September 13, 2012

PM#0382659799

Standing up for human rights PAGE 11

Adjusting to city life, Timmins style PAGE 15

Eabametoong wants NAPS gone PAGE 3

Vol. 39 No. 29

9,300 copies distributed $1.50

September 13, 2012 Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice since 1974

www.wawataynews.ca

Marten Falls signs Ring of Fire deal with Ontario

Learning from the Elders

First Nation working with province on getting benefits from development

Marten Falls Chief Eli Moonias

Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Marten Falls First Nation and the Ontario government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Sept. 7.

The agreement signifies a working relationship where the two parties will work to ensure minimal environmental impacts as a result of mining development in the Ring of Fire.

Signed in Marten Falls by Chief Eli Moonias, Northern Development and Mines Minister Rick Bartolucci and Natural Resources Minister Michael Gravelle, the MOU addresses

the employment, economic development and environmental impacts of any Ring of Fire projects in the First Nation’s traditional territory.

In a media release, Moonias said the Ring of Fire is an opportunity for the community to work towards the implementation of Treaty 9, which their ancestors signed with mutual benefits for all parties, including an annual payment of $4 for all band members.

“Needless to say, the environment has no price tag,” he said. “Therefore, development will proceed only if the environmental assessment process is thorough and with the full participation of Marten Falls First Nation.”

In June, Moonias told media that while he was not opposed to development, he felt it was moving too fast to adequately prepare for the major changes that projects such as Cliffs Resources’ $3.3 billion open-pit mine would have on their territory.

At the time, he said he wanted to see the result of the judicial environmental assessment, which is still before the courts, before making any decisions on whether to support or oppose the proposed Ring of Fire projects.

Cliffs has stated it hopes to start production in 2015.

Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Elders and youth met during the Walking Together, Sharing Our Journey conference from Sept. 4-9 in Thunder Bay, where they discussed the intergenerational impacts of residential school. See story on page 6.

hE ,; yh xgaH j yy.msnbH n,EhV hj mgwnhjcU hkE mgnmU IUo h%xUs% nbnbd fcvenmU

ynbv .EhV .y ,svhdH b<xU okpuqC xAp] lwvnbU ,; yh xgaHhj ynbvmsnb<cU hkE mgnmoH] hj mw gwlnb;ci hkE moonbH hf yvcoH .. xAp jv n,EhV .vN .y yy.msnmU j mwohvhd> yTUJnbUpU+ , pphgn,ovhdH cnhf<htH]hj ynbvmsponbH .c<;nm xMT 23-26] 2012] j avg;wnpH ak;dnmMnmp bmg> mgnmp h mgnhj hE ,; yh xga;H .v .g hkE mgnmoH,nm boegjH gUd lsvhdjcU jv pphgn,UvhdH b<j” i<g h mw uvvlvH moonbH , gwhsgjH .d mgnmoHN akH xga;H .jyhowE Dj hgnhaG] h mnd> n,vj bf mgnhH .y ynbvmsnmU hj pj<hvhonbjcU jWxMT] h

A gathering at Old Post brought Kashechewan and Fort Albany together at their traditional settlement site.

bcfMhgjH b<jk i<g uvy<jH h bcfMvH .vN |akH lnho> hnm mw e<dLognhcU jv svhdoH pj<hvlnmU jv cjfohdH hkE mgnmoH| mnd> hgnhaH] nmp hg;pH yMpmhoo> jv bs<hgHb<jk i<g ;gjk lnhp h uvgonbj uvy<ht;H agaH .vN j mnd> i<g] hE ,; yh xgaH ,;do h mw gwlnb;ci n,EhV moonbH hwH i<g xga;H hj .vvHN ,;do n,g<hiMkHN ,nho yh n,v mdognhcU jv nbn,p<gonbH .g jv mgnhH pj<hvlnmU ynbvmsnmU gx<;V jv bcfMtsponbHN| j .fphonbnpH boj l ohohgjH .ro> bs<lnmoo> , owj mgnmoH .v ,; yh hf yvgonbU jv nbn,oponbH bf b;vl .c<;nm xMT] hf yvMhdnb yE;wk] h m<congonbnp bcvgnmp ,;

yh hf vygonbnp yjk i<g t;nby boy bwV qAgnbUN hoho<gjH .ro> j bn,p<gnbH vyp l mw AwmvH bn,ohpH v bkQbcomvH .g hkE mgnmoH] nbLE tggG i<g x; okpuqC to;wE x; m<co> , m<coponbH xga;H .v ,; yh ak;fcmhU xMehoH lwvnbuH .v] , av ykco<gjH h mw cnhoH MxHN j cjfohdcp pph> bcfMnm j<jubylnmp i<g nbnmgysnmp bktmsnmoH i. jwh> j m<cocU .y ,svhdH] j yh i<g moonm j<jubylnmp xnhg<jH h .fohdj Us;upN b<jnm .pQn,nmp]Mxk i<g Khmhp] , avSnbH , m<coH h mw pphvgonbH i<g oxnm pphgn,ovlnmU]

Autumn Seat Sale

Purchase reservations until September 24, 2012 for travel from October 12, 2012

Catch the Fall Savings!

1.877.492.7292 • www.wasaya.com

Continued on page 9

2

Wawatay News

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

INSIDE WAWATAY NEWS

THIS WEEK...

ᐊᑯᑭᐠ ᒪᓯᓇᐦᐅᑎᓱᐊᐧᐠ ᐃᐧᑕᓄᑭᒥᑐᐃᐧ ᓇᑯᒥᑐᐃᐧᐣ ᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᑫᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧᑭᒪᐣ

ᐅᓂᑲᓂᑕᒪᑫᐠ ᐅᑭᔑᐊᐧᐦᐃᑯᓇᐊᐧ ᑲᑭ ᑭᐡᑭᓇᑲᓄᐨ ᔓᓂᔭ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᓂᑲᓂᑕᒪᑫᐠ ᑌᑎᐸᐦᐃ ᑲᓇᑕ ᒥᑐᓂ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᐅᒥᓀᐧᑕᓯᓇᐊᐧ ᑲᑭ ᐊᔭᑭᓀ ᑲᑭᐡᑭᓇᒪᐃᐧᐣᑕᐧ ᔓᓂᔭ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᓂ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᒥᓇ ᐱᑯ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐣ ᓂᑲᓂᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ. ᑲᓇᑕ ᑭᒋᐅᑭᒪ ᐅᑭᐃᐧᐣᑕᐣ ᒥᔑᓇᐧᔦᐠ ᑫᐃᔑ ᑲᑭᐡᑭᓇᐨ ᔓᓂᔭᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᐧᑌᐸᑲᐃᐧᐱᓯᒧᐣ 4 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ. ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐱᑭᓯ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᒪᑲᑭᐣ ᑐᑲᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ, ᒋᕑᐃᑎ #3 ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᐠ ᓀᔑᐣ ᑕᑭᐡᑭᓇᒪᐊᐧᐊᐧᐠ 10 ᐱᕑᓭᐣᐟ ᒥᓂᑯᐠ. ᐅᑭᒪᑲᓂ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᒥᓂᑕᐧᐸᐣ ᔓᓂᔭ ᑕᐳᓂᒥᓇᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᑭᑭᓄᐡᑭᑫᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᐊᐱᐣ ᐃᐁᐧ ᑕᐊᔭᓯᐣ. ᒥᑐᓂ ᑕᐡ ᐃᑯ ᐅᑭᔑᐊᐧᐦᐃᑯᐊᐧᐣ ᑲᑐᑕᒥᓂᐨ ᑭᒋᐅᑭᒪᐣ. ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯᐠ ᓀᔑᐣ ᑭᒋᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᐸᐟᕑᐃᐠ ᒪᑕᐱ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᑲᑭᐡᑭᓇᐨ ᔓᓂᔭᐣ ᒥᐦᐃᒪ ᐁᐅᐣᒋ ᓄᑎᓇᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᔓᓂᔭᐣ ᐁᔭᐸᒋᐦᐊᐨ ᑭᒋᐅᑭᒪ.

ᐊᑯᑭᐣᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐃᑭᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᑭᐅᐡᑭ ᒪᓯᓇᐦᐅᑎᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᓇᑯᒥᑐᐃᐧᓂ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᑭᒋᐅᑭᒪᐣ ᑕᐅᐣᒋ ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᐧᒪᑲᓂ ᐁᑲ ᓇᐱᐨ ᐱᑲᐧᑕᑲᒥᑲᐠ ᒋᐱᑯᓂᑲᑌᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᔭᓂ ᒪᑕᓄᑲᑌᐠ ᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᑲᓂ ᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧᐣ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐯᑭᐡ ᒋᐃᔑᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᒪᐧᑲᐠ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᒋᒪᑕᓄᑲᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᕑᐃᑎ #9 ᐅᑕᔓᑕᒪᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ. ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑭᒪᓯᓇᐦᐅᑎᓱᐊᐧᐠ ᓇᐦᑯᒥᑐᐃᐧᐣ ᓂᓯᑐᑕᑐᐃᐧᓂ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐊᐧᐁᐧ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐅᑭᒪᐃᐧᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᐧᑌᐸᑲᐃᐧᐱᓯᑦ 7. ᒥᑕᐡ ᐁᔑᓇᑯᒥᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᑫᐧᑫᐧᑭᑌ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐃᐧᑕᓄᑭᒥᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᐃᓀᑫ ᐊᓄᑭᐦᐃᑯᐃᐧᓂᐠ, ᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧ ᒪᒋᑕᒪᓱᐃᐧ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᐊᐱ ᐊᓂᒪᒋᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᑲᐣ ᐃᒪ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐱᐣᑎᓭᑭᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᐊᐦᑭᐣ.

Marten Falls signs Ring of Fire agreement with Ontario

Funding cuts have leaders angry Roy Thomas’ art, Marten Falls Chief Eli Moonias, NAPS police services and the re-opening of the Native Nurses Entry Program all made the news this week.

Marten Falls First Nation is claiming that a new agreement it signed with Ontario will help mitigate the environmental impacts of the Ring of Fire while helping the community implement Treaty #9.

Marten Falls signed a memorandum of understanding with Ontario on Sept. 7. The two sides agreed to work on the employment, economic development associated with any Ring of Fire projects in the First Nations territory.

Page 1

First Nations leaders across Canada are upset over new federal funding cuts to tribal councils and regional political organizations.

The federal government announced a series of cuts on Sept. 4.

Regional organizations like Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Grand Council of Treaty #3 and the Anishinabek Nation face core funding cuts of 10 per cent. Tribal councils will have their funding capped and advisory roles taken away.

The cuts have leaders fuming. Anishinabek Nation Grand Chief Patrick Madahbee said the cuts signify that First Nations are under financial attack from the federal government.

Page 3

ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᔕᐠ ᓴᑭᒋᐁᐧᐱᓇᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᐸᒪᑐᐠ ᐊᐸᒪᑐᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᑭᑲᓄᓇᐊᐧᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᔑᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐱᒧᒋᑲᑌᐠ (NAPS) ᐁᑭᐃᓇᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᐊᐊᐧᔑᒣ ᒋᓇᑕᐁᐧᓂᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑯᐊᐧᐨ. ᐅᑭᔕᐳᓇᓇᐊᐧ ᐅᑐᓇᒋᑫᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᑲᔭᓂᐳᓇᑭᓱᐨ ᐊᑲᐢᐟ ᐱᓯᑦ ᐁᑭᓂᐱᑌᓯᓇᐦᐊᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᑲ ᑲᐃᔑᓇᐦᐊᐸᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐃᐁᐧᓂ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᔑᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᓂ, ᒥᑕᐡ ᑲᑭᑲᓄᓇᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᓴᑲᐦᐊᒥᓂᐨ ᐅᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ. ᐊᓂᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᔑᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᓂᔑᐣ ᐅᔑᒪᑲᓂᔑᒪᐣ ᐊᔭᐊᐧᐣ ᐃᒪ ᐊᐸᒪᑐᐠ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐁᐱᒥ ᓇᓇᑐᓇᐊᐧᐊᐧᐨ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐣ ᐸᑲᐣ ᑫᐱ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᔑᐊᐧᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᓂᐨ. ᐃᑭᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᔦ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᔑᒪᑲᓂᔕᐠ ᐅᑐᐣᒋᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᑯᐊᐧᐣ ᓂᔑᐣ ᐅᔑᒪᑲᓂᔑᒥᐊᐧᐣ ᐁᑭᐸᑭᑎᓇᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᐱᓇᒪ ᒋᐱᐊᓄᑭᐊᐧᐨ.

NAPS asked to leave Eabametoong Eabametoong First Nation has notified Nishnawbe-Aski Police Services (NAPS) that the community no longer wants NAPS services.

A Band Council Resolution passed in late August outlined ongoing problems that the First Nations had with NAPS, and requested that the police service vacate the community.

NAPS currently has two officers in Eabametoong while the First Nation looks for another police service provider. The Ontario Provincial Police is also helping out by providing two officers for the community while the search for a new police service provider continues.

Page 3

ᕑᐊᔾ ᑕᐧᒪᐢ ᐅᒪᓯᓂᐱᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᑲᒥᐠ ᑲᑭᑲᓄᑫᐣᑕᐃᐧᐣᐨ

ᑭᐸᐦᐃᑲᑌᓂ

ᑲᑭᐊᐧᑯᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᒥᓇ ᐅᑐᑌᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᕑᐊᔾ ᑕᐧᒪᐢᐅᐣ ᑭᒪᒪᐃᐧᐡᑲᐊᐧᐠ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐯ ᐁᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᑲᓄᑫᐣᑕᐊᐧᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᒪᓯᓂᐱᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ. ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᑲᑭᐃᔑᒋᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑭᔭᓂ ᑭᔑᑐᓇᐊᐧ ᑲᑭ ᑭᐸᐦᐊᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐃᔑᓂᑲᑌᓂᐠ ᑲᑭᓂᑲᐧᓂᐡᑲᒪᑲᐠ ᐃᔑᓇᒧᐃᐧᐣ: ᕑᐊᔾ ᑕᐧᒪᐢ ᐅᒪᓯᓂᐱᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᐣ. ᑫᑲᐟ 7,000 ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᑭᐱᔕᐊᐧᐠ ᐃᒪ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐯ ᒪᓯᓂᐱᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᐁᑭᐱ ᐊᐧᐊᐧᐸᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒪᓯᓂᐱᐦᐃᑲᓇᐣ ᐊᐱ ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᑲᑕᐃᐧᓂᑲᑌᐠ ᒥᓄᑲᒥᐠ ᒪᑯᐱᓯᑦ.

Roy Thomas exhibit closes with tribute Friends and family of the late Roy Thomas gathered in Thunder Bay to pay tribute to Thomas’ work.

The occasion marked the closing of Vision Circle: The Art of Roy Thomas.

Nearly 7,000 people have been through the Thunder Bay art gallery to view the exhibit since it opened in May.

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ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᐃᐧᑫᐧᐃᐧ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᑭᑭᐁᐧᑕᐃᐧᓂᑲᑌ ᐊᔕ ᓄᒪᑫ ᐊᐱᐣ ᑲᑭ ᑭᐸᐦᐃᑲᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᑲᑭᓴᑭᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᐃᒪ ᑲᑭᑕᔑ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑲᓂᐊᐧᑭᐸᐣ, ᐊᔕ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᑭᑭᐁᐧ ᑕᐃᐧᓂᑲᑌ ᐃᒪ ᓫᐁᐠᐦᐁᐟ ᔪᓂᐯᕑᓯᑎ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᐃᐧᑫᐧᐃᐧ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐃᐧᐣ. ᐅᐁᐧ ᒪᐦᒋᑕᐦᐃᑯᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᐧᔭᐣᒋᐦᐊᑲᓄᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᒋᔭᓂᐱᐣᑎᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᒋ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ. ᐊᑯᓇᐠ ᑕᐡ 1987, ᐊᐊᐧᔑᒣ 50 ᐅᒪ ᐅᑭᐅᐣᒋᑭᔑᑐᓇᐊᐧ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᐃᐧᑫᐧᐃᐧ ᐅᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᑌᑎᐸᐦᐃ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᐊᓄᑭᐊᐧᐠ.

Native Nursing Entry Program reopens Following a few years of being closed due to fire, Lakehead University’s Native Nursing Entry Program has reopened its office at the Thunder Bay campus.

The program assists First Nations people prepare for a university degree program. Since 1987, more than 50 NNEP graduates have gone on to complete their nursing degrees and work around the north.

Page 10

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Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

3

Tribal council funding cuts leave leaders fuming Shawn Bell Wawatay News

Funding cuts targeting Aboriginal political organizations and tribal councils, announced by the federal government on Sept. 4, have raised the ire of First Nations leaders across Canada.

Calling the funding cuts “a political attack” and a “divide and conquer strategy,” Aboriginal political organizations decried the plan to cut core funding by 10 per cent and eliminate the political advisory roles of tribal councils.

“It is clear to me that Canada has three objectives when it comes to First Nations people – divide, control and conquer,” said Anishinabek Nation Grand Chief Patrick Madahbee. “Our people need to know that they are under attack. The unilateral, incremental changes to policy and legislation regard-

ing First Nation land, water and rights are in direct violation of Constitutional rights, treaty rights and even international human rights that Canada has endorsed.”

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development (AANDC) Minister John Duncan announced the cuts on Sept. 4. In a press release the government claimed it intends to focus federal funding on “shared priorities.”

The AANDC announcement involves either reducing the core funding of all regional and national Aboriginal organizations by 10 per cent, or implementing a $500,000 ceiling on their funding.

The reduction in core funding will be as high as 80 per cent for some organizations, as for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) where the current core funding of $2.6 million will be capped at $500,000.

Regional chief wants First Nation seats in Canada’s parliament Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy is calling on the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission to consider guaranteed First Nations seats in Canada’s parliament, like the system in New Zealand.

“I see that the Ontario Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission is proposing 15 new ridings in southern Ontario,” Beardy said. “What I’d like to point out is that in some countries, like New Zealand, indigenous nations like the Maori have their own political parties because they are given some semblance of recognition in their country as original peoples.

Maybe now would be the appropriate time to make sure that seats are guaranteed within jurisdictions of Ontario and Canada for First Nations people to make sure that the Aboriginal voice is heard.”

New Zealand’s 1867 Parliament set up four electorates specifically for Maori people.

The Maori seats were increased in 1996 to five when New Zealand changed their election system from a first-past-thepost to a mixed member proportional representation system, and increased to seven seats in 2002.

“Maori have claimed that the Maori electoral option, by which Maori can elect to join the Maori electoral roll and vote for candidates in the Maori seats, are one of the few guarantees in (New Zealand)’s constitution that a distinct Maori voice will be heard in politics,” said Andrew Robb, press secretary in the office of Pita R Sharples,minister of Maori Affairs in New Zealand, in an e-mail reply.

Although Canada’s Parliament is not a First Nations system, Beardy said First Nations people need to push for some mechanism where the Aboriginal voice is heard.

“Seats have to be guaranteed and set aside for First Nations people within jurisdictions,” Beardy said. “Until such time as we are recognized as real people and we get that negotiated where seats are guaranteed for Aboriginal and First Nations people, we will continue to struggle because we’re scattered (across Ontario).”

Federal electoral districts are adjusted after every 10-year census to reflect changes in population patterns. During the last redistribution, northern Ontario dropped from 11 to 10 seats.

Under the latest proposed redistribution, northern Ontario is not losing any of its 10 seats.

AMC Grand Chief Derek Nepinak called the funding cuts “a direct attack on the political voice of First Nations communities across the country.”

While the government did not announce any specific cuts

years to minimize the impact on First Nations organizations.

“This will allow Aboriginal organizations to adapt their operations, and should they desire to do so, seek out new funding sources,” an AANDC

“It is clear to me that Canada has three objectives when it comes to First Nations people – divide, control and conquer.”

- Anishinabek Nation Grand Chief Patrick Madahbee

to program funding, it did state that there will be “gradual reductions in the amount available for proposal-based project funding.” Reductions in program funding will start in 2013-2014, while the 10 per cent reduction in core funding takes affect in 2014-2015.

Duncan said the government plans to bring the funding changes in gradually over two

press release stated.

Duncan also said reporting requirements for funding will be streamlined to ease the paperwork burden on First Nations organizations.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Harvey Yesno said NAN is waiting on the details of the announcement to better understand the effect of the cuts.

Yesno said that while NAN communities still desperately need increased funding for services such as education and infrastructure, he was glad to see that essential services will not be targeted in the planned funding cuts.

Talking about the effect on NAN, Yesno acknowledged that the organization will have to look at where it can cut when the funding reductions come into place.

“We’re going to have to make some tough decisions on how we’re going to go forward,” Yesno said.

Also as part of the announcement, tribal councils across Canada will see funding for First Nation advisory services cut over the next two years.

Tribal council funding will now fall under a three-tired system, based on the population served by the tribal coun-

cil and the number of First Nations within the council.

Tier one tribal councils, serving two to five member First Nations with an on-reserve population of less than 2,000 people, will receive $200,000 per year. The largest tribal councils will receive $500,000 per year for operations.

Band advisory services in the areas of economic development, financial management, community planning, technical services and band governance, currently performed by tribal councils, will be eliminated in 2014-2015.

The government stated that national, specialized institutions such as the Aboriginal Financial Officers’ Association, the First Nations Financial Management Board and the Aboriginal Economic Development Board will now provide those advisory services for individual First Nations.

Eabametoong calls for NAPS to leave Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Although Nishnawbe Aski Police Services has been ordered to leave Eabametoong by a band council resolution, NAPS officers are still providing services along with Ontario Provincial Police officers.

“Chief and council have issued a band council resolution for NAPS to leave as soon as other policing alternatives can be found,” said NAPS Chief of Police Claude Chum. “Basically, their BCR states very simply: NAPS will not expire until an alternative policing service can be put in place. And obviously, that is the OPP.” Chum said NAPS has been discussing the situation with the OPP since the Aug. 29 BCR was received. “(The OPP) have agreed to assist by providing additional officers in the community to help our officers to address any policing concerns that they may have right now,” Chum said. “So right now we have OPP working with NAPS officers in Fort Hope.”

OPP Sgt. Shelley Garr said the OPP are currently assisting NAPS with their manpower shortage in Eabametoong.

“The OPP is currently assisting NAPS members with frontline policing in that community,” Garr said.

Chum is looking forward to discussing the issue with Nishnawbe Aski Nation, Eaba-

metoong and the OPP in the near future.

“We are going to be having meetings with various stakeholders over the next couple of weeks — OPP, NAN executive, hopefully the leadership of Fort Hope — and sit down and try to hammer out the issues and see what solution we can find.”

Chum said NAPS Police Chief Claude Chum says the force is NAPS would prestruggling to meet service needs fer to continue providing serthe police a week earlier but that vices in Eabametoong, but would respect the incident wasn’t the only issue. community’s leadership if the They were also concerned about ongoing issues over past years, OPP agrees to provide services.

NAPS usually has five officers such as visibility, no officers in Eabametoong, but has been in the community, shortage of down to three officers over the resources, shortage of infrastrucpast month with one vacancy ture and closure of the detachand one person off due to illness. ment due to a diesel spill.

“They were just fed up, frus“The OPP are only sending two officers at a time, from trated I guess, with the level of what I understand,” Chum service they were getting and said. “And then we’ll have two they just want more,” Chum officers there at a time, so the said. “They just want basically way the schedule is going now, the same kind of service that there’s four officers there all the any other citizen in the provtime in the community, which is ince of Ontario gets. And we just can’t do that for the north pretty good.”

Chum said the chief and coun- with our funding, the way it is cil indicated the BCR was related set up.”

Chum said NAPS receives to a specific incident involving

funding for 132 officers in 35 First Nations from Canada and Ontario.

“Out of those 35 First Nations, we have about six or seven communities that are just two and three-man detachments,” Chum said. “In some cases they have just one person.”

Chum said NAPS currently is down 26 officers, due to vacancies and leave.

“Right now we have four or five communities that have no officers in the community for four or five days at a time,” Chum said. “These communities are only allotted one or two constables and with that, it is hard to have a visibility in the community.”

Chum said the officers usually go in for eight days and are off for six days.

“We try to plug in as best as we can by using other officers,” Chum said. “It just doesn’t work because we just don’t have the manpower right now with 26 bodies gone. We just can’t plug in all the holes flying people around to plug them in.

It just doesn’t work.”

Chum said NAPS needs at least 30-40 additional officers to provide a basic police service to the communities, but funding has been capped for the past three years.

“Our present agreement expired March 31 (2012),” Chum said. “And we just got an automatic extension. We don’t know what the funding is going to be like for the next two years.”

4

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

From the Wawatay archives 16-5th Avenue North P.O. Box 1180 Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B7 Serving the First Nations in Northern Ontario since 1974.

Wawatay News is a politically independent weekly newspaper published by Wawatay Native Communications Society.

ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᑲᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᑌᐠ 1974 ᐁᐅᒋᐊᓄᑲᑌᑭᐣ ᑭᐧᐁᑎᓄᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᑕᐃᑦᔑᑫᐧᐃᓇᐣ. ᑕᓱᓂᔓᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲ ᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ ᒥᓇ ᑲᐧᐃᐣ ᐅᓇᔓᐧᐁᐧᐃ ᑲᓇᐧᐊᐸᒋᑫᐧᐃᓂᐠ ᒋᐃᔑ ᐸᐸᒥᓯᒪᑲᐠ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓂᑫᐧᐃᓇᐣ.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Neegan

Commentary

Shebandowan Richard Wagamese ONE NATIVE LIFE

W

hen I was a younger man, my idea of Canada was different than it is now. In fact, as I grew the image of the country altered too, just as it has for generations of youth both First Nations and not. We have that in common.

We mature and our sensibilities and what we learn to see become more focused and sharper. Or it doesn’t.

As a small boy Canada was a muddle. I lived in a foster on Tenth St. North in the Rideout area of Kenora.

There were not a lot of Ojibwa kids in my school and I played with kids named Loranger, Zuleski, Waters, Campbell and Parks. I was left behind on family vacations, and shunted to the side at celebrations. Home had no real reference point for me and I thought Canada was where the white people lived.

In the home I was adopted into at nine, Canada became a huge city on the skyline. It became endless, fast lines of automobiles. It became noise; of factories, manufacturing and construction at the same time that it became the hurryscurry of people on sidewalks barely noticing each other or their varied colors. Home still had no real reference point and I thought Canada was where anybody other than the Indians lived.

On the streets I drifted to at 16 Canada became a desperate venture into finding jobs, shelter and a sense of purpose. It became the place where labels were attached.

Labels that I didn’t understand or felt that I deserved.

I was a lazy, drunken, shiftless bum with unmotivated, unskilled, uneducated and untrained thrown in for good measure. I thought Canada was where the fortunate people lived.

Then, when I hit the road as a hitch-hiker Canada became a stunning array of awe inspiring vistas, landscapes culled from the whimsy of an articulate God and the poignant heartache and yearning of peoples coaxed from their homelands to start again here. I identified greatly with that. In my late teens and early twenties I felt like an immigrant myself, searching for a new shore to start a better story.

But there’s a place in northern Ontario called Shebandowan. It’s a tiny little railroad town and in the

mid-70s there wasn’t a lot going on. Just a small store that doubled as a post office, a hotel where the miners and the railroad workers drank and a few houses scattered about willy-nilly.

The highway ran through it though I doubt if many travelers ever really saw it.

Back then I was always on my way to somewhere else and I stooped to work in Shebandowan for a while. The CNR hired me out of Thunder Bay to be a line labourer responsible for leveling track, clearing switches and basically ensuring that trains could always make it through.

I got to know the land pretty well because I’d take long walks for something to do when I wasn’t working. It was one of those places that’s really only a stopover.

My only breaks came when we’d go to Thunder Bay every three weeks to load up on groceries. There I’d get my fill of movies and restaurant food, buy new books and music and then head back to work, set to earn enough money to get out of there. It was a funny little place. It had an Ojibwa name but there weren’t any Ojibwa around except for me. Sure, every weekend Indian kids would come in from Atikokan or Kaministiquia or Kekabeka Falls but they were there and gone again come Monday morning.

I’d sit in the tavern and watch them interact with the miners and the other working men who filled the old hotel. The tavern was nothing more than a wooden bar, a dozen tables, a shuffleboard, a pool table and a big TV for the hockey games on Saturday nights. Those kinds of places are everywhere across Canada and this one was typical. The miners would let the Ojibwa kids win at pool so they could get them drunk and laugh. Every now and then a fight would break out and the place would be mayhem.

For me it was difficult. I hadn’t really connected with my own people yet and to see this display of subtle racism over and over again made me feel strange and odd as though there were something I should do but I didn’t know what or how. It was the mid70s and Canada was a different place.

At 55, I’ve grown to be comfortable in my own skin and the pride I feel as an Ojibwa man doesn’t allow me to condone racism whether it’s subtle or not. Shebandowan and the early years of my life taught me that were differences – age has taught me to celebrate them.

Wawatay News archives

Ogoki, March 1981.

LETTERS (Re: Wunnumin Lake’s mysterious Bigfoot family, Wawatay News, September 6) Editor My late grandfather was telling me a story about these hairy creatures in the forests one time. He told me that long ago, one man from one tribe disappeared from their camp. It was already the time the Europeans were around. Anyway, a few years later, one group was hunting in the wilderness and they encountered this hairy creature. Out of fright, one of the men quickly aimed and fired his gun. The creature fell dead. One very surprising thing from all this was, my late grandfather told me, was when they examined this dead creature; he was wearing a crucifix on his chest. So, for me and what I was told by my late grandfather, I believe these are people that disappear from their camps never to be found again. Think so? And by the way, my late grandfather told me this was passed on to him by people of the past too and now I’m doing it myself.

Submitted online Editor, These sightings have occurred world wide. A great deal of them have been studied to some degree. They do not just happen in northern Ontario. One was seen apparently waving at a motorist while driving on Florida’s Turnpike. In South America, Africa, Asia, Australia and Europe there are numerous reports. What connects these all? I do not have an answer.I did once. But It became apparent to me these “bigfoots”, which are general described as being larger that an average man would of been “discovered” by now. There are many sightings in very populated areas. I heard an elder in the west say they may be spiritual beings.

Submitted online

Editor, Mythical, legends No! This is a belief system taught to Native peoples just like we would never call Jesus a legend or myth, do not disrespect Natives beliefs systems. Do not have them host Olympics, or made little dolls of them, or name sports teams or cars after them. Listen to what the Elders say, stay safe. The fact that they live there is a statement to the clean lands you have. Now that you told everyone where to go look they will destroy the land there, they will scare them away. I guess the logging and mining will do it any way when they tear up your lands for Development.

Process, (but which way is up) lol.

Submitted online

(Re: Addressing First Nations food security, Wawatay News, September 6) Editor, I am pleased to see the initiatives being taken by NAN communities to assist families to provide more plentiful and more nutritional food items.

In my work, I have seen communities develop programs to assist families with food programs. Two that come to mind are the Food Box Programs in Bay of Quinte and Seine River.

The concept is simple!

• Pool limited resources • Shop for best buys • Do volume food purchases • Distribute the food to families mid-month, when the shelves are emptying Congratulations on your current initiatives. submitted online

CONTACT US Sioux Lookout Office Hours: 8:30-5:00 CST Phone: ....................737-2951 Toll Free: .....1-800-243-9059 Fax: ...............(807) 737-3224 .............. (807) 737-2263

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Neegan davidn@wawatay.on.ca EDITOR Shawn Bell shawnb@wawatay.on.ca WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER Rick Garrick rickg@wawatay.on.ca WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER Lenny Carpenter lennyc@wawatay.on.ca

ART DIRECTOR Roxann Shapwaykeesic, RGD roxys@wawatay.on.ca

TRANSLATORS Vicky Angees vickya@wawatay.on.ca

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Matthew Bradley matthewb@wawatay.on.ca

CONTRIBUTORS Chris Kornacki Richard Wagamese John Ferris Marianne Jones

SALES MANAGER James Brohm jamesb@wawatay.on.ca CIRCULATION Adelaide Anderson reception@wawatay.on.ca

Guest editorials, columnists and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views of Wawatay News.

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

5

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Bush Notes

John Ferris?Special to Wawatay News

Aroland signs two mining agreements: Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon gets ready to go shopping for picks and shovels.

CELEBRITY

SIGHTINGS

Find in these communities

Submitted photo

Johnny Depp superfan Tyler Angeconeb (in baseball cap) of Sioux Lookout had the chance to meet his idol during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 8. Angeconeb had the actor sign a photograph of the two taken when he met Depp as the actor was filming Public Enemies in Wisconsin in 2008.

Submitted photo

Bearskin Lake’s Marietta Beardy (left) and Kitchenumaykoosib Inninuwug’s Nicole McKay (second from left) sidle up to Cree country music star Shane Yellowbird and his fiancee Vanessa Lambert for a fan meet and greet immediately following his performance at the Valhalla Inn on Monday Sept. 10 in Thunder Bay.

Aroland Atikokan Attawapiskat Balmertown Batchewana Bearskin Lake Beaverhouse Big Grassy Big Island Big Trout Lake Brunswick House Calstock Cat Lake Chapleau Cochrane Collins Couchiching Couchiching Deer Lake Dinorwic Dryden Ear Falls Emo Flying Post Fort Albany Fort Frances Fort Hope Fort Severn Geraldton Ginoogaming Grassy Narrows Gull Bay Hornepayne Hudson Iskatewizaagegan

Kapuskasing Kasabonika Kashechewan Keewaywin Kenora Kingfisher Lake Kocheching Lac La Croix Lac Seul, Kejick Bay Lake Nipigon Lansdowne Long Lake Mattagammi Michipicoten Migisi Sahgaigan Missanabie Mobert Moose Factory Moosonee Muskrat Dam Musselwhite Mine Naicatchewenin Naotikamegwanning Nestor Falls Nicikousemenecaning North Spirit Lake Northwest Angle #33 Northwest Angle #37 Ochiichagwe’Babigo’ Ining Ogoki Pic River Osnaburgh Pawitik Pays Plat Peawanuck

Pickle Lake Pikangikum Poplar Hill Rainy River Red Lake Red Rock Rocky Bay Sachigo Lake Sandy Lake Saugeen Sault Ste. Marie Savant Lake Seine River Shoal Lake Sioux Lookout Sioux Narrows Slate Falls Stanjikoming Stratton Summer Beaver Taykwa Tagamou Timmins Thunder Bay Wabaskang Wabigoon Wahgoshing Wapekeka Washaganish Wauzhusk Onigum Wawakapewin Weagamow Lake Webequie Whitedog Whitesand Wunnimun Lake

6

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Unresolved trauma impacts younger generations Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

NAN youth and Elders gathered in Thunder Bay from Sept.

4-9 to talk about the intergenerational effects of residential school.

Walking Together, Sharing Our Journey is a five-day gathering that allows the youth to talk to Elders about the impacts of residential school, said facilitator Frank Beardy.

According to the Ontario Educational Communications Authority in 2006, there are 80,000 people alive today who attended the 130 residential schools and who are still suffering the effects.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada reports that more than 100,000 people have applied for residential

school compensation.

Beardy said it is not only the students who attended that were affected but their children and grandchildren as well.

“Our people have been institutionalized for so long in residential schools,” he said. “We lost the ability to be a parent, to show our love for our children.

“It’s very difficult to say I love you when you’re institutionalized. We look at those things that help us be a family again.”

The gathering included sharing circles, where anyone was free to talk about how residential school impacted them personally. There were workshops on healing, the history of residential schools and Native people, and presentations made by youth to the chiefs as well as a video.

TRC Commissioner Wilton

Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Holding the feather, an Elder recounts her experience in residential school as youth listen on Sept. 6.

Littlechild was the keynote speaker on Sept. 6 and was on

hand for statement taking for the commission. CBC broadcast

journalist Shelagh Rogers was also a keynote speaker during

the gathering.

Beardy said bringing youth and Elders together is crucial to the healing process.

“It’s important because youth need to understand what happened to their Elders at these schools,” he said. “They need to understand the teachings of our people and be able to start practicing these teachings under the guidance of our Elders.”

He added that the healing will take time and will take generations for Nativesº to recover.

“It’s going to be slow process but we are beginning to see our people taking back what was taken from them in the residential school years and being able to raise good healthy families,” he said. “And there are people coming forward saying they want to be able to express their love for their children.”

Aroland diamond agreement a result of ‘taking time to listen,’ says Debut CEO Chris Kornacki Wawatay News

A diamond exploration company that recently completed an exploration agreement with Aroland First Nation says taking the time to build a respectful relationship was key to the deal.

Chris Meraw, President of Debut Diamonds, told Wawatay News the agreement proves that if companies take the time to get agreements in place with First Nations, both sides can benefit.

“We knew that the modernization of the Mining Act is under process and that you are going to need an agreement with the First Nation in order to use mechanized equipment on

their traditional land,” Meraw said. “And we’ve always had a great respect for treaty rights and have built a tremendous relationship with the chief and community.

“The agreement is the result of both sides taking time to listen and discuss and reach an agreement that will benefit everyone,” Meraw said. “If you don’t talk, don’t consult and don’t communicate you’re really not moving ahead in any reasonable way.”

The agreement between Aroland and Debut was just one of two exploration agreements Aroland signed in August. The First Nation also signed an agreement with White Tiger Mining, a German exploration

company, giving the company access to explore for gold, copper and silver on its Marshall Lake property 30kms west of Nakina.

Aroland Chief Sonny Gagnon released a statement about the agreements, saying the First Nation is securing mutual benefits from its traditional lands.

“Aroland First Nation takes pride in the fact that we are working with industry to both ensure respect for our Aboriginal and treaty rights, and to secure mutual benefit and capacity development from such arrangements,” Gagnon said in a statement.

The drilling from Debut Diamonds will take place near the company’s Nakina Project in the

James Bay Lowlands. The company’s project covers a total of 85 mining claims.

Under terms of the agreement, Debut will provide Aroland with financial contributions in support of social and cultural programs. It also includes employment and service related business opportunities for the First Nation. Aroland members will be involved in the exploration work, in areas of campsite support and development and by working alongside the company’s drillers.

Meraw said the agreement took nine months to develop.

“Other companies might be in a rush and are not used to having to take the time to

develop relations and have the mutual respect, but things are changing, and our agreement with Aroland proves if you take the time you can get these agreements done it will all work its way out,” Meraw said.

Meraw said Debut is especially paying attention to sacred and cultural values. Elders and youth from the community are surveying the land Debut wants to drill on in order to document sacred sites, work that Meraw said helps the First Nation start to build a modern database of areas needing protection.

White Tiger has also agreed to provide undisclosed financial payments and other benefits and to provide employment and service related opportunities to

Aroland.

According to the company, White Tiger’s exploration agreement provides for the proper handling and protection of any possible burial or other culturally significant sites, and includes plans for the prevention, mitigation and remediation of any and all environmental impacts. “We believe that this agreement will bring economic opportunities to the region and will provide certainty for the company’s Marshall Lake property project in a manner which is respectful of traditional territories and Aboriginal and treaty rights,” Douglas Mason, CEO of White Tiger said in a statement.

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Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

7

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Ring of Fire judicial review hits more delays Chief remains committed to seeing matter before courts Shawn Bell Wawatay News

It has been 10 months since Matawa First Nations filed a judicial review of the Ring of Fire Environmental Assessment process, but the review continues to be delayed by legal procedures.

Judith Rae, Matawa’s legal representative on the case, told Wawatay News that recent legal motions by both Cliffs Resources and the government of Canada have delayed the pre-hearing process in the case.

The latest delays come after Canada took longer than usual to provide information at the beginning of the legal action, said the lawyer with Olthius Kleer Townshed law firm.

In November 2011 Rae had estimated that the case would

come before the courts in eight to 18 months, a timeline that seems overly optimistic at this point.

“Our initial timeline has been derailed by the motions

by Cliffs and Canada, but the judicial review is still ongoing,” Rae said.

Matawa filed the judicial review on Nov. 7, 2011, calling on the federal government to implement a Joint Review Panel - the most comprehensive form of environmental assessment (EA) - for the Ring of Fire.

Two Ring of Fire projects – Cliffs’ chromite mine and Noront’s Eagles Nest mine – are currently undergoing comprehensive EAs. Matawa claims that a comprehensive EA limits the opportunity for First Nation involvement in the process.

“Involve the community people, in their own language where they can really understand what they’re talking about, and where they can really express their concerns about the land issues and the knowledge that they have on the land itself.”

-Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias

One of the tribal council’s major concerns is that under a comprehensive EA, First Nation involvement is restricted to providing written comments, in English, on

on the land itself. Nobody else has that knowledge other than the people that live there.”

Rae explained that the ongoing comprehensive EA involves no independent assessors, no involvement with First Nations and no hearings in communities.

She expects that when Matawa’s judicial review comes before the courts, the judge will agree that the current process is flawed. If that happens, the entire EA process will have to restart, which could delay the Ring of Fire by years.

Meanwhile Ontario has extended the timeline for First Nations to provide comments on Cliffs’ terms of reference for the ongoing chromite mine EA process.

The deadline for public comments was Aug. 26, but Ontario is giving First Nations

company plans. Under a Joint Review Panel, on the other hand, hearings would be held by an independent team of assessors, in communities and in traditional languages, providing a place for all members of the First Nation to provide input.

Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias said that despite the delays with the judicial review, he remains committed to seeing the matter brought before the courts.

“The proper way to consult the First Nations is to have community consultation,” Moonias said. “Involve the community people, in their own language where they can really understand what they’re talking about, and where they can really express their concerns about the land issues and the knowledge that they have

until Sept. 25 to submit comments.

“It’s been extended to give First Nations additional time to comment,” said Ontario Ministry of Environment spokesperson Kate Jordan.

Jordan said the extension came at the request of several First Nations.

The other ongoing Ring of Fire EA, Noront’s EA process for the Eagle’s Nest project, is still on hold. The company had provided a preliminary draft of its terms of reference on July 5, but then put the EA on hold to reassess the project after Ontario agreed to support Cliffs’ north-south access road to the mining area. Noront had originally proposed an eastwest transportation corridor, although the company now support’s Cliffs north-south road proposal.

Ontario negotiating to build Ring of Fire toll road Shawn Bell Wawatay News

The Ontario government has confirmed it is planning to help build and operate a payper-use road to connect the Ring of Fire mining development to the existing highway grid.

A government spokesperson told Wawatay News that the province is “committed to sharing the cost” of building an all-season road to the Ring of Fire, and that discussions continue over how Ontario plans to recoup its investment in the road.

“It could be a toll, it could be a monthly invoice,” Ministry of Northern Development and Mines spokesperson Andrew Morrison said of the pay-per-use plan for the access road. “It’s difficult to characterize how a payment system would work at this point.”

According to a Noront Resources press release on Sept. 4, Ontario has assured the mining industry that all industrial users would be permitted to use the access road, which was proposed as part of Cliffs’ Ring of Fire chromite project.

Noront also noted that the road plan involved some sort of toll for companies to payper-use.

“Our discussions with the province have confirmed that the all-season road will be accessible to all industrial users, including Cliffs, and that the costs to use the road will be based on proportional usage.”

communities, and residents of the region would not have access to the road.

Morrison said negotiations over revenue sharing for First Nations in regards to the road are ongoing.

The province has also requested that the federal government get involved in the Ring of Fire in some form, Morrison said.

-Noront CEO Wes Hanson

“Our discussions with the province have confirmed that the all-season road will be accessible to all industrial users, including Cliffs, and that the costs to use the road will be based on proportional usage, a critical consideration for Noront as our concentrate shipments represent less than seven per cent of the currently identified ore haulage along the corridor,” Noront CEO Wes Hanson said in the release.

Following Noront’s release, Morrison noted that the proposed road would be solely for industrial users, for “developers to go in and get ore and minerals back out”. It would not connect to any First Nation

of major rivers, including the Attawapiskat River.

Neskantaga Chief Peter Moonias has pledged to ‘lay down his life’ to prevent a bridge being built over the Attawapiskat River.

The land that the road would be built on is also under dispute before Ontario’s Mining Commissioner, as KWG Resources currently owns

A number of First Nations in the region have adamantly opposed construction of the road, including Aroland, Constance Lake and Neskantaga First Nations.

Cliffs’ proposal has the road winding over 300 kilometres along the top of an esker through the James Bay Lowlands. Bridges would be required to cross a number

W

mining claims for nearly the entire length of the proposed road – claims that Cliffs needs before proceeding with the road construction.

Further complicating matters, both Ontario and Cliffs admitted before the Mining Commissioner that they had not yet consulted Neskantaga First Nation over the proposed road.

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8

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Aroland greenhouse sets example for North Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Aroland’s Mark Bell has been successful with growing peppers and other plants in two greenhouses he built out of recycled wood and other materials.

“I have about 100 tomatoes starting to turn red,” said the Aroland economic development officer. “I have chili peppers, I have jalapenos, I have broccoli, I have carrots, peas. You name it, I grow it. And it all grows really well.”

Bell said the greenhouse project was easy to do in his community because they have road access and are able to get soils and other gardening supplies without much trouble, compared to other remote fly-in First Nation communities.

“But we shared a lot of our techniques for finding soils in the bush and how to make healthy soils with what you have around you,” Bell said about his participation in Nishnawbe Aski Nation’s 3rd Annual Food Symposium, held Aug. 26-28 in Thunder Bay. Bell said NAN needs to do more food projects in the future

to be prepared for self governance.

“Governance is probably one of the most important issues facing our people with the reemergence of forestry occurring as well as the Ring of Fire,” Bell said. “We’re going to have a lot of impacts that we are going to have to deal with and this will be one way of dealing with some of those issues by making sure that our food systems and way of life don’t change.”

Meanwhile, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s plans to build a one-acre sized greenhouse have been put on hold.

“It really hasn’t taken off but gardening is happening,” said KI Councillor Joseph McKay. “We’ve been planting potatoes and carrots.”

KI is also working on the development of a 100 by 500 foot garden on the north side of the community.

“They’re using heavy equipment right now to pull out the stumps,” McKay said.

McKay said community members are also motivated to start their own gardens.

“I went to check out one of the gardens yesterday — the potatoes are growing really

Photos submitted by Mark Bell

Aroland’s Mark Bell has been harvesting a variety of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables this fall from two greenhouses he built in his community using plastic for the cover and recycled wood for the frame. fast,” McKay said. “We’ll be harvesting them pretty soon.”

McKay said his wife had been working on a garden as well, but the carrots didn’t grow very well this year because of the heat.

“(The peas) are doing good,” McKay said. “They always do good up here when we grow them.”

KI had been looking into the possibility of building a green-

house in 2009 that would use waste heat from a new powergenerating plant that was to be built in 2010-2011.

KI Chief Donny Morris said the plans also called for secur-

ing of cost-effective freight charges, development of a distribution network and commitments from grocery retailers to carry KI’s produce on their shelves.

ᐁᕑᐅᓫᐊᐣᐟ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᑭ ᑭᑎᑫᐊᐨᐧ ᑭᒥᓄ ᓂᑕᐃᐧᑭᒪᑲᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᑲᑭ ᑭᑎᑲᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᕑᐃᐠ ᑲᕑᐃᐠ ᐊᐧᐊᐧᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐃᐧᓇᐣ

ᒪᕑᐠ ᐯᓫ ᐃᔑᓂᑲᓱ ᐁᕑᐅᓫᐊᐣᐟ ᐁᑲᐯᔑᐨ ᑲᐧᔭᐠ ᐃᑯ ᑭᒥᓄ ᓂᑕᐃᐧᑭᐊᐧᐣ ᑲᑭ ᑭᑎᑲᓇᐨ ᓇᓇᑲᐤ ᑭᑎᑲᓂᒥᒋᒪᐣ ᓂᔑᐣ ᑭᑎᑲᓂᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᐅᔑᑐᐨ ᑫᑌ ᓇᐸᑭᓴᑲᐧᑎᑯᐣ ᒥᓇ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐣ ᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᐁᐧᐱᓂᑲᑌᓂᑭᐣ. “ᐊᔕ ᑫᑲᐟ ᐊᓂᐊᑎᓱᐊᐧᐠ ᒥᑕᓱᒥᑕᓇ ᑭᒋᐅᑭᓂᐠ ᑲᑭ ᑭᑎᑲᓇᑲᐧ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᕑᐅᓫᐊᐣᐟ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᔓᓂᔭᐃᐧᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᒋᑫᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᑲᐃᔑᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᐨ. “ᐣᑭ ᑭᑎᑲᓇᐠ ᒋᓫᐊ ᐯᐳᕑᐢ, ᐦᐊᓫᐃᐱᓄᐢ, ᑊᕑᐊᑯᓫᐃ, ᐅᑲᑕᑲᐧᐠ, ᐅᔕᐊᐧᐡᑯᐊᐣᒋᒥᓇᐠ. ᐱᑯ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᐣᑭ ᑭᑎᑲᑕᓇᐣ. ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᑲᐧᔭᐠ ᑭᐃᔑᓇᑲᐧᓄᐣ ᑲᔭᓂ ᐊᑎᑌᑭᐣ.” ᐯᓫ ᐃᑭᑐ ᑭᐁᐧᐣᑕᓂ ᒋᐅᔑᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᑎᑲᓂ ᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᑫᐃᐧᓂ ᐅᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᐊᓂᔕ ᐃᐁᐧᓂ ᑭᒋᐅᑕᐸᓂᒥᑲᓇᓂ ᑲᐱᑕᑲᐧᑕᒧᓂᐠ

ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐁᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᓇᓇᒋᑕᐱᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᔑᐡᑭᐣ ᒥᓇ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐣ ᑭᑎᑫᐃᐧ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᓇᐣ ᒥᐦᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᐁᑲ ᓇᐱᐨ ᑲᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᐊᔭᓂᒥᓭᐊᐧᐨ, ᐊᐱᐨ ᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᐃᓯᓭᑭᐣ ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐣ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓇᐣ ᓄᐱᒪᑲᒥᐠ ᑲᐊᔭᑭᐣ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᐁᑕ ᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᐃᔕᓂᐊᐧᐠ. “ᔕᑯᐨ ᐣᑭᐅᒋ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᑎᒥᐣ ᑲᑭᓇᓇᑐᓇᒪᐠ ᐊᔑᐡᑭ ᓄᐱᒥᐠ ᒥᓇ ᐊᓂᐣ ᐁᑐᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᐁᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᒋᒥᓇᐧᔑᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᐊᔑᐡᑭ ᐱᑯ ᑫᑯᐣ ᐊᐦᑭᑲᐠ ᑲᐅᐣᑎᓇᒪᐠ ᑫᑭᑎᑲᑫᔭᐠ,” ᐯᓫ ᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᑲᐧ ᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᐃᔕ ᐃᒪ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᐊᔕ ᓂᐦᓴᐧ ᑲᐃᔑᒋᑲᓄᐊᐧᐠ ᑕᓱᓂᐱᐣ ᑲᒪᐊᐧᒋᐦᐃᑎᓇᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᒥᒋᑦ ᒪᐊᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂᐠ, ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᐱ ᐊᑲᐢᐟ ᐱᓯᑦ 26 ᐊᑯᓇᐠ 28 ᐁᐧᑎ ᑕᐣᑐᕑ ᐯ. ᐯᓫ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐃᓯᓭᓂᐸᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᑭᔭᐱᐨ ᐊᐊᐧᔑᒣ ᒋᑭᒪᒋᑕᒪᑫᐸᐣ ᒥᒋᒥ ᒪᒋᑕᐃᐧᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᐁᐧᑎ ᐊᓂᓂᑲᐣ ᐯᑭᐡ ᐃᒪ ᒋᔭᓄᒋ ᑲᐧᔭᐣᒋᓇᓄᐊᐧᐠ

ᑲᐃᐧᔭᓂ ᐱᒥᐃᐧᓂᑎᓱᓇᓂᐊᐧᐠ. “ᐊᒥᐃᑐᐠ ᐃᐁᐧ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᑭᒋᓀᐣᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᐱᒥᐧᐃᓂᑎᓱᐃᐧ ᐊᓂᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑲᓇᑭᐡᑲᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᑕᓂᔑᓂᓂᒥᓇᓂᐠ ᐅᐁᐧ ᐊᐱᐣ ᑲᔭᓂᑕᑯᔑᓄᒪᑲᐠ ᒪᓇᑎᑫᐧᐃᐧᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐱᐊᐧᐱᑯᑫᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧᓇᐣ,” ᐯᓫ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ. “ᑕᔭᓂᒥᔑᓇᑐᐣ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᑫᔭᓂᐸᑭᑌᐡᑲᑯᔭᐠ ᒋᔭᓂ ᑲᑫᐧ ᐊᐦᔓᓱᔭᐠ ᒥᑕᐡ

ᐅᐁᐧ ᐯᔑᑲᐧᔦᐠ ᐃᓀᑫ ᑫᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᒪᒋᑕᒪᓱᔭᑭᐸᐣ ᑫᑯᓇᐣ ᑲᐱᓇᓇᑭᐡᑲᒪᐠ ᒋᓇᓇᑐᓇᒪᐠ ᐁᑲ ᑫᐅᐣᒋ ᓄᑌᓭᔭᐠ ᒥᒋᑦ ᒥᓇ ᑭᑕᓂᔑᓂᓂᐃᐧ ᐱᒪᑎᓯᐃᐧᓂᓇᐣ ᐁᑲ ᒋᔭᓂᐸᑲᓂᓭᐠ.” ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐁᐧᑎ ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᐱᐠ ᑲᑭᐃᑭᑐᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᒋᐅᔑᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᐯᔑᑯ ᑲᑲᑫᑎᐸᐦᐊᑲᓀᐢ ᒋᐃᑲᐧᓂᐠ ᑭᑎᑲᓂ ᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂ ᐱᓇᒪ ᐅᑭᐳᓂᑐᓇᐊᐧᐸᐣ.

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Administrative & Support Services

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1-807-766-7219 or toll free 1-888-558-3388

“ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᐃᑯ ᒪᔑ ᑲᐧᔭᐠ ᒋᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᔕᑯᐨ ᐃᐧᓂᑯ ᑭᑭᑎᑲᓄᐊᐧᐣ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᐱ ᐅᓇᔓᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂᓂ ᒍᓴᑊ ᒪᑫ. “ᐣᑭ ᑭᑎᑲᑕᒥᐣ ᐊᐡᑭᐸᐧᐊᐣ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐅᑲᑕᑲᐧᐠ.” ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᐃᒪ ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᐱᐠ ᐅᑕᓄᑲᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᐁᐅᔑᑐᐊᐧᐨ 100 ᒥᓇ 500 ᑕᓱᒥᓯᐟ ᒋᔭᐱᒐᓂᐠ ᐅᑭᑎᑲᓂᑫᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᐁᐧᑎ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᐃᔑ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ. “ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᐅᑕᓂᑕᐁᐧᐸᐦᐊᓇᐊᐧ ᐁᔭᐸᒋᐦᐊᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᒋᐅᑕᐸᓇᐣ ᐁᑲᑭᑕᑭᐱᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᐡᑲᑕᐦᐃᑲᓇᐣ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᒪᑫ. ᒪᑫ ᑲᔦ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᑲᑲᐯᔑᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑕᓂᑭᒋᓀᐣᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᐃᐧᓇᐊᐧ ᐱᑯ ᐁᔭᓂ ᑭᑎᑫᑕᒪᓱᐊᐧᐨ. “ᐅᓇᑯ ᐯᔑᐠ ᑭᑎᑲᐣ ᐣᑭᐊᐣᑕᐃᐧ ᓇᓇᑲᒋᑐᐣ, ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᑭᔕᑕᐱ ᓂᑕᐃᐧᑭᓄᐣ ᐊᐡᑭᐸᐧᐊᐧᐣ,” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒪᑫ. “ᒥᐱᑯ ᐊᔕ ᑫᑲᐟ ᒋᔭᓂᒪᐃᐧᐣᓴᐧᑕᒪᐠ.”

ᒪᑫ ᐃᑭᑐ ᐅᐃᐧᒋᐊᐧᑲᓇᐣ ᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᑭᑎᑫᐊᐧᐣ, ᔕᑯᐨ ᐅᑲᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᒋᐅᒋ ᓂᑕᐃᐧᑭᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐧᓴ ᑲᑭ ᑭᔑᑌᐠ. “ᐅᔕᐊᐧᐡᑯᐊᐣᒋᒥᓇᐠ ᐃᐧᓂᑯ ᑌᐯᐧ ᑲᔭᐧᐠ ᑭᓂᑕᐃᐧᑭᐊᐧᐠ,” ᐃᑭᑐ ᒪᑫ. “ᑕᓴᐧ ᐱᑯ ᑲᐧᔭᐠ ᓂᑕᐃᐧᑭᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᑭᑎᑲᓇᔭᑭᑕᐧ.” ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᐱᐠ ᐅᐃᐧᑲᑫᐧ ᐅᔑᑐᓇᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᑭᑎᑲᓂ ᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ 2009 ᒋᐅᒋ ᑭᓯᓯᑲᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᐅᐡᑭ ᐱᒥᐸᓂᒋᑫᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ 20102011 ᑲᔭᑭᐊᐧᓂᐠ. ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᑊ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᑕᐧᓂ ᒪᐧᕑᐃᐢ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐅᐃᐧᑲᑫᐧ ᐅᐣᑎᓇᓇᐊᐧ ᐊᐣᑎ ᑫᐃᔑᐁᐧᐣᑕᑭᑌᓂᐠ ᐅᐱᑕᐦᐅᑕᓱᑕᒪᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ, ᒥᓇ ᐸᐸᑲᐣ ᑲᐅᐣᒋᓭᑭᐣ ᒪᒪᐃᐧ ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᑎᐃᐧᓇᐣ, ᒥᓇ ᑫᒋᓇᐨ ᒋᐃᑭᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᒥᒋᒪᐣ ᑲᐊᑕᐊᐧᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᐊᑕᐊᐧᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᑭᒋᓇᒣᑯᓯᐱᐠ ᐊᑕᐁᐧᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ.

NOTICE TO PATTHEW ALBERT QUEQUISH (D.O.B. 8/28/1980): Stephanie Lynn Mattinas has petitioned Hennepin County District Court to change the name of Mystery Morning Rain Mattinas-Quequish, a minor child, to Mystery Morning Rain Mattinas. A hearing will be held in this matter before the Honorable Robert A. Blaeser, District Court Judge, on Tuesday, October 9, 2012 at 9:30 am at the Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. If you fail to appear at the hearing, default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the petition. Requests to appear by phone should be directed to Hennepin County Court Administration: (612) 348-3164. For other questions, you may contact Ronald Walters, attorney for Stephanie Mattinas, at (320) 532-7798.

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Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

9

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Kash and Albany gather at former village site Old Post gathering focuses on protecting the land

Photos submitted by Nicole Gillies

Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

For the first time in about 15 years, the communities of Kashechewan and Fort Albany gathered at Old Post, the site of the communities’ first settlement established in the late-1800s until the 1950s, when families had to move due to annual spring flooding.

The gathering, called Mamkeewanan: Protecting Paquataskamik, took place Aug. 23-26 and brought families from both communities to the site to talk about preserving and protecting the traditional lands of the communities.

Fort Albany band councillor Jackie Kataquapit said the idea for the gathering arose from a conference in February for workers in the land and resources field.

“One of the things they wanted was to see a gathering

Photo submitted by Jackie Kataquapit

Top: Boats carrying community members approach the Old Post site.

Above: The gathering took weeks of preparation to clear the overgrowth and set up. at the Old Post,” said Kataquapit, who holds the land and resources portfolio for Fort Albany. “Kash and Fort Albany are from there. That’s where our roots are. So they wanted to (reestablish) the process of talking with each other and working together.”

A planning committee was formed between the two communities and preparations began in July, including the mowing of grass, transportation of supplies and materials, and setting up of tents, teepees and a shabowtawan.

The committee also arranged a boat schedule to shuttle community members

to the Old Post site, which is 5-10 minutes from Fort Albany and an hour from Kashechewan since they must take a long route due to drying waterbeds.

A series of workshops and discussion panels took place over the four-day gathering, including traditional medicine, Aski law, rivers and lakes, tides and water safety, and a timeline and history of Old Post and Aboriginal people in the region.

Kataquapit said they discussed the need to post signs on the Old Site to tell travelers of the location, especially since there are still graves at

Families from Fort Albany and Kashechewan gathered at the former site of the communities’ first settlement during the Mamkeewanan: Protecting Paquataskamik gathering.

the site.

“They want to post signs around the river just to say that they’ve been there – just to mark it,” she said.

They also talked about how every campsite should be respected and to bring garbage home after every trip so as to protect the environment.

Chiefs Rex Knapaysweet and Derek Stephen signed a declaration where the communities agreed to work together to protect Paquataskamik (natural environment). The communities also developed a timeline on what they need to do to protect the environment.

The gathering had open dis-

cussions where anyone could voice their opinion or story.

Kataquapit said one of the Elders told her he enjoyed listening to the youth and the women speak.

“He said we should have more of these gatherings because it allows these young people and women to speak their truth in a safe environment,” she said.

The communities decided they need to meet again at a gathering at Old Post, which Kataquapit said will likely be in the winter where they will possibly invite neighbouring communities.

“The other thing is that

they’re planning to host a youth gathering between Kash and Fort Albany at Old Post, for them to get to know each other,” Kataquapit said. “And that’s good.”

A youth camp getaway at Old Post is slated to take place Oct. 5-14.

The Mamkeewanan (coming home together) gathering also had games, gospels, night theatre with the youth, a feast, drumming, and fireworks.

Kataquapit was pleased with the turnout of the gathering and camaraderie shown between the communities.

“It was a lot of work but it was worth it,” she said.

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First Nations Restoration Center

NOTICE OF FIRST ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Friday September 21, 2012 at 6:30 p.m. #2 Kejick Bay Road Kejick Bay , Lac Seul Ontario Call 737-2078 For more information www.firstnationsrestorationcenter.ca

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COUNSELLING THE SEXUALLY ABUSED Are you an individual, church worker, or a community worker concerned about those who have been wounded by sexual abuse?

Here is a workshop designed especially for you. You will learn a counselling model that will be of help to you.

November 1-3, 2012 Prince Arthur Hotel Thunder Bay, ON Thursday, 6:00 p.m. to Saturday, 4:30 p.m.

The workshop will be taught by Rick and Linda Martin and Amos Esh. $150.00 per person or $175.00 per couple Pay by October 18 and receive a $25.00 discount $75.00 for previous attenders Group rates available

Call (807) 937-5188 or 622-5790 for registration details.

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3rd Annual Workplace Walking Challenge How it Works…

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4 week challenge begins October 1, 2012.

Lots of random draw prizes! ÀÊ ÀiÊ v À >Ì Ê> `ÊÌ ÊÀi} ÃÌiÀ]ÊV> \ ­näÇ®ÊÇÎÇ ÓÓ ÓÊÊiÝÌ°ÎÇÓ{Ê ÀÊiÝÌ°ÎÇÎä / ÃÊ«À }À> Ê ÃÊ vviÀi`Ê Ê«>ÀÌ iÀà «ÊÜ Ì ÊÌ iÊ- ÕÝÊ ÕÌÊ >LiÌiÃÊ*À }À> ]ÊÊ i Ê9>Ê7 Ê i> Ì Ê i ÌÀiÊ> `ÊÌ iÊ ÀÌ ÜiÃÌiÀ Ê i> Ì Ê1 Ì°Ê

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Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Native Nursing Entry Program celebrates grand reopening Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Mae Katt, the Native Nurses Entry Program’s first coordinator, cuts the ribbon during NNEP’s grand reopening ceremony Sept. 5 in Lakehead University’s Braun Building. The previous office was closed a few years ago due to a fire.

Nibinamik’s Delphine Yellowhead is looking forward to studying nursing at Lakehead University after graduating from the Native Nurses Entry Program last spring.

“I’m going to first-year nursing this fall,” Yellowhead said. “I’ve heard from other students that it’s hard and you just have to study hard as you can and focus.”

Yellowhead’s daughter Shannon is excited to see her mother succeeding with her studies.

“She keeps on telling me

Summer Comes to an End With the arrival of fall, students are heading back to school and the Hammond Reef exploration work is wrapping up. We want to offer a big THANK YOU to all the students, staff and community members who have worked so hard to make the Hammond Reef project one of the biggest exploration projects in Canada.

On July 31, 2012 the Resource Definition program was completed. Currently, there are 2 drills remaining on site to complete a ground condemnation program for the tailings location and the sites for buildings and other infrastructure.

Our Summer Experience program has also come to a close, and we would like thank the three participants: Mathieu Zoccole-Thibeault from Lac des Mille Lacs First Nation, Antonio Marinaro from Seine River First Nation and Métis student Rebecca Deslauriers. The program offered short-term positions in a job shadow setting with the four different departments at Hammond Reef. Students also worked with Golder, our environmental consultant, to do field work and study the existing environment at the site. This approach gave the students the chance to be exposed to a variety of experiences, allowing them to better understand the different job opportunities available in the mining industry.

We are proud of our great team and all that has been accomplished at Hammond Reef so far.

Much of the continuing work on the Project will now be focussed on the environmental assessment and permitting. We will also be working out the detailed design and engineering for the Project, and holding meetings in local communities to share information and receive feedback.

Thank you again to everyone for your hard work and support for the Hammond Reef Gold Project!

Mathieu Zoccole-Thibeault, Summer Experience program student

OSISKO HAMMOND REEF GOLD LTD. Head Office: 1100, av. des Canadiens-de-Montréal Suite 300, P.O. Box 211 Montreal, Qc, H3B 2S2

Regional Office: 101, Goodwin Street, P.O. Box 2020 Atikokan, ON P0T 1C0

Contact: Alexandra Drapack Director Sustainable Development Hammond Reef Project

www.osisko.com

adrapack@osisko.com

‘You’re going to do it mom,’” Yellowhead said. “You’re going to make a good nurse.”

Yellowhead had problems during her first attempt at NNEP, but succeeded on her second attempt after studying chemistry and biology.

“When I went the second time, I knew what was expected so I was more prepared,” Yellowhead said, explaining the chemistry classes were difficult for her during her first attempt at NNEP. “I never took it in high school because I dropped out. I had to take it through Lakehead Adult Education (Centre).”

Yellowhead also has six children to care for while she is studying.

“I just studied hard and took tutors and tried to do my best and I finally made it,” Yellowhead said. “It’s just awesome.”

Yellowhead was one of the former NNEP students who helped celebrate the grand reopening of NNEP’s office in the Braun Building, which was closed a few years ago due to a fire.

NNEP graduate Suzanne Fitzpatrick also had plenty of support from her children; two daughters have since graduated from NNEP. “I think just through my experience in going through the program, certainly your children are part of it too and you’re a big role model for your children, so of course over the years they came through the program themselves,” Fitzpatrick said. “My youngest daughter is just going into firstyear nursing, so it’s good to see.”

Fitzpatrick has worked in nursing at a northern gold mine for six years and in her own community since graduating with a nursing degree in 1997.

Temagami’s Mae Katt, the original program coordinator with NNEP, said the program was designed to provide students with a stronger foundation in sciences and to improve some of their communication skills.

“I’m still working as a nurse so I still travel out to the

communities and I run into a lot of the graduates,” Katt said. “They are now working in nursing careers in the communities. Some of them are nurses in charge and it’s nice to see them being able to deliver nursing services in their own language.”

“...it is a big change for the communities to have nurses with in-depth knowledge of the language and culture.”

– Mae Katt

Katt said it is a big change for the communities to have nurses with in-depth knowledge of the language and culture.

“They’re not used to having Aboriginal nurses in those numbers working for them,” Katt said.

Twenty-four students are enrolled in this year’s class at NNEP, including two male students.

“Over the 26 years we’ve had not too many males coming into the profession,” said Sandra Cornell, program manager at NNEP. “So it’s starting to change around those old roles with males coming into the profession too.”

Fifty-one of NNEP’s graduates have completed their nursing degrees since 1987, 36 are currently in years 1-4 in Lakehead’s nursing program, and seven are expected to graduate from nursing in 2013.

Cornell said NNEP is also a stepping-stone for other graduates, many who have gone on the study in other fields, such as social work, business administration, chemistry and biology.

NNEP graduates with a 70 per cent average overall are guaranteed a seat in Lakehead’s four-year nursing degree program and graduates with an 80 per cent average overall are guaranteed a seat in Lakehead’s three-year compressed nursing degree program.

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

11

Human rights case “like a gaping wound” Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Pic River’s Bonnie Couchie was shook to the core after being terminated in a discriminatory manner from a contract to deliver Aboriginal relations for provincial government staff.

While Couchie eventually won her case against Ontario (Municipal Affairs and Housing) in 2011 at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and was awarded $20,000 in general damages, the ordeal consumed her life for over three years.

“After the first session (May 13, 2008), I was fired and I was told I was fired because I was a poor presenter,” Couchie explained.

“As somebody that has a master’s degree in interdisciplinary humanities with a focus in native studies, an undergraduate in law and politics and indigenous learning, and who has taught indigenous law and history at universities and college, I had really taken great pride in my ability as a teacher so this termination came as a shock to me.”

Although Couchie and her non-Aboriginal co-presenter both received mixed reviews on their presentations after the first of six sessions they were contracted to deliver on Aboriginal relations for staff from various Ontario government ministries, Couchie was terminated while her nonAboriginal co-presenter was kept on with direction to get “refresher work.”

Human Rights Tribunal vice chair Jennifer Scott concluded that Couchie was subject to “heightened scrutiny, disproportionate blame and over-reaction when compared to her co-presenter.”

Scott also found that the ministry “was prepared to remediate the poor performance of the non-Aboriginal person, but was not prepared to remediate the performance of the Aboriginal person.”

“It’s one thing to be discriminated against in the first instant, but you can almost get away from it quicker if you don’t talk about it.”

-Bonnie Couchie

Couchie relived the experience in the hopes that other people will not have to during a Sept. 4 Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) meeting at Confederation College’s Learning Cafe in Thunder Bay. “It’s one thing to be discriminated against in the first instant, but you can almost get away from it quicker if you don’t talk about it,” Couchie said. “But here I was, talking about it and fighting this case, so it was right out in the open like a gaping wound for three years.”

But she still has not received any similar contract work since being terminated and has had to rely on other opportunities to earn a living.

“I have been disillusioned by this whole process,” Couchie said.

Couchie encourages others to stand up for themselves if they are being discriminated against.

“Call things what they are as they happen,” Couchie

said. “Don’t expect that this process is going to make things all better — it’s not.

If you choose to embark on a human rights case, just know that the road is really long and really tough and there will be benefits for the whole, but you will pay a personal price.”

Co-sponsored by Confederation College and HRLSC, the meeting was held to spark discussions and action to support people facing discrimination in the Thunder Bay area.

“Sometimes what we are able to do is help people resolve their cases early on,” said Kathy Laird, executive director of HRLSC, noting their services are free.

“If a young person is turned

down because they are a single mom or on welfare or because they are First Nation for an apartment, sometimes we can just make a call and tell a person that’s not legal in Ontario and they’ll get the apartment.”

Laird said the hope is that not everyone has to go through the long process Couchie had to go through.

The HRLSC received 25,276 calls from April 2011 to March 2012, with 101 of the 219 hearing applications made by the HRLSC during that time being settled before, at or during the hearing.

The HRLSC’s Thunder Bay office can be reached at 807345-2694 or the main office toll free at 1-866-612-8627.

Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Bonnie Couchie of Pic River won her case with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario last year after she was terminated from her job while her non-Aboriginal co-presenter was kept on.

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Wawatay News

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY REGIONAL GOVERNANCE COORDINATOR (EXTERNAL ADVERTISMENT) JOB SUMMARY:

Shibogama First Nations Council is a progressive organization that serves five First Nation communities and its people in various capacities such as governance, education, health, economic development, technical support and advisory services.

The five First Nation communities are actively developing strong governance structures and are pursuing full control of their education programs. Under the direction of the Executive Director of Shibogama First Nations Council, the Regional Governance Coordinator will oversee the NAN Governance and Education Jurisdiction project by communicating, dialoguing, advocating and supporting the communities on the next steps.

He/she will be involved with the regional wide governance and education jurisdiction initiatives representing Shibogama First Nations Council and liaison with the other Tribal Councils, governments, agencies and Nishnawbe Aski Nation. The NAN Governance and Education Jurisdiction is a negotiations process mandated by the leadership through resolution 98/75 and currently at the agreement-in-principle stage that will serve as a framework for final negotiations. He/she will assist the First Nations develop a governance strategic plans.

QUALIFICATIONS: • Post-secondary education public administration is required with a minimum of three years of coordinating and administrative experience • Extensive knowledge of federal /provincial legislation, policies and procedures • Excellent oral communication and writing skills • Excellent organizational skills • Fluency in First Nation language is required • Must travel to First Nation communities extensively • Knowledge of communities and sensitivity to First Nation culture • Computer literate • Ability to work as a team RESPONSIBILITIES: • Coordinate and raise awareness and understanding of Governance and Education Jurisdiction Negotiations and the self-governance process • Inform Chief and Councils and community members about the ongoing process of the negotiations • Distribute communication materials to each community using various means of communication tools • Facilitate feedback for recommendations for the next phase off the project and to the funding agencies • Conduct workshops and meetings with on and off reserve population at the community and/or urban centre • Attend RGC training • Be responsible for the completion of program proposals, mid-term, quarter and final reports • Submit monthly reports that will contain RGC activities, contacts, information sessions, and other statistical information that will be required.

• Assist in the development of community plans on governance and education jurisdiction • Provide current federal and provincial policy changes and information trends on governance and education jurisdiction.

Must provide a criminal record check.

SALARY:

Commensurate with experience and qualifications

CLOSING DATE:

September 28, 2012 12:00 p.m.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITY Primary Health Care Unit PUBLIC HEALTH PROJECT COORDINATOR Internal/External Posting Term Full Time Location: Sioux Lookout, Ontario The Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority is developing an integrated Public Health Service delivery model with the First Nations communities.

The Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority is seeking a motivated and well organized individual to perform the duties of Project Coordinator.

Reporting to the Director of Health Services, this position will be responsible for the overall planning, development, and implementation of the project.

The Project Coordinator is to execute and finalize the public health project to strict deadlines and within budget.

QUALIFICATIONS • University degree or college diploma in a health related field; • 2 years direct work experience in a project management capacity, including all aspects of process development and execution; • Certification in project management is desired; • Experience at working both independently and in a team-orientated, collaborative environment is essential; • Strong written and oral communication skills; • Strong interpersonal skills; • Experience in conducting research into project-related issues and products; • Strong leadership skills.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY • Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment; • Ability to communicate in one of the First Nations dialects within the Sioux Lookout Zone an asset; • Ability to establish relationships/partnerships with agencies & community; • Must be willing to travel; • Must be willing to relocate and live in Sioux Lookout.

Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date Criminal Reference Check to: Human Resources Department Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority 61 Queen Street, P.O. Box 1300 Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8 Phone: (807) 737-1802 Fax: (807) 737-2969

L

How to Craft an Effective an Job Ad Just answer these 6 questions

n Who are you?

Identify your business at the beginning of the advertisement.

List the business name as well as background information about your company. Include facts about your products or services, the customers you serve and your company’s mission. Use your company logo for some instant recognition. o What are you looking for?

Use a job title that people can relate to. If you make up title that doesn’t fit to position, you won’t get the right applicants. p What qualifications will the successful applicant possess?

Provide a list of requirements for this employee, including educational level, skills, availability (part time or full time), experience in specific fields, physical ability (if applicable to the position) and willingness to travel. Explain exactly what the employee must present to you as a condition of consideration for employment, such as a portfolio or list of references. Be as specific as possible to prevent yourself from receiving a slew of applications from unqualified applicants. q What will the person do once hired?

Be clear about the responsibilities and task that are part of the job. open ended job descriptions can lead to misunderstandings and clashes of expectations. r What do you pay and do you offer benefits?

Provide a section regarding salary. If you don’t feel comfortable listing the salary or hourly rate for the position, you can simply write “commensurate with experience” or something similar. If you offer benefits, list them to make the job listing more attractive to qualified candidates.

Email: Human.Resources@slfnha.com

s How would a person go about applying for the position?

Submit three references, one should be the current supervisor, and your resume to:

Closing Date: September 21, 2012 at 4:30 p.m.

MARGARET KENEQUANASH Shibogama First Nations Council P.O. Box 449, 81 King Street Sioux Lookout, Ontario P8T 1A5 Fax: (807)737-1583

No resumes received after that time will be accepted

Enter details about your application process at the end of the employment ad. Ask for a resume and a brief cover letter. Avoid posting your main email or a direct phone number in the ad, unless you don’t mind handling many inquiries this way. Direct applicants to a fax number or separate email account specifically designated to receive resumes or inquiries via email.

For more information contact: Margaret Kenequanash at (807) 737-2662 Ext. 2233

The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted an interview will be contacted.

For additional information regarding the Health Authority, please visit our Web-site at www.slfnha.com

SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITY Client Services Department

SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITY Client Services Department

SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITY Client Services Department

DIETARY AIDES Casual Employment Internal/External Posting Location: Sioux Lookout, Ontario

HOUSEKEEPERS Casual Internal/External Posting Location: Sioux Lookout, Ontario

ACCOMMODATION CLERKS Internal/External Posting Casual Positions

Under the direction of the Team Leader (Dietary), the Dietary Aides are responsible to meet the dietary needs of the Hostel clients.

Under the direction of the Team Leader (Housekeeping), the Housekeepers are responsible to keep the Hostel and Administration offices at a high standard of cleanliness.

QUALIFICATIONS • Minimum Grade 12 or GED; • Must have Food Service Worker certification; (or be willing to obtain) • Previous experience in a hospitality field an asset; • Ability to lift up to 20 lbs; • Must be independent and self motivated worker; • Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills; • Possess excellent team building and networking skills.

QUALIFICATIONS • Minimum Grade 12 or GED; • Experience in a hospitality field an asset; • Ability to lift 20+ lbs; • Possess excellent verbal and written communication skills; • Possess excellent team building and networking skills; • Familiarity with computers, including databases.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY • Ability to communicate in one or more of the First Nations dialects of the Sioux Lookout Zone will be an asset; • Experience and understanding of Native cultural issues, the geographic realities and social conditions within remote Northern First Nation communities; • Excellent time management and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work independently; • Must be willing to do shift work.

KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY • Ability to communicate in one or more of the First Nations dialects of the Sioux Lookout Zone will be an asset; • Experience and understanding of Native cultural issues, the geographic realities and social conditions within remote Northern First Nation communities; • Innovative problem solving and decision making skills; • Excellent time management and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work independently; • Must be willing to do shift work.

Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date Criminal Reference Check with a Search of Vulnerable Persons Screening to:

Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date Criminal Reference Check with a Search of Vulnerable Persons Screening to:

The Accommodation Clerks are primarily responsible for the overall care of the hostel and private accommodation boarders. The incumbents will process boarder information, assist the dispatcher with daily pick up lists, and work cooperatively with other staff and agencies.

QUALIFICATIONS: • Minimum Grade 12 or GED; • Previous experience in a front desk clerk position an asset; • Good communication, and interpersonal skills; • Proficient word processing skills.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITY • Ability to communicate in one or more of the First Nations dialects of the Sioux Lookout Zone a definite asset; • Knowledge and experience in office procedures and familiarity with databases an asset; • Experience and understanding of Native cultural issues, the geographical realities and social conditions within remote Northern First Nation communities; • Innovative problem solving and decision making skills; • Excellent time management, and organizational skills, as well as the ability to work independently; • Must be willing to do shift work.

Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date Criminal Reference Check with a Search of Vulnerable Persons Screening to:

Human Resource Department Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority P.O. Box 1300, 61 Queen Street Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8 Phone: (807) 737-1802 Fax: (807) 737-2969 Email: Human.Resources@slfnha.com

Human Resource Department Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority P.O. Box 1300, 61 Queen Street Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8 Phone: (807) 737-1802 Fax: (807) 737-2969 Email: Human.Resources@slfnha.com

Human Resources Department Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority P.O. Box 1300, 61 Queen Street Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8 Tel: (807) 737-1802 Fax: (807) 737-2969 Email: Human.Resources@slfnha.com

Closing Date: September 28, 2012 at 4:30 p.m.

Closing Date: September 28, 2012 at 4:30 p.m.

Closing Date: September 28, 2012 at 4:30 p.m.

No resumes received after that time will be accepted

No resumes received after that time will be accepted

No resumes received after that time will be accepted

The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted an interview will be contacted.

The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted an interview will be contacted.

The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted an interview will be contacted.

For additional information regarding the Health Authority, please visit our Web-site at www.slfnha.com

For additional information regarding the Health Authority, please visit our Web-site at www.slfnha.com

For additional information regarding the Health Authority, please visit our Web-site at www.slfnha.com

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

13

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Horvoka nominated for People’s Choice awards Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Less than three months after the release of her third album, Shy-Anne Hovorka has been nominated for six Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards.

“It was kinda scary not knowing what they’re gonna say,” Hovorka said on waiting whether she would be announced as a nominee.

“It’s always hit or miss. I honestly did not expect to be in the top five, but it turns out I did.”

Hovorka felt “pretty good” to be nominated for Aboriginal Female Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year, Best Music Video, Best Country CD, Best Producer/Engineer and Best Album Cover Design for her album Interwoven Roots, which was released in June.

“You don’t say no to something like that.”

-Shy-Anne Horvoka on offer from successful producer

The album title was inspired by a cedar and spruce tree growing in Hovorka’s backyard which appeared to be growing out of the same stump. “(They) have not competed with each other for growth, so I wrote a song about that,” she said. “Then I decided to wrap the album around that concept of interwovenness of species and linking it towards humanity.”

Half of the album was

Wawatay file photo

Thunder Bay’s Shy-Anne Horvoka was nominated for six Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards after her third album was released June. An independent, unsigned musican, Horvoka is wondering whether she will continue her music career. recorded in Nashville at County Q Studios, and the other half at Dining Room Studios in Thunder Bay. In designing the album cover, Hovorka recruited Silver Suggashie of Pikangikum First Nation to collaborate with another artist.

“The two of them were able to come up with a deadly

front and back,” Hovorka said.

Hovorka recently shot a music video for the track, “Run Run Run,” which is expected to be released in September to coincide with the radio release of the song.

While proud of the success of Interwoven Roots, Hovorka is wavering at

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the thought recording a fourth album. Hovorka is an unsigned musician and independently finances her albums. In total, Interwoven Roots cost $40,000 to record.

“It does take up a couple of years to save up that kind of money,” she said.

Along with the financial burden, Hovorka is con-

cerned about her age.

“I know that’s bad to say, but it also takes a lot of energy because you’re always trying to promote yourself,” she said.

Hovorka left a teaching job to become a full-time musician, and if she decides to put her music career on hold, she will go back to teaching.

“I do like helping other kids and other musicians,” she said, noting that she continues to teach part-time.

“So teaching and marketing would be something I would do if I don’t make a fourth album.”

But temptation to record a new album persists, especially with an offer to produce from Jim Zolis, who produced Celine Dion’s breakthrough album in the 90s.

“You don’t say no to something like that,” Hovorka said.

And Hovorka continues to receive support other artists. A local artist designed and created a buckskin dress for Hovorka’s new video and wants to create another one for when Hovorka walks the red carpet at the People’s Choice Awards.

“It makes life easier and I’m helping others too,” she said. “And it’s things like that that makes me want to produce the album.”

She said she appreciates all the support she has received throughout her career.

“Thanks all the people that have supported my little career and taken the time to root for me,” she said.

Hovorka recently performed at the Trout Forest Fest in Ear Falls and at the AFN elections. In October she will be touring with the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra and again in February, where they will perform her own compositions.

The Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards ceremony will take place on Nov. 2 in Winnipeg.

Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee

Network Manager Wawatay Native Communications Society is seeking an energetic, motivated and reliable individual for the position of Network Manager.

Wawatay Native Communications Society is a self-governing, independent community-driven entrepreneurial native organization dedicated to using appropriate technologies to meet the communication needs of people of Aboriginal ancestry in Northern Ontario, wherever they live. In doing so, its founders intended that Wawatay would serve their communities by preserving, maintaining and enhancing indigenous languages and culture. Wawatay’s mission is to provide media capabilities and content that address the unique needs of the Nishnawbe people.

Reporting to the Chief Executive Officer, the Network Manager is responsible for the IT resources of Wawatay Native Communications Society. This position oversees the existing network and computer resources and provides consultation on the expansion and maintenance of the network and related resources.

Ideally, the person chosen will actively develop and maintain the various web properties of Wawatay. There are currently four independent web sites. They are based on Drupal, PHP and MySQL. The Wawatay network consists of three offices interconnected via a VPN. It is a mixed Windows and Mac environment. There are several small business servers fulfilling various roles within the organization such as file sharing and audio streaming.

Qualifications: • Degree or Diploma in an IT related field such as networking or programming.

• Experience working with small business networks.

• Proficiency programming in PHP. • Proficiency with MySQL databases.

Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation Internships — 2 positions Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee (SLARC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping all residents and visitors to our community learn to work and live together while respecting and celebrating our differences. The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation Internships are an opportunity for individuals to gain valuable workrelated experience, knowledge and skills in a supportive environment. Training and supervision will be provided.

Community Events Coordinator Key duties and responsibilities • Plan and coordinate SLARC’s annual events with a Community Planning Team • Work with the Board to research potential funding for new community-building ventures • Develop promotional material for events and communicate with media • Facilitate meetings with community members and organizations • Recruit, train, and support volunteers • Running local sponsorship drives • Research possible funders and work with the board to develop proposals for event funding • Report monthly to the Board • General office administration

Youth Engagement Facilitator Key duties and responsibilities • Develop positive relationships with high school students and staff • Develop a venue within the schools for youth to access information about current affairs and social issues • Partner with the schools and students to develop a Youth Advisory Council • Work in team with the Youth Centre, schools, Municipal Youth Development Commission and youth to develop a youth strategy for the community • Plan and coordinate events, workshops and conferences for youth • Develop promotional material for the Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee Youth Programs • Research potential sources of funding for youth programs and work with the Board to develop proposals.

• General office duties as required.

Responsibilities: • Maintain the Wawatay network and all related assets.

• Develop and maintain the web properties of Wawatay.

• Consult on IT related issues, upgrades, or purchases.

• Provide technical support to the Wawatay staff.

Desired Qualifications • Diploma or degree in the area of humanities, business management, event management or sociology.

• Organized and self-motived • Comfortable with computers and Microsoft Office • Effective communicator • Experience working in a cross-cultural environment an asset • Experience working with non-profit organizations an asset • Experience in event coordination an asset

Assets: • Experience working with Apple computers.

• Experience with Windows Servers • Experience with Linux.

• Knowledge or experience with the Asterisk PBX. • Ability to communicate in Cree, Oji-Cree, or Ojibway would be a plus.

NOHFC Qualifications Northern Ontario secondary school graduates 29 years of age or under who recently graduated from an accredited college or university.

Location: Salary: Deadline to Apply:

Sioux Lookout, Thunder Bay, or Timmins To commensurate with experience.

Friday, September 28, 2012.

Please send resume, cover letter and three letters of reference to: Tabatha Jourdain, Human Resources Wawatay Native Communications Society Box 1130, Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B7 Fax: (807) 737-3224 Email: tabathaj@wawatay.on.ca Wawatay Native Communications Society thanks all those who submit applications for this position.

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Positions: Location: Salary: Closing date:

Desired Qualifications • Diploma or degree in the area of social studies, humanities, social work, education or child development.

• Organized and self-motived • Effective communicator • Experience working with children or youth, • Experience working in a cross-cultural environment • Effective leadership skills • Comfortable working as part of a team, • Comfortable with computers and Microsoft Office

Full time (35 hours per week) – one year contract Sioux Lookout and area $30,558 annual September 28, 2012

Please submit cover letter with resume and 3 references to: Sioux Lookout Anti-Racism Committee, Box 1194, Sioux Lookout ON, P8T 1B7 or email connect@slarc.ca Also please indicate which Internship you are applying for.

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

14

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Aboriginal filmmakers learning more about their craft Docs North workshops aimed at enhancing filmmakers’ skillsets kickstart grants to northern filmmakers in communities such as Moose Factory, Peawanuck and Sioux Lookout to work on their film projects.

Allen Auksaq of Igloo-

Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Caleb Magiskan of Thunder Bay is planning a make a short film in the coming months.

But the 21-year-old Aroland First Nation member felt he needed to learn more about the trade and craft of filmmaking, so he took part in Docs North, a workshop program aimed at emerging filmmakers in Thunder Bay and northern Ontario.

“It was really insightful,” Magiskan said of his experience in the workshops. “Just the stories and what they teach you helps a lot when you go back to your own life and use these skills for your own films and projects.”

In the two-day workshop program, Magiskan said he wanted to learn more about how to acquire funding as well as to enhance his storytelling skills.

“That’s the one thing I’m not too sure about,” he said of funding. “Being a filmmaker is not the most profitable career choice and I wanted to try get funding. So now I know what companies and councils to go to.”

It is the second year of Docs North, which Magiskan took part in last year. It is part of the Bay Street Film Festival, which took place concurrently with Docs North. Last year, Magiskan’s short drama, Gas through the Glass, won the People Choice’s Award at the film festival.

This year, Magiskan is writing a drama about a struggling

“We’re going to have an Inuk person go on a 60-day traditional diet to see if his health will improve.”

-Allen Auksaq on upcoming documentary project

Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Caleb Magiskan of Aroland First Nation, Kelly Saxberg of the Bay Street Film Festival, and Allen Auksaq of Igloolik, Nunavut, take part in one of several workshops during the Docs North workshop program. Developed in partnership with the Thunder Bay film festival, Docs North is aimed at enhancing the skills of emerging filmmakers in isolated communities. artist who was abandoned as a newborn by his father and raised by his mother, who struggles with prescription drug addiction.

“It’s about him drawing portraits of what (his father) might look like,” Magiskan said. “It’s what he goes through while doing the portrait. It’s based on my own

experiences.”

Docs North is organized by Kelly Saxberg, who also coordinates the Bay Street Film Festival. She was inspired to start Docs North last year after taking part in a similar workshop program in Nunavut, which focused on teaching and networking with emerging filmmakers in isolated

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communities.

“I’m a filmmaker in an isolated community from Toronto trying to make films and tell our stories,” she said. “But there’s also people in Sioux Lookout, in Moose Factory, who are trying to make films too.”

Docs North had filmmakers from as far away as Uruguay

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come in to mentor the participants. But where last year the participants filmed for one day and edited the next, the program did not receive the same amount of funding and had to reduce the program to two days with no filming.

Instead, Saxberg said, to go with the two-day workshops, the program provided small

lik, Nunavut, was unable to attend Docs North last year but jumped at the chance this year.

Auksaq produces films when he is not working his government job. Now he wants to produce a six-part series about the impact Western food has had on his people.

“We’re going to have an Inuk person go on a 60-day traditional diet to see if his health will improve,” he said.

Auksaq said he wants to make documentaries to tell the stories of his culture to the world in a medium that everyone looks at. He said he enjoyed his experience at Docs North.

“I’m learning a lot from everyone and I’m having fun talking to everyone and listening to the projects that they have,” he said. “With the project I’m working on, it makes me want to do more.”

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Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

15

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Koostachin adjusts to urban life Youth radio show host says ‘getting involved’ key to adapting Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

When Craig Koostachin moved to Timmins in 2008, he had to overcome numerous challenges to adjust to urban life.

The Attawapiskat First Nation member grew up in several communities along the James Bay coast, including Fort Albany and Moose Factory, where he spoke primarily Cree and took part in traditional activities.

So Koostachin experienced culture shock when he moved with his family to the city as a 14-year-old.

“I didn’t know how to talk to people,” he said. “And I had a problem with speaking English most of the time. I was mumbling a lot.”

Koostachin also experienced racism, whether it was remarks from non-Native students about First Nations living off taxpayers or suggestions he should cut his long hair.

“Sometimes I get bothered by the Timmins Police because of the way I dress,” Koostachin said. “Because they’re looking for a Native man with long hair.”

Despite feeling overwhelmed by the cultural changes, Koostachin persevered. As a student at O’Gorman High School, Koostachin joined a dramatic arts class to help him break out of his shell. It also helped him to “get better pronunciation” when speaking English.

When Koostachin was in Grade 11, he joined his high school’s Link Leadership program, where he helped incoming Grade 9 students to adapt to high school. Koostachin focused on helping students coming from northern communities such as Peawanuck and Fort Albany adjust to city life.

“My job was to show them what to do and how to deal with stereotypes and racism,” Koostachin said. “And I just show them the ropes and guide them.”

The program had Koostachin undergo leadership training through a variety of courses. For two days that winter, he organized a drum circle and snowshoe trip for a group of 45 students from Ottawa involved in the program, and he taught them about Aboriginal culture.

“And these kids were all bundled up and I said, ‘You

Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Craig Koostachin of Attawapiskat First Nation grew up in several James Bay communities before moving to Timmins as a 14-year-old, where he struggled to adapt to urban life. Instead of getting into trouble, Koostachin pushed himself to get involved by taking drama class, a leadership program and taking up photography. He also volunteered for the Wawatay Radio Network as a co-op placement and continues to host a show. guys are gonna sweat in there,’” Koostachin said of the snowshoe trip. “Sure enough, they got cold and I had to make a fire.”

Koostachin, who joined the program again in Grade 12, gained personal growth through the program.

“For me it was about communication and sharing and leadership skills.”

– Craig Koostachin

“I’d say I became stronger because you get benefits,” he said. “For me it was about communication and sharing and leadership skills.”

That same school year, Koostachin wanted to learn about radio production, and so through his high school’s cooperative education course, he found a placement at the local Wawatay Radio Network office where he learned how to produce commercials for the station.

“We had good people who taught me and took me under their wing,” he said.

Since September 2010, Koostachin has volunteered for more than 300 hours at the station.

It was while he had his placement that Koostachin discovered that the Timmins Native Friendship Centre had a youth hour radio show at the station every Friday.

Koostachin joined other youth in the program and when the rest of the youth stopped showing up, he took it upon himself to continue the show and teach himself to operate the switchboard.

During the program, he shares his personal stories and interviews others who overcame their own challenges.

“My mandate is to motivate, inspire and educate people,” Koostachin said. “I use positive stories here and there and send messages to the James Bay youth out there and help them.”

Hosting a radio program had its challenges but like he has throughout his life, Koostachin kept at it and is now more comfortable talking into the microphone.

“With my experience I’ve become more open and willing to speak,” he said.

“Sometimes I don’t hesitate

to speak. I used to be slow and have more dead air.”

During a recent show, Koostachin told listeners that he has rediscovered a love for photography. As a child, his parents gave him a film camera and he recalled taking a lot of photos but stopped.

When he received an iPhone last year, he used its camera to take photos.

“I never considered myself a photographer,” he said. “I just liked taking pictures.”

An Ottawa teacher in the Link Leadership program noticed Koostachin’s abilities and asked if he had a DSLR camera, to which Koostachin said he could not afford one.

A month later, “out of nowhere, I got (a DSLR camera) in the mail saying this is for you,” Koostachin said.

With only a little photography knowledge gained from part of a high school course, Koostachin was determined to learn and bought $200 worth of photography books.

But being a broadcaster or a photojournalist is not

Koostachin’s first career choice. The 18-year-old plans on becoming a filmmaker.

“It was in December 2004, after watching The Producers that inspired me to become a filmmaker,” he said, adding that watching films was how he learned English as a child.

“I was always watching movies and it was hidden right under my nose.“ Koostachin said friends always ask him to edit a short movie for them or to be the camera operator. He believes his photography skills should translate well in the trade.

“I love editing my pictures to look like movie stills,” he said. “I’m good at envisioning how to tell these stories with images. It would be a suitable job.”

Koostachin plans on going to film school in southern Ontario once he finishes another year in high school.

Koostachin has come a long way since moving to the city. When he lived up north, he used to get into a lot of fights.

“Since I moved here, I haven’t gotten into any physical (altercations),” he said.

“I disciplined myself through dramatic arts and I put the negativity in my life and release it through the things I do.”

The youth radio show hosted by Koostachin can be heard every Friday at 3:30 p.m. on Wawatay Radio Network.

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(807)345-4455 or toll free 1(877)826-4455

The Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre would like to welcome all teachers and students back to school.

For all your educational needs, please contact: The Ojibway and Cree Cultural Centre 273 Third Avenue, Suite 204 Timmins, ON P4N 1E2 705-267-7911 fax. 705-267-4988 www.occc.ca

16

Wawatay News

SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Roy Thomas exhibit closes with tribute to artist Marianne Jones Special to Wawatay News

Marianne Jones/Sepcial Wawatay News

Louise Thomas, center, along with friends of her late husband Roy. Allen Towegishij, Herb Nabgon, Harold Tookenay and Gelineau Fisher all shared memories of the artist at a tribute to Roy Thomas’ art.

An overflow crowd filled the Thunder Bay Art Gallery September 7 to hear Louise Thomas present a talk on the last work of her late husband, artist Roy Thomas.

It was an evening of laughter and tears as Allen Towegishij, Chief of Long Lake 58 First Nation, and Elders and friends of Thomas including Herb Nabigon, Harold Tookenay and Gelineau Fisher all shared memories and reflections of their friend.

The occasion was to mark the closing of “VISION CIRCLE: The Art of Roy Thomas,” a retrospective of the late artist’s work that has been showing at the Gallery since June.

Sharon Godwin, Director at the Art Gallery, said that in the three months that the exhibit has shown, it came “very close” to reaching the committee’s target goal of 7000 viewers, attracting people from France, China, Japan, Australia,

Scotland, England, Nairobi, the Netherlands and New Mexico, as well as North America.

The evening began with a smudging ceremony by Tookenay, who said, “It’s so gratifying to see how much people are interested in Roy’s work.”

“We had our time together. It’s now my time to share his work.

I am proud to carry on his legacy.”

– Louise Thomas

Tookenay noted the distinctive bright colours of Thomas’ paintings and said, “All the bright colours—that’s how he was. He would shine all the time. Even though the work has stopped, the meaning of his art work will continue to have profound meaning for those men and women who will come and take a look at the work he has done. Something inside of us will become awakened and we will see that there is meaning to his works.”

Nabigon pointed out that the bear, loon, fisher and Thunderbird clans were represented in the evening’s speakers. He spoke of the clans walking in unity and referenced Thomas’ painting of the four men, each of a different colour, in the same canoe.

Nabigon said it was Thomas’ belief that all races and cultures work together and understand each other, and that Thomas shared that vision through his paintings.

Nabigon spoke of the meanings in many of the paintings, concluding that Thomas “left us in his work what our people have done for thousands of years. He was a beautiful man. We lost a valuable human being.”

Fisher, an artist from Longlac, whose work has

also been featured at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, said that Thomas “was like my big brother. We did art together. A lot of the things he taught me are still with me.”

Louise Thomas spoke of her years with her husband, saying, “He had a great sense of humour. He was a happy person. She said that when he was diagnosed with cancer, his reaction was not, “Why me?” but “Why not me?”

“When we were told about his cancer, he said, ‘We’re gonna beat this cancer.’” It was at that time that he started his new series of paintings, which he called Time and Life.

Done in four colours: white, red, yellow and blue, they represented the four seasons, beginning with winter. Louise Thomas said the paintings took her husband eight months to complete.

“He always loved to put the four colours of people in somewhere. He would say, ‘These people are part of my art.’ The canoe means we’re all going in the same direction.

“We had our time together.

It’s now my time to share his work. I am proud to carry on his legacy,” Louise added.

Godwin acknowledged the long relationship between Louise and Roy Thomas’ and the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, and the influence Louise continues to have promoting not only her husband’s work, but the work of more than 200 First Nations artists to countries all over the world through the Anishnabe Art Gallery and its website.

Godwin said that the Thunder Bay Art Gallery organized the Thomas retrospective because, “We felt so strongly that he needed this retrospective of his work. We’ve had a long history with him. His funeral was held in this gallery.”

The exhibit closed September 9 and will travel to Esplanade Art Gallery in Medicine Hat and McMaster Museum of Art in Hamilton.

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