Lenny Carpenter — Wawatay News

Nearly 108 years after the day the Treaty 9 Treaty was in Moose Factory, the historical parchment returned to the territory of the Mushkegowuk of the James Bay coast.
It would also be the first time since that era that the diary of Ontario treaty commissioner Daniel G. MacMartin and the treaty would be under the same roof.
Both the treaty and the diary were in Moose Factory on July 31 and Aug. 1 during the James Bay Treaty – Treaty No. 9 Conference hosted by Mushkegowuk Tribal Council.

As a young child, Marcia Brown Martell was taken from her home in Beaverhouse First Nation, located near Kirkland Lake, Ontario, to be adopted by a non-Native family in southern Ontario.
Knowing her heritage, Brown Martell said it was a struggle to be raised by and live among non-Native people, especially when she moved with her foster mother to Texas.
“Terribly lonely,” she said about her feelings during those years. “To myself, I was isolated. There weren’t any of my people with me and what I learned about my culture I learned from books.”

A Webequie First Nation man paddled from his community down the Winisk River to Peawanuck First Nation in an effort to raise awareness of the people in the north who are on dialysis.
Gilbert Jacob departed Webequie on July 27 and arrived in Peawanuck seven days later on Aug. 3 as the community was hosting Creefest, a cultural festival organized by the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council.
Jacob said people are unaware of the issues facing people on dialysis who often are forced to move from their community because the equipment and treatment is not often available in the north.

I had never really considered myself a storyteller growing up.
Sure, I had my anecdotes related to hunting, sports and mischievous shenanigans, but in the grand scheme of things, I wasn’t known for being a great storyteller.
When I decided to give journalism a whirl, it was not because I had any idealistic goals or dreams of changing the world. It was mainly because I had a knack for writing in the technical sense – I had pretty good grammar and spelling. I had no idea how else how to apply writing as a career.

The mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) has been extended by one year by the federal government.
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Minister Bernard Valcourt announced on Nov. 14 that the operating period for the commission will extend to June 30, 2015.
The commission had requested the extension in August, a request supported by various First Nations leaders and groups.