I am the product, evolution of many thousands of years as are you. I grew up on the land in the remote far north of Ontario following in the footsteps of my...
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...
I recently travelled to the United Kingdom on a pilgrimage to find my great grandfather's grave. The good news is that I found the white stone marker bearing his name John Chookomolin although they had misspelled it Jakomolin. It was good to kneel at the place where he was buried and to feel the space around me.
I am happy for my mom. She got a great gift this hunting season with a helicopter trip back to her traditional family home on the shores of the Nawashi River. This place is special to my mom and I understand that.
Susan, my mother or nigawi in the Cree language, was born and raised on the land along Nawashi. She is the most recent link for my family to the traditional life that the Cree lived for thousands of years until the coming of the European.
Good news concerning primary education for Attawapiskat has arrived in the form of a promise by the government of Canada to build a new school in the Attawapiskat First Nation. The minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, John Duncan, recently announced that funding has been set aside for the design and development of a new elementary school. The new school is proposed to be completed by 2013.
Six First Nation trainees are ready to start work in the mining sector thanks to a partnership program between Matachewan First Nation, Northgate Minerals Corp. and Dumas Contracting. The graduates of the Underground Miner Training program, which was provided under the Matachewan Aboriginal Access to Mine Jobs Training Strategy (MAATS), were honoured at a community gathering in Matachewan First Nation, May 26.
I had forgotten what it was like to be in the deep wilderness with no outside contact whatever. Recently I have been spending some time in the far north at a cabin by a lake. It is strange to find myself disconnected from everything and everyone. I have no phone service, no cell phone reception and of course no internet connectivity. I don't even have radio reception.
I woke up one morning in a half dazed fog. I was in the woods at a cottage in the wilderness where normally the forest was quiet and still. There was no wind this night to rustle the leaves in a nearby stand of poplar trees or to blow through the tall pines surrounding the building. It was the early morning, in those dark hours just before the first signs of twilight. My friend Mike had woken me up and I popped up in bed with a focus on the window. He was wondering about a sound. Then it broke the silence. It was a hard knocking sound deep in the woods.
There is a mining boom in northern Ontario and Native people are reaping some of the benefits of this development.
Eight area First Nation people celebrated their graduation from mining training at a ceremony held at the Timmins Inns and Suites June 23.
These graduates completed four months of training by Dumas Mining in a partnership program with Wabun Tribal Council, the Matachewan Aboriginal Access to mining jobs Training Strategy (MAATS) and Goldcorp Inc.
All of the graduates have been guaranteed positions with either Dumas Mining or Goldcorp Inc.
Recently, I have been spending a lot of time in northern Quebec. The change in scenery is very enjoyable. I have met many great people and I have made a few new friends.
There is something wonderful about crossing the Quebec border from northern Ontario. I always feel more like I am driving into France from some non-French speaking European country. I have done that a couple of times. Although the border is only a few hours away from just about anywhere in northeastern Ontario it seems as though I have travelled to another country when I reach Quebec.
Recently, I have been spending a lot of time in northern Quebec. I have met many great people and I have made a few new friends. The change in scenery is very enjoyable.
There is something wonderful about crossing the Quebec border from northern Ontario. I always feel more like I am driving into France from some non-French speaking European country.
I have done that a couple of times. Although the border is only a few hours away from just about anywhere in northeastern Ontario it seems as though I have traveled to another country when I reach Quebec.
I am the product, evolution of many thousands of years as are you. I grew up on the land in the remote far north of Ontario following in the footsteps of my...
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...