I recently lost my cousin Joey Okimaw. We were childhood friends who had grown up together since we first entered grade school in Attawapiskat. Joey’s...
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...
I have been watching some good movies lately. One titled ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ was about a group of older English retirees who move to Jaipur, a city in India, to live in a hotel converted into a senior citizen’s home. A line from that movie “Things will work out in the end. If they do not then it is not the end” made me realize how important it is never to give up.
I have been growing my hair now for the past 24 years. It all started for a very practical reason. I decided one day that I couldn’t take any more of the peer pressure concerning hairstyles and looks. It seemed easier to me to simply grow my hair long and I felt very comfortable with the idea.
Recently a terrible helicopter accident near the airport in Moosonee took the lives of four dedicated heroes of health for the far north Ontario James Bay First Nations. All First Nations are very grateful for the hard work and dedication of flight and paramedic crews that service remote Native communities all across Canada. In particular we give thanks and we honour the memories of the Ornge Ontario air ambulance service staff who lost their lives recently including Capt.
The Sah-kah-mel or mosquitoes are really, really bad this year. I think I have used up every swear word I ever learned in Cree, English and even French complaining about these little insects. No matter what I do they manage to find me out on the land and even when I am inside my camp.
I was in Istanbul, Turkey this past winter and I had the pleasure to walk in Taksim Square. I was impressed with the city in general as compared to major centres in Morocco and Egypt I have seen. The ancient city, once known as Constantinople for the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, was modern, clean, well organized and generally safe.
Everyone who has lost a father or mother understands what a terrible hole that makes in one’s life. It seemed that those people who were so much a part of our earliest years would always be around. In fact in talking with friends recently it dawned on us that most of the people we know are not even making it to their mid or late 70s. This seems more the case in First Nations where people are just not living as long as they should as a result of hard lives in remote communities. We are losing our Elders far too early because of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
If First Nations across this country are going to change for the better, it will be as a result of the efforts of our young people. They will become our leaders, our teachers, our bureaucrats, our medical people and our community builders. The attention, opportunities and education and training that we provide to these young Native people now will pay off for everyone in the future.
A lot of my non-Native friends are surprised when I tell them that fishing is not a big part of my cultural background and experience. Most Cree people up the James Bay coast were hunters and gatherers predominantly interested in hunting geese, moose and caribou.
Cellphones are a big part of our lives these days.
I love wood or Mistik. I must be part Beaver or Amisk because I am always wrapped up in projects where wood is the main ingredient.
Trees of course are an enormous contributor to our life on this planet and my people have great respect for these tough and often towering giants on the land. From the dawn of time trees have provided humans with warmth though fire and comfort and protection from the elements.
I recently lost my cousin Joey Okimaw. We were childhood friends who had grown up together since we first entered grade school in Attawapiskat. Joey’s...
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...