Rick Garrick - Wawatay News

The winter road between Wapekeka and Kitchenuhmayooosib Inninuwug was open in early February and the winter road from KI to the Asheweig winter road is nearing completion.

“By next week, light traffic should be open,” says KI Chief James Cutfeet on Feb. 3. “But we’re still flooding the spots where the ice is really thin. It should be good to go in about a week for sure.”

The road from KI to the Asheweig road goes over a river and a lake. Cutfeet says a minimum of 30 inches of ice is required for transport trucks to operate on the winter road.

Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum is encouraging community members who were not able to attend the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls pre-inquiry in Thunder Bay to submit written statements.

“The ministers are committing to that, where they are willing to take those written letters,” Achneepinskum says on the second day of the Jan. 5-6 pre-inquiry. “We are going to have our NAN (Nishnawbe Aski Nation) staff assist in contacting families. If they want to make a written statement, we will assist them with that.”

Naomi Neckoway-Yang’s first introduction to China was an adventurous taxi ride through a creek to the university she would work at for about two years.

“We had to put our legs up in case the water came in,” Neckoway-Yang says, noting the driver took a detour through the creek due to a bridge closure. “And the driver who was driving us to the university kind of hit a guy on a moped, and they started yelling at each other.”

The granddaughter of a missing and murdered Indigenous woman participated in Confederation College’s Bead-In in honour of missing and murdered Aboriginal Women during Aboriginal Awareness Week 2015.

“My grandmother was one of the missing and murdered Indigenous women and I want to remember her,” says Melissa Henderson, a Confederation College student from North Spirit Lake. “This helps me remember her in a very loving way.”

Henderson says the beading was a “nice break from school,” as she has been stressed out about school lately.

Lac La Croix brothers Henry and Brandon Geyshick helped lead the Fort Frances High School senior boys volleyball team to an 8-0 season record and the NorWOSSA championship.

“It was pretty exciting — they pretty much dominated from start to finish,” says Fort Frances High School vice principal Dan Bird about the NorWOSSA (Northwestern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association) tournament. “They had a good crowd with Fort (Frances) High being the host. They were the last gold medal match of the day, so there was a good crowd on hand.”