desk. No, some-thing in me understood even at 12 that some things ache to be free and the charm of them resides in their ability to be that freedom.

So I let them go. I let them swim away and I watched hap-pily when they darted to the bottom of that pool and then joined the throng of other min-nows again. Beams of light. Free as childhood wishes. There was a touch of sadness in releasing

them. But I carried something of that creek, that cold against my arms, the sun-warmed stone against my belly, the breeze, the light and the idea of minnows away with me forever.

So that standing now on the edge of another creek at 55, it’s like the years haven’t happened at all. This mountain creek con-tains all the properties of the one I loved at 12. It still grants me a connection to myself. I just have to want to let that magic happen. That’s the trick of it, really, allowing wonder to hap-pen. That’s the special enrich-ing property of the land when you go to it openly – it recon-nects you to the gift of wonder you carried as a child. .

It’s a journey, this life. There are thousands of territories to navigate. There are landscapes rich and varied we trek in our journeys to ourselves. But I sup-pose I’ve learned that it’s not what you pick up along the way that comes to matter so much. It’s what you continue to pack along. Courage. Hope. Wonder. When you do that the journey becomes a crossing of creeks on stepping stones where so much comes to depend on maintain-ing balance with every careful placing of the foot.

Richard Wagamese

ONE NATIVE LIFE

As with most Crees from the James Bay coast, I am getting that feeling

in my gut, that itch that arises during this time of year.

The emergence of spring is an uplifting time of the year for any person. But for us, there is an added sensation of excite-ment and anticipation.

It all began a few weeks ago, when family and friends from the James Bay area started ask-ing me about my plans.

“Are you going hunting this year? When are you going? Where are you going? Who are you going with?”

That’s the excitement the season generates every year.

And as the days pass, the feeling grows as I begin to think about being out on the land in Mushkegowuk terri-tory, my traditional territory.

And I look forward to it.I look forward to arriving in

Moosonee and seeing and feel-ing the excitement of the hunt; the ubiquitous sounds of heli-copters; and the calls people make when geese are spotted flying over the Moose River.

I look forward to climbing into the box sleigh and embark-ing for camp; or, as is more common in recent years, jump-ing into the helicopter and get-ting the goose eye’s view of the swampy wetlands that is our home.

I look forward to settling into our family spring camp, a camp that has been in our fam-ily for decades, where my moo-shoom, dad, uncles, cousins, friends and extended family have shared the experience of the spring harvest together.

I look forward to digging up the spot where our blind has been for years and construct-ing the blind in the way my dad taught me and my brother, as his dad taught him; and dig-ging up the wooden decoys my dad made some years ago along with the tripod of sticks and putting them out on the pond, trying to place them strategically to maximize their visibility to the geese and so they may land close to the blind.

I look forward to sitting in the blind for the first evening, taking in the sounds, smells and sights of the land that I dearly missed while living in the city.

I look forward to getting that thumping heart and adrenaline rush when I hear the first geese of the season and call them in as I load my 12-gauge in prepa-ration of their arrival.

I look forward to our little camp tradition of cooking the

first goose killed, no matter who killed it, in celebration of the new harvest.

I do not look forward to plucking and burning the geese, necessarily, but I do look forward to completing such tasks, knowing it will help my mom, kookoom and whoever feasts on them in preparing the meal.

I look forward to blowing out the candle at night, climb-ing into bed as the fire crack-les, and just as I settle under my blankets, hearing my dad suddenly speak up in the dark-ness and regale my brother and I with stories of his youth, humourous anecdotes from past hunts, and legends and stories of the area passed on to him from his father.

I look forward to coming back to camp after the morn-ing hunt, and after a hearty breakfast of bacon, eggs and hash browns, sipping a hot cup of tea as the cabin door lets in the cool breeze and morning sun, contrasted by the warmth of the fire.

I look forward to getting up at the crack of dawn and driv-ing over to the “dance hall,” a field in a nearby swamp where partridges perform mating dances, and watching the spec-tacle before I load up my .22 rifle.

As annoying as they become, I look forward to the shrilling calls of sandhill cranes and being deceived by them in flight, as they at first appear to be geese.

I look forward to lazing around at camp on a sunny afternoon, and passing the time with my dad, brother, cousin and uncles with card games, puzzles, books and laughs.

I look forward to the playful jabs from my fellow hunters on how I missed (I had something in my eye) or why I was not in the blind when the geese flew by.

I look forward to the mixed feelings of waiting for the heli-copter to arrive; the excitement of being up in the air again, and the dread that the hunt will be over.

I look forward to putting my geese in the freezer, and then giving them to my kookoom and my mom, knowing I pro-vided a traditional meal they anticipated for weeks and had lived off in their youth.

And I look foward to looking back on the hunt and recalling all the little things that make being out on the land so spe-cial, and the good times my dad, brother, and family and I had that year.

The Cree itch is growing stronger every day now. And I eagerly await for the call from my dad to tell me, get on that train, Lenny. The geese are fly-ing.

I look forward to it all.

Lenny Carpenter

NEWS REPORTER


FindFind

in these communitiesin these communities

ArolandAtikokan

AttawapiskatBalmertownBatchewana

Bearskin LakeBeaverhouse

Big GrassyBig Island

Big Trout LakeBrunswick House

CalstockCat Lake

ChapleauCochrane

CollinsCouchichingCouchiching

Deer LakeDinorwicDrydenEar Falls

EmoFlying PostFort AlbanyFort Frances

Fort HopeFort SevernGeraldton

GinoogamingGrassy Narrows

Gull BayHornepayne

HudsonIskatewizaagegan

Kapuskasing Kasabonika

KashechewanKeewaywin

KenoraKingfisher Lake

KochechingLac La Croix

Lac Seul, Kejick BayLake NipigonLansdowneLong Lake

MattagammiMichipicoten

Migisi SahgaiganMissanabie

MobertMoose Factory

MoosoneeMuskrat Dam

Musselwhite MineNaicatchewenin

NaotikamegwanningNestor Falls

NicikousemenecaningNorth Spirit Lake

Northwest Angle #33Northwest Angle #37

Ochiichagwe’Babigo’ IningOgoki

Pic RiverOsnaburgh

PawitikPays Plat

Peawanuck

Pickle LakePikangikumPoplar HillRainy RiverRed LakeRed RockRocky Bay

Sachigo LakeSandy Lake

SaugeenSault Ste. Marie

Savant LakeSeine RiverShoal Lake

Sioux LookoutSioux Narrows

Slate FallsStanjikoming

StrattonSummer Beaver

Taykwa TagamouTimmins

Thunder BayWabaskangWabigoon

WahgoshingWapekeka

Washaganish Wauzhusk Onigum

WawakapewinWeagamow Lake

WebequieWhitedogWhitesand

Wunnimun Lake

(Note: the Gathering was held at the Sunset Suites in Sioux Lookout on Feb 19-21, 2013)

PROGRAM:

Day One

Anderson, Board Chair

Day Two

Day Three

WRN Broadcast of the Equay-wuk Gathering 2013

Saturday April 20, 2013 12:00pm to 4:00pm CST;Sunday April 21, 2013 1:00pm to 5:00pm CST.

NAN to host open house on April 19

Rick Garrick/Wawatay NewsMatawa’s David Paul Achneepineskum, NAN Legal’s Celina Reitberger, NAN’s Goyce Kakegamic and Oshki’s Rosie Mosquito are looking forward to the April 19 Celebrations and Contributions open house that aims to highlight the positive contributions made by Nishnawbe Aski Nation organizations and companies in Thunder Bay.Everyone is welcome to attend the open house, which will be held from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School.The four leaders worked with a group of NAN organization leaders and staff to organize the open house over the past few months.

LETTERSRe: Liberal leader says Ring of

Fire has to be done right (Wawa-tay, April 4)

The Ring of Fire will deter-mine much of the future eco-nomic development within the huge swath of our province called "Northern Ontario" for the next millenium. There are other minerals but Chromite is the key ore that will be mined. There is no way that the any of

the First Nations or the Federal, Provincial or Municipal levels of government should allow the ore to be shipped outside of Northern Ontario for further processing. The ore should be smelted, refined and stainless steel manufactured in North-ern Ontario and only then, as a manufactured product, shipped to the world markets.

Submitted online

Correction:In the March 28 Wawatay story ‘March tournaments shooting for more teams’ the pullquote in the story “We need to continue having a tournament in Sioux Look-out” was attributed to Max Kakepetum. It should have been attributed to Margaret Kenequanash. Wawatay apologizes for the confusion.


Looking for a Job?Attend Job Match 2013

Where career seekers meet employers who are

hiring right now!

Friday, April 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Italian Cultural Centre, Algoma St., Thunder Bay.

Free Admission, Hourly Draws

Meet 50+ Employers, Hiring Right Now!

All types of positions available.

Hosted by Act II Event Management Group, Thunder Bay, 807 631-9997

Transmission line project takes another step forward

Shawn BellWawatay News

In a signing last week that marked another step towards building an electricity trans-mission line to Pickle Lake and then connecting 10 remote First Nations to the southern elec-trical grid, 13 northwestern Ontario First Nations joined Goldcorp to officially incorpo-rate Wataynikaneyap Power.

The April 4 announcement comes as pre-development on phase one of the project – a 300 km line to Pickle Lake that will replace an existing, insufficient

line – continues and Watayni-kaneyap Power works towards starting construction on phase one of the project in 2014.

Margaret Kenequanash, a steering committee member for Wataynikaneyap Power, said the announcement represents the establishment of a formal structure that will facilitate the next steps of the project.

“It’s a huge project, and quite exciting,” Kenequanash said. “Our mandate is to ensure elec-tricity connection to remote communities, to meet the great need for improved energy for the communities.”

Kenequanash noted that many of the communities are at capacity with diesel genera-tors, which limits their ability to build much-needed homes, businesses and other develop-ments.

While 10 communities are targeted for connection as part of the second phase of the proj-ect, up to 21 communities could be connected in the future if plans to expand the lines east and west go through.

According to a press release by Wataynikaneyap, Ontario’s 25 remote communities burn approximately 25 million litres

of diesel fuel per year to gener-ate electricity. The cost of this diesel generation has been esti-mated at approximately $68 million annually. In the long term, a new transmission line would cost significantly less than continued diesel genera-tion.

Goldcorp’s involvement in the project has focused on bringing a new electricity line to Pickle Lake, where it could connect to its Musslewhite gold mine. The existing line to Pickle Lake does not have enough capacity for the northern com-munities. It also is subject to

frequent power outages, which disrupt operations at the mine.

“Wataynikaneyap Power is an example of how indus-try and First Nations can work together on projects that are good for the economy and the environment while benefitting communities in the region for years to come,” said Gil Lawson, manager of Goldcorp’s Mussel-white Mine in a press release.

While the April 4 announce-ment formalized Goldcorp as a 50-50 partner in the project, the mining company will pull out of the partnership once Watayni-

kaneyap finds a transmission company to partner with.

Kenequanash said the steer-ing committee will start seek-ing expressions of interest from transmission companies in the coming months, with a goal of finding a partner by the end of 2013.

She said that throughout the project local communities will have opportunities to cre-ate spin off businesses and fill specialized service needs, as well as participate in the con-struction of the lines which are expected to create about 1,200 jobs.

Kenequanash said the propo-nents hope to complete phase one construction by the end of 2015, and have phase two con-struction start in 2017.

In the long run the plan is to have the company be 100 per cent First Nation owned.

First Nations that wish to partner on the project can still do so.

“Now is the time for commu-nities to come on board,” Ken-equanash said.

OPPORTUNITY • PARTNERSHIPS • PROSPERITY

Advantage NorthwestMining Readiness Strategy

The City of Thunder Bay, Fort William First Nation and the Thunder Bay Community Economic Development Commission (CEDC) invite you to attend the upcoming Public Information Sessions to learn about, comment on, the next phase of the Mining Readiness Strategy – An Integrated Regional Economic Development Plan.

A presentation of the Draft Final Report will outline key findings and recommendations on the economic impact of mining development, mining supply chain, energy infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, municipal infrastructure, housing, labour, education and training, project development and finance strategies.

The mineral sector in Northwestern Ontario is forecast to experience significant growth over the coming years, positioning the Region as a globally recognized mining market. This growth is expected to drive, generate, a wide range of opportunities for the residents and businesses of Thunder Bay, Fort William First Nation and Region. Our challenge today: plan for the growth in a strategic manner.

For the benefit of all, current and future generations, we will work together to build a vibrant mining economy within Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario.

PUBLIC INFORMATION SESSIONS

April 9th and 15th

For further information or to provide comments, please visit www.thunderbay.ca/cedcmining

WHEN: Tuesday, April 9, 2013 5:30 to 9 pm

WHERE: Thunder Bay Community Auditorium 1 Paul Shaffer Drive

BUS ROUTE: #2 Crosstown

Session 1

Join us. Learn more. Share your input.

WHEN: Monday, April 15, 2013 5:30 to 9 pm

WHERE: Fort William First Nation Community Hall 107 Mission Road

BUS ROUTE: #6 Mission

Session 2

Doors will open at 5:30pm. Presentation at 6:00pm of key project findings and recommendations, followed by a Question & Answer period.

Wataynikaneyap Power incorporates with 13 First Nations and Goldcorp as partners

“Our mandate is to ensure electricity con-nection to remote communities, to meet the great need for improved energy for the communities...”

– Margaret Kenequanash

The transmission line to Pickle Lake is phase one of the proposed project, with connection to 10 First Nations as phase 2.


Future of NAPS up in airShawn BellWawatay News

For Nishnawbe-Aski Police Services (NAPS) officers in com-munities, it is business as usual, for now, despite the political wrangling surrounding the force.

NAPS acting-chief Bob Her-man told Wawatay that the force has money to operate for about another six months.

At a political level however, the future of NAPS remains up in the air. Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler has repeat-edly said NAN may have no choice but to shut down the police force if funding levels do not increase to more accurately reflect the needs in communi-ties as well as funding levels of municipal and provincial police forces across the country.

“NAN can no longer operate policing under the current terms and we are not willing to extend those terms, as it falls short of the necessary safety services required in NAN First Nations,” Fiddler said following a federal govern-ment announcement of a five-year funding extension for NAPS in early March.

NAN was upset that the new funding announcement involved no negotiation with First Nations leaders, included no funding increase to meet the need for more officers and other services, and contained no mention of leg-islating First Nation police forces the way municipal and provincial forces are legislated.

Fiddler has since reiterated his position that NAN may be forced to shut down the police force,

given that funding levels remain inadequate to ensure the safety of community members served by NAPS and the officers working for the force.

Meanwhile, the federal and provincial governments con-tinue to bicker over funding for First Nations policing in Ontario. Under the current agreement Ontario pays 48 per cent of First Nations policing, while the fed-eral government pays 52 per cent.

On March 31, a federal pro-gram called the Police Officers Recruitment Fund expired. The $400 million national fund had been in place since 2008, and was being used in Ontario to fund, among other things, 11 police officers for NAPS, eight police officers in Treaty #3 and one police officer in Lac Seul First Nation.

Conservative MP for Kenora, Greg Rickford, told Wawatay that the Ontario government always

knew the recruitment fund was going to expire in 2013.

Rickford said that considering the fact the federal government had paid the entire cost of the additional officers for the past five years, it would have been prudent for the province to take the lead on funding an exten-sion of those positions. Yet, he said, the federal government has heard nothing from the provin-cial ministry on the file.

“The responsible thing for the province to do would have been to acknowledge that the federal government has paid for the positions, and sit down to talk about its willingness to contrib-ute,” Rickford said. “The province had plenty of time to look at the increased numbers and come to us, and they didn’t.

“We do not know where the province stands on this,” Rickford added. “We have not heard any-thing from the province on this matter. Not one thing.”

In a written response, the pro-vincial minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Madeleine Meilleur disputed Rickford’s comments.

Meilleur said she has writ-ten three letters to federal Pub-lic Safety Minister Vic Toews requesting meetings to discuss the issue of First Nations policing.

“I am disappointed in the fed-eral government’s decision to end the Police Officers Recruitment Fund,” Meilleur wrote. “Ontario used the limited funds provided by the federal government to help First Nations police ser-vices hire more officers, as well as increase numbers of OPP and municipal officers. The decision to end the program lays waste to diligent recruitment efforts developed over the past few years and will have an impact on com-munity safety.

“We have been and will con-tinue to lobby the federal gov-ernment to maintain or increase

funding for policing resources in First Nations communities on a permanent basis,” Meilleur added.

As for NAPS, Herman said the force remains optimistic that a solution can be reached so the force can re-hire the 11 officers who were funded under the Police Officers Recruitment Fund. He said the positions are essential for the force, and that the loss of the officers puts added strain on NAPS.

Meanwhile NAN is still wait-ing on a response to its request to meet with the federal and pro-vincial governments to discuss the future of the NAPS funding agreement. Fiddler has long argued that NAPS needs to be legislated as a police force, the same way municipal and provin-cial police forces are legislated, rather than operated as a pro-gram as it is now. He also wants to see funding increases so NAN communities see the same levels of policing as other communities across the country.

Rickford said the federal government’s commitment to a five-year guaranteed funding for NAPS is a step in the right direc-tion, as it will provide “stable, core-funding” for the force.

But Ontario’s minister noted that the province is still waiting to hear details on what provincial allocations under the extended funding will be.

“The federal government must come to the table with First Nations and my ministry to iden-tify collaborative solutions to sup-port the long-term sustainability of First Nations police services in Ontario,” Meilleur wrote.

photo by Chris Kataquapit/Special to Wawatay NewsThe NAPS detachment in Fort Albany.

Shawn BellWawatay News

Five per cent of police officers in Canada self-identify as an Aboriginal person, according to a new report on policing released by Statistics Canada.

The report, Police Ser-vices in Canada in 2012, shows that of the two-thirds of police officers in Canada who voluntarily shared their ethnicity, five per cent identify as Aboriginal.

Over nine per cent of the officers identified as a vis-ible ethnic minority other than Aboriginal, while over 85 per cent identified as white Caucasian.

Overall, the number of police officers in Canada decreased very slightly in 2012 from the year before. 2012 was the first year that the number of police officers in the country decreased since the early 1990s.

Police Services operat-ing expenditures in Canada in 2011 cost $12.9 billion. Spending on police services in Ontario was down 0.3 per cent in 2011 from 2010.

The report also noted that the number of female police officers continued to rise, with nearly 22 per cent of constables in Can-ada now female.

National police stats released

Peter MoonCanadian Rangers

The driver and two passengers of a pickup truck were rescued by Canadian Rangers after being stranded in deep snow for more than 20 hours on a closed section of winter road.

“They were grateful for our arrival,” said Master Corpo-ral Chris Koostachin of the Fort Severn Canadian Ranger patrol. “We dug them out, gave them food and the fuel for their vehicle that we had brought, and sent them on their way.”

The truck became bogged down on the winter road between Fort Severn in north-ern Ontario and Shamattawa in northern Manitoba on April 6. The male driver and his two

Fort Severn Rangers rescue stranded winter road passengersfemale passengers were trying to return to Shamattawa after visit-ing relatives in Fort Severn.

Although they had a snowmo-bile on the bed of their truck they could not use it because they had inadequate clothing for the cold weather, which dropped to –19C overnight.

The Ontario section of the 320-kilometre long road was closed for the rest of the winter two days before they set out on their return journey to Manitoba. Heavy snow and blowing winds forced its closing but the driver and passengers thought they could drive it safely. Instead they bogged down midway, just inside the Ontario-Manitoba border.

They had a satellite phone, which could only send and not receive calls, and it took them

six hours before they were able to alert anyone to their pre-dicament, as the temperature plunged and they watched their fuel gauge drop. The truck engine was their only means of keeping warm. They eventu-ally got a Ranger in Fort Severn on the phone and he alerted the authorities.

The Northern Store in the com-munity opened its doors at 3 a.m. on Sunday so the Rangers could get food for the truck’s occupants. A three-person Ranger team, led by Koostachin, set out on snow-mobiles to reach the truck, with their journey made difficult by deep powder snow and heavy drifting from recent snowfalls.

The Rangers reached the truck around noon, freed it from the deep snow, fed its occupants, and

sent them on their way to Sha-mattawa, which they reached.

“The Rangers responded very efficiently,” said Captain John McNeil, operations officer for the Canadian Rangers in north-ern Ontario. “Activities outside of their control initially hindered their movement but once they

got going they covered a great deal of distance in a short period of time. They rescued the individ-uals, got them on their way, and redeployed back to Fort Severn smoothly and safely.

“This rescue re-emphasizes the fact that all our efforts in ground search and rescue are useful, and

that the activities the Rangers do in ground search and rescue in support of the Ontario Provincial Police are worthwhile. The Rang-ers in Fort Severn did a good job.”

(Sergeant Peter Moon is the public affairs ranger for 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group.)


High fur prices boost trapping industry‘Get back on the land,’ KI trapper advises northern communitiesRick GarrickWawatay News

Trappers across Nishnawbe Aski Nation have been hitting the jackpot this year with high prices and plenty of marten.

“That’s what I’ve been doing in my back yard and I caught 20 (marten) in a couple of months,” said Jeffrey McKay, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninu-wug’s fire chief. “They were plenty — I should have done that in the fall too but I didn’t start early.”

McKay encouraged others to get into the trapping action across NAN territory.

“Go for it — get back on the land,” McKay said. “Try and hold your land; make tracks in the wilderness where they can see that you’re using your land. Because there’s hardly any tracks in the wilderness and here we say it’s my land, and we’re hardly even touch-ing it.”

McKay usually checks his marten traps every couple of days, whenever he has time to go out. He set up the traps, which consist of Conibear traps set on top of open-topped boxes with mesh bottoms to hold bait, after Christmas on trees near his home.

“When the marten goes in there, that’s when it gets caught because we have bait at the bottom where the screen is,” McKay said. “I was using smok-ies one time and I still got mar-ten. I use fish guts, fish heads, whatever I can get.”

Although McKay has heard some youth talking about trap-ping next year, he doesn’t know if they really mean it, noting it is hard to get youth interested in trapping.

“It’s mostly the people who grew up watching their own folks doing the trapping (who are out trapping),” McKay said. “It’s the younger people, teen-agers and early 20s that hardly ever go out.”

McKay said trapping is more efficient nowadays, as today’s Conibear traps kill the animals quicker than the old-fashioned leg hold traps.

“They die quicker instead of suffering,” McKay said about animals caught in Conibear traps. “If they are caught on their arm or leg (with the old traps), they end up suffering for a long time before they freeze or die from dehydration.”

McKay first began trapping in the 1970s, when it was still pos-sible to earn a livelihood from trapping.

“It was really interesting dur-ing that time,” McKay said. “It

was just like having a job. You had to maintain your trapline in order to survive, just like when you have a job you have to go to work every day.”

McKay used to trap beaver, otter, mink, marten and the occasional lynx back then.

“We stayed in tents most of the time,” McKay said. “We didn’t have that many cabins around so we just used tents.”

McKay said most trappers used to eat traditional foods back then, not the processed food most people eat now from local stores.

“Not many people know how to go out on the land and trap,” McKay said. “Not many people use snowshoes to walk around (to check their traps).”

McKay said most trappers in KI use trucks to check their traps, which are usually located near the winter roads.

“We call it weekend trap-ping,” said KI Chief Donny Morris. “I notice some indi-viduals check their traps on weekends and I hear the prices are good and I hear people are happy with what they’re getting. I don’t know if it’s a revival in the fur indus-try, but I’m hoping it will esca-late more each year because it’s going to create employ-

ment and put food on people’s tables.”

Fort Severn’s Tommy Miles has also been getting plenty of marten in his traps, which are set near his home.

“It was a pretty good year for marten this fall,” Miles said. “I caught over 40 just close by around here.”

Miles said there were so many marten this year that he began setting two traps instead of one in some locations, noting he usually sets his traps along creeks and in tamarack areas where the marten tend to “run along.”

“Sometimes I would get double when I went to check,” Miles said, explaining that he usually uses geese for bait in his marten traps.

Miles said the prime trapping season is from October until February, when the pelts are

darker in colour and the quality is higher.

“Everything starts to get light in February and March, when the sun is out more and the days are longer,” Miles said.

Although the marten trap-ping has been good this year, Miles said trappers can have major problems when wolver-ines begin following the tra-pline to eat the bait.

“It destroys the box sets we have for the traps, it takes the bait,” Miles said. “It doesn’t miss one single trap — it walks the whole trapline. It follows the path, even every side path that you make from your main line.”

Miles said trappers have to rebuild the box sets every time a

wolverine strikes.“So it costs a lot of money,”

Miles said.Miles said the typical tra-

pline is about 250 kilometres in length, including the return trip.

“You’re almost guaranteed $2,000-$2,500 every time you go out to check your traps,” Miles said.

Miles learned how to trap from his grandmother, when he was very young.

“We used to trap marten, snare fox and there used to be lots of muskrats back then too so it was easy to trap muskrats,” Miles said.

The Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay set a new record for top goods this past March, surpassing the previous record set in March 2012.

“China is the world’s leading manufacturer of fur garments and demand for our wild fur there is high and increasing year after year,” said North-west Territories Premier Bob McLeod during the Fur Har-vesters Auction’s annual con-vention on Jan. 21. “Our wild fur is seen as a premium prod-

uct that international design-ers want to use and the grow-ing Chinese middle class loves to wear.”

McLeod recently participated in a trade mission with the other provinces and territory to China, where he met with the president of the Yuanlong Fur and Leather Company.

“He told us they are antici-pating growth in the sector due to high-end fashion outlets and designers using wild fur as accent pieces on garments,” McLeod said about the com-pany president. “It was also exciting to see all the fur that was incorporated into garments on sale in Hong Kong depart-ment stores and being worn on the streets of the city.”

The Fur Harvesters Auction’s record top lot prices included sable pelts averaging at $148.37, fisher at $158.01 and lynx cat at $674.09. Wild mink averaged $34.37, otter aver-aged $104.50, lynx averaged $203.64, timber wolf averaged $208.23 and wolverine aver-aged $306.92.

The next Fur Harvesters Auc-tion is set for May 19-20.

HUGE THANK YOUI want to thank everyone who helped in any way to organize my retirement party. I am most humbled and appreciative to all the people who spoke kind words and shared their thoughts. I thank all of you for the many gifts, cards or emails and Native paintings. Special thanks to Confederation College for setting up the Bob Bruyere Aboriginal Leadership Bursary, which

If you would like to donate funds, please contact Don Bernosky at the Thunder Bay Confederation College campus.

Once again, thank you all. It was more than I could

care of all of you.

Bob Bruyere

File photoTrappers have been busy this winter as the Fur Harvesters Auction in North Bay set a new record for top goods this past March for the second year in a row.

“Go for it — get back on the land. Try and hold your land; make tracks in the wilderness where they can see that you’re using your land. Because there’s hardly any tracks in the wilderness and here we say it’s my land, and we’re hardly even touching it.”

- Jeffery McKay


www.oshki.ca A New Beginning

Options forEducation

Now accepting applications for the 2013 academic year.

BusinessFundamentals

Native EarlyChildhood Education

Pre-Health Sciences

Social Services Worker- Native Specialization

We recognize our students are often employed full-time or reside in Northern and remote communities. Our special delivery methods will allow you to remain employed and live in your home community for the duration of the program and earn your credentials. We will be offering these programs through a blended delivery format (e.g. on-campus sessions, tele/video conferences, distance education) in September 2013.

All of these programs are delivered in partnership with an Ontario college. This means that you will receive a level of education that is equivalent to, and even exceeds that found in mainstream schools and you will graduate with a college diploma or certificate! Our staff and instructors have a passion for teaching and supporting First Nations students.

For more information contact:Lorrie Deschamps, Community Liaison & Student Recruitment Officer3-106 Centennial Square, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7E 1H3Toll Free: 1-866-636-7454 | Ph: 807-626-1880 | E: [email protected]

An Open House that highlights the positive economic impacts our First Nations have on the City of Th under Bay

Information booths, music, food and special guests...Everyone is invited to share in this event that promotes

understanding and respectApril 19 – 10 am - 7 pm

Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School315 Edward St N, Th under Bay, ON

For more information please call Jamie at (807) 625-4978 and visit nan.on.ca for full agenda.

Celebration &Contributions

Visit Wawatay News online atwww.wawataynews.ca

for the latest news briefs, photo and video galleries

Geese numbers expected to be normal this springLenny CarpenterWawatay News

The number of Canada geese that migrate north this spring is expected to be the same as in the past 10 to 20 years, accord-ing to a waterfowl biologist with Environment Canada.

Jack Hughes, manager of population conservation with Canadian Wildlife Service, said a survey conducted last spring showed the number of geese that fly north was normal.

“We really haven’t seen a decline in geese in recent years,” he said. “The numbers appear to be holding pretty steady.”

Last year, hunters in the James Bay area reported har-vesting a lower number of geese compared to previous years.

“We haven’t seen any big trends in the number hunted or the number of geese that are out there over the last few years,” Hughes said. “It’s not related to a decline in the over-all number of birds.”

Hughes said the warm weather that arrived in mid-March last year likely played a factor in the number of geese hunters saw.

“It seems like when it’s warmer in the spring, the geese disperse right to nesting areas,” he said.

This falls in line with the wis-dom shared by Andrew Solo-mon of Fort Albany, who said last year that when geese do not see snow or ice below, they fly at high attitudes and make less frequent stops to rest.

Hughes added that it is possi-ble hunters saw fewer numbers because the geese are not flying in as many areas as before.

“The area that is surveyed

is much larger because it’s not just along the coast,” he said. “It covers a very big area. And the geese just might be spread-ing out to other areas where the hunters aren’t seeing them.”

Hughes, who spoke with Wawatay News on March 11, said the number of geese hunt-ers see this spring will depend on the weather.

“When it’s colder, they might get stopped along the coast or in areas where there’s open water, or in traditional areas where they might stop in the spring for a while,” he said. “But if it’s warm, I don’t think the geese go to those areas. They go straight to the areas where they’re going to nest.”

Many hunters speculate that geese are beginning to stay in southern regions during the spring and summer. And while Hughes said the goose popu-lation in southern Ontario is increasing, northern hunters need not worry.

“They’re not northern birds that are sticking around in the south,” he said. “They’re actu-ally nesting in the south and their numbers are increasing. The northern birds keep going north.”

Every year, Wildlife Canada Services and Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources conduct surveys of geese in northern Ontario. This includes banding the geese. Hughes said most of the northern geese migrate to the U.S. in the winter.

“I just want to reassure hunt-ers that we are keeping track of the numbers,” Hughes said. “Certainly, if we do see a major decline, we’ll make it known to them. But for now, it seems the number is staying fairly con-stant.”

Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay NewsTwo geese settle into a pond during one spring hunting season.


First Open House

Deer Lake First Nation Community Based Land Use Planning Project Invitation to ParticipateDeer Lake First Nation is pleased to invite you to participate in this Community Based Land Use Planning process. Our First Nation is working together with the Ministry of Natural Resources to prepare a land use plan that will support a balance among protection, traditional uses and development. As part of Ontario’s Far North Land Use Planning Initiative, Deer Lake First Nation has a lead role in the planning process and approval of the plan. The plan will address provincial interests and take into account the objectives for planning set out in the Far North Act, 2010.

resource use. The interests of the community are rooted in the protection of our traditional lands and preserving a longstanding relationship to the land that they have enjoyed over time. The community would like to address its protection interests along with resource development opportunities through the planning process.

The Area of Interest for Planning consists of lands that are an integral part of the cultural, economic and spiritual existence of Deer Lake First Nation. The area is located in the Far North of Ontario, 160 kilometres north of Red Lake andadjacent to the Pauingassi and Whitefeather Forest Planning Areas (see map).

A Terms of Reference

Land Use Plan for that area.

interested people and organizations will be invited to engage in adialogue and provide input to the plan at key milestones in the Process. The tentative schedule for Public Consultation is:

1. Invitation to Participate, Viewing the Terms of Reference

*April 23, 2013 (this is the current opportunity)2. Public Review of Draft Plan: Summer 20133.

We encourage your participation from the beginning of the public dialogue process. The First Open House will be held at the following time and location:

April 23, 2013 Red Lake, ON,2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre

The Ministry of Natural Resources is collecting your personal information and comments under the authority of the Far North Act. Any personal information you provide (address, name, telephone, etc.) will be protected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, however your comments will become part of the record of consultation and may be shared with the general public. Your personal information may be used by the Ministry of Natural Resources to send you further information related to this planning exercise. If you have

Additionally, at any time during the planning process, you may address questions or comment to the following individuals:

Roland Pemmican

Michelle SchlagResource Liaison Specialist

Fort Severn area polar bears on the increase, say hunters

Wawatay file photoPolar bears are considered threatened by Ontario, but community members in Fort Severn say numbers of the bears are increasing and their range is extending further south.

Rick GarrickWawatay News

Fort Severn Chief Joe Crowe said polar bear numbers are not down after the Conven-tion on International Trade in Endangered Species recently defeated a ban on polar bear trade.

“The MNR (Ministry of Nat-ural Resources) was claiming that the population of polar bears are declining,” Crowe said. “I don’t believe that.”

Ontario changed the classi-fication of the polar bear pop-ulation from special concern to threatened in 2009, and has since developed a Recov-ery Strategy for Polar Bear in Ontario.

“The MNR is looking at usu-

ally along the coast of Hud-son Bay for how many polar bears are along the shore line,” Crowe said. “They (polar bears) don’t usually hang around along the shore line. At the end of July or the begin-ning of August, they usually migrate inland quite a ways.”

Crowe noted that a polar bear was seen in Shamattawa, Manitoba, located about 400 kilometres south of Hudson Bay, in 2010.

Polar bears usually return to the coast around Fort Severn during November and early December.

“When there is no ice out on the bay yet, they hang around the coast line,” Crowe said. “They just follow the ice as it freezes, the edge of the ice line

looking for something to eat, seals to hunt. That’s the only time they hang around here on the coast line.”

Crowe said polar bears do not seem to be afraid of people as they once were.

“They just come right through the community some times,” Crowe said. “One time a couple of years ago the kids were skating in the outdoor arena, and the polar bear chased all the kids out of there.”

Tommy Miles, a Fort Severn researcher who completed the Survey of Polar Bear Migra-tion and Habitat in Fort Severn Nation in 2009, said there are more polar bears than before.

See POLAR BEARS page 11


Con’t from pg. 10

“Even with the climate change and the sea ice melt-ing, they are adapting and there are certainly more and more polar bears now than before,” Miles said. “They are adapting to the warmer cli-mate; they’re moving inland up small rivers hunting seals, so we’re getting more polar bear interactions with the community.”

Miles said he had to shoot one polar bear in his yard from inside his doorway last fall.

“There were a couple shot this early winter,” Miles said. “The first one was trying to break into a house. And the second one was shot by my brother Angus as he sneaked up on people ice fishing.”

Miles recently counted 56 polar bears last fall during an

MNR helicopter polar bear survey on East End Island, a 5-kilometre by 1-kilometre sand bar.

“In that little area, there were 56 polar bears,” Miles said. “There are more and more. And probably 75 kilo-metres, maybe 80 kilome-tres to the (Manitoba) bor-der and east of the border, we counted about 246 all together in that small area.”

Meanwhile, 2010 research numbers indicated the Southern Hudson Bay sub-population of polar bears, located in the James Bay and Hudson Bay area of Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut, was stable at about 1,000 polar bears.

The world-wide popula-tion of polar bears is esti-mated at about 20,000-28,000, with about two-thirds located in Canada.

The Recovery Strategy for Polar Bear in Ontario prescribed eight recovery objectives, such as reducing the impact of global climate change within Ontario, iden-tifying, protecting and adap-tively co-managing polar bear habitat in Ontario and con-ducting research to fill knowl-edge gaps that will aid in the recovery and protection of polar bears and their habitat.

Wawatay file photoThe world-wide population of polar bears is estimated between 20,000 and 25,000, with two-thirds of the bears living in Canada. Research in 2010 found about 1,000 bears living in the James Bay and Hudson Bay areas of Ontario, Quebec and Nunavut.

‘They are adapting’, says hunter

“The MNR (Ministry of Natural Resources) was claiming that the population of polar bears are declining, I don’t believe that...”

– Joe Crowe


SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITYClient Services Department

DIETARY AIDESInternal/External Posting

Casual PositionLocation: Sioux Lookout, Ontario

The Dietary Aides are responsible to meet the dietary needs of the Hostel clients.

QUALIFICATIONS Minimum Grade 12 or GED;

to obtain);

Must be independent and self motivated worker;Possess excellent communication skills;Possess excellent team building and networking skills.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITYAbility to communicate in one or more of the First Nations dialects of the Sioux Lookout Zone will be an asset; Experience and understanding of Native cultural issues, the geographic realities and social conditions within remote Northern First Nation communities;Excellent time management and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work independently;Must be willing to do shift work; Must be willing to relocate to Sioux Lookout.

Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date Criminal

Reference Check to:

Human Resource DepartmentSioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

P.O. Box 1300, 61 Queen StreetSioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8

Phone: (807) 737-1802Fax: (807) 737-2969

Email: [email protected]

Closing Date: April 26, 2013 at 4:30 p.m.

No resumes received after this time will be accepted.

The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted an interview will

be contacted.

For additional information regarding the Health Authority, please visit our Web-site at www.slfnha.com

SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITYFinance Department

FINANCE CLERKInternal/External Posting

TERM Employment (6 months) With possibility of being extended Location: Sioux Lookout, Ontario

Must be willing to relocate

The Finance Clerk will be responsible for the administrative func-tions of Accounts Receivable. This position will also be responsible for providing coverage and support within the Finance Department.

QUALIFICATIONS

Previous bookkeeping experience required with a minimum of

Possess excellent interpersonal skills, organizational and

Must be able to work independently and meet deadlines in a high paced work environment.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY

Must have experience and understanding of Native culture, and the geographic realities and social conditions within remote First

Ability to communicate in one or more of the First Nations Dialects of the Sioux Lookout District will be an asset.

Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date

Criminal Reference Check to:

Human Resources DepartmentSioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

61 Queen Street, P.O. Box 1300Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8

Phone: (807) 737-1802Fax: (807) 737-2969




The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted an interview will be contacted.


ADDICTIONS & TRAUMA COUNSELLORContract Employment Opportunity

Location: Cat Lake First Nation

New Vision Unlimited and the Cat Lake Health Authority are seeking a creative, skilled and dedicated professional to provide individual and group counselling services for participants in the Cat Lake Wellness Initiative, a program designed to help people address their addiction to prescription drugs.

Main duties will include:Working with clients to create personalized recovery and relapse prevention plans while visiting the community one or two weeks per month.Starting a Narcotics Anonymous group for the communityLeading group workshops related to building coping skills, resiliency and healing from traumaParticipating in art, recreation and land based activities as a way to outreach and build trust

College or University Degree in Counselling,

Experience working within a First Nations contextMust be willing to be engaged within the community and work with a multi-disciplinary teamMust pass a criminal record check and national sex offender registry

Term of Employment & Remuneration: Will be negotiated.

Application Deadline: April 26th, 2013- 5pm (Central Time)

Please provide resume and contact information for 3 references to:

Cat Lake Wellness Initiativec/o New Vision UnlimitedBox 4052, Sioux Lookout, ON, P8T [email protected]

Stephanie WesleyWawatay News

Members of the Anonymous group Operation Thunderbird came to the city of Thunder Bay to hold a rally outside of the Thunder Bay Police Ser-vices (TBPS) headquarters.

Operation Thunderbird said the rally was to show support for missing and murdered Indigenous women, and to remind local police the impor-tance of taking the issue seri-ously.

Operation Thunderbird came about after members of the group Anonymous learned of the hate crime and sexual assault by two uniden-tified white males against a local First Nations woman in December of last year.

The rally took place on April 6. Even though it was a peace-ful protest, several members of TBPS were on guard at each driveway entrance. Officers were also stationed outside of the main entrance into the building.

Some TBPS members were armed with cameras and taped the hour and a half-long event, with one officer seated with a camera inside a crime scene unit truck that was also on site.

Although TBPS showed what Operation Thunderbird dubbed a “massive police response” to the rally, the event went off without inci-dent.

Inspector Dan Taddeo of TBPS said that there was a

Operation Thunderbird rallies for indigenous women outside Thunder Bay police headquarters

cause for concern over vio-lence at the rally after there was no communication between Operation Thunder-bird and the TBPS, which is why they took such extreme security measures. Taddeo said that threats were made over social media against the force.

“This protest put us in a position where we had to allo-cate police resources in the city of Thunder Bay to deal with this situation where they

failed to communicate with us,” Taddeo said.

Although Operation Thun-derbird came to the city to show support for the victim of the December assault, and also the First Nations commu-nity here in the city, there was only one resident of Thunder Bay in attendance at the rally.

Operation Thunderbird stated that some local protes-tors who showed up early said that they were “turned away” by the TBPS.

The remaining protestors came in from Toronto, Winni-peg, and Kenora in support of Operation Thunderbird and its mission to bring awareness of the issue of missing and mur-dered Indigenous women.

Speakers at the rally included Sheila North Wil-son, communications officer for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and Gail Nepinak.

“The Thunder Bay police are doing an outstanding job protecting their building,”

Wilson said at the rally. “What we want is for them to put in the same effort to protect our women.”

Nepinak spoke of her sister, Tanya Jane Nepinak, who was murdered in Winnipeg. Police there have yet to uncover her body at a Winnipeg landfill.

“We were so very honoured to have beautiful and strong women, mothers, and sisters who have lost their daugh-ters join us in supporting the Thunder Bay woman,” Opera-

tion Thunderbird said in a statement via direct message on Twitter. “We were a small but peaceful group of people.”

“Words of love and support were spoken, we hope the women in Thunder Bay know that they are loved,” Opera-tion Thunderbird said.

“We will come back anytime we are invited, just as they are invited anytime to visit us and join our future rallies,” Opera-tion Thunderbird said. “Opt-hunderbird continues.”

Left: Sheila North addresses the crowd during the rally outside Thun-der Bay Police Services.Above: Masked protestors came from Toronto, Winnipeg and Kenora to participate in the rally.

Photos by Stephanie Wesley/Wawatay News


Reporting to the Operations Supervisor, the Medical Secretary is responsible for performing a variety of secretarial duties for Physicians and the Primary Health Care Unit staff.

QUALIFICATIONS

Previous experience (minimum 1- 2 years) working in a Medical

Possess excellent interpersonal and communication skills (both

Previous experience working within an electronic medical record an asset.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY

Ability to maintain effective working relationships with patients,

Must have experience and understanding of Native culture, and the geographic realities and social conditions within remote First

Must be willing to relocate and/or live in Sioux Lookout.


Criminal Reference Check to:

Human Resources DepartmentSioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8


Closing Date: April 19, 2013


Please ensure the SLFNHA receives your Criminal Reference Check as soon as possible to

avoid delays in processing your application.


SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITYPrimary Health Care Unit

MEDICAL SECRETARYInternal/External Posting

Permanent Full TimeLocation: Sioux Lookout, Ontario

SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITYNodin Child & Family Intervention Services (NCFI)

SPECIAL NEEDS CASE MANAGERInternal/External Posting

Full Time Five (5) Months Term PositionLocation: Sioux Lookout, ON

This full time position reports to the Specialized Services Supervisor. The Special Needs Case Manager will be responsible for providing case management to

complex special needs. The Case Manager should be willing to receive on-going

order to provide specialized case management services. The work requires good communication skills and the ability to work as a team member. The Special Needs Case Manager will need to promote interdisciplinary, interagency and inter-ministerial

case management of a child.

QUALIFICATIONS

services environment is preferred;

developmental challenge; Experience working with First Nations people and northern communities;Experience in case management is preferred;Experience in delivery of therapy is an asset.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITYKnowledge of Case Management principles and Service System Principles;Case management report writing;Knowledge of community resources;Ability to work as lead for multi-disciplinary teams and with community agencies;Excellent organizational and time management skills, as well as the ability to work independently;

Database (e.g. CIMS); Knowledge of the people, culture and mental health priorities of the First Nations communities in the Sioux Lookout Zone;Ability to communicate in one or more of the First Nations dialects of the Sioux Lookout Zone will be an asset;

rstanding of the Mental Health Act, Child & Family Services Act and awareness of current issues within Northern and remote Native communities;Must be willing to relocate.

Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date Criminal Reference Check with a Search of the Pardoned

Sexual Offender Registry to:




Closing Date: April 19, 2013



SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITYClient Services Department

HOUSEKEEPERInternal/External Posting

Casual PositionLocation: Sioux Lookout, Ontario

The Housekeeper is responsible to keep the Hostel and

QUALIFICATIONSMinimum Grade 12 or GED;

an asset; Ability to lift 20+ lbs;Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills;Possess excellent team building and networking skills.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITYExperience and understanding of Native cultural issues, the geographic realities and social conditions within remote Northern First Nation communities;Innovative problem solving and decision making skills; Excellent time management and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work independently;Must be willing to do shift work; Must be willing to relocate and live in Sioux Lookout.


Criminal Reference Check with a Vulnerable Persons Sector Check to:



Phone: (807) 737-1802Fax: (807) 737-2969




The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted

an interview will be contacted.


Located in the beautiful and thriving northwestern Ontario community of Red Lake, we are seeking an innovative and motivated leader with a passion for working with and improving the lives of Aboriginal people to assume the role of:

Executive DirectorOverview:This is an exciting opportunity to further grow a currently strong and successful Friendship Centre with a mature and committed Board of Directors. Under the direction of the Board, the ED plans, organizes, directs and controls all RLIFC programs, projects and services. Financial planning and forecasting, HR components, advocacy work at the local, regional, provincial and national level and long term planning for the continued growth of the Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre are all components of the position.

University Degree or Relevant post-secondary education (Aboriginal Studies, Social Services, Political Science)5+ Years of progressive management experience

functionsExcellent understanding of Aboriginal culture and communityStrong verbal and written communication skills

Valid Ontario Driver’s License ; Must be able to travelCriminal Reference Check (incl. Vulnerable Persons) and Bondable

description available upon request.

Executive Hiring Committee Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre

Box 244, # 1 Legion Road Red Lake, On P0V 2M0 Fax: 807-727-3253 or [email protected]

Northern College opens teepeeLenny CarpenterWawatay News

Northern College celebrated the grand opening of the new permanent 700-square foot teepee at its South Porcupine campus on April 5.

Designed in the likeness of a traditional teepee, the perma-nent structure is located on the south side of the campus fac-ing Porcupine Lake. It is tem-perature controlled, ventilated, and connected to the college to enable year-round use.

“The teepee is a source of ceremony, relationship build-ing, cross-cultural understand-ing and a place of sharing and reflection. Northern College is dedicated to creating and sustaining a respectful, inclu-sive, accessible, and culturally sensitive learning environ-ment,” said Northern College president Fred Gibbons in a press release. “Celebrating

our varied cultural heritage is such a wonderful opportunity for everyone involved, whether someone is sharing their heri-tage or experiencing some-thing new.”

The teepee will play host to community, cultural and edu-cational activities while provid-ing an inviting environment for gathering, sharing, healing and learning. The teepee will be accessible to Northern Col-lege learners, partners, clients, and all those with an interest in learning more about the cul-tural values and traditions of Aboriginal peoples.

Construction of the teepee was officially marked last June with a sunrise ceremony facili-tated by Elder Roberta Osh-kawbewisens of Wikwemikong First Nation and Elder David Faries of Moose Cree First Nation to bless the ground.

In late March, a sunrise pipe ceremony was held to cleanse

the teepee before its grand opening. Smudging, tradi-tional teachings and a sharing circle followed.

The structure will provide an inclusive environment to meet the needs of cultural, commu-nity, and educational activities such as smudging, Aboriginal teachings, traditional cer-emonies, as well as classes, seminars and meetings with Aboriginal content. It will be used by faculty, aligning with traditional methods of learning such as storytelling and learn-ing circles.

The teepee is part of North-ern College’s strategic direc-tion, Aboriginal Perspectives. Northern College is committed to holding meaningful dia-logue and developing partner-ships with Aboriginal leaders, learners, communities and employers, and building on strong relationships that have already been established.

Submitted photoNorthern College officially opened its 700-square foot teepee at its Porcupine campus on April 5. The structure will host community, cultural and educational activities related to Aboriginal culture.


Employment & Community Supports

We support individuals who face challenges due to a disability or other barriers to improve their

independence. Let us help you achieve your goals.

For more information contact us @ 345-6595or visit us at 237 Camelot Street, Thunder Bay

30 thAnniversary

• Legal-Aid• Community-Based Justice• Alternative to Child Welfare• Victim Witness Assistance

Serving Nishnawbe-Aski Nation since 1990

Access to JusticeNishnawbe-Aski Legal Services

86 S. Cumberland StThunder Bay, ON P7B 2V3

1-800-465-5581807-622-1413

www.nanlegal.on.ca

Cars, Trucks, Commercial Vehicles, Heavy Equipment, TowingMTO Safety Inspection, Praxair, Welding & Fabrication

53 York St. Tel:807-737-4643Cell:807-738-0047

Toll Free:877-337-4643Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1E1E-mail: [email protected]

Michael T. GeorgeOwner

Licenced Repair Garage

PRECISION AUTO BODY

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RESERVATIONS & TICKETING FOR CORPORATE & LEISURE TRAVEL

Our primary focus has been to offer first class personalized service for northern travellers. We can offer our clients national contacts and a full range of travel-related services and benefits.

Services

Phone disconnected? We can hook you up, no security deposits or credit checks. Best price in town, Call us today and receive 1000 free long distance minutes. (1-866-391-2700)

Handyman – Snow Shoveling, Carpentry, framing & finishing, drywall & mudding, floor tiling & carpeting, plumbing, and painting. Senior’s discount. Call Don 807-285-2416, Thunder Bay Area.

Cosco Technology Call Garett Cosco for all your tech needs including computer repair and satellite installation. 807-738-TECH (8324) www.coscotech.ca

Financial Services

DEBT PROBLEMS? (Discuss Your Options.) For free advice: MNP Ltd., Trustee in Bankruptcy. Local Office: 315 Main Street South, Kenora, ON; Cathy Morris, Estate Manager (807) 468-3338 or Toll Free 866-381-3338. Principal Office: 301-1661 Portage Ave. Winnipeg, MB. Ken Zealand, CA, Trustee.www.mnpdebt.ca

Health Services

The Key to good health is the Immune System. The key to the Immune System is IMMUNOCAL. Why? IMMUNOCAL is the only patented supplement scientifically and clinically proven to optimize your Immune System. IMMUNOCAL provides all the essential amino acids you need to live. Health Canada Approved. Call 807-475-9371 for information.

Bad Credit, Bankruptcy or have No Credit? Let our Financial Services manager, Joanna work with you to find the right payment and guide you through the process of re-establishing your credit. Together we will get you into the right vehicle today! Contact Joanna today toll free at 1-800-465-1144 or email [email protected]

Legal ServicesFree French advice regarding

social assistance, housing, EI and CPP issues. Conseils juridiques gratuits en logement, aide sociale, assurance-emploi et pension. Call the French Legal Advice Line / Appelez la Ligne d’avis juridique 1-87 POUR AVIS (1-877-687-2847).

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Health ServicesWeeneebayko Area Health

Authority Cancer Care Project Wachay, WAHA and the Ontario Breast Screening Program are looking to increase the number of women from Moosonee, Moose Factory, Fort Albany, Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Peawanuck to get screened for breast cancer. If you are a woman aged 50 – 74 and have never been screened or it has been more than two years since your last one, please see your doctor or nurse to arrange for a mammogram. Please, help us to put the squeeze on breast cancer. For more information, please visit www.weeneebaykohealth.ca and click on the Cancer Care Project page. You can also visit us on Facebook on our Weeneebayko Cancer Project page. Meegwetch

Health ServicesWeeneebayko Area Health

Authority Cancer Care Project Wachay, WAHA and the Colon Cancer Check program are looking to increase the number of men and women who are being screened for colorectal cancer in Moosonee, Moose Factory, Fort Albany, Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Peawanuck. If you are aged 50 – 74 and have never been screened or it has been more than two years since your last one, please see your doctor or nurse to get your FOBT kit. All men and women who participate from the communities mentioned will receive a $25 Northern Gift Card (while quantities last) and a chance to win monthly prizes. Check your behind and remind your loved ones to! Sure it takes a little courage to scoop your poop on a stick but cancer is scarier. For more information, please visit www.weeneebaykohealth.ca and click on the Cancer Care Project page. You can also visit us on Facebook on our Weeneebayko Cancer Project page.

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Offi ce of

Aboriginal Initiativesaboriginalinitiatives.lakeheadu.ca

Lakehead University is committed to helping Aboriginal peoples further their educational aspirations. Aboriginal programs at Lakehead offer academic, research, and cultural support services tailored to Aboriginal needs.

Specialization & Access Programs Department of Indigenous LearningNative Nurses Entry ProgramNative Access Program

Aboriginal EducationHonours Bachelor of Education (Aboriginal) P/JNative Teacher Education ProgramNative Language Instructors’ Program

Lakehead Supports Aboriginal Learners

1-807-766-7219 or toll free 1-888-558-3388

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Constance Lake youth enjoy donated hockey gearShawn BellWawatay News

The fact that winter lasted an extra few weeks was a bonus to youth in Constance Lake, who got to spend even more time enjoying their new hockey equipment on the community’s outdoor rink.

Thanks to a partnership between the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Services (NAPS) detach-ment in Constance Lake, an ele-mentary school in Hearst and an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer based in Timmins, youth in Constance Lake had a detachment full of donated hockey equipment to outfit themselves in.

NAPS Cst Marc Beaupar-lant, who organized the hockey equipment drive for Constance Lake, said it was great to see the kids playing hockey on the out-door rink and on streets after the equipment was distributed.

“Lots of kids want to start playing hockey, but often their families don’t have the money,” Beauparlant said. “For a full set of equipment you’re looking at $600 or more, and there are a lot of large families here.”

Beauparlant said the equip-ment drive was not only a way to get hockey equipment to the youth of Constance Lake, but also a chance to develop the relationship between NAPS and

the community members.“It helps to have greater

interaction with the commu-nity,” Beauparlant said.

Students at Ecole St-louis in Hearst donated 12 hockey bags full of equipment as part of the drive. Also D.A.R.E Cst. Paul Harrison of the South Porcu-pine OPP Detachment, a former NHL goaltender with Toronto Maple Leafs, made a special trip to Toronto and returned with 11 bags of hockey equipment donated by the Greater Toronto Hockey League.

At the end of the equipment drive, the NAPS detachment in Constance Lake was full of equipment, Beauparlant said. There was more than enough for Constance Lake youth, so Beauparlant ended up driving a truck load to Aroland First Nation for youth in that com-munity.

The equipment drive was based on a similar hockey drive Beauparlant did while working for the NAPS detachment in Marten Falls in 2010. That year, the excess equipment from the drive was shared with youth in Eabametoong First Nation.

Beauparlant said next year’s equipment drive will be even bigger, so that other communi-ties around Constance Lake can benefit from the donated equip-ment as well.

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Submitted photo by Cst. Marc Baeuparlant

Youth in Constance Lake got a lot of hockey equipment as part of a skate/equipment drive organized by the local NAPS detachment. There was too much equipment for Constance Lake, so some was driven over to Aroland First Nation and distributed there.


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Northern College hosts powwow in TimminsLenny CarpenterWawatay News

Northern College held its 12th annual powwow at its Por-cupine campus on April 6 and 7.

The theme for this year’s powwow was Honouring our Mother Earth.

The powwow offered a week-end of traditional drumming, dancing, arts and crafts, work-shops and educational booths.

“Cultural events are one of the many ways we realize our strategic direction of Aboriginal Perspectives and are an integral

part of the Northern College experience,” said Northern Col-lege president Fred Gibbons in a release. “Segregation of different cultural educational concepts is an antiquated approach and does not speak to the ever increasing need for diversity and understanding. All members of the community are welcome to share in what has become a much anticipated annual highlight at Northern College.”

David Faries of Moose Cree First Nation emceed the event, along with Grandmother

Roberta Oshkawbewisens, Grandfather Robert Bigtrack and Arena Director Gerald Chum.

The host drum was Chick-eney Creek of Attawapiskat along with co-hosts Highridge Singers of Moose Factory. Mariette Sutherland and Tim McGregor were the head danc-ers, joined by youth lead danc-ers Tasheena Sarazin and Gordon Hookimaw, child lead dancers Miyopin Cheecho and Little Bear Babin, and two-time World Hoop Champion Lisa Odjig.

Above: Darren Nakogee singing. Below Georgia Mianskum (left) and Dot Beaucage-Kennedy (right).

Above, Nancy Corston.Photos by Lindsay Sarazin/Special to Wawatay News

Documents

April 11, 2013 Volume 40 Number 14