Lenny Carpenter — Wawatay News

Despite having six nominations, Shy-Anne Hovorka went to the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards (APCMA) in Winnipeg on Nov. 1 and 2 with no expectations of winning.
“We were going with the excitement of playing at the awards and I pretty much resigned myself, after looking at the other nominees, that I wasn’t going to win any awards,” Hovorka said of herself and the band.
So she was “shocked, happy and amazed” when she won her first award.
“When they first announced my name, I thought I better thank everybody while I can still can,” she said.

The Timmins Native Friendship Centre (TNFC) will be able to provide all its services under one roof when it moves to a new building in March 2013.
The TNFC is moving to a former elementary school located at the corner of Cedar Street South and Kirby Avenue. The two-storey building will feature a space of 30,000 square feet – 18,000 square feet more than its current two locations combined.
TNFC executive director Veronica Nicholson said the centre has always been looking to acquire another location with more space.

Moose Cree First Nation will serve as a hub in the James Bay region for the Canadian Red Cross after the national organization officially opened a satellite office in the community on Nov. 14.
The Red Cross office will support the development and delivery of Red Cross programs and services, including disaster preparedness and response, and violence and abuse prevention programs.
Moose Cree Chief Norm Hardisty Jr. welcomed the humanitarian organization that is well known internationally for assisting in disaster relief situations.

Youth take part in a candlelight prayer during the evening of Nov. 14 at the Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School in Thunder Bay.
The evening was the culmination of the day’s events during the NAN Day of Prayer, which began with a prayer breakfast followed by a reflective service at the NAN office.
NAN Grand Chief Harvey Yesno said people from all over the world including the U.S., China, Korea, Germany, and places in South America, have offered their prayers for the NAN youth.

NAN Deputy Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler said Health Canada’s decision to open the market to create a less expensive OxyContin is “another blow” to the First Nations communities battling the prescription drug abuse epidemic.
“With OxyContin clones on the market, it just means more drug flow to the north,” Fiddler said in a media release.