Xavier Kataquapit

I was surprised recently when I saw my relatives in my home community of Attawapiskat First Nation on the James Bay coast were still having to fetch water from a water pumping station in the community. For most people in the community, it is the only way for them to have clean drinking water. It was very surprising to me to see, because this was the reality when I was a teenager in the community over 30 years ago. I had hoped that by now, the water systems would be fixed and properly maintained to provide clean, safe drinking water to every household but that is not the case.

Christmas is just around the corner and everyone is getting into the spirit of the holidays with music, decorations, department store shopping and stocking up on food for big family feasts. Decorations are happening everywhere and this year, we had an early supply of cold and snow, so we in the north, will definitely have a picture post card Christmas filled with mounds of white, frost and crystalline snow.

An epidemic of addictions has led Mushkegowuk Council in north eastern Ontario to declare a state of emergency. A crisis has occurred including issues of homelessness, limited access to shelters, the lack of mental wellness and too few addictions supports in the council’s territory.

Gold has arrived. Here in the north of Ontario we see vast streams of gold shimmering across the landscape as autumn is here and the the leaves are turning. There are also flashes of red and brown as though a huge blanket has descended onto Mother Earth from the heavens. This is my favourite time of the year as it is not too hot or too cold and the wilderness beckons us to wander and wonder at the sights and scents of fall.

One of the most beautiful serene places I’ve ever visited was on the banks of the Opinagau River in northern Ontario, just near the corner of land where James and Hudson Bay meet. This is a river just south of the Lakitusaki River, known in English as Lake River. Opinagau River is also just north of the Nawashi River, the home territory where my mom Susan (Paulmartin/Rose) Kataquapit and her family originated from.