May 3, 2012

Making youth voices heard

Photo by Brent Wesley/Sioux Lookout First Nation Health AuthorityWab Kinew, host of CBC’s documentary 8th Fire, performed and spoke to youth during the Pelican Falls youth confer-ence in Sioux Lookout from April 26-28. See story and more photos from the conference on page 15.

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Huge fuel cache near Sachigo Lake finally getting cleanedPAGE 3

Indigenous foods feed the worldPAGES 10-11

May 3, 2012Vol. 39 No. 10

Geese return north, but warm spring has them scatteredPAGES 8-9

Lenny CarpenterWawatay News

Members of the MoCreebec Coun-cil of the Cree Nation and First Nations leaders are mourning the loss of a chief described as a well-respected and dedi-cated leader.

MoCreebec Council of the Cree Nation Chief Randy Kapashesit, 51, died of a massive heartattack on April 25 while visiting family in Minneapo-lis, MN. While what led to the heart attack has yet to be determined by a coroner, MoCreebec Chairman Allan Jolly said that Kapashesit had previ-ously been diagnosed with a throm-botic disorder and required blood thin-ner medication.

Kapashesit’s path to becoming chief began when he was a York University student studying political science. At the time, MoCreebec was a young organization led by Jolly.

“He made the initial contact with me, and he expressed interest and wanted to be involved with MoCreebec,” Jolly said.

Members of MoCreebec trace their ancestry to the people along the east coast of James Bay in Quebec. How-ever, they were not signatories to Treaty 9 and do not receive any gov-ernmental funding.

In 1980 Jolly formed MoCreebec to represent the interests of its members, but he had no political background and needed someone with a greater understanding of politics to help guide the organization.

Nation mourns MoCreebec Chief’s passing

“When (Kapashesit) told me he was a political science major, I said ‘You’re just the kind of guy we’re looking for,’” Jolly said.

In a tribute to Kapashesit on the MoCreebec website, Jolly wrote: “It wasn’t long after joining MoCreebec that his peers/colleagues noticed his intelligence, his ability to express and articulate ideas, his skill to under-stand aboriginal issues of the day and to formulate strategies in how best to approach in dealing with those issues especially as it concerned MoCreebec.”

Upon graduating in 1986, Kapashesit joined the organization full-time and used his education, intelligence, and perseverance to help guide MoCreebec politically and economically, Jolly said.

Kapashesit was instrumental in drafting the constitution that would form the basis of how MoCreebec Council of the Cree Nation would operate and function as a political organization, which was based on the cultural history, traditions, values and beliefs as central in the politi-cal, social and economic life of the MoCreebec people.

When the constitution was signed in 1993, Jolly recommended that Kapash-esit be chief, a position he would hold for 25 years until his passing.

As chief, Jolly said, Kapashesit helped in advancing the profile and plight of the MoCreebec people at the local, regional, national, international levels.

See Community on page 7

ᕑᐃᐠ ᑲᕑᐃᐠᐊᐧᐊᐧᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐃᐧᓇᐣ

ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᐱᔦᕑ ᒪᐧᕑᓱ ᑭᑲᑫᐧᑌᐧᐸᐣ ᑭᐡᐱᐣ ᒥᓇᐧᐊ ᒋᑭᐊᔭᒪᑲᑭᐸᐣ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᐣ ᐃᒪ ᐅᑎᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ.

“ᑭᔭᐱᐨ ᐃᑐᐠ ᑭᓄᔐᑐᐠ ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒪᐧᕑᓱ , ᒥᐊᑯ ᐁᔑᒋᑫᐸᐣ ᑲᐯᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲ ᐁᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐸᐣ ᐊᑯᓇᐠ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ 1980 ᑲᐱᒥᔭᑭᐊᐧᓂᐠ . “ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᓂᒥᓴᐁᐧᐣᑕᒥᐣ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᐅᐁᐧ ᒋᑭᒪᒋᒋᑲᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᑫᐃᐧᓇᐊᐧ ᑭᑐᐡᑲᑎᓯᒥᓇᓂᐠ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᒋᑭᐃᔑᒋᑫᐊᐧᐸᐣ.”

ᒪᐧᕑᓱ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐅᐁᐧ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᐳᓂᒋᑲᑌᐸᐣ ᐅᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᐱ 198- ᑲᐱᑭᔭᑭᐊᐧᓂᐠ ᐁᑲ ᐊᐱᐣ ᐊᐊᐧᔑᒣ ᑲᑭᐸᑭᑎᓇᑲᓄᐸᐣ ᔓᓂᔭ ᑫᐅᐣᒋ ᑎᐸᐦᐃᑲᑌᑭᐣ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᐣ ᒥᓇ ᐳᓯᑕᓱᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᐃᓇᑭᐣᑌᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐁᑲ ᑲᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᓇᐱᐨ ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᐃᓇᑭᓱᐨ ᑭᓄᔐ.

ᐊᐧᐃᔦᑲᒪ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᐣᑕᑦ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᒋᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ

“ᐅᓴᑦ ᑲᔦ ᒥᔑᓇᐧ ᑭᐊᔭᓂᑫ ᒪᒪᒋᓂᔕᐊᐧᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᒪᐧᔦ ᐊᓂᑕᑯᐃᐧᓂᑕᐧ ᒪᔭᑦ ᑲᑭᐃᔑᐃᐧᓂᑕᐧ ᑭᓄᔐᐠ ᒥᑕᐡ ᐁᑲ ᓇᐱᐨ ᑲᑭᐅᒋ ᑭᐁᐧᐱᒋᑫᔭᐣᐠ ,”ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒪᐧᕑᓱ . “ᒥᐱᑯ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᐃᐧᑲ

ᑭᑭᐅᒋ ᑌᐱᐅᐣᑕᒋᐦᐃᑎᓱᓯᐣ . ᐊᐱ ᑲᑭ ᑭᐡᑭᓂᑲᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᐅᐁᐧ , ᒥᔑᐣ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᐅᑭᔭᓂᐳᓂᑐᓇᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐅᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ.”

ᒪᐧᕑᓱ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐊᑎᐟ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᓄᒪᑫ ᐅᑭᒥᒋᒥᓇᓇᐊᐧ ᐅᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ, ᔕᑯᐨ

ᐱᓂᐡ ᓇᓇᑫ ᐊᐱᐣ ᑭᔭᓂᐳᓂᒋᑫᐊᐧᐠ.“ᑭᐃᔑᓇᑕᐁᐧᐣᑕᑲᐧᐣ ᒋᑎᐱᑲᒋᑎᓇᑕᐧ

ᑭᓄᔐᐠ ᒥᓂᑯᐠ ᑫᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᑭᐁᐧᐱᒋᑫᔭᐣ,” ᒪᐧᕑᓱ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ.

ᒪᐧᕑᓱ ᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᓇᑕᐁᐧᐣᑕᐠ ᐯᔑᑲᐧᐣ ᒋᐃᔑᑭᐁᐧ ᒪᒋᒋᑲᑌᓂᐠ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ ᑲᑭᐱᔑᐱᒧᒋᑲᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᐣ, ᐯᑭᐡ ᐁᑭᐅᒋᐃᐧᐣᑕᐠ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᑭ ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᑯᐨ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᑲᑭᐱᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐧᐨ.

“ᐣᑭᐸᐸᒥ ᐸᑭᑕᐁᐧᓇᐸᐣ ᐅᒪ ᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᓀᓴᐣ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐣᑭᓴᑭᑐᐣ ᐅᐁᐧ ᐁᑐᑕᒪᐣ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒪᐧᕑᓱ.

ᓫᐃᐳᕑᐊᕑ ᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᓇᑲᐣ ᑫᕑᐅᓫᐃᐣ ᐯᓂᐟ ᐅᑐᐣᒋᐃᐧᒋᐦᐊᐣ ᑲᐃᔑ ᐸᑯᓭᓂᒧᓂᐨ ᒪᐧᕑᓱᐊᐧᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᐱ ᓂᑭᑯᐱᓯᑦ 5 ᑲᑭ ᑭᐅᑭᐸᐣ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐊᔑᐨ ᑭᒋᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᐢᑕᐣ ᐯᕑᑎ ᒥᓇ ᐱᑯ ᐸᐸᑲᐣ ᑲᑭᐅᐣᒋᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑎᐸᒋᒧᐠ.

“ᐣᑕᒥᓀᐧᑕᒥᐣ ᒋᑭᐊᔭᐊᐧᑭᑕᐧᐸᐣ ᑭᑭᓄᔐᒥᐊᐧ ᔕᐊᐧᓄᐠ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᐯᓂᐟ.

ᐯᕑᑎ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᓇᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑕᑭᐅᐣᒋ

ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᑯᓇᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐅᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᑭᐡᐱᐣ ᑫᒋᐊᐧᐠ ᐃᔑᓂᔕᐦᐅᒥᑎᐸᐣ ᐅᑭᓄᔐᒥᐊᐧ ᒪᔭᑦ ᑲᐅᒋᐊᑕᐊᐧᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐧᑎ ᔕᐊᐧᓄᐠ ᑲᐊᔭᒪᑲᑭᐣ ᐃᐧᓯᓂᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐣ ᑐᑲᐣ ᑲᐊᔭᑭᐣ ᑭᒋᐅᑌᓇᐠ.

“ᐊᑎᑲ ᐁᐧᑎ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐯ ᒥᔑᐣ ᑲᐃᔑᐊᔭᑭᐣ ᐃᐧᓯᓂᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐣ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᑯ ᐅᓇᑕᐁᐧᓂᒪᐊᐧᐣ ᑭᓄᔐᐣ ᑲᐅᐡᑲᒋᑲᒋᑎᓂᑕᐧ ᑲᐸᑫᐧᔑᑲᓂᑭᔑᑲᓂᐠ,”ᐃᑭᑐ ᐯᕑᑎ , ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᐧᑎ ᑲᔦ ᑐᕑᐊᐣᑐ ᒥᓇ ᑲᐅᒋᐯᔓᓇᑲᐧᑭᐣ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐣ ᑭᒋᐅᑌᓇᐊᐧᐣ ᑲᐊᔭᑭᐣ ᑭᒋᒧᑯᒪᐣᐊᑭ ᒥᐦᐃᒪ ᑲᔦ ᑫᑭᐃᔑᐊᑕᐊᐧᓇᐊᐧᐸᐣ . ᐁᑲᐧ ᓄᑯᑦ ᐅᐁᐧ ᑭᓄᔐᐃᐧ ᐊᑕᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᒋᐊᔭᒪᑲᐠ ᐅᒪ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ , ᐯᕑᑎ ᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᐅᐸᑯᓭᐣᑕᐣ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐃᐧᒋᑐᐨ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪᐠ ᑲᐃᔑᐸᑯᓭᓂᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᔭᓂ ᑲᑫᐧᐊᑕᐊᐧᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᓄᔐᐣ.

ᐃᓇᐱᐣ ᐸᑭᑭᓂᑲᓂᐠ 6

Chief Pierre Morriseau of Weagamow talks to Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett.

Geese returnspring has thPAGES 8-9

9799999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999

1.877.492.7292 • www.wasaya.com

First Nations Youth Aviation Camp 2012Aviation Centre of Excellence - Thunder Bay, ON - July 23rd - 27th

For more information please contact Kerry Wabange at 807-474-2353or email [email protected]

2 Wawatay News MAY 3, 2012 ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

INSIDE WAWATAY NEWS THIS WEEK...ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᕑᐊᐣᑎ ᑲᐸᔐᓯᐟ ᑭᐃᐡᑲᐧᐱᒪᑎᓯ

ᕑᐊᐣᑎ ᑲᐸᔐᓯᐟ, ᑲᐅᑭᒪᑲᓂᐃᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᒧᑯᕑᐃᐯᐠ ᐅᒪᐡᑭᑯ ᐃᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᓂᑲᓂᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ, ᓭᓯᑯᐨ ᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᐃᐡᑲᐧᐱᒪᑎᓯ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᓂᑭᑯᐱᓯᑦ 25 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ.

ᐁᑲᐧ ᐃᒪ ᒧᑯᕑᐃᐯᐠ ᓂᑲᓂᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᑭᐱᐅᐣᒋ ᑎᐸᒋᒧᓇᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᐊᐱᐣ ᑲᑭᐃᐡᑲᐧᐱᒪᑎᓯᐨ, ᐁᑭ ᑭᐱᒋᑌᐦᐁᓭᐨ.

ᑲᐸᔐᓯᐟ ᑭᐱᐅᑭᒪᑲᓂᐃᐧ ᐃᒪ ᒧᑯᕑᐃᐯᐠ ᓂᑲᓂᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᓂᔑᑕᓇ ᓂᔭᓄᔕᑊ ᑕᓱᔭᑭ.

ᒧᑯᕑᐃᐯᐠ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᓀᐢ ᑲᐧᕑᐟ ᐱᑐᕑᐢ ᐅᑭᐃᓇᒋᒪᐣ ᐅᓄᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᓇᐣ ᑲᑲᐯᐦᐃ ᐁᑭᐱᒥᔭᓄᑭᑕᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑎᓂᓂᒪᐣ ᒋᑌᐱᓇᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᐧᐃᐧᓇᐣ, ᐁᑲᐧ ᐯᑭᐡ ᐅᑭᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᑕᐣ ᐁᓇᓇᑐᓇᐠ ᐊᓂᐣ ᑫᑭᔭᓂᔑ ᒥᓄᓭᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᒧᑯᕑᐃᐯᐠ ᑲᐅᒋᑎᐯᐣᑕᑯᓯᐊᐧᐨ.

ᑲᐸᔐᓯᐟ ᐅᐃᐧᔭᐤ ᑭᐱᑭᐁᐧᐃᐧᒋᑲᑌᓂ ᑲᑭᐱᐅᐣᒋᐨ ᒧᐢ ᐸᐠᑐᕑᐃ ᐃᒪ ᒋᑕᑕᔑ ᓇᐦᐃᓇᑲᓄᐃᐧᐨ . ᐁᑲᐧ ᐊᐱ ᒪᑯᐱᓯᑦ 3 ᐃᓇᑭᓱᐨ ᑕᐃᔑᓇᐦᐃᓂᑲᓄᐊᐧᐣ.

Chief Randy Kapashesit passes

Randy Kapashesit, chief of the MoCreebec Council of the Cree Nation, passed away unexpectedly on April 25.

The MoCreebec Council announced Kapashesit’s death, saying he had a massive heart attack.

Kapashesit had been chief of the MoCreebec Council for the past 25 years.

MoCreebec Deputy Grand Chief Gord Peters said Chief Kapash-esit led a “tireless struggle for his people to get recognition, while at the same time staying focused on achieving success in a better qual-ity of life for the people of MoCreebec.”

Kapashesit’s body was brought back to his home community of Moose Factory in preparation for burial. His funeral is planned for May 3.

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ᐯᔓᐨ ᐊᒋᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᑲᑕᓇᑌᐠ ᐱᒥᑌ ᑕᒐᑭᓯᑲᑌ

ᑫᑲᐟ ᓂᔑᑕᓇᑕᐃᐧ ᑕᓱᔭᑭ ᐊᔕ ᐅᑐᐣᒋᐱᒣᐧᐁᐧᒧᐦᐃᑯᓇᐊᐧ ᑫᑌᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᑲᐣ ᐃᒪ ᐯᔓᐨ ᐊᒋᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᒋᑭᓯᓂᑲᑌᐠ, ᐊᒥ ᑫᑲᐱ ᑲᑭᑌᐯᐧᑕᐃᐧᐣᑕᐧ ᒋᐱᑲᓯᓂᑲᑌᓂᐠ.

ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐅᑭᒪᐅᐣ ᐅᑭᐃᔑᐃᓂᔕᐦᐊᐣ ᐳᑕᐊᐧᓇᐱᑯᓂ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐅᑕᓄᑭᒪᑲᓇᐣ ᐃᒪ ᓫᐃᐣᒪᐣ ᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᑫᑌᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᑲᓂᐠ, 47 ᑭᓫᐊᒥᑐᕑᐢ ᓀᐣᑲᐱᐦᐊᓄᐠ ᓂᑲᑌ ᐃᓀᑫ ᐊᒋᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ , ᐁᑲᐧ ᑕᒐᑭᓯᑲᑌ ᐃᐁᐧ ᐱᒥᑌ ᑲᑭᐃᐡᑯᓇᒧᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐅᓇᓇᑕᐊᐧᓯᓂᐁᐧᐠ.

ᑭᐃᓀᒋᑲᑌ ᐃᒪ ᓇᐣᑕ 850,000 ᓫᐃᑐᕑᐢ ᑫᑌᐱᒥᑌ ᐁᑕᓇᑌᑫᐧᐣ ᐃᒪ ᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᑲᓂᐠ.

ᐊᔕ ᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᑌ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᓂᑭᑯᐱᓯᑦ 21 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᐨ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒋᑭᔑᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧᐣ ᒪᑯᐱᓯᑦ 21 ᐃᓇᑭᓱᐨ.

ᐊᒋᑯᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᑕᔾᑕᐢ ᑌᐟ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒥᐢᑕᐃ ᐅᐣᒋᓇᐣᑫᑕᒧᐠ ᐅᑕᓂᔑᓂᓂᒪᐣ ᐊᐱᐣ ᑲᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᑌᐠ ᐅᐁᐧ.

Fuel near Sachigo Lake getting burned off

After two decades of calling for an abandoned mine site near Sachigo Lake to be cleaned up, the work has finally begun.

The Ontario government has brought an incinerator and work crew to the Lingman Lake mine site, 47 kilometers west of Sachigo Lake, to start burning off the fuel that was left over from an old exploration company.

There is an estimated 850,000 litres of old fuel left at the site.Work started April 21 and is expected to end mid-May.

Page 3

ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᐠ ᐊᔕ ᑫᑲᐟ ᐅᑕᓂᑌᐱᓇᓇᐊᐧ ᒋᐱᐃᐧᓂᑎᓱᐊᐧᐨ

ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᐠ ᓀᔑᐣ ᑲᐃᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᐯᔑᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᐊᔕ ᐅᑕᓂᐯᔕᐧᐸᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᒋᑎᐱᓇᐁᐧ ᐱᒧᓂᑎᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐱᑯ ᒋᔭᓂᔕᐳᓇᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑐᓇᑯᓂᑫᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ.

ᐁᑲᐧ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᐅᑐᓇᑯᓂᑫᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᐅᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐱᒥᐃᐧᑐᓇᐊᐧ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᐃᐧ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧᓂ ᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᒋᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ, ᐃᐧᓇᐊᐧ ᒋᐅᓀᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᑫᐃᔑᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᔓᓂᔭᐃᐧᑭᒪᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᑲᐅᒋ ᒥᒋᒥᓂᑯᐊᐧᐨ.

ᐅᑯᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᑭᐱᒥᐊᔭᒥᐦᐊᐊᐧᐣ ᑲᓇᑕ ᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᐊᑯᓇᐠ 1995 ᑲᔭᑭᐊᐧᓂᐠ ᐃᐁᐧᓂ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᓂ ᐅᒋ.

Anishnabek Nation ready to pass constitution

The Anishinabek Nation is moving closer to self-governance as it gets sets to pass its own constitution.

The constitution will regulate education and governance issues, giving the Anishinabek Nation control over those aspects that are currently governed by the Indian Act.

The Anishinabek Nation has been negotiating with the federal government on education since 1995.

Page 7

ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᓇᐱᐨ ᐊᔭᓯᐊᐧᐠ ᓂᐦᑲᐠ ᓇᓀᐤ ᒉᒥᐢ ᐯ ᑭᒋᑲᒥᐠ

ᐅᓇᓇᑕᐁᐧᐣᒋᑫᐠ ᐃᑭᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᓂᑕ ᑕᔑᓇᓇᑕᐁᐧᒋᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᒉᒥᐢ ᐯ ᑭᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᐁᑲ ᓇᐱᐨ ᓄᑯᑦ ᑲᐊᔭᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᐁᐧ ᑲᓯᑲᐧᐠ.ᐁᐧᓴ ᐃᐧᐸᐨ ᑲᑭ ᑭᔕᐧᔭᐠ ᑲᔭᓂᓯᑲᐧᐠ ᐊᒥ ᐊᐱ ᑲᑭᔭᓂᑕᑯᔑᓄᐊᐧᐸᐣ

ᓂᐦᑲᐠ, ᐃᒪ ᐱᑯ ᓇᐣᑕ ᑲᔭᐱᑕᐊᐧᑭᓱᐨ ᒥᑭᓯᐃᐧᐱᓯᒧᐣ ᐊᔕ ᑲᑭᐊᐧᐸᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐁᐱᑕᑯᓭᐊᐧᐨ.ᒥᔑᐣ ᐅᓇᓇᑕᐁᐧᐣᒋᑫᐠ ᐅᑎᓀᐣᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᐁᐧᓴ ᐃᐧᐸᐨ ᑲᑭ ᑭᔓᔭᐊᐧᐠ

ᐅᑭᐊᐧᓇᐱᓂᑯᓇᐊᐧ ᓂᐦᑲᐠ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᑯ ᑲᓂᑕᐃᔑ ᐱᒪᐦᐊᒧᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᑲᔭᓂᓯᑲᐧᓂᐠ.ᐁᑲᐧ ᐃᒪ ᐊᐦᑭᐃᐧ ᓇᓇᑲᒋᒋᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᐅᒪ ᑲᓇᑕ ᐊᐦᑭᐠ ᑲᐅᒋ

ᓇᓇᑲᒋᐦᐃᑕᐧ ᓂᐦᑲᐠ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐊᐱ ᐃᐧᐸᐨ ᑲᑭᔓᐊᐧᔭᐠ ᐊᐣᑎ ᐱᑯ ᐊᐱᐣ ᐃᔕᐊᐧᐠ ᓂᐦᑲᐠ , ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᑕᐡ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐃᓀᐣᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᐁᑲ ᓇᐱᐨ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐊᔭᐊᐧᐨ.ᒥᐃᐧᓂᑯ ᑲᑭᐃᑭᑐᐨ ᒉᒥᐢ ᐯ ᑲᐃᔑᒪᐦᐊᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᓂᐦᑲᐠ ᐯᔑᑲᐧᐣ ᐃᑯ

ᐁᐱᒥᑕᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᑯᓇᐠ ᓂᔑᑕᓇ ᑕᓱᔭᑭᐠ.

Geese hard to find on James Bay coast

Hunters along the James Bay coast are reporting that geese num-bers appear to be down this year.

Unseasonably warm weather in early spring brought geese to the region much earlier than normal, with sightings reported as early as mid-March.

Many hunters believe the earlier thaw contributed to irregular goose migration patterns.

A goose expert with Environment Canada said warm springs often result in geese spreading out over a larger range than normal, making it seem as if the birds are fewer in number.

He said Jame Bay geese populations have remained stable over the past two decades.

Pages 8-9

ᐁᐧᐡᑲᐨ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᔑᔕᐠ ᑭᐱᓇᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᐧᓇᒪᐣᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ

ᐁᑲᐧ ᐃᒪ ᐊᐧᓇᒪᐣᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᑲᐃᐡᑯᓄᐦᐃᑕᐧ ᐸᑲᐣ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᑭᐊᐧᐸᑕᐦᐊᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ ᑲᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲᓂᐠ, ᐁᐧᑎ ᔕᐊᐧᓄᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐁᑭᐱᐅᐣᒋ ᐱᒋᓂᔕᐦᐊᒪᐃᐧᑕᐧ ᐁᐧᐡᑲᐨ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᔑᔑ ᐅᑲᓇᐣ ᑲᑕᔑ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᐦᐃᑕᐧ.

ᐁᑲᐧ ᑕᐡ ᐅᑭᒣᑕᐊᐧᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᐦᐊᐟᕑᐅᓴᐧᕑ ᑭᒋᐊᐧᐊᐧᐣ , ᒥᓇ ᐅᑭᐊᐧᐸᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᑭᒋᑭᓄᔐ ᑲᐃᔑᓂᐱᑌᑯᑫᓂᐨ ᐅᐃᐧᐱᑕᐣ , ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᒥᔑᐱᔓ ᐅᑭᒋᐃᐧᐱᑕᐣ.

ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᑭᐱᐊᐧᐸᑕᐦᐊᐊᐧᐠ ᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᐠ ᑫᑯᐣ ᑲᐅᒋᐊᐧᑲᐃᐧᒪᑲᑭᐣ . ᐃᐧᓇᐊᐧ ᑕᐡ ᐃᑯ ᐅᑭᐅᔑᑐᓇᐊᐧ ᐊᓂᓂᑯ ᒋᐃᔑᐊᐧᐊᐧᑲᐃᐧᒪᑲᓂᐠ ᑭᐊᐃᔑᒪᒋᐊᐧᐠ.

ᐃᒪ ᑲᐃᐡᑯᓄᑭᒪᐃᐧᐨ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᑭᒥᓀᐧᑕᑲᐧᐣ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᑲᑭᐃᔑ ᐊᐧᐸᑕᐦᐃᑕᐧ ᐅᑎᐡᑯᓂᐠ ᐸᑲᐣ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᐁᐧᑎ ᐃᐧᐣ ᔕᐊᐧᓄᐠ ᑲᐃᔑ ᐱᒥ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᐦᐃᑕᐧ ᐅᑎᐡᑯᓂᐠ.

Dinosaurs arrive in Wunnumin Lake

Students at Wunnumin Lake’s Lydia Lois Beardy Memorial School got a treat last week, as a program from southern Ontario brought dinosaur fossils to the school.

Students got to play with a fossilized Hadrosaur egg, see a real shark’s mouth, and touch the teeth of a sabre-toothed tiger.

The program also brought lessons on robotics to the school. Students got to make their own robots and program them to do different things.

The school’s principal said it was a good chance for the students to experience science lessons that students in the south take for granted.

Page 14

MoCreebec Chief Randy Kapashesit (top) passed away suddenly. Fuel left over from a 1980s exploration camp near Sachigo Lake is finally being cleaned up (middle left). Students in Wunnumin Lake got to learn all about dinosaurs like the allosaurus (mid right). And geese returned to the James Bay coast, although they were harder than usual to find.

Thank You, Airlines! For your fast, prompt delivery of Wawatay

News to our northern communities.

Wawatay News MAY 3, 2012 ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ 3

Rick GarrickWawatay News

The Sioux Lookout business-woman who started a survey asking for “our town back” says she is not racist.

“Everybody is so quick to jump on the bandwagon and call me racist,” said Nancy Roy, owner of Roy Lane. “But really, it has nothing to do with that; it has everything to do with mak-ing our community clean, safe, welcoming and a celebration of a 100 years.”

But a spokesperson with the Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee (SLARC) said the

petition put out by Roy touched a nerve because of the underly-ing racism in the community.

“When something explicit happens, it causes a lot of ten-sion to be brewed up,” said Brent Wesley, co-chair of SLARC. “Aboriginal people are sensitive to racism, because of the history and what we face on a daily basis, so when something happens that might not be well thought-out, or well crafted, people are going to interpret that the way they want to.”

Since Roy put out her sur-vey, there has been a lot of concern expressed throughout

Sioux Lookout that the sur-vey unfairly lumped all First Nations people in with the spe-cific incidents she cited.

But Roy said her goal with the survey was to bring up the issues with police and town council.

“It was basically a cry for help,” Roy said. “We have issues that need to be addressed and I would think the leaders would welcome some suggestions from the people that signed the (survey) sheet.”

Roy said she has donated coffee and applejacks to First Nation hockey tournaments, trained and employed First

Nation students in her coffee shop and donated a park bench in honour of former Indepen-dent First Nations Alliance director Grace Teskey.

“It’s not about racism at all,” Roy said. “It is about com-ing together to say this is not acceptable.”

Roy said about 70 people have signed the survey up to April 27.

The survey included a num-ber of issues Roy was concerned about, including a recent stab-bing on Front Street, an intoxi-cated person lying between two businesses, a break and enter at Roy Lane Suites and needles

and blood on the streets.“I don’t care if they are red,

yellow, green, blue,” Roy said. “My thing is everybody has a right to live in a peaceful and happy community. I don’t get it the way this has turned into a racism item here in our commu-nity. It has nothing to do with that.”

Wesley said people need to take a look at where the problems Roy brought up are derived from, such as the 60s scoop and residential school issues.

“We’re inviting people to offer their solutions and ideas, and share their concerns,” Wes-

ley said. “We’re going to take all those ideas and establish a com-munity plan to look at the wider issues, about racism in general. There are a lot of things that have happened in the commu-nity besides (the survey), and there are some people who are upset by it, who have taken offence to it.”

Wesley said the community needs to deal with the safety issue, but also with the issue of racism.

“We share this community and we live in this community, together,” Wesley said. “We have to engage in respectful dialogue.”

Survey raises racism concerns in Sioux Lookout

Shawn BellWawatay News

Last summer, a forest fire came within 13 kilometres of igniting a stash of almost one million litres of fuel just west of Sachigo Lake.

It was mostly a matter of luck that the community avoided the catastrophe it has been warning the provincial government about.

But while the fire had the community on edge, it may also have spurred the government to act on the issue of the old fuel, which Sachigo Lake has been pressing for cleanup for over two decades.

In February, Ontario’s Min-istry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) ordered work to begin on cleaning up the mine site and incinerating the old fuel leftover from an exploration camp in the 1980s.

The incineration work started on April 21, with all of the fuel expected to be burned by mid-May.

“At the present time, the com-munity is satisfied with what is being done,” said Sachigo Lake First Nation Chief Titus Tait. “We’ve been working for years to try and get that work done.”

Last week MNDM moved an incinerator to the site, 47 kms west of Sachigo Lake, and

started burning the fuel. As of April 26, Tait said he was told that over 130,000 litres of the estimated 850,000 litres at the site has been incinerated.

The fuel was brought to the site by Twin Lakes Gold Mines in the 1980s, for use in the compa-ny’s underground exploration of the Lingman Lake property.

Since the mining company left, Sachigo Lake First Nation has been pressing industry and government to deal with the hazard and clean up the site.

Tait said the community was concerned with the effect on the land, water and animals that leakage from the fuel tanks would have. Sachigo Lake was also worried each summer that a forest fire would ignite the fuel.

Fuel leakage from the tanks has been confirmed in a series of reports, including the first assessment of the site done in 1994 that found one of the tanks had a leaking valve.

A later assessment done for the Ontario government in 2006 determined that four of the fuel tanks showed visual signs of leakage.

One challenge for the gov-ernment when it came to cleanup was that the mining site was privately owned. The current site owner, Cool Min-erals of Timmins, was ordered by Ontario in 2005 to clean up

the site and close an uncapped, 500 foot-deep mine shaft, but it never complied.

According to a ministry spokesperson, under Ontario’s previous Mining Act the gov-ernment could not conduct any rehabilitation measures on pri-vately held sites “without first meeting all of the legislative requirements of the Mining Act.”

Ontario’s new Mining Act, however, gives the govern-

ment the power to clean up a site if there are health concerns or issues that could affect the safety of a community.

Under section 148(5) of the new Mining Act, Rick Bartolucci, minister of MNDM, ordered in February 2012 that the site be cleaned up immediately. The normal process of public consul-tation on the issue was vetoed in order to speed up the work and avoid potential health effects.

Tait said he has received assurances from the govern-ment that once the fuel is incin-erated, environmental monitor-ing of the site and surrounding area will take place to ensure the community is not left with long term environmental degra-dation due to the old mine site.

He said the community expects that the site will be remediated, as community members still use the area for

hunting and trapping.But even though cleanup has

begun, the way the issue has been handled over the past two decades still rankles in Sachigo Lake.

“Our point has always been that with mines built close to urban centres, owners are required to have closure plans in place before the mine opens,” Tait said. “That’s for the health and safety of the community. In this case the owner has been given so much time to come up with a closure plan, and that’s not right.”

According to the minister’s directions posted to Ontario’s Environmental Registry, work on the site will include the incineration of approximately 843,000 litres of old, unusable fuel, treatment of the remaining oily water, removal of remain-ing sludges, and ensuring that the tanks are left in clean and ventilated state. The fuel incin-eration is expected to be fin-ished by May 12.

While the work continues, Sachigo Lake will send a moni-tor from the community once per week.

Tait said that so far the com-munity has not noticed any smoke or emissions from the incineration work, even with winds blowing from the north-west during the week.


It was a moving, emotional tribute to the strength of women, the support of a com-munity and the power of heal-ing.

Now Adrienne Fox’s fea-ture series on the struggle of women in Kitchenuhmaykoo-sib Inninuwug to recover from prescription drug addiction has won a national newspaper award.

Fox’s three-part series, Reclaiming Life, which ran in Wawatay in February and March 2011, was recognized as the best feature series in its class at the 2012 Cana-dian Community Newspapers Awards.

“I think all the credit needs to go to the women who were willing to share their stories with me,” Fox said. “I really

admire them for their open-ness, and for being strong in their struggle to kick the addic-tion.”

The issue of prescription drug addiction resonated with Fox, who understands the deep impact that the drugs are hav-ing on the communities of northwestern Ontario.

“The epidemic of addiction to oxycontin touches every-body in northwestern Ontario on some level,” Fox said. “I’ve got family members addicted to the drug, and I really feel sorry for anyone struggling with the addiction.”

Since Fox’s stories ran, the issue of prescription drug addiction in northwestern Ontario has finally started to receive the national attention it warrants.

But the former reporter, editor and news director of Wawatay noted that the paper

has an advantage over other media sources when it comes to reporting on challenging stories such as Reclaiming Life, because of the sense of own-ership that communities have with Wawatay.

“Wawatay really has a deep connection to the communi-ties, because there’s a level of trust that has been built over so many years,” Fox said.

Wawatay’s former news director Brent Wesley was also nominated for a national award. Wesley won second place in the Best Feature Photo category for his front-page photo of Lyle Fox on crutches, walking down an empty stretch of highway during last sum-mer’s Penasi Walk Against Pre-scription Drug Abuse.

“I’m honoured just to be recognized as a finalist,” Wes-ley said. “It’s a huge challenge to get national recognition at

these awards, so placing sec-ond is a great accomplishment that I’m proud of.”

Wawatay CEO David Neegan said the awards go to show that Wawatay News is one of the top community newspa-pers in Canada.

“I would first like to con-gratulate Adrienne Fox on the award-winning series,” Neegan said. “Adrienne is a gifted writer with immense talent of whom I have come to respect and admire.”

“Over the years Wawatay News has received numer-ous awards, which illustrates the consistent quality of the paper,” Neegan added. “It is important that Wawatay Native Communications Soci-ety provide the best possible service to the communities. Wawatay News is your newspa-per and we should all be proud of this achievement.”

Reclaiming Life named best feature series in Canada

Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice since 1974

March 3, 2011 SECTION B

‘I am Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’

Reclaiming life – Part IIIIn the final part of this three-part series, meet the frontline workers who are fighting for the lives of addicts in one remote northern Ontario community.

I lost my son through homicide.”Genosa Sainnawap’s voice wavers. “Somebody came and took my son.”Sainnawap’s son was murdered 12 years

ago. He was 18. He was also her only son. The pain is still fresh. You can see it in her

eyes. It’s also the driving force behind her need to help members of her community

(NNADAP) worker.It’s that role that gave Sainnawap a front

row seat to the quick invasion of oxycondone addiction.

During her second year as the NNADAP worker Sainnawap began seeing a change in her clients.

“I sensed the people were

of pain. But Sainnawap’s clients had found another use for it.

Starr Nanokeesic-Sainnawap is a 33-year-old mother still struggling to rid herself of her addiction to oxycodone.

“I remember it clearly,” she says of her first oxy high.

“I was just starting my snorting at that

babies being born.VanEvery says clinic staff would have up

to 25 prenatal visits each month. Those visits have dwindled to as low as eight per month. She says more women are either miscarrying or aborting their pregnancies.

It’s a ‘damned if you do and damned if you do’ scenario she explains

Story by Adrienne FoxPhotos by Brent Wesley

Joey McKay, KI health director

“

Incineration of massive fuel cache near Sachigo Lake finally begins

Sachigo Lake First Nation members inspect the Lingman Lake mine site, where nearly one million litres of fuel is stored in fuel tanks. The Ontario government has finally started dealing with the problem, moving an incinerator to the site and burning the fuel.

Wawatay file photo


Living In Two Realities

From the Wawatay archives

Wawatay News archivesBig Trout Lake sack race, 1982

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]

ART DIRECTORRoxann Shapwaykeesic, [email protected]

GRAPHIC DESIGNERMatthew [email protected]

SALES MANAGERJames [email protected]

CIRCULATIONAdelaide [email protected]

TRANSLATORVicky [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORSGrace WinterXavier KataquapitChris KornackiStephanie WesleySarah NelsonAdrienne FoxMarianne JonesPauline Littledeer

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

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Reconnecting with the land

Lenny Carpenter

REPORTER

I am so used to the hustle-and-bustle of the city that I forgot how calm and serene it is out in the bush.

It has been three years since I last went on the annual spring goose hunt, and since I was no longer tied to the financial and studious burdens that comes with post-secondary school-ing every April, I eagerly awaited going on the hunt this year with my dad and brother.

I was eager to escape my weekday routine in Thunder Bay: riding my bike as I navi-gate the traffic; sitting in my office, working the phones and writing; and the mundane tasks of buying groceries and paying the bills.

So when the day came when we boarded the char-tered helicopter that took us to our camp, I happily turned off my cellphone, closed my laptop, and unplugged myself from the world.

In the bush, I would wake up, drink tea, go to the blind and sit for a few hours. Maybe get some geese in the process. Then I would go back to camp, eat breakfast, drink tea, and head back out again.

There is something special about sitting in the blind. It is not only the anticipation of shooting geese, though that is always fun. But when you are out there, you are exposed to nature in all its beauty. From our blind, we have a fantastic view of the sunrise and sunset. The sun-set is especially magical, as the golden-red glow of the sun reflects on our pond and the decoys.

And you hear the wildlife all around. There is always the family of woodpeckers that peck to the north of our blind, and cranes frolic in the southeast. Small flocks of snowbirds are always fly-ing about, at times swarming around our blind. At night, we can hear the woop-woop-woop of a nighthawk to the east.

At times, the wind dies and birds quiet and you hear absolute silence except for the blood in your ears. Con-versations can be heard a hundred metres away.

I liked sitting at the blind alone, because it is a good time to reflect. I would sit and stare at the southern treeline – at times con-sciously looking out for geese, but usually I drifted off and thought about music, writing, and life in general.

Being out in the bush also makes life simple. Our camp is pretty isolated: 24 kilome-tres from town and the near-est grocery store or hospital. If there is an emergency, we can always walk the wet swampy trail back to town. Otherwise, we wait for the helicopter we pre-booked the day we arrived.

Being so far out from civilization, we are naturally away from the basic ameni-ties that we take for granted. There is no electricity or run-ning water. Each day we cut wood so that we may keep warm and cook our food. We collect snow to melt so that we may have drinking water. When nature calls, we have the outhouse.

All this is very humbling.I often think of this when

out here, think of how my ancestors adapted and sur-vived the bush and that it was only recent in history that the James Bay people gained access to houses, elec-tricity and running water. My own parents tell me of how it was in their youth growing up without these amenities.

There is history to this camp too. My mooshoom discovered this area with a friend while in pursuit of moose in March in the 1950s. By the 1970s, a ski-doo trail was cut and a cabin built, and my mooshoom, dad, uncles, cousins and friends hunted here over the years. My dad often tells my brother and I stories of back then as well other stories that only Cree people of the James Bay will appreciate and understand.

It was usually at night he told us these stories as we each lay in our beds, the fire crackling and candle glow-ing. If something special hap-pened, like the nighthawk wooping or if it started to rain, we would all lay quiet and listen. Especially when it rained. My dad always loves it when it rains at night. I’m gonna sleep good tonight, he always says as the rain softly pelts the plastic covering of our tent frame.

I take these things for granted sometimes. Admit-tedly, I was excited when we heard the helicopter approaching the day we returned back to town. It’s the urbanized me that missed the connectivity to the world in the Internet, cell phone and playoff hockey games.

As I got on the train and plane and slept in my bed the first night back in Thunder Bay, I realized how much I felt in tune with myself, my family and the land. And as I ventured back to work amid the traffic din and concrete landscape this morning, I realize how much I will miss it all and promise myself to appreciate it more next year.

I am proud to be a First Nation person. I am about as pure bred as an Aboriginal person can be in Canada as both my mother and father were born on the land in their traditional territories. Visibly, I look like a Native Canadian. I even have long hair and I keep it in a pony tail. I feel comfortable with my long hair as I have been growing it for the past 20 years.

I was born and raised more or less on the land in Attawapiskat and the James Bay coast. I still feel very close to the land and for the past 15 years, I am happy to have had the opportunity to share my culture and tradi-tions through my writing. I am also living in the modern world outside my traditional home. At times, I feel caught

in the middle. Some First Nation people

back home think I have for-gotten my roots and see me as not so Native anymore. Most non-Native people I meet in my travels don’t believe me when I tell them that I am a Canadian First Nation person. In other parts of the world, this becomes very strange for me. The fact that my first name is Xavier confuses people. It sets me up as being someone from South America as the name is common in places like Peru, Ecuador and Columbia. The fact that I have a long ponytail and my name sounds like it has Span-ish roots has actually caused me problems in immigra-tion points of entry in some countries. They look at the fact that my name is Spanish sounding, my long ponytail makes me look like someone from South America and of course I am not white. After much explaining and produc-ing all my documentation, I sufficiently convince border officials that I am in fact a First Nation person from Canada. At the same time, I always wander away with the

feeling that they don’t quite believe my story.

So, as I have pointed out, I feel as though I am in the middle of most people’s per-ception of who I should be. I feel very well grounded and good about myself and I can point to my sobriety for a large part of that. It also has a lot to do with my growing up on the land and being able to speak my language. I feel concern for so many young Native people just starting out as they must feel caught in the middle of two different realities and regretfully, most of them might not have dis-covered a life of sobriety yet.

Mostly, I am very happy with the support, encourage-ment and respect I get from Native and non-Native people when it comes to my writing and my sobriety. However, there are those First Nation people that think that I should be leading some kind of life that fits their view. There are also a lot of non-Native people I meet that often don’t agree with me when it comes to First Nation issues such as treaty rights and our history. As a matter

of fact, strangely enough, when someone really does take interest in me, more often than not it is because they want to jump on the Indian bandwagon somehow. I get a lot of requests from people who want to use my knowledge, experiences and uniqueness for their own ben-efit. In some circles anything having to do with Indians is current and popular.

I have to laugh to myself sometimes, when I recall that as a teenager, myself and most of my friends felt that being a Native was not something positive. Our expe-riences had convinced us that we were second-class citizens. Thankfully with the help of many good educators, the Friendship Centre program, Elders and traditional teach-ers, there has been a positive development and Native people are feeling stronger these days.

Perhaps I will always feel caught in the middle of two realities and I think that as long as I remember to be humble, grateful, cautious and sober, I can stay strong and choose the life I want.

Xavier Kataquapit

UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY

COMMENTARY


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You know that the Anishi-naabe population was once a victim of attempted-assimila-tion here in Canada, right? I won’t blame you if you didn’t know that. I didn’t know it for a very long time myself.

The history of Anishinaabe peoples of Canada was gener-ally left out of the lessons I learned in school when I was a young student. I had a vague and negative idea of what residential schools were thanks to the movie Where the Spirit Lives, but I was never taught or even told about the truly dark times that Anishinaabe people had lived through. The dark times were swept under the rug and repressed.

During my short time as a student of Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School (a private, all-native high school in Thunder Bay, ON), I was introduced to a different kind of education; I was educated on myself as an Ojicree woman.

I was educated on who I was, where I came from, what my family and their friends went through, what was lost, what was stolen, who was stolen, and why I grew up an empty shell of a person because I really had no cultural identity other than “hi, my name is Stephanie and Nirvana rocks!”

For all I knew, I was my Chuck Taylor sneakers.

But I was so much more than that, as all Anishinaabe people are.

We have a rich culture, we are very spiritual, we have a few languages still alive today (and they are written down now so they cannot be wiped out like so many other Anishi-naabe languages have been). Woodland art is often used

as a symbol of what Canada encompasses to the outside world (even if sometimes only for public relations purposes), and we Anishinaabe people are big in Russia – thanks Buffy Sainte-Marie.

But why are we still treated like second-class citizens in our home land?

Why after years of anti-racism speeches and workshops in grade school on up to university, years of recently re-educating students on who Anishinaabe people are and what has hap-pened regarding things like resi-dential school and segregation, are bigotries still alive and well? Has no one learned anything? Or is all that time spent in sensi-tivity-training lost the moment a person sees someone of a different race drunk in public? It seems attitudes about Anishi-naabe people don’t ever change; the racist undertones still exist.

I recall a time that a woman wrote a very short letter to the editor of her local newspaper in which she spoke of how three male First Nations youth were on her doorstep Halloween night. They told her they were dressed as convenience store robbers. She referred to it as “very disturbing.” That was the end of the letter.

So when a First Nations Elder wrote a response to the letter (where she said that the letter was inflammatory), the writer of the letter claimed she was simply spreading aware-ness of crime and it wasn’t intended to be racist. It was like she was backtracking and made it seem as if the Elder was play-ing the “racism card.”

This is something people will do to defend their prejudicial actions instead of just owning up to them; instead of admit-ting they have problems with a specific entity, they will accuse the members of the entity of “playing a card” when they are questioned about their obvious discriminatory and insensitive actions.

I question where the “rac-

ism card” will be ten years from now when my own child is growing up. Will he have to endure the same prejudices that my grandmother, my mother, and myself had to?

Will we Anishinaabe people have to keep holding onto that tiresome old card because prejudice won’t ever stop? Believe me; I am sick to death of that card.

After reading depressing, derogatory comments through social-media online each day regarding Anishinaabe people, I am starting to believe that we will have to keep fighting these stereotypes.

I think that if Canada did succeed in assimilating Anishi-naabe people all those years ago, that we would still be treated as second- class citizens today. No matter how many of us are working, going to school, obeying the law, living in town, and paying various taxes – we are still lumped into the same silly stereotypes.

I believe that we would all be white-washed and hollow inside had the cultural-geno-cide gone through.

But thank the good creator above, the assimilation failed.

Today we are not white-washed; we are a lovely tan colour (a colour that some people pay a lot of money to achieve through tanning beds).

We are not hollow inside; we have our hearts, children, souls and cultural-identity to keep us full.

And we are still here. Our population is booming. No mat-ter how many insensitive letters are written, or how many nasty comments are spewed from the mouths of ignorant people, we should continue to push forward. We will shatter those stereotypes and keep on prov-ing them wrong.

Our Anishinaabe ancestors suffered through so much for us, and we owe it to them and to our children to flourish regardless of what anyone says, thinks, or writes.

Hoping our children can have a racism-free futureStephanie Wesley

GUEST COLUMNIST

Re: Wabauskang mobilizes against Red Lake resource boom, April 12

Editor,It is important that the

quote made by Chief Cameron, Wabauskang First Nations is addressed and corrected.

Quote from Chief Cameron, “The list of companies operat-ing on Wabauskang territory without having consulted the First Nation includes major gold mining players such as Rubicon and Goldcorp, metal miners

such as Northern Iron and gas company Union Gas”.

28 July, 2010 Peter Arendt, President & CEO, Northern Iron Corp (NFE) sent an introduc-tory fax addressed to Chief Cameron.

17 August, 2010 Peter Arendt called and left a message for Chief Cameron.

31 August, 2011 Basil Botha, President & CEO, Northern Iron Corp sent an introductory fax to Chief Cameron.

7 October, 2011 Basil Botha sends fax addressed to Chief Cameron.

25 January, 2011 Rick Brown, Cameron Tymstra and Basil Botha meet with Chief Cameron and members.

27 March, 2012 Cameron Tymstra and Basil Botha meet with Wabauskang First Nations

Clearly the quote by Chief Cameron is out of context and disrespectful to the efforts that Northern Iron Corp has made towards the Wabauskang First Nations.

Submitted by Investor Rela-tions, Northern Iron Corp.

Northern Iron says Wabauskang chief inaccurate

January 13, 2012 2:47 PM


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ᐊᐧᐃᔦᑲᒪ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᐸᑯᓭᐣᑕᑦ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᒋᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣᐃᒪ ᐅᒋ ᐸᑭᑭᓂᑲᓂᐠ 1

“ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᐅᐣᒋ ᒋᑫᐣᑕᑲᐧᐣ ᐅᐁᐧ ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᐯᕑᑎ . “ᑭᐡᐱᐣ ᓇᓇᑲᒋᑐᔭᐣ ᐊᑕᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐊᑕᐧ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᑲᐃᔑᑎᐸᐦᐃᑲᑌᓂᐠ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ , ᒥᐃᑐᐠ ᐃᒪ ᑫᑭᐅᒋ ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᑯᐊᐧᐸᐣ.”

ᐁᑲᐧ ᐊᐧᐁᐧ ᐊᒥᑯᑭᒪ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧ ᒪᓯᓇᐦᐃᑲᓀᓴᐣ ᐊᔭᐊᐧᐣ.

“ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᑭᐱᐊᔭᓇᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧ ᒪᓯᓇᐦᐃᑲᓀᓴᐣ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒥᔐᓫ ᓄᐸᐠ , ᐊᒥᑯᑭᒪ ᐊᓄᑭᓇᑲᓂᑫᐧ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐊᓄᑲᑕᐠ ᐃᐧᐣᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᒥᓇ ᐊᑕᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂᐠ. “ᒧᐡᑭᓀᐱᐦᐃᑲᓇᐣ ᐊᔭᐊᐧᐣ ᐊᐃᐧᔭ ᓇᑕᐁᐧᐣᑕᐠ ᒪᓯᓇᐦᐃᑲᓀᓯᓂ ᐅᒪ ᒋᐱᑲᑫᐧᑌᐧᐨ ᐊᒥᑯᑭᒪᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ.”

ᐅᐁᐧ ᑭᓄᔐ ᐊᑕᐁᐧᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᐅᐡᑭ ᒪᒋᒋᑲᑌᐸᐣ 1969 ᑲᔭᑭᐊᐧᐠ ᒋᐊᑕᐊᐧᐊᓱᐊᐧᐨ , ᒋᐅᔑᐦᐃᑕᐧ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐊᐱᐣ ᒋᔭᓂ

ᐊᑕᐊᐧᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᑭᓇ ᑭᓄᔐᐠ ᑲᑭᑲᒋᑎᓂᑕᐧ ᒥᓯᐁᐧ ᑌᑎᐸᐦᐃ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᓀᐣᑲᐱᐦᐊᓄᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ, ᒪᓂᑐᐸ, ᓭᐢᑲᒋᐊᐧᐣ, ᐊᓫᐯᕑᑕ ᒥᓇ ᐸᑕᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ . ᐊᑯᓇᐠ ᐅᑕᓇᐠ ᑲᑭᔭᑭᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᐁᐧ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᐳᓂᒋᑲᑌ ᓭᐢᑲᒋᐊᐧᐣ ᒥᓇ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᑲᐅᐣᑎᓂᑕᐧᐸᐣ ᑭᓄᔐᐠ.

ᐊᓇᐃᐧᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᒥᑭᓯᐃᐧᐱᓯᑦ 29 ᑲᓇᑕ ᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᑭᐅᓂᐸᑭᑎᓇᐸᐣ ᔓᓂᔭᐣ ᑲᑭᐃᑭᑐᐸᐣ ᒋᐸᑭᑎᓇᐨ $33.5 ᒥᓫᐃᔭᐣ ᑕᓴᐧᐱᐠ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐃᐧᒋᒋᑲᑌᑭᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᓇᐣ, ᔕᑯᐨ ᐁᐧᑎ ᐱᑯ ᐅᓴᑦ ᑭᐃᔑᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᒋᑲᑌ ᓇᓀᐤ ᑭᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᑲᐊᔭᒪᑲᑭᐣ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐃᑭᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᒥᐠᒪ ᒥᓇ ᒪᓫᐃᓯᐟ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᐃᓂᑕᐧ ᓇᓀᑊ ᑭᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᑲᓇᑕ ᒥᓇ ᑯᐯᐠ ᑲᑭᐅᒋ ᐸᑭᑌᐡᑲᑯᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᒪᕑᔓ ᑲᑭᑎᐸᑯᓂᑎᐸᐣ ᐅᐸᑭᑕᐦᐃᐁᐧᐃᐣ ᐅᒋ ᓄᑯᑦ ᑲᐃᔑ ᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᓇᓀᐤ ᑭᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᐸᑭᑕᐦᐁᐃᐧᐣ.


Weagamow Chief Pierre Mor-riseau is calling for a renewal of commercial fishing opportunities in his community.

“The fish is still here,” said Morriseau, who worked six-to-seven days a week in the com-mercial fishing industry until the 1980s. “We’d like to see the industry start up again to get our young people back into it.”

Morriseau said the commer-cial fishing industry collapsed in his community in the late 1980s due to the cut of a commercial fishing subsidy for equipment and freight costs and a low return on the catch.

“That product is handled so many times before it gets to mar-ket that we got very little,” Morri-seau said. “You could never make your bread and butter. When they cut that subsidy off, most of the families had to stop.”

Morriseau said some of the fishermen were able to maintain the industry for a while, but as

Weagamow chief hopes for commercial fishing return

time went by more people kept dropping out.

“You needed a certain amount of tonnage in order to maintain the fishery for the plant,” Morri-seau said.

Morriseau wants the commer-cial fishing subsidy to be rein-stated, noting he felt fortunate to be involved in the industry.

“I was a commercial fisherman in all these little lakes and that was my passion,” Morriseau said.

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett encouraged Morriseau’s com-mercial fishing vision during her April 5 visit to Weagamow along with Grand Chief Stan Beardy and a group of national and local media.

“We would like to have your fish in the south,” Bennett said.

Beardy said the community could have a viable commercial fishery if they had the right to sell their fish directly to markets in the south such as high-end res-taurants in urban centres.

“A lot of restaurants in Thun-der Bay like to buy fresh fish for Fridays,” Beardy said, adding

that Toronto and other nearby cities in the United States could also be potential markets.

Now that the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation no lon-ger operates in Ontario, Beardy wants to work with Weagamow on possible markets for their fish.

“This is pretty exciting,” Beardy said. “If you look at the market and help your people to sell to the highest bidder, I think it would be quite feasible.”

A Ministry of Natural Resources spokeswoman said commercial fishing licences are available.

“North Caribou Lake First Nation has held commercial fish-ing licences in the past,” said Michelle Novak, communication and marketing specialist with the MNR. “Applications for commer-cial fishing licences are available by contacting the Ministry of Nat-ural Resources.”

The Freshwater Fish Mar-keting Corporation was estab-lished in 1969 to purchase, process and market all fresh-water fish caught for com-mercial sale in northwestern Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatch-ewan, Alberta and the North-west Territories. Over the past year, the Freshwater Fish Mar-keting Corporation has left the Saskatchewan and northwest-ern Ontario markets.

Although the March 29 fed-eral budget called for $33.5 mil-lion in spending to support First Nations commercial fishing, it is aimed at initiatives in the Pacific region under the Pacific Inte-grated Commercial Fishing Ini-tiative and for the Mik’maq and Maliseet First Nations in Atlantic Canada and Quebec affected by the Marshall decision under the Atlantic Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiatives.

Passing the time

Photo by Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

This young guy buries his head in a video game as he waits with his mom for a flight from Sioux Lookout to Kitchenuh-maykoosib Inninuwug.

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Community mourns passing of MoCreebec chiefContinued from page 1

Kapashesit is remem-bered as a tireless supporter of Aboriginal rights and the environment, as well as a promoter of indigenous eco-nomic sustainability. He was also chosen as the represen-tative for the United Nations North American Indigenous Caucus, serving on the plan-ning committee for the United Nations 2014 World Conference on Indigenous Peoples.

In describing Kapashesit, Jolly said “His demeanor was always one of being calm, cool and collected in all situ-ations. He never displayed an over-emotional reaction with anyone or to anything.”

The sudden death of Kapashesit came as surprise for everyone in the commu-nity.

“We’re shocked,” Jolly said. “It makes people feel bewildered as we try to fig-ure what happened.”

Jolly said they feel a tre-mendous loss and that a deep void has been left with his passing. “We just feel that MoCreebec has lost its good right arm with the passing of Randy,” he said.

Other First Nations leaders also felt the loss of Kapash-esit’s passing.

Mushkegowuk Grand Chief Stan Louttit offered his con-dolences to the community.

“The passing of (Kapash-esit) is a huge loss to the MoCreebec Nation and also for the Aboriginal people in North America,” Louttit said in a statement. “This huge sudden loss in our lives is being felt throughout the Mushkegowuk Nation.”

NAN Grand Chief Stan Beardy said he worked with Kapashesit on many issues over the years.

“It is a great loss to the community and for the First Nations at large,” he said in a statement “He was a well-respected and dedicated leader who accomplished a lot for his community partic-ularly in environmental and eco-tourism sectors. He has definitely left a legacy for

many of us to follow.”National Chief Shawn

A-in-chut Atleo of the Assem-bly of First Nations said that Kapashesit was vital in the efforts of First Nations across Canada and Indigenous Peo-ples globally to achieve rec-ognition and a better qual-ity of life for all Indigenous Peoples.

“While his passing is a shock and tremendous loss for the people of MoCreebec and the leadership circles he shared, Chief Kapashesit’s strong vision and dedicated efforts will carry on through the younger generations he helped lead,” Atleo said in a statement.

The body of Kapashesit is expected to be transported to Moose Factory on May 1 where funeral services will take place on May 3.

Randy Kapashesit had been MoCreebec chef for the past 25 years. His passing has left a “void” in the organization, says his close friend and colleague, and seen an outpouring of support from across Canada.


The Anishinabek Nation is moving towards self-gover-nance by preparing to adopt their Anishinaabe Chi-Naak-nigewin constitution this coming June.

The Anishinabek Nation is also close to education and governance agreements with the federal government.

“We have many historic moments approaching and we will not fail our people,” said Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee, who described the Anishinaabe Chi-Naaknige-

win as a stepping stone that will guide the Nation’s path to self-governance.

In addition, the Chiefs Committee on Governance said it is important for citi-zens to be aware of the edu-cation and governance agree-ments being negotiated with Canada, which are also build-ing blocks for Anishinabek First Nations self-governance.

“These agreements herald a new relationship with Canada and begin a gradual shift out of the education and election sections of the Indian Act and instead, provide a foundation to ensure that our children

will enjoy better success rates in school and improve the lives of our people,” Madahbee said. “What’s more, self-governance has proven its capacity to foster greater economic development opportunities and help create much needed jobs for our com-munities.”

The Chiefs Committee on Governance issued the mes-sage on April 18 to ensure Anishinabek citizens are con-fident in their leadership’s commitment and dedication to self-governance.

“The magnitude and the weight of this process are tre-mendous,” said Serpent River

Chief Isadore Day, chair of the Chiefs Committee on Gov-ernance. “The relationship that we are rebuilding with Canada is about partnership and improving the quality of life for Anishinabek, and that cannot be undervalued.”

The Anishinabek Nation has been negotiating with the federal government for the restoration of jurisdic-tion over education since 1995. During this time, First Nation education profession-als designed the Anishinabek Education System to meet the needs of First Nations and to help increase the success

rates of children in schools. Relationships were also estab-lished with Ontario and other education partners.

The Anishinabek Nation said it is ready to implement the Anishinabek Education System and is awaiting Cana-da’s response to its fiscal pro-

posal to complete the negotia-tion process.

“It is evident to our lead-ership that our Nation is capable of administrating our own education system and our own government – we’ve known this for a long time and now we are ready to make it happen,” Madahbee said.

The Anishinabek Nation’s main Governance Final Agreement is also near com-pletion and fiscal negotia-tions to finance the Anishina-bek Nation government and First Nations governments are underway.

Anishinabek Nation takes step towards self-governance“These agreements her-ald a new relationship with Canada and begin a gradual shift out of ... sections of the Indian Act.”

- Grand Council Chief Patrick

“His demeanor was always one of being calm, cool and col-lected in all situations. He never displayed an over-emotional reac-tion with anyone.”

- MoCreebec Chairman Allan Jolly

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On the trail of the geeseWawatay News reporter Lenny Carpenter went out on the goose hunt from April 14-22 at his family spring camp located about 24 kilometres west of Moosonee. It was the first time since moving to Thunder Bay for college three years ago that the 28-year-old was able to go on the hunt.

All photos by Lenny Carpenter unless otherwise indicated.

Top: Scanning the southern treeline for geese.

Above left: Wawatay News reporter Lenny Carpenter takes aim.

Bottom left: Decoys in the pond at sunset. Most of the decoys were made of wood by Morris Carpenter Sr. more than 15 years ago.

Right: Morris Carpenter Jr. and Sr. arrive at the blind for the morning hunt.

photo by Richard Carpenter

photo by Morris Carpenter Jr.

ABOVE: Morris Carpenter Jr. roasts a hot dog. UPPER LEFT: Two whooping cranes in flight. MIDDLE AND BOTTOM LEFT: Lenny Carpenter plucks a goose and cooks it. BELOW: The Carpenter camp at twilight.




Unusual weather likely causes off-year for James Bay coast goose huntersLenny CarpenterWawatay News

Many goose hunters along the James Bay coast are reporting lower numbers of geese in their annual harvest this spring.

Ryan Solomon of Moosonee said that he and his father were setting up their spring camp and saw geese f lying that day.

“After that, they barely flew,” he said, resulting in the camp getting a smaller num-ber of geese than usual. Other hunters in the Moosonee-Moose Factory area said the same thing.

Fort Albany Chief Andrew Solomon said that some com-munity members also had lower goose numbers this year. A state of emergency and threat of f looding in late March did not help matters, as it delayed hunters from going to their camps, but Solomon said hunters still had trouble calling geese down to their blinds.

“What we found is that the geese went right through,” Solomon said.

Even hunters on Agamiski Island report lower goose numbers this year. The island, located off the shore of James Bay near Attawapiskat and

technically part of Nunavut, is the final destination for many geese and a place where hunt-ers harvest large numbers. Though hunters did harvest large numbers of geese this year compared to other areas along the coast, it is still low compared to previous years.

Typically, geese begin to appear in the James Bay region in early to mid-April, with mid-April being the prime hunting days. However, unseasonably warm weather in March brought goose sight-ings as early as mid-March as well as reduced snow and an early break up of rivers.

Many goose hunters believe the early spring thaw has con-tributed to the irregular goose flying patterns.

“Usually when geese see no snow or ice, they’ll f ly right through,” Solomon said, add-ing that they would fly at high altitudes and out of range of shotguns and goose calls. “They don’t even stop or turn around.”

Louis Bird, an Elder in Peawanuck, said that signs of the early goose f lights appeared in March.

“We knew this was going to be an extraordinary sea-son when there’s thunder in March,” the 79-year-old said. “When that happens, the

spring will last a long time.”The early spring brings

with it the migratory birds, Bird said, and the geese will f ly high and far distances if there is not much snow. After the initial week or so of warm weather, it is common that winter-like conditions returns and geese may fly back south temporarily before f lying north again, Bird said.

“They don’t like to eat fro-zen moss, so they go back to where it’s warmer,” Bird said.

Bird said that this unusual weather is not all that uncom-mon.

“It happens all the time, even in the old days,” he said.

There is a record, he said, that this happened in the region as far back as 1876.

Bird speculated on what caused this year’s unusual weather and early goose flights.

“It partially may be climate change, but there’s also solar f lares that hit Earth (in early March),” Bird said. “It may have disoriented the geese because they sense a distur-bance.”

Bird does not believe the unusually warm weather and irregular goose f lights will happen again next year.

“It should go back to nor-mal,” he said.


A Canada goose expert says the small number of geese seen by hunters on the James Bay coast this year is not due to a population decrease, but rather to the warm winter seen across the North.

Jack Hughes, a water-fowl biologist with Environ-ment Canada, says that the warm winter on the coast has resulted in less snow and ice cover on the bird’s breed-ing grounds than what is normally seen. Because of that the geese have dispersed over a much wider geographical range than nor-mal, making them harder for hunters to spot.

“If they arrive in southern James Bay and its been cold with lots of snow and ice, the birds tend to build up in cer-tain areas and people seeing them will say, oh there are lots of geese around,” Hughes said. “But in other years when things have been mild and are thawed out before the geese get there, the geese tend to disperse all across the breed-ing grounds along the coast and inland of James Bay.”

“It doesn’t mean the geese aren’t there, it just means

they weren’t forced to build up in any areas,” he added. “So you would never see them in large numbers in any one area in a year like this.”

Hughes said that the popu-lation of the James Bay geese has remained stable over the past 15 to 20 years.

The Canadian Wildlife Service, in partnership with Ontario Ministry of Natu-ral Resources, does a geese population survey once per year on the nesting grounds.

Hughes said it usually happens in m i d - M a y , once the birds have built nests and settled down in the North.

H u g h e s said the birds tend to return to the same spot to nest year after year.

He also said that as more geese overwinter in south-ern Ontario each year, rather than heading further south, there may be a second influx of geese on the James Bay coast later in the spring.

The number of birds that nest in southern Ontario are increasing, and they might show up in southern James Bay later, in June,” Hughes said. “But they shouldn’t have an impact on the local nesting population of James Bay geese.”

James Bay geese disperse inland as snow and ice gone

James Bay Outdoors outfits coastal communitiesLenny CarpenterWawatay News

James Bay Outdoors is a sporting goods store that grew out of a need observed by a Moosonee resident.

Gordon Kataquapit of Moose Cree First Nation has been an avid hunter since he was 16 and saw a growing need for an out-doors store.

“I think there was a need of an outdoors store here, and we didn’t have anything here really,” the 54-year-old said. Though there was a store that offered the basic hunting neces-sities, Kataquapit felt it was not enough.

“We needed more decoys, ammunition, tents, tarps, and clothing. Things like that.”

It was then that Kataquapit began to come up with a new outdoors store that offered more hunting supply options for hunters in the James Bay area.

He began to draft a business plan, which took two years to complete a rough draft. Using a grant provided by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Kataquapit hired a consultant to polish his business plan. With his final draft in place, he was able to receive a grant from Moose Cree First Nation as well as acquire a business loan from Wakenagun Community Future Development Corporation.

Then in July 2004 - about 10 years after Kataquapit got the idea for a store - James Bay Outdoors held its grand open-ing. Like most businesses, it had

modest beginnings. The initial location of the store was 200 square-feet with enough room for one shelf. A year later, they moved into a larger location, followed by another location two years later before settling into their current space of 1,200 square-feet.

“It was tough,” Kataquapit said of those early years. “We were not really out there yet. No one knew about us.”

But Kataquapit and his busi-ness partners persevered by putting up signs and flyers, and the name spread by word-of-mouth.

Now James Bay Outdoors has regular customers locally and from up the coast, with cus-tomers often requesting special orders.

Kataquapit said business nowadays is somewhat steady compared to previous years.

“It has in ups and downs for certain times of the year,” he said. “Right now, it’s good. December to April is really good, because it’s goose hunt-ing season.”

Business slows in the sum-mertime, when the story offers fishing tackle, rods and worms. It picks up again in the fall for moose hunting, as well as goose and duck hunting.

“It’s a cycle,” Kataquapit said.

The best selling products are ammunition, guns and decoys.

“There’s always people looking for different or bet-ter decoys,” he said. Each year, Kataquapit orders a new model of decoys. This year, the Big Foot goose decoys proved to be a big seller.

“They sell very good and work well in the field, because they look so real,” Kataqua-pit said. “You gotta trick those

geese so they come in close.”Another product that

Kataquapit tries to provide is camouflage wear.

“Canada doesn’t have as much camouflage wear as Americans do,” he said. “So we have a variety of coats and par-kas.”

Running a business is hard work, Kataquapit said, but it is not something new to him.

When he was in Grade 8, Kataquapit dropped out of school to work at Butcher Fuels in Moosonee. But when he was 34, he realized the impor-tance of education and took an upgrading course at Canadore College in North Bay to gain his high school diploma. He then took an aviation program that enabled him to fly fixed-wing aircraft. He is also trained as a heavy-equipment operator and mechanic, and worked in the trade for 10 years prior to open-ing the store,

Kataquapit continues to make traditional hunting a big part of his life.

“I enjoy hunting in the spring, moose hunting in the fall, and snow goose hunting,” he said. “There’s always wild meat in the freezer.”

Kataquapit said he takes pride in providing hunting equipment to fellow hunters and plan on expanding his ser-vices.

“We were thinking of upgrading to workwear for the working people in town,” he said. “We hope we can continue to grow.”

Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay NewsGordon Kataquapit of Moose Cree First Nation saw a need for an outdoors store in the James Bay area. Ten years later, he opened James Bay Outdoors in Moosonee and offered a variety of hunting equipment, including guns, ammunition, camouflage wear and decoys.

Many hunters along the James Bay coast said that there are not as many geese this year compared to previous years.

“It doesn’t mean the geese aren’t there, it just means they weren’t forced to build up in any areas.”

- Jack Hughes



Although the three sisters, corn, beans and squash, are commonly known as First Nation foods, most people do not realize most of their diet is comprised of First Nation food.

For instance, the turkey, potatoes, squashes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, tomatoes, bell peppers, cran-berries and pumpkin pies served at Thanksgiving all originate in the Americas.

“Most people do not real-ize tomatoes came from this side of the ocean,” said John Croutch, an Aboriginal chef from the Toronto area. “People equate it with Italian food — tomato sauce. Pota-toes are from South America; they are not an Irish food.”

Wild turkeys can still be found throughout North America and people in the Andes were cultivating about 3,000 varieties of potatoes when the Spanish arrived.

“The people who came on the Mayflower hadn’t known there were turkeys here so they bought turkeys in Spain, which the Spanish of course

First Nations brought over (to Europe from the Americas), and brought them over on the Mayf lower hoping to breed them here in Massachusetts,” said John Boran, a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto.

“Of course, they were greatly surprised when they found out they were already here.”

Sweet potatoes are native to Mexico, as are tomatoes, varieties of which are also found in the Andes. Green, red, orange and yellow bell peppers are native to Mexico, Central America and north-ern South America and cran-berries and pumpkins are native to North America.

Squashes, corn and beans were planted together by the Iroquois to maintain mois-ture in the soil and promote transfer of nitrogen from the bean roots to the corn, which was domesticated about 7,000 years ago.

Indigenous foods often healthier

Croutch said information about indigenous foods is available in university jour-nals, including a 1927 report on about 200 plants used by the Ojibwa in the Minnesota and Wisconsin area by Fran-ces Densmore: How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts.

“Some of the journals actually show you the dif-ference in food quality,” Croutch said. “By eating wild game, you’re getting a much better quality meat. What-ever that animal is eating, that’s what you’re eating.”

Even our addictions are fueled by First Nations food, as both chocolate, made from the cacao bean, and tobacco are from the Americas.

“Recently I’ve started to drink Mayan chocolate,” Boran said. “They told me ‘don’t mix it with milk.’ The moment you mix it with milk, you negate all of the good things milk can do for you and all of the benefits of the chocolate.”

Boran said the Mayan chocolate drink is mixed with

water and aerated.“It’s the best chocolate

I’ve ever had in my life,” Boran said. “You don’t miss the sugar and the chocolate f lavour is so good and pure. It actually kind of ruined me

because now when I have other chocolate, it doesn’t taste like chocolate. All I taste is the sugar.”

Boran said the tobacco used today is a mix of two different varieties.

“The traditional tobacco is very strong,” Boran said. “You cannot inhale that. It’s to smoke to the creator, not to ingest.”

Many people who follow vegetarian diets use a variety of beans from the Americas, including kidney beans, navy beans, pinto beans and black beans, in combination with a grain to provide protein for their diet. Many also use the First Nation grains of quinoa and amaranth as substitutes to mainstream grains such as wheat.

Without First Nation foods, many dishes from around the world would be unrecognizable, including Indonesian satays, Indian curries and even spaghetti and pizza. Chili pepper, originally from Latin Amer-ica, provides the spicy f la-vour associated with Indian, Chinese, Southeast Asian and Ethiopian cuisine while tomato is commonly asso-ciated with spaghetti and pizza.

“I enjoy all kinds of food, but I found the hot (chili) peppers to be really benefi-cial,” Boran said. “I’ve heard East Indian and African peo-ple say these (chili peppers) are native African, and they aren’t — they’re native to the Americas.”

Boran said there is a lot of confusion about what foods come from where, especially foods from the Americas.

“When it ’s not (from the Americas), people seem to know where it ’s from, but if it originated in the Ameri-cas, there is a hesitancy to acknowledge that,” Boran said.

“When it’s not (from the Americas), people seem to know where it’s from, but if it originated in the Americas, there is a hesitancy to acknowledge that.”

- John Boran

INSPECTIONApproved Forest Management Plan Inspection Kenogami Forest (2011 – 2021) Forest Management Plan

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), GreenForest Management Inc. and the Geraldton Area Natural Resources Advisory Committee (GANRAC) would like to advise you that the 2011–2021 Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the Kenogami Forest has been approved by the MNR Regional Director and is available for inspection.

The Planning Process

The FMP takes approximately two years to complete. During this time, five formal opportunities for public and Aboriginal involvement are provided. The fourth opportunity (Stage 4) for this FMP occurred on November 16, 2011 to January 15, 2012 when the public was invited to review and comment on the draft FMP. This ‘Stage 5’ notice is to advise you that the MNR-approved FMP will be available for inspection for 30 days.

FMP Inspection – Final Opportunity

During the 30-day inspection period, you may make a written request to the Director, Environmental Assessment Approvals Branch, Ministry of the Environment for an individual environmental assessment of specific forest management activities in the FMP. A response to a request will normally be provided by the Director, Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch, Ministry of the Environment after the completion of the 30-day inspection period.

The MNR-approved FMP and summary are available for inspection during normal office hours for 30 days May 2, 2012 to June 1, 2012 at the following locations:

• GreenForestManagementInc.office,seelocation/contactinformation below

• MNRpublicwebsiteatontario.ca/forestplans. (The Ontario GovernmentInformationCentreinTorontoat774BayStreetandtheMNRTerraceBayofficeat1004Highway17bothprovidepublicInternetaccess.)

InterestedandaffectedpersonsandorganizationscanarrangeanappointmentwithMNRstaffattheappropriateMNRdistrict or area office to discuss the FMP.

For further information, please contact:

Charlotte Bourdignon RPF Deanna Hoffman RPF Toni Moroz and Louis GaronArea Forester – Kenogami Forest Plan Author GANRACMinistry of Natural Resources GreenForest Management Inc. c/o Ministry of Natural Resources208 Beamish Avenue West Birchcrest Road 208 Beamish Avenue WestP.O. Box 640 P.O. Box 188 P.O. Box 640Geraldton, ON P0T 1M0 Longlac, ON P0T 2A0 Geraldton, ON P0T 1M0tel: 807-854-1826 tel: 807-876-9554

The approved FMP will be available for the 10-year period of the FMP at the same locations listed above.

The Ministry of Natural Resources is collecting your personal information under the authority of the Crown Forest Sustainability 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. Your personal information may be used by the Ministry of Natural Resources to send you further information related to this forest management planning exercise.

Ifyouhavequestionsaboutuseofyourpersonalinformation,pleasecontact:

Peggy BluthNipigon District Plannertel: 807-854-1829

Renseignementsenfrançais:807-854-1030

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food feeds the world

Common fruits often from North America

Many of our common fruits are from the Ameri-cas, including the blueberry, strawberry, raspberry and blackberry. And America’s largest fruit, the creamy-f leshed paw paw, is credited with saving explorers Lewis and Clark from starvation.

“They (paw paws) taste like a mixed fruit drink,” Boran said. “When I have them, I just have this desire to cut them up and put them in a blender with ice cubes.”

Boran said they are oblong shaped and range in size from larger than a pear to almost football-sized.

“They can be different colours — they can be reddish tinged like apples,” Boran said. “The ones I’ve usually had are greenish, and when they’re ripe they’re just turning a tiny bit yellow. Inside the flesh is pale orange.”

Foods from the Americas have led to population booms in other parts of the world after they were introduced, such as casava (tapioca or manioc) and corn in Africa, peanuts in Africa and Asia and potatoes in Europe.

Experts want First Nations to ‘reclaim’ theirtraditional foods

“Napoleon could not have fed his army or had all of his wars without the potato,” Boran said. “That’s what they depended on; that made up his diet.”

Other foods from the Ameri-cas include maple syrup, avocado, asparagus, papaya, guava, pineapple, passion fruit, cashews, pecans, brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, vanilla, wild rice and allspice.

Croutch wants to see First Nations people eating more of their own foods in the future.

“Our foods have fed the world,” Croutch said. “Why aren’t they feeding us. We should be eating our foods in their rawest form.”

Croutch said the traditional knowledge of foods in Canada have been lost over time due to residential school and a loss of lands.

“You can dig up the roots of cattail and eat them just like a potato,” Croutch said. “We’ve lost so much, and I think it’s time we reclaimed that.”

Croutch said First Nations people never had a problem with diabetes prior to European contact.

“We’ve forgotten our ways, we’ve forgotten our stewardship of the land, we’ve forgotten our foods. We have to reclaim that.”

Connect with Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service

Stay up-to-date with News and Events

Like NAPS on Facebookfacebook.com/NAPSpolice

Follow NAPS on Twitter@NAPS_Police

#NAPSpolice

April 5, 2012 11:20 AM


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20120412 NAPS Social Media

THIS NOTICE HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE ONTARIO SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE

BE ADVISED that pursuant to a motion brought by Windigo First Nations Council and Nishnawbe Aski Nation before the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Chief Justice Winkler of the Superior Court of Justice has ordered Stirland Lake and Cristal Lake High Schools to be added to the list of “Indian Residential Schools” under the IRSS Agreement. As a result, former residents/students of either or both of these schools are eligible to apply for compensation in the form of a Common Experience Payment (CEP). As well, those former residents/students who suffered sexual and/or serious physical abuses, or other abuses that caused serious psychological effects, while at either of these high schools, may apply for additional compensation under the Independent Assessment Process (IAP).

All CEP applications relating to either of these schools must be filed on or before September 19, 2012. The IAP applications must be filed on or before September 19th, 2012.

If you already applied for the CEP with respect to either of Stirland Lake or Cristal Lake High Schools prior to November 16th, 2011, you must re-apply now.

This Notice extends only to applications relating to attendances at Stirland Lake High School and Cristal Lake High School. It does not alter the existing deadlines under the IRSS Agreement in place for other eligible Indian Residential Schools.

For more information on both processes, please call toll free, 1.866.879.4913, or go to www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca to read the Settlement Agreement and other Court approved notices, or write to Residential Schools Settlement, Suite 3-505, 133 Weber Street North, Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3G9. The IRS Crisis Line (1.866.925.4419) provides immediate and culturally appropriate counselling support to former students who are experiencing distress.

STIRLAND LAKE HIGH SCHOOL (ALSO KNOW AS WAHBON BAY ACADEMY) AND CRISTAL LAKE HIGH SCHOOL HAVE

BEEN ADDED TO SCHEDULE F OF THE INDIAN RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT (“IRSS AGREEMENT”)To all who attended Stirland Lake High School (also known as “Wahbon Bay

Academy”) and/or Cristal Lake High School in Northwestern Ontario

For more information call 1.866.879.4913 or visit:

www.residentialschoolsettlement.ca

April 18, 2012 2:36 PM


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20120426 Epiq Notice Stirland


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Thunder Bay grocers seek positive change through supplying healthy food to NorthMarianne Jones Special to Wawatay News

“What draws me to this busi-ness after more than 23 years is that I love serving people. As my brother and I lead this fam-ily business, we want to make a difference in this world,” says David Stezenko, co-owner along with his brother Dan of Thunder Bay’s Quality Market, an independent grocery store.

When David met with Grand Chief Stan Beardy of Nish-nawbe Aski Nation (NAN) three years ago and learned of the health problems in remote northern communities caused by poor nutrition due to the unavailability of fresh food, he wanted to do something.

“Diabetes has become part of the fabric of normal life. We’ve been told that in some of these communities, every second house has a wheelchair ramp. When you’re forty, you get insu-lin. When you’re fifty, you lose a leg. It’s tragic!” he says.

A major reason for the health problems in northern commu-nities is that nutritious foods

are often spoiled by the time they reach their destinations. Even when healthy foods arrive in acceptable conditions, prices are many times higher than in cities in the south. So when Stezenko learned that the gov-ernment was looking for south-ern food suppliers for its Nutri-tion North Canada initiative, launched in 2010, he wanted to be part of it.

“When you really start to get a picture about the living condi-tions, the eating conditions, the pricing and the lack of availabil-ity of fresh healthy food, your heart breaks,” Stezenko says. “This is the greatest nation in the world and yet we have third world conditions just a stone’s throw from one of our major cities. Why is it okay for us to let this continue?”

NAN called Quality Market in January 2011, inviting the store to apply to become one of the 33 southern suppliers for the new Nutrition North Canada Sub-sidy Program for remote First Nations. The Nutrition North Program replaced the old Food Mail Program that used Canada

Post to ship food to remote com-munities. Under the Nutrition North Program, food is shipped from specific suppliers directly to eligible communities.

When Quality Market applied to become one of the 33 South-ern Suppliers for the program, government officials expressed doubt about whether a small family business would be able to do the amount of work and reporting requirements involved.

They didn’t know the Stezen-kos. David and Dan’s work ethic and commitment to excellence have won them numerous awards. Most importantly, they had the trust of Grand Chief Beardy, who wrote “a compel-ling letter” to the government officials expressing his confi-dence in them.

“The letter reiterated that we were willing to put in the ton of work required, and that the malnutrition needs in the north were huge. Apparently that let-ter made all the difference in the world,” Stezenko says.

“We promised the Grand Chief that we would charge

the same prices that we do in Thunder Bay, plus a fee of 7-9% to cover the cost of preparing and packaging the food, and the cost of maintaining our sys-tem,” says Stezenko. “We made this commitment about pricing because there are so many com-panies that have taken advan-tage of people in the north. In many cases they charged high prices because they could.”

At this point, only commu-nities that used to participate in the old Food Mail program are fully eligible for NNC, as determined by the federal government. The fully eligible communities are Attawapis-kat, Bearkskin Lake, Big Trout Lake, Fort Albany, Peawanuck, Muskrat Dam, Kashechewan and Fort Severn. The subsidies are for healthy foods only and range from $2.60 per kilogram in Fort Severn to $1.30 in Bear-skin Lake.

Communities that partici-pated in the old program on a smaller scale are only partially eligible for the subsidy. These include Kasabonika, Kingfisher Lake, Pikangikum, Sachigo

Lake, Weagamow Lake and Wunnummin Lake. The subsidy for these communities is only five cents a kilogram on healthy foods. The hope is that as the program becomes more estab-lished, the government will eventually make it available to all northern communities.

To make ordering food easier for customers, Quality Market has launched Thunder Bay’s first online system, which is user-friendly, and can be used by individuals, businesses and community groups.

The True North Commu-nity Cooperative is the only other Nutrition North provider in Thunder Bay. True North, Quality Market and NAN have formed a collaborative relation-ship to bring healthy, fresh food to the north. Stezenko believes that the potential of this part-nership is enormous.

On a personal note, Stezenko expresses his gratitude about being a part of Nutrition North.

“We have the opportunity to be a piece of the puzzle that could help bring restored health to this nation,” he says.

We help build dreams. Your career included.As Canada’s most trusted source of comprehensive housing information, expertise, housing fi nance and affordable housing solutions, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada’s national housing agency since 1946. We are committed to helping Canadians access a wide variety of quality, environmentally sustainable and affordable homes, and to the success of the Canadian housing system at home and abroad.

CMHC’s Aboriginal Housing function works in close collaboration with First Nations, Aboriginal organizations, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and other key partners to offer programs, innovative fi nancing techniques, training tools and information to fi nd solutions to Aboriginal housing issues.

Advisor, Aboriginal HousingThis is an exciting opportunity to use your experience in developing relationships with First Nation and/or Aboriginal clients as well as your knowledge of residential building construction practices and building envelope technical theory. As the point person on Aboriginal Housing operational matters and policy, you will deliver and ensure the effective management of CMHC on-reserve housing projects for First Nations in Ontario.

For more information on this job opportunity, and to apply online, please visit www.cmhc.ca/careers

Location: Thunder Bay or TorontoSalary Range: $59,436 to $74,282Language Designation: English essentialCompetition: 3455Closing Date: May 13, 2012

In addition to a comprehensive benefi ts package and a competitive base salary, CMHC employees who meet their performance objectives are eligible for individual incentive and corporate awards.

CMHC is an employer that values diversity and encourages the learning and use of both Canada’s offi cial languages.

Nous aidons les gens à réaliser leurs rêves, y compris ceux de leur carrière.Source la plus fi able et la plus complète du pays en matière d’information et de savoir-faire dans le domaine de l’habitation et de solutions pour le fi nancement de l’habitation, la Société canadienne d’hypothèques et de logement (SCHL) est l’organisme national responsable de l’habitation au Canada depuis 1946. La SCHL veille à ce que les Canadiens aient accès à un large éventail de logements durables de qualité, à coût abordable, et elle contribue à la prospérité du secteur canadien de l’habitation au pays comme sur les marchés extérieurs.

L’équipe du logement des Autochtones de la SCHL travaille en étroite collaboration avec les Premières Nations, les organismes autochtones, Affaires indiennes et du Nord Canada et d’autres partenaires principaux afi n d’offrir des programmes, des techniques de fi nancement novatrices, des outils de formation et de l’information dans le but de trouver des solutions aux problèmes de logement des Autochtones.

Conseiller, Logement des AutochtonesVoici une occasion stimulante de metre à profi t votre expérience de l’établissement de relations avec des clients autochtones ou des Premières nations ainsi que votre connaissance des pratiques en construction résidentielle et de la théorie de la technique de l’enveloppe du bâtiment. Comme personne-ressource en ce qui a trait aux lignes de conduite et au fonctionnement en matière de logement des Autochtones, vous veillerez à l’application et à la gestion effi cace des programmes de logement de la SCHL dans les réserves des Premières nations de l’Ontario.

Pour obtenir de plus amples renseignements sur ce poste, et pour postuler en ligne, visitez le www.schl.ca/carrieres

Lieu de travail : Thunder Bay ou TorontoÉchelle salariale : 59 436 $ - 74 282 $Désignation linguistique : Anglais essentialConcours : 3455Date de clôture : le 13 mai 2012

En plus d’avoir droit à un régime complet d’avantages sociaux et à une rémunération de base concurrentielle, les employés de la SCHL sont admissibles à la prime de rendement individuelle et à la prime de la Société s’ils atteignent leurs objectifs de rendement.

La SCHL est un employeur qui accorde une grande importance à la diversité et favorise l’apprentissage et l’usage des deux langues offi cielles du Canada.

CMHC: My Choice. La SCHL : C’est mon choix.

We are currently accepting applications for the following full time positions:

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Account ManagerTimmins, ON

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Submit your resume, covering letter and written permission for NNEC to contact three employment references to Ron Angeconeb,

Personnel Offi cer at NNEC by Friday, May 11, 2012 by 4:00 p.m; by fax : (807) 582-3865; via mail: Box 1419, Sioux Lookout,

Ontario, P8T 1B9 or email [email protected]. For more information please contact the Director of the Secondary Student

Services Program, Larry Howes at (807) 623-8914 ext 234.

NORTHERN NISHNAWBEEDUCATION COUNCIL

NNEC is a non-profi t education organization that delivers secondary and post secondary education programs and services for First Nations people. NNEC operates Pelican Falls First Nations High School and Centre, Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School and Wahsa Distance Education Center. The organization maintains offi ces in Lac Seul (Head Offi ce), Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay. NNEC welcomes applications for the following casual position.

ON-CALL CASUAL STUDENT SUPPORT WORKERSIOUX LOOKOUT

Under the direction of the Thunder Bay Student Services Director or designate, the Casual Student Support Worker will provide support services to the students attending Queen Elizabeth High School and Dryden District High School. The On-Call Student Support Worker will provide evening and weekend answering service and crisis response service to the NNEC. To process these calls to the emergency and other services supporting NNEC secondary students. The On-Call Student Support Worker will offer an effi cient and helpful service to clients, members of the NNEC community and external organizations requesting information or advice and to be proactive in processing these enquiries through to resolution where practicable. The On-call Student Support Worker will have an understanding and sensitivity to First Nations culture and traditions. In addition they must also have excellent interpersonal, communication and organizational skills and be able to multi task effectively.

Qualifi cations:• Must be willing to work shift work, weekends on an on-call basis.• Minimum grade 12 diploma• Experience working with First Nation youth preferred• Must have a Class “G” drivers license and have access to a

reliable vehicle with insurance for transporting clients and must provide clean driver’s abstract.

• Must have First Aid with C.P.R. child and youth or willing to obtain• Fluency in one of the Sioux Lookout area dialects an asset but

not essential• Knowledge of urban environment of Sioux Lookout• Vulnerable Persons check mandatory

Remuneration: hourly rate, to commensurate with education and experience.

Only those persons selected for an interview will be contacted

Residential Counsellors are required for casual and part time positions. Team members will be responsible for carrying out daily programming, facilitating groups, case conferencing and supervision of clients.

QUALIFICATIONS• Child and Youth Worker diploma and/or related

discipline;• Experience working with youth in a residential treatment

setting;• Must have experience and understanding of Native

culture, and of the geographic realities and social conditions within remote First Nation Communities;

• Work experience in Residential Services with children, adolescents, and families.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY• A thorough understanding of the Child & Family Services

Act and Mental Health Act a defi nite asset;• Ability to communicate in one or more of the First

Nations dialects of the Sioux Lookout District will be an asset;

• Ability to take direction and facilitate individualized treatment plans;

• Must be willing to relocate if applicable.

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:

Human Resources DepartmentSioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

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

Phone: (807) 737-1802 Fax: (807) 737-2969Email: [email protected]

Closing Date: OPEN

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 AUTHORITY

RESIDENTIAL COUNSELLORInternal/External Posting

Casual/Part TimeLocation: Sioux Lookout, ON

EXPERIENCED POLICE OFFICER POSITIONS

The Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service is now offering the opportunity for experienced police offi cers to work in our remote northern First Nation communities. These positions will be available on a three (3) month contract-basis to assist in the front-line operations of our service. Retired offi cers are also invited to apply.

You must be willing to serve the Nishnawbe-Aski Nation Area. Detachment locations vary from large and small communities with road access to isolated settings that require fl y-in access. For full information on the communities we service and application forms, please visit our website at www.naps.ca.

ELIGIBILITY: General police duties within last 3 years; OPC graduate, RCMP graduate or equivalent; Valid CPR/First Aid Certifi cate

CLOSING DATE: Friday, May 25, 2012 at 16:00

Applications must be submitted to [email protected]. Please indicate “Experienced Offi cer Posting ID # 2012-10” in the subject line of your message.

Applications must be received by 4:00 pm, Friday, May 11, 2012 Fax your resume with written permission for NNEC to contact two employment references and a brief cover letter to Human Resources at NNEC Head Offi ce in Frenchman=s Head fax

(807)582-3865; mail to Box 1419, Sioux Lookout, Ontario P8T 1B9; or email [email protected]. For more information about the positions please contact the Director of the Secondary Student

Services Program, Larry Howes at (807) 623-8914 ext 234

NORTHERN NISHNAWBEEDUCATION COUNCIL

NNEC is a non-profi t educational organization under the direction of the Sioux Lookout District Chiefs; NNEC delivers secondary and post secondary education programs and services for First Nations people.NNEC operates Pelican Falls First Nations High School and Centre, Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School, Wahsa Distance Education Centre and has offi ces in Lac Seul (head offi ce), Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay. NNEC welcomes applications for the following position:

Prime Worker – Sioux Lookout, Ontario

The Prime Worker is responsible for the day to day intake assessment and referral of the NNEC students. The Prime Worker must be able to provide after hours on-call services and must be able to adapt to varying students situations and a wide range of responsibilities. The Prime Worker will report directly to the Director of the Secondary Student Services Program or designate.

The Prime Worker must be self motivated with excellent communication, interpersonal and organizational skills that can perform his or her duties profi ciently and effi ciently with minimal amount of supervision. The individual must be sensitive to First Nations culture and traditions.

Qualifi cations:• Diploma in social work, social service worker or related fi elds;• Minimum of two years experience working in a related fi eld or

with First Nations youth preferred;• Crisis Intervention Training an asset;• Must have Ontario Driver’s class “E” or willing to obtain;• First aid certifi cate with CPR;• Fluency in one of the Sioux Lookout District dialects an asset

but not essential must be committed to the advancement of First Nations people; and

• Must be self motivated, organized and able to work as a team member and independently

Hours: 35 hours per week fl ex schedule

Remuneration: hourly rate, to commensurate with education and experience.

NNEC requires a Vulnerable Person Check to be completed for all staff at time of hiring.

Only those persons selected for an interview will be contacted

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

MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELLOR (Youth Worker)Internal/External Posting

Term Full-Time (6 months)LOCATION: PIKANGIKUM

This term full time position reports to the Clinical Supervisor. The Mental Health Counsellor will be responsible for providing direct Clinical Intervention and Prevention Services to referred clients in the Child and Family Intervention catchment areas. The Mental Health Counsellor worker will be based out of the Sioux Lookout offi ce or Pikangikum, with considerable travel.

QUALIFICATIONS• Degree in Social Work/Psychology with relevant clinical/

counselling experience is preferred;• Minimum two years experience in the health services environment;• Specialized courses in specifi c areas of mental health;• Experience with video counselling technology an asset; • Travel is a requirement of the position.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY• Ability to communicate in one of the First Nations dialects of

the Sioux Lookout Zone is an asset;• Ability to manage a case load independently; • Familiarity with working in acute care situations; • Knowledge of community resources;• Knowledge of Microsoft Offi ce Professional Plus 2007.

Experience with a Client Database (e.g. CIMS), Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) & Brief Child and Family Phone Interview (BCFPI) an asset;

• Excellent time management and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work independently;

• Experience working with youth, a defi nite asset;• Education assistance and training available dependent

upon applicant’s qualifi cations and in accordance with SLFNHA Policies and Procedures.

• Must be willing to relocate is applicable.

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:

Human Resource DepartmentSioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

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

Phone: (807) 737-1802 Fax: (807) 737-2969Email: [email protected]

Closing Date: May 16, 2012

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

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

General ManagerWestern James Bay Telecom Network

The Western James Bay Telecom Network (WJBTN) is seeking a General Manager for the not-for profi t organization that provides telecommunications services including high-speed internet and data services via its new fi bre optic network to the First Nation communities of Attawapiskat, Kashechewan and Fort Albany and to interconnect with Moosonee and Moose Factory and the world. The head offi ce of the WJBTN is located at the Mushkegowuk Council administration centre in Moose Factory, ON

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the fulltime or contract General Manager is responsible for the effi cient management and operation of the WJBTN, the marketing of telecommunication services and the development and implementation of the strategic plan and operational budget.

Qualifi cations and Related Work Experience:• University degree or related Information and Communications Technology experience

• Fluent in English and working knowledge of Cree (speak, read, write)

• Minimum of fi ve years experience in the telecommunications industry

• Working knowledge and use of Internet and computer software including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.

• Effective presenter and speaker

Qualifi ed applicants are invited to submit your application along with three recent work references to:

Ms Jean Sayers, TreasurerWestern James Bay Telecom Network c/o Mushkegowuk CouncilP.O. Box 370, 12 Centre RoadMoose Factory ON P0L [email protected]: 705-658-4250

Applications must be received by 5:00 pm on May 11th, 2012.


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Linda’s Culture Corner

The structure is circular in shape, hence, the name “roundhouse.”

Several roundhouses have been built in Treaty #3 First Nations communities. They are majestic, and hold a lot of energy/power.

The Treaty #3 communi-ties that have them are Stan-jikoming, Onigaming, North-west Bay, Redgut, Seine River, Shoal Lake and Rat Portage.

The purpose of the round-house is to hold many func-tions, some sacred in the Anishinawbe world, others are not so sacred. The sacred cer-

emonies are as follows: Mide`, naming, seasonal feasts, heal-ing, and pow wows. More up to date events like weddings, workshops, chief and coun-cil meetings and also chiefs’ meetings can also take place in these buildings.

One of the main differences within this structure is the sacred items held within.

Often, items like pipes, birch bark scrolls, eagle staffs, eagle feathers, medicines and talk-ing sticks abound the place.

The structure can be any-where from 35 feet to 50 feet in diameter.

Roundhouses, traditional and modern

Pauline LittledeerSpecial to Wawatay News

From April 16-27, the stu-dents of Lydia Lois Beardy Memorial School experienced hands-on learning courtesy of an organization called Elephant Thoughts.

Facilitators Christine Carr and Ashley Green presented workshops varying from Dino-saurs to Robots, engaging stu-dents by bringing real fossils and robotics to the class.

The workshops included Dinosaurs, Rocks/Minerals, Robots and Electricity. The experience and learning pro-vided was truly ‘electrifying’.

The workshops are based on Ontario’s Science and Math-ematics curriculum, furthering their understanding of the con-cepts being taught to them in their everyday classes. Tailored to each grade’s learning level, the students were engaged throughout the workshops with real items such as a dinosaur egg (fossilized of course).

During the robotics class, stu-dents created their own robots using a computer to program various tasks for their robots to perform. After-school program-ming included games of laser tag. One student said “It was awesome! I liked it”.

Doug St. Laurent, Princi-pal of L.L.B.M.S, hopes that “it sparks their curiosity of possible career choices for their future”.

This was St. Laurent’s sec-ond year participating in this program. He called the pro-gram “a unique opportunity for the students in the north to experience what students in urban centers may take for granted.”

The program brings access to

Dinosaurs arrive in Wunnumin Lake

many unique science materials that the school does not have, St. Laurent said.

For Carr and Green, working with Elephant Thoughts has been a learning experience as

well. Every workshop has pre-sented challenges and oppor-tunities to make the student’s learning even better. This was the pair’s first time visiting the community of Wunnumin

Lake. Elephant thoughts is located in Collingwood, Ont. For more information on work-shops they offer, check out their website: www.elephant-thoughts.com

Above: Jonah Spence poses with Smilodon - a Sabre tooth tiger replica.

Far right: Connie W i n n i p e t o n g a watches her robot follow the black line.

Right: Martin Angees smiles like the real shark jaw he is holding up.

Photos by Pauline Littledeer/Special to Wawatay News


Adrienne FoxSpecial to Wawatay News

“Is it connected?” asks the young man who is blindfolded.

“Yes it’s connected … oh no it broke on you!” giggles the young woman guiding him.

“What happened?” he asks.“Holay!” she squeals.“I’m gonna eat this marsh-

mallow,” she smiles.“Oh no,” groans the young

man as he feels his tower start to tilt dangerously to one side.

The object of all their atten-tion is a framework construct of dry spaghetti pasta held pre-cariously together by miniature marshmallows.

It’s a teamwork-building exercise being used by facilita-tors of New Vision – a group forging to give Aboriginal youth a voice within their home com-munities. Today they’re focused on promoting healthy lifestyles as part of a two-day conference organized by the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority.

It’s a Saturday afternoon at Pelican Falls First Nation High School. The centre is located about 15 minutes west of Sioux Lookout.

The gymnasium is the hub of

activity for about 80 students, including a handful from Queen Elizabeth District High School in Sioux Lookout. Groups of four, five or six students huddle around wood-topped tables strewn with white marshmal-lows and slivers of spaghetti– some long, others snapped into shorter pieces.

The objective of the spa-ghetti-building exercise is to build the tallest possible struc-ture while blindfolded, with only your teammates to guide you.

The exercise helps bond the groups of students in prepara-tion for the real work that lies ahead: Envisioning and plan-ning a course to improve the health of themselves, their fam-ilies and communities.

Anna McKay-Phelan helped facilitate the workshop.

She has clear affection for the students that attend Pelican Falls High School.

“The youth at Pelican Falls are very resilient,” she explains. “I really admire the students that go there because they have to leave (their home com-munities) at such a young age and they have to learn to make choices.”

It was clear from the letters drafted by the groups of stu-dents that they want their com-munities and families to make healthy choices too.

“We want to talk to you about alcohol,” reads one large sheet of white paper. It was part of many that hung along the gymnasium wall after the visioning exercise was com-pleted.

“Why do you ever drink?” it asks. “It’s bad for your organs. I may be fun at first, but some-times things get outta hand. I don’t like it when you come home yelling at me and my younger siblings. It hurts me to see you waste your life on alco-hol. It leads to violence. When things get violent, that can lead to broken families.”

It is a heart-wrenching plea that McKay-Phelan says will reach communities in the North.

“I know a lot of them expressed things that are nega-tive – things that they don’t nec-essarily know how to deal with as a young person,” she says.

Melinda Henderson is a member of North Caribou Lake First Nation and a Grade 12 stu-dent at Queen Elizabeth District

High School. She took part in the exercise. Her group looked at the food choices being made by their families and commu-nity leaders.

“We want to talk to you about food, more importantly healthy food,” they wrote. “Although we do enjoy fast food, chips, pizza, etc., it has come to our concerns the habits prolonged on our reserves and unhealthy food habits we may have or be getting. There needs to be a greater influence on EATING RIGHT and healthier to avoid diseases/sicknesses that are now common in our com-

munities.”Henderson also believes local

stores need to offer healthier food choices.

“I think it’s important com-munities have healthy food because it will help you perform better in all aspects of your life,” she says.

She also says there isn’t enough emphasis placed on the need for families to make healthier food choices in com-munities.

“They don’t really focus on that (need),” she said.

A final report of the work-shop’s findings will be delivered

to the Sioux Lookout region Chief’s Committee on Health by the end of May.

The workshop was part of the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority Healthy Liv-ing First Nations Youth Confer-ence.

High school students also attended workshops that included learning about tra-ditional medicines, ways of having relationships, public speaking and skills to cope with depression. They also got hands-on experience through kettlebell training, yoga instruc-tion and creative dance.

Youth form vision for healthier living in northern communitiesStudents take part in a team-building exercise during the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority Healthy Living First Nations Youth Conference, April 20-21.

photo by Adrienne Fox/Special to Wawatay Newsphoto by Brent Wesley/Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

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For the past year and a half Duck Bay First Nation band mem-ber Bossy Ducharme has been on a traditional diet. He ate only Native foods, pre-European contact. No McDonalds, no pizza, just mostly wild rice, berries, nuts and wild game.

“I wanted to prove that there’s a connection to what we eat and our quality of life,” Ducharme said.

Ducharme started his diet on September 21, 2010 and continued through January 31, 2012.

“It wasn’t easy,” Ducharme said. “Probably one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life.”

“But it ’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.”

Ducharme said he first got the idea to go on a strictly natural Native diet after hearing about all the kids committing suicide in Pikangikum First Nation.

“I said to myself there’s some-thing wrong with this picture. Sud-denly this foreign body came to this land, they took over and one hun-dred years later this is happening,” he said.

“So I started because I wondered what would happen if I took out (from my diet) everything that was brought here from European con-tact. If I just put in my body what our ancestors put in their bodies, I wondered what would happen. Maybe my life would change.”

Ducharme had already made huge changes to his life once.

Now in his early 40s, he spent much of his life on the streets in Winnipeg, but for the past 12 years he’s been living in Toronto. Since moving to Ontario he has worked as a manager for Nishnawbe Health Toronto and the Native Men’s Resi-dence.

“I’ve had a lot of struggles. I used to be homeless but turned my life around,” he said.

But even with these positive changes, there was still something missing.

“I knew I still wasn’t happy with my life. I felt lonely and out of bal-ance and I didn’t feel like I had a purpose.”

Before starting his diet Ducha-rme weighed 223 lbs.

“My doctor told me I was obese and might have a heart attack. I was too young for that,” he said.

The traditional diet healing path

A year and a half later he now weighs a healthy 145 lbs.

“Your life changes when you’re physically confident about your-self. It’s not vanity, but you just feel good,” he said.

Ducharme thinks this connection with food is the reason why First Nations have social problems like diabetes and suicide.

“If you eat like our ancestors you’ll be better off,” he said.

He said he’s also more calm,

more aware, more present. “There’s an energy now and I feel

more connected spiritually, and more healthy.”

Ducharme said it took about three months into the diet for his body to be clean and to feel like he does now.

“My life changed because my whole life revolved around eating the traditional diet,” he explained. “As a result I found routine and balance. So I became more present

about my life and what was around me. I became more calm and more content with what was coming my way.”

Ducharme said the first few months were the hardest.

“About a month into it the only way to get myself through it was to talk to the Creator,” he said. “I was having withdrawals and I really didn’t know what I was doing, how to eat properly, so it was a real struggle.

“I couldn’t taste anything at first

because there was no salt in any-thing I was eating. Everything we eat has salt in it. First Nations peo-ple just ate things like there were, so duck tastes like duck, and moose tastes like moose...but after about a month I started tasting again,” Ducharme said.

He also got support from friends, both old and new. “My Native friends thought it was kind of cool,” he said.

But his circles of friends changed, and new positive people came into his life. This happened because he was keeping a food journal of his diet online.

He said the online food journal evolved from his Facebook page. People on his Facebook would want to know exactly what he was eating.

“I was already keeping a paper journal log, so I just started doing it online,” he said.

Through these new friends people started helping him with his food too. Living in Toronto it ’s expensive to buy the right natural foods, so some people would pay for his wild rice and others would mail him frozen game meat.

It was also through his online journal that he was asked to speak about his diet and it’s implications for First Nations people on a speak-ing tour around New Zealand this coming July and August.

“The Aboriginal people of New Zealand have the same social prob-lems as us here in North America,” he said.

Ducharme is currently studying film at George Brown College and is also turning his food journey into a documentary called Not A Good Day To Die.

“It ’s kind of like Supersize Me, but with healthy foods,” he said.

He plans on submitting his film to the international 2013 Sundance Film Festival.

Ducharme feels that reclaim-ing a traditional diet is something people all over the world should do. “If you eat like your ancestors, your quality of life will improve. Then you will feel like you have purpose,” he said.

Not A Good Day To Die is still being filmed and will be released in 2013. To see exactly what Ducha-rme ate during his year and a half diet visit his food blog at https://sites.google.com/site/bossy1stna-tiondietjournal/

If you eat like your ancestors you’ll be better off: Ducharme

Bossy Ducharme of Duck Bay First Nation in Manitoba spent the past year eating only foods that First Nations people would have eaten pre-European contact. He says the experience was very hard for the first three months as his body coped with with-drawal from sugar, salt and other processed foods. Once he got into the diet, however, Ducharme says it changed his life. He lost over 75 pounds and says he feels more calm, more aware and more present. He’s in the process of making a documentary about his experience, and will be heading to New Zealand this summer on a speaking tour with the Maori.

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