Xavier Kataquapit

www.underthenorthernsky.com

I have always felt a sense of hope through the Native political organizations that represent my people. For better or worse, we looked up to our leaders at the local level and at the regional level because at the very least, we knew that there were people out there that were working for our best interests. Many of us on the James Bay coast were acquainted with our home Chiefs and some of us knew who represented other communities in our regional tribal council known as Mushkegowuk Council.

This weekend I was working on a little bit of an electrical problem as one of my lights was not working and it ended up being a connection. While I was trying to figure out this little problem I thought back in time and recalled all the interesting electricians I had met over the years. One fellow came to mind immediately, Jimmy Bigelow of Iroquois Falls.

I have always found it a natural part of my life to want to head out into the wilderness to be surrounded by pines, to be next to a river or lake and to feel the cool northern air about me. My first instinct in this setting is always to start a fire and to sit by its warmth, listen to the crackling flames and smell the scent of fresh cut pine and the burning embers. No matter where I seem to find myself in my life often I take a break to head out on to the land. I get this craving to spend time in the northern mushkego wilderness I was raised in.

UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY

The World Is Waiting For Them

www.underthenorthernsky.com

Brunswick House First Nation, located near Chapleau Ontario, celebrated the inclusion of a collection of birch bark containers and model canoes at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto on March 13, 2018. The 16 birch bark containers and two model canoes were hand made in the 1940s and 1950s by Joseph and Clara Candassie, who were original First Nation Ojibway citizens of Brunswick House First Nation.