Rick Garrick — Wawatay News

Matachewan’s Russell Evans is planning to use his recently announced RBC Aboriginal student award to conduct research into First Nations governance.
“I’m going to focus mainly on band councillors and the chiefs,” said the Queen’s University management/accounting student. “What I want to do with my research is actually interview them because I’m focusing on accountability and governance in First Nations.”

Attawapiskat Chief Teresa Spence called for First Nation leaders to help protect women from abuse during the Assembly of First Nation’s Special Chiefs Assembly.
“We say we need to protect the children and women, but as we speak women and children are being abused, even the Elders, by the government,” Spence said on Dec. 6. “We’ve been saying and making statements and delivering messages to the government about the treaty. It’s been broken so many times and it is still broken. It’s being violated.”
Spence said she experienced abuse from the government over the past year.

Aroland Elder Ella Gagnon and a group of Lakehead University students are working on a quilt for display in the Aboriginal Cultural and Support Services Smudging/Cultural Room.
“We (made) it with beads, buttons or whatever you want to use,” Gagnon said about the quilt project, which was held every Tuesday from Oct. 9 to Nov. 27 at the Aboriginal Student Lounge. “I was just there sort of giving them the idea what to do and helping them.”

Former Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) grand chief Frank Beardy was honoured with a headdress on Dec. 17 by Grand Chief Harvey Yesno and Deputy Grand Chiefs Alvin Fiddler and Goyce Kakegamic.

Metis painter Eugene Lefrancois usually tries to incorporate the colours of the northern lights into his paintings.
“You look at night at the northern lights and it has greens, blues, reds, oranges,” Lefrancois said. “I try to incorporate that into each and every painting.”
Lefrancois said he never runs out of ideas, pointing out the colours of feathers on a partridge and the colours on a tree, depending on the light, as examples.