The fourth annual Timmins Diabetes Expo held on October 18 and 19 has helped to make sure that the fight against diabetes is being won in northern Ontario.
If you are very overweight, don’t get much exercise and you have generally a diet high in fats and sugars then you are probably probably on your way to being diabetic. If you are a First Native person with all of the same realities you are more susceptible to diabetes.
I love my wilderness retreat. It is great to be out on the land in the far north surrounded by tall pine and situated on the side of a pristine esker lake. Much of my time is passed working away at renovations and of course watching the wildlife as they go about their daily chores.
Recently I was talking to a friend of mine, Cindy Giguere, who is a member of Matachewan First Nation in northeastern Ontario. Actually, she is a Wabun Health community health nurse who has worked for many years assisting members of Matachewan First Nation. I was pleasantly surprised when she told me about her daughter’s success in the music industry.
Things are not looking good for remote First Nation communities in northern Canada. In particular there are serious problems developing for communities up the James Bay coast and much of this has to do with global warming and changes in weather patterns.
My people, the Cree of James Bay, could always count more or less on food, products and fuel being shipped up by barge in the summer and by the ice road in the winter. Although air transport has been available for many years it is reserved mainly for passenger travel as the cost is very high to move goods by aircraft.
It is that time of the year again. With the holiday season and Christmas and New Year celebrations a lot of people will be rejoicing in so many ways. Most of this season should be devoted to children having fun but most of it has ended up being a very stressful time of the year with the main idea having to do with spending money to buy gifts to be happy. It never works.
Over the years, leaders from First Nation communities in the north like Attawapiskat, have fought hard for many of the basic services and programs that currently exist. However, I can understand my peoples’ frustration when at times, it feels like progress is actually falling back and we are losing what little we gained. In the end many issues negatively affect the overall Native community in terms of chronic health problems, unemployment and social issues such as addictions, violence and suicide.
I had a dream the other night. I was a little boy again. There I was, on the land back up on the James Bay coast. I could see the clear water of the Attawapiskat River below and the deep blue sky above with the burning yellow sun as white clouds sailed by. Then I lifted off the ground and flew south with the Niska, a flock of Canada geese. I could see the rivers and thousands of the lakes below me as I soared over the mushkeg and dense pine forests. As I flew it seemed that I was being transported through time and into the future.
Here we are again in the middle of winter. This year up north, I am hearing lots of reports of snow and freezing temperatures. Last week, the temperatures with wind chills were in the minus 40 to 50 range in many places across the country. However, all this started late with a mild fall.
Right now, as we head into February, I understand that the really frigid temperatures have given way to freezing rain in many areas in northern Ontario. None of the Elders I talk to remember such turmoil and ups and downs in the weather systems.
I have noticed so much advertising on television recently regarding the promotion of drugs for depression. Often the drugs are pushed for just about anything approaching depression, anxiety, nervousness and all feelings related in some way. I find this very scary.
When I was a boy growing up in my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast, I was deathly afraid of looking at the full moon.
I grew up...
I’m happy to see the ongoing support and assistance in our northern remote communities to help our people cope with so many lifelong and generational issues...