December 6, 2012

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TRC hearing comes to Thunder Bay PAGE 7 Vol. 39 No. 41

Moose hunting film reclaims silence PAGE 10

Aroland working to update band policies PAGE 3 9,300 copies distributed $1.50

December 6, 2012 Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice since 1974

www.wawataynews.ca

Pikangikum left without power

Getting into the Christmas spirit

Generators breakdown due to overload Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Webequie’s Andrew Suganaqueb displays a drum created by the Manitoulin Island craftsman Paul Francis during the 11th Annual Aboriginal Fine Arts and Crafts Christmas Gift Show in Thunder Bay from Dec. 4-6.

Pikangikum First Nation experienced a weekend with no power after its diesel generators were overwhelmed by energy demand as winter approaches.

Though power was restored following the Nov. 23-25 weekend, only two of the four generators were operational, leaving about half the community of 2,400 without power at any given moment. The community resorted to a two-hour rotation between the east and west side of the community.

“Most people depend on electricity for heating,” said Deputy Chief Jonas Strang. “It’s very inconvenient and Elders are complaining because of the lack of heat in their homes.”

Strang said there is also concern over pipes potentially freezing and losing access to the wells where the community draws its drinking water.

The First Nation declared a state of emergency on Nov. 26. Aboriginal Affairs and Development Canada (AANDC) responded by authorizing retroactive funding for new blankets and gas heaters while sending a technician to the remote community.

Strang said they hope 2,000 pounds worth of equipment will be flown into

the community by Dec. 3 and that power will be completely restored by Dec. 5.

But even once full power is restored, Strang said electricity will still be a problem. The community was already maxed to capacity prior to the breakdown.

“We saw this becoming a problem once those other (generators) were not being repaired,” Strang said. The leadership had been requesting funds from AANDC to repair existing generators but to no avail. Strang said it was not until the First Nation declared an emergency that the federal government respond.

The First Nation has also been trying to connect itself to the electric grid. Since 2006, the federal government committed $1.4 million to grid development work, including tendering contracts and implementation oversight, which is all to be undertaken by the First Nation. While the leadership claims the federal government ceased hydro discussions with the First Nation three years ago, AANDC insisted it is incumbent on the community to reach the next stage before discussions can resume.

AANDC also said it committed $2.6 million for upgrades to Pikangikum’s diesel generators but said new housing subdivisions and other infrastructure projects have claimed much of that new capacity.

Urban Aboriginal advocate earns Queen’s medal Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Frances Wesley was humbled to learn that she would be a recipient of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal on Nov. 29.

“I was pretty honoured to be recognized, to be in the ranks of the other people who received medals,” said the Constance Lake First Nation member who has always called Thunder Bay home.

Wesley was one of 30 people in northwestern Ontario to receive the medal at a special gala in Thunder Bay. According to a bio released prior to the gala, Wesley “quietly, fiercely and persuasively represents the hopes and aspirations of Aboriginal people who live in an urban setting” and is “not afraid to confront challenges headon.”

Wesley was instrumental in developing and implementing the Thunder Bay Urban Aboriginal Strategy (TBUAS) in 2004, which has the goal

“We’ve seen some amazing results since the (program’s) inception.”

- Francis Wesley

of addressing urban Aboriginal family poverty.

“I’ve worked under the strategy to develop Aboriginal circles on specific issues like housing, justice and access to social services,” said Wesley, who continues to be the TBUAS strategy planner and is also on the city’s racism committee. “And I think that would be one of my greatest accomplishments: to bring people together.”

Wesley said one of TBUAS’ greatest successes has been the Biwaase’aa program, which employs five outreach workers who deliver in-school and after-school programming that focuses on proper nutrition and regular physical activity for Aboriginal children ages 7-13 at seven elementary schools.

“We’ve seen some amazing results

Submitted photo

Francis Wesley, left, shows off the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal she received on Nov. 29 for her work on urban Aboriginal issues in Thunder Bay. since the inception of that project,” Wesley said. “We have children

who want to stay in school, children who have excelled in school. It’s all

because of the community working together.”

Wesley said there are youth who went through the program that are now involved in youth projects within the community.

TBUAS is looking to update its community plan after it hosts a forum on Dec. 12, where Wesley expects 200 people to take part, including leaders, community members and those who work with families who are having a difficult time in the community.

“We’re going to talk about the plan and the next chapter of the (TBUAS) and the next direction on where we can go from here,” Wesley said.

The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal honours significant contributions and achievements by 60,000 outstanding Canadians of all ages and from all walks of life who have built and continue to build a caring society and country through their service and achievements. The medal pays special tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s 60 years on the throne.

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Wawatay News DECEMBER 6, 2012

Send letters to Santa editor@wawatay.on.ca Or fax to 807-344-3182

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INSIDE WAWATAY NEWS Cuts to tribal councils will affect northern businesses Shibogama Tribal Council’s executive director is warning that the effects of cutting funding to tribal councils will be felt by all businesses in the northern economy.

Margaret Kenequanash noted that tribal councils are major employers and supporters of businesses in communities and urban centres in northern Ontario.

She questioned whether the federal government had thought through the impact that the funding cuts will have on the general economy.

Page 3

TRC comes to Thunder Bay The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was in Thunder Bay on Dec. 4 and 5 to collect stories of residential school survivors.

The hearing is part of the TRC’s cross-Canada events that have been going on for the past two years.

Stories shared at the event will be added to other stories collected across the country.

The stories will eventually form part of a museum dedicated to informing all Canadians and future generations about the history and impact of residential schools.

Page 7

DFC students take Crimestoppers training Two students from Dennis Franklin Cromarty high school in Thunder Bay have taken training to start a Crimestoppers program among youth in the school.

Moses Patawanick and Rashii Fiddler took training at the Thunder Bay Police Services building last week.

Inside Wawatay: Fond memories of the 3rd World Canada tour (top) on page 6; a silent moose hunting film (mid left) on page 10; remembering former Wawatay reporter and writer Joyce Atcheson (mid right) on page 5; and DFC students train for Crimestoppers (bottom) on page 8.

The youth will take what they learned back to DFC to share with other students.

Page 8

Fort Albany girls get close to provincial finals The Peetawabeck girls basketball team came within a few points of representing northeastern Ontario in the provincial finals for the first time ever.

In the end, the girls’ lack of

experience showed as they fell short in the finals, losing to Kapuskasing.

But it was an impressive run for the team, the first team from a fly-in community to ever make the northeastern finals tournament. They won their semi-final game against O’Gorman to make the finals.

Coach Justin Sackaney said the team learned a lot from the experience and will be even better next year.

Page 12

Thank You, Airlines!

Your fast, courteous delivery of Wawatay News to our northern communities is appreciated.

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Wawatay Wawatay News News DECEMBER DECEMBER 6, 6, 2012 2012

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ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Businesses across Kashechewan’s close call on north will be winter state of emergency affected by Tribal Community narrowly avoids heating fuel, housing shortage Council funding cuts: Shibogama Shawn Bell

Wawatay News

Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Shibogama’s Margaret Kenequanash has emphasized that First Nations will not be the only ones affected by cuts to tribal council funding — businesses across the north will also suffer.

“First Nations are major employers and they are supporters of businesses in the economy, not only in our communities but also in the urban centres that we have our offices at,” said the Shibogama First Nations Council executive director during the Nov. 27-29 Special Ontario Chiefs Assembly. “I don’t think (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada) thought this through, the impact this will have on their own economies.”

Kenequanash delivered her message on the impacts of tribal council funding cuts during a live webcast on the third day of the special chiefs assembly, which was held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

“In business, when you affect one business, it has a roll-out effect to the rest,” Kenequanash said. “And that is the part I don’t think the government thought about because this is going to affect everyone else, not just our communities.”

Kenequanash said First Nation communities will be ”hit” by a lack of services, but towns will also be “hurt in their pockets.”

“We do business with these towns,” Kenequanash said. “So if there is anybody out there that has a business that does busi-

ness with First Nations, such as this hotel making a lot of money from our conference, we’re not going to be having these conferences any more. So there is going to be a hit like that all across Ontario and Canada.”

Kenequanash said First Nations people have inherent rights and treaty rights that can also be exercised over the funding cutback issue.

“There are different strategies ... that need to be looked at,” Kenequanash said.

Keewaytinook Okimakanak’s Geordi Kakepetum recently said his tribal council is looking at the loss of about two-thirds of its tribal council funding due to the federal government’s new funding formula.

“We receive about $700,000 from (Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada) on an annual basis,” said Kakepetum, KO’s executive director. “With this new formula coming up, we’ll only get $250,000, so it will have some significant impacts on our operation.”

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Deputy Grand Chief Les Louttit also said the AANDC funding cuts would have a major impact on how tribal councils deliver services to First Nation communities.

“It’s a major cutback in providing services to First Nations,” Louttit said. “That will definitely have a major impact on the delivery to First Nations, and especially the capacity of the tribal councils to deliver that service on behalf of the First Nations.”

Emergency funding from the federal government to bring fuel into Kashechewan has helped the First Nation narrowly avoid a state of emergency as winter gets underway.

Kashechewan declared a state of emergency on Nov. 23, citing a lack of heating fuel and 21 houses that had become uninhabitable.

“Due to lack of proper heating for homes for families that have elderly, disabled and small children, we are left with no choice but to declare a state of emergency,” Chief Derek Stephen wrote in the declaration.

“During a conference call with (Aboriginal Affairs) we had requested fuel to be flown into the community for our medical facility, administrative buildings and our schools, all of which were denied. “

– Chief Derek Stephen wrote in the first declaration

The shortages of fuel were caused by last year’s shortened ice road season. Extra supplies were supposed to come into Kashechewan by

barge, but did not arrive.

Last week the federal department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) provided funds to cover the cost of f lying fuel into the community. It also released $700,000 towards building supplies to renovate the 21 homes.

In the declarations, Kashechewan’s chief said earlier requests to AANDC for help were rejected.

“During a conference call with (Aboriginal Affairs) we had requested fuel to be flown into the community for our medical facility, administrative buildings and our schools, all of which were denied, “ the first declaration

said.

The houses needing renovations had their electrical heating systems damaged during f looding last spring.

Temporary repairs on the furnaces broke down, leaving the families without heat.

Kashechewan’s state of emergency came one year after Attawapiskat drew national attention to the plight of conditions in First Nations communities.

Attawapiskat’s call for help with its severe housing shortage resulted in the community being put on 3rd party manager, a lawsuit against the federal government and eventually 25 mobile homes shipped up the winter road.

Aroland working to improve band policies Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Aroland First Nation staff recently met in Thunder Bay to streamline band processes to improve band office operations for community members.

“We’re here to get together and talk about some of our administration policies,” said Mark Bell, Aroland’s economic development officer.

“We’re looking at streamlining some of our processes and try to make our band office run a lot smoother.”

All of the community’s band staff, including band councilors and employees working on water issues, economic development and health, met on Nov. 29.

“The purpose of this is to discuss our current policy,”

said Aroland Councillor Robinson Meshake, who is also the community’s employment counsellor. “Our current policy was last revised in 2002, so we are long overdue.”

Meshake said the band has been researching different types of policies, ranging in types of work, types of holidays for employees, codes of ethics, grievance procedures and development of a mission statement.

“We want to bridge that employer-employee relationship, so therefore we want to create a document that’s going to be concrete for our staff to utilize as well as (for) resource sharing with other First Nations who wish to seek help within that policy development,” Meshake said.

“So we’re going to be discussing the parameters, discuss-

ing the who, the what, the where, the when and the why in terms of policy development.”

Meshake said the current policy is about 32 pages long while typical policies range from 50-75 pages in length.

“So we’re hoping to develop a policy that targets everything from A to Z,”

Meshake said. “We have a draft financial policy which will be discussed today as well as a governance policy.”

Meshake said the governance policy would focus on distinguishing politics and business separately.

“We’ll focus on politics first, business later,” he said.

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Wawatay News DECEMBER 6, 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

Urban Indian Richard Wagamese ONE NATIVE LIFE

W

e’re heading into our sixth year of being on our piece of land in the mountains. Some days it doesn’t seem like that long at all but then, as we’ve discovered, time has a different quality there. Things just move easier. I used to say slower, but over the years I’ve come to realize that it’s all the same pace wherever you are – only there it feels more elegant.

The land does that. Surrounded by natural energy, where my senses are keener and my awareness sharper, the land seeps into everything, every motion, every moment and I am lulled by it. Quiet. Reflective. Peaceful. Even when the seasonal chores are in full gear, the chopping, stacking, sawing say, feels less like work and more like ceremony.

It felt odd at first to encounter that. Both of us lived most of our lives as city dwellers. You get used to speed and noise and disruption in a city and you crave places and periods of unruffled calm. The things that life requires of you seldom feel like ceremonies. Rather, they become routines and you get easily lost in that relentless to-and-fro.

Looking back, I’m struck how cities stick to you, how they become the way you move and think and react, how they alter your perception of who you are. In the mountains with a shovel in my hand there is nothing of that past life that cleaves to me. Instead, I have become rural, rustic, a mountain man in everything but the fringed buckskin. I can live with a label like that.

But before we came here there was another label attached to me that I didn’t like at all. They called me an urban Indian. It was the middle of the 1980’s when I first heard that term. It referred to an Aboriginal person who lives in a town, village, or any kind of settlement. Somehow, it always felt like a slur especially when it came from my own people.

See, when you’re a member of a culture that’s used to being labeled, any tag at all that comes along to add to the weight of all the other tags causes consternation.

It’s like the old divide and conquer routine all over again – only this time we learned to apply it to ourselves. We used

to use the word ‘apple.’ That charming little slur meant you were red on the outside and white on the inside.

In other words, not really Indian.

That’s how the term urban Indian felt. It was paraphrased to mean sellout or someone less than ideally Indian, whatever that term means. My own step-father called me ‘whiteman’ in Ojibwa once when we were getting ready to hunt. He laughed when he said it and I never really got over that hurt. It meant I was separate, different, odd, the square brown peg in the round hole again.

It took some getting used to, the idea of being separate again. When I returned to my people after being vanished for 20 some odd years by adoption and foster homes, I thought being painted with the same brush was over for me. I was wrong. Insensitivity isn’t just the domain of settler folk. Native people have a claim to it too.

Being called an urban Indian shows insensitivity to history. It shows a denial of truth. Residential schools split the fabric of our families and our communities. A whole generation of First Nations people chose the possibility of cities and towns over the mind and spirit numbing desolation of reserves. When we got there we weren’t one less ounce native at all – in fact, it took a lot more heart to risk that move than not.

But being an urban Indian meant that I was different and lumped in with a lot of other different people.

Apparently we all wore suits, carried briefcases, lived in condos, never spoke our language and had no idea of true selves. That was just the native view.

Other peoples could only ever see me standing at the corner looking through the tangle of one braid undone, the nest of it falling against my cheek while I toed the butts at my feet before stooping to pick one up, lighting it and sighing my day into being. Oh and there was alcohol on my breath too.

What’s seen with the eye is always less than the full story.

We’re human beings first and foremost and that’s the only label that’s ever necessary regardless of where you live.

In the mountains now, I am my history, I am my people, I am myself. I’m not an urban anything anymore. Rather, I’m closer to living with a native heart than I’ve ever been. Label that.

Wawatay News archives

Sandy Lake, new school cake.

READERS

WRITE

Why the fields are empty

By Dieter Sainnawap

T

oday I have been thinking a lot about the Native Americans. I realized what we lost. We lost our inner selves. That’s why a lot of Native Americans drink and do drugs.

The hunt is not important any more. I’m making a lot of my friends turn to the traditional ways again. I have never been so happy in my life, since I have been drumming and singing for the past three weeks.

When I was in a sweat lodge, I saw a vision. I was in a field

walking; I saw the wolf spirit walking along end of the field.

I was wondering why the field was empty. Then I realized the wolf was telling me.

“The field is empty because the Aboriginal people were gone.”

The wolf told me the animals, the plants, the trees, the rocks and nature miss us. They want us back where we were before because we have been gone too long.

I have had a few encounters with nature.

When I was cutting wood in the forest, the trees were making creeping and cracking sounds. “What’s wrong?”

I said.

This tree said to me “Where have you been? We all missed you.”

I said to the tree “I’m sorry, I will be back again to see everyone.”

I’m going to go back there again to talk to them.

When I was hunting I was in the cabin. I heard noises, and I open the door. There was this marten standing there looking at me. I looked in his eyes, he was telling. “Where have you been?” He didn’t growl at me

or show any aggressive movement towards me.

I said to the marten “Hello there my friend.”

I moved my foot he ran off.

The marten was close to me, I was really surprised I was that close to him. I was about nine feet away from him.

I was drumming last night, I felt whole again. I was just happy because it makes me feel like I’m alive. What I was thinking last night, children were born to be pure and live with enjoyment but I realized we were taught how to be respectful, honest, et cetera.

Then we lose it at one point of life, it made me sad. I said to myself “What’s going on? Is it the bad influence we do?”

The Creator told me “I will leave the drum beat inside your head, until you find what will bring back the traditional ways back again.” The drumbeat never left my head when I went to the sweat lodge. The wolf told me what I must do.

So I been thinking and doing things that will help me get through the road.

I want to build a camp were Elders and people can come

and learn. Where everyone sleeps in a teepee. People will learn how to hunt, tan hides, and speak the language and the seven teachings. The camp was my dream and vision from the sweat lodge.

It’s a place where Native Americans can be whole again.

The Creator gave me a gift to talk to the animals, trees, and nature. I am thankful he gave me the gift. I said to myself “Being a soldier wasn’t about killing people. It was about making justice and rights with people, and being equal with each other.”

I know my reason why I was put on this earth.

I was put on this earth because I was part of the earth long ago. I came from the sky to help the people in the end.

My words are truth, and my skin is red because god made me to survive off the land. He made me part of the trees, the animals, the ground, the water, and the sun. He knew I was going to give hope and an ideal to strive towards in the end. He made a leader because I was going to be the one who made life again.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Neegan davidn@wawatay.on.ca

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

TRANSLATORS Vicky Angees vickya@wawatay.on.ca

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

Thunder Bay Office Hours: 8:30-4:30 EST Phone: ...................344-3022 Toll Free: ..... 1-888-575-2349 Fax: ...............(807) 344-3182

EDITOR Shawn Bell shawnb@wawatay.on.ca WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER Rick Garrick rickg@wawatay.on.ca WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER Lenny Carpenter lennyc@wawatay.on.ca

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Matthew Bradley matthewb@wawatay.on.ca SALES MANAGER James Brohm jamesb@wawatay.on.ca CIRCULATION Adelaide Anderson reception@wawatay.on.ca

CONTRIBUTORS Stephanie Wesley Chris Kornacki Richard Wagamese Daniel Tait Dieter Sainnawap Maurice Switzer Jody Porter Guest editorials, columnists and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views of Wawatay News.

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Wawatay Wawatay News News DECEMBER DECEMBER 6, 6, 2012 2012

COMMENTARY

Former nurse turned to writing to support strong convictions Maurice Switzer Anishinabek News

Joyce Atcheson had a laughing voice.

For a woman of strong convictions – who never compromised her principles for a pay cheque -she always sounded happy. You never sensed that she had been discouraged, let alone defeated, by her latest setback.

We first met in early summer of 1997 at First Nations Technical Institute on Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. The half-dozen students who had signed up for the first-ever Aboriginal diploma journalism program were meeting at the FNTI site, and Joyce and I were immediately drawn to each other.

We had a lot in common. Joyce was about the same age as me -- her teacher -- and more than double the vintage of the other students who had enrolled in the program. She had been a nurse for 30 years – the same length of time I had been in Canada’s daily newspaper industry – and, like me, she had come to the realization that she wanted to use her life’s experience to make life better for Aboriginal peoples.

We had both left our chosen careers somewhat disillusioned – me because journalism had become more a bottom-line business than a way for writers to make the world a better place, and Joyce because she had seen back home in Alberta that the health care system had a lower standard for treating First Nations patients than other people.

Over the years, Joyce and I always kept in touch, right up to the week this November when a phone call informed me that she had apparently died in her sleep in her Nova Scotia apartment. As news of her passing trickled out, it shocked her loyal friends, who

Submitted Photo

Joyce Atcheson remembered a lithe and trim woman who jogged daily and whose hair was as black in her 60s as it likely ever had been in her youth.

Joyce clung tightly to the Cree roots that forged her Metis heritage. She was engaged in a lifelong learning process about her culture, which sustained her during some perilous problems with personal health that she was convinced were caused by her not being where the Creator had intended. So she kept moving, following a series of Eagles, she told me, to the journalism course in Tyendinaga, then to Ottawa for a media relations stint at the National Aboriginal Health Organization, then to northern Ontario to work for a First Nations children’s agency before landing a longed-for reporting job at Wawatay newspaper in Thunder Bay. She lived with a First Nations partner in Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation – formerly known as Big Trout Lake – a fly-in community nearly 400 miles north of the Lakehead.

There she continued to use her story-telling skills as a freelance writer to tell the world about the First Nation’s struggles to

assert sovereignty in the face of repeated attempts by mining companies to unilaterally stake claims in the area. Chief Donny Morris refused to permit prospecting in their territories and he, four band councillors and a community member spent 68 days in jail in the spring of 2008 for defying a court order.

Joyce’s writing helped create Canada-wide awareness of the issue, and the province subsequently made amendments to the 100-year-old Ontario Mining Act that respected First Nations rights to be consulted about commercial development on their traditional lands.

She said the Spirits kept calling her East, and she found herself unemployed and without a place to live in a small community near Halifax. For grounding, Joyce sought out First Nations connections and found herself attending ceremonies conducted

by David Gehue, a blind Mi’Kmaq spiritual leader renowned as a healer among First Nations across Canada.

As her worldly fortunes waned – she eked out a livelihood washing dishes, short-order cooking and writing book reviews for Wawatay and the Anishinabek News – Joyce’s spiritual stature blossomed. Again it was her writing skills that enabled her to derive the strength that she drew from her Native ancestry.

In 2009 David Gehue published “Voices of the Tent”, a riveting biography of this charismatic man who had accepted the responsibility of conducting the Shake Tent ceremony used in his healing practice. The book was the result of dozens of hours of interviews with Joyce, who did an incredible job of blending David’s blunt manner of talking with the deeply spiritual messages contained in his words.

David died March 6, 2011

Remembering Joyce Atcheson Jody Porter Special to Wawatay News

I could fill a whole newspaper with the teachings I received from Joyce Atcheson.

But the one I feel compelled to share on Joyce’s passing, seems even more relevant today than it was a decade ago when we worked together at Wawatay.

It was late, as it often was in the newspaper office and we were pushing the deadline to get an important story out: an employee from a big company that operated in Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory had made racist comments towards a family from Kitchenuhmaykoosib.

It’s never easy for someone to talk about being the target of something so demeaning and it was almost unheard of back then for racism to become news.

But Joyce had tracked down the people the comment was directed at and earned their trust.

As the editor, it was my job to decide whether to print the story. As the reporter it was Joyce’s name and her reputation, that would stand beside it.

It felt like we were staring over the edge of a cliff...both exhilarating and terrifying.

We were about to take a run at a company that seemed to ‘own’ NAN, (at least on the west side).

Think of every journalistic cliche you want: we were slaying a giant; we were exposing the nakedness of the proverbial

emperor; we were uncovering the TRUTH. The opportunities to do such things in the media are not as common as you might think. It takes guts and there is often little glory in it.

You rip off a bandage, and people start blaming you for making them stare at an exposed wound.

Still, Joyce and I were giddy with the thought of doing justice to the experience of the people who had been hurt by the remarks.

That’s when the phone rang.

The head of the corporation was returning Joyce’s call... finally. He yelled at her and threatened her and told her not to run the story.

He reminded her of his clout, of what a good ‘corporate citizen’ he was, of all the charities he supported, of all the fine things he did for the people of the North.

“Just because you take someone out for dinner, it doesn’t give you the right to slap them in the face,” Joyce said.

He hung up on her, angrier than ever.

And Joyce laughed.

She laughed and laughed, that great resounding chuckle of hers that could erase all the tension in a room in an instant.

She stood up from her desk and mimed the act of stirring an enormous vat of soup with a giant spoon. She so loved to ‘stir the pot.’ And then she laughed some more.

We ran the story.

And in the most rare of journalistic experiences, it resulted in change.

Joyce’s story prompted other people to speak out about their experiences of racism with the company. We ran their stories too.

There was more anger from the owner, and a few uneasy weeks wondering if the paper would survive it all. The company was a major advertiser and had ties to powerful people within NAN. But eventually there was an apology from the company and an acknowledgement that First Nations people deserved more than charity given with one hand, while the other slapped them in the face.

Of all the things I learned from Joyce, this is what sticks with me the most: To never be afraid to stand up for what you believe in, even if it means you have to go hungry for a while. ***** I will miss my great friend, her wisdom, her courage, her incredible generosity of spirit; the way she greeted every single person she met with a smile.

An Elder tells me these things are not lost to me, I need only access them in a different way.

If we share Joyce’s stories with each other, and have a good laugh the next time we meet, I’ll know that’s true.

5

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

--the last time I saw Joyce in person was at his funeral In Indian Brook -- and she was working on a sequel to their first book. She moved to Dartmouth, and was making a living as a personal support worker for elderly clients, as well as writing book reviews about Aboriginal titles for a number of publications.

Thanks to e-mail, we were in contact several times weekly. The last message I received contained one of those corny Internet jokes about the aging process that Joyce delighted in circulating to friends. Her voice – in person or in print -- could always bring a smile to my face.

A blood clot adjacent to her generous heart brought her earthly presence to a quick and peaceful end. She leaves behind her mother, two sisters and a brother back in Edmonton, but her own words on David Gehue’s book cover best describe who she was.

“Joyce Atcheson is a nomadic Cree Metis woman who worked many years in nursing. Through her recent journalism career of 11 years, she is helping people tell their stories. Joyce, a step-mother to four, grandmother to nine, currently lives in Nova Scotia.”

May her Spirit be in a better place, and shine in the night sky with all the other stars.

Maurice Switzer is a citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation. He serves as director of communications for the Union of Ontario Indians and editor of the Anishinabek News.

PHOTO GALLERY

Angela Shisheesh of the Ojibway and Cree Cultural Center provides translation at NAN Chiefs meeting.

Photos by Rick Garrick

Justice Ostamas.

Have photos you’d like in the paper? Email editor@wawatay.on.ca

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6

Wawatay News DECEMBER 6, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Wawatay file photo

The 3rd World Canada tour, seen here while in Thunder Bay for the tour’s final show, was funded in part by Ontario Trillium Foundation.

Trillium Foundation wants to give more money to First Nation projects Shawn Bell Wawatay News

The 3rd World Canada film showing in Thunder Bay that capped off the delegation of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) member’s tour around Ontario was a great experience for Jason Hughes.

Listening to youth and leaders from KI as they spoke to the crowd about the film and their experiences on tour gave Hughes, a volunteer grant reviewer with the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), the chance to see first hand the positive effect that money he helped give out was having.

OTF funded 75 percent of the tour, something Hughes said was a great investment after seeing the youth speak in Thunder Bay. “It was wonderful that the youth were able to go on tour, be able to interact with regions in Ontario that probably are not as mindful of the challenges First Nations face,” Hughes said. “The film is so impactful, but just listening to the youth and the drum

Visit Wawatay News online at www.wawataynews.ca for the latest photo galleries, video & photo blogs

and their speeches, that brought a hope that their vision would be brought forward.

“That’s why I am so thankful that OTF is available to fund programs like that,” he added.

The 3rd World Canada tour was by no means the only First Nations project that OTF has helped fund. As OTF’s northwestern Ontario program manager Maureen Brophy explained, the organization has put a lot of effort into attracting First Nation applications over the past decade.

“Right from the start when OTF got the money, we recognized the need to work with First Nations and Aboriginal communities,” Brophy said.

Brophy figured OTF spends about 30 to 40 per cent of its northwestern Ontario annual budget of $2.5 million on First Nations projects and programs each year. This year, for example, the organization is funding the installation of synthetic ice in Kasabonika Lake and a community garden project in Shoal Lake #39, among others.

Brophy now wants the per-

centage of the money going to First Nations to be higher.

The criteria for OTF funding is broad, covering arts and culture, environment, human and social services and sports and recreation. Brophy advises anyone interested in submitting an application to contact her and discuss the project before sending it in – that way she can help guide the creation of the application so it is more likely to get approval.

The goal of the funding is to help with community development, in raising awareness of the issues faced by First Nations people and in helping develop capacity within communities for future development.

As Hughes saw at the 3rd World Canada tour, sometimes a project can accomplish a number of different goals.

But in his eyes, the goal of helping young people develop into future leaders is the best thing to come out of the 3rd World Canada tour.

Now he hopes other projects OTF gets involved with can do the same.

1

Wawatay Wawatay News News DECEMBER DECEMBER 6, 6, 2012 2012

7

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Residential school survivors give statements in Thunder Bay Hearing will add to national archive of stories

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Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Justice Murray Sinclair, chair of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), was in Thunder Bay Dec. 4-5 to take statements from those impacted by the Indian residential school system.

The two-day hearing was part of the TRC’s five-year mandate to acknowledge, document, support and facilitate sharing of the experiences of residential school survivors and their families. “Thunder Bay is a core centre in northwestern Ontario and we will be there to hear stories of those affected by the Indian residential school system,� Sinclair said.

Seven schools operated in the region, including ones in Sioux Lookout, Poplar Hill, Kenora, Fort Frances and Fort William.

Survivors were able make public or private statements to the commission, which are recorded on video or audio. Sinclair said all public hearings are webcasted. Past events have had as many as 10,000 viewers from 20 countries watch the proceedings.

A copy of the statement is provided to the survivor and their family while another is stored in the TRC archive. When the TRC is completed on July 1, 2014, the records will be handed to a national archive that the

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Chief Justice Murray Sinclair listens to a survivor at the TRC hearing in Thunder Bay. TRC is establishing. “It won’t be a Government of Canada archive,� Sinclair said. “It will be an independent archive that will be available and accessible to families of residential school survivors.�

And while the commission itself will end, it has a mandated obligation to establish a national research centre and that will be responsible to continue research into residential schools, undertake a role to continue to educate the public, and make resources available to the survivors and members of their

families. “So we’re putting together resources and parties that are going to be part of establishing and maintaining the research centre,� Sinclair said.

The next public hearing in northern Ontario will take place in Fort Albany on Jan. 29-30.

The TRC has previously held national events in Winnipeg, Inuvik NT, Halifax and Saskatoon. The next national event is slated for Montreal in April 2013 followed by Vancouver in September. The final national event will take place in Alberta.

Find

The Thunder Bay hearing was co-sponsored by Negahneewin College and Confederation College and was free to the public.

The TRC was established as a result of the 2007 Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement. Its mandate is to inform all Canadians about what happened in the 150-year history of the residential schools, and to guide and inspire a process of reconciliation and renewed relationships based on mutual understanding and respect.

All claims against the estate of REDFERN WHISKEYCHAN late of Moosonee, Ontario, who died on or about the 7th day of June, 2012, must be filed with the undersigned personal representative on or before the 26th day of December, 2012, after which date the estate will be distributed having regard only to the claims of which the Estate Trustee then shall have notice.

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Wawatay News DECEMBER 6, 2012

Is seeking a skilled individual to join its staff as Marketing/Communications Assistant Intern NADF is a non-profit, independent, Aboriginal-owned and operated financial institution that provides business, financial services and economic development to Aboriginal people living in northern Ontario.

Under the direction of the Executive Assistant, the Marketing and Communications Assistant Intern is responsible for developing, maintaining and implementing communication and marketing strategies to promote the organization, and increase the visibility and investment activities of NADF. .

Qualifications / Requirements: Northern Ontario secondary school graduates 29 years of age or under who recently graduated from an accredited college or university. Graduates from a high school outside of Northern Ontario who have resided in the North for at least one year are also eligible. Mature graduates may be considered. The candidate must have strong analytical, evaluation and assessment skills and knowledge of computer applications. Candidates that have a multidisciplinary marketing or communications background and experience working with First Nations will be preferred.

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Thunder Bay, ON 1 year internship December 14, 2012 Please send a resume, including three (3) references to:

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This Opportunity is Proudly Supported by:

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Working together to help communities heal Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Ideas to deal with gambling, alcohol and drug abuse issues were shared between workers of the National Native Alcohol and Drug Abuse Program (NNADAP) during a three-day Creating Opportunities for Change staff retreat in Thunder Bay. “We’re just basically sharing our own ideas about what works for our communities and what might work in other communities,” said Cecil Mendowagon, an addictions worker from Ginoogaming. “It was mainly meant as a retreat for NNADAP workers and mental health workers and frontline staff. There’s a lot of overwork and stress that comes with your job and what you do to try to help out community members.”

Diane Andrews, a NNADAP worker from Constance Lake who has been a frontline worker

Photo by Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Cecil Mendowagon, Diane Andrews and Long Lake #58 Chief Allen Towegishig at the NNADAP retreat. since 1998, said many of the NNADAP employees are worn out due to the prescription drug abuse issues going on in their communities.

“We’re here to share ideas about land-based healing and

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• Excellent written and oral communications skills. The ability to communicate in Cree, Ojibway or Oji-Cree is an asset.

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• Complete all reconciliations and general journal entries required in the preparation of an accurate set of monthly financial statements • Distribute monthly financial statements including receivables, payables and cheque listing to the Business Manager • Oversee the preparation of the bi-weekly payroll in order to ensure that employees are paid in an accurate and timely manner • Prepare and ensure all reports and remittances for HST, payroll remittances, WSIB, HRDC hiring reports and other reports that may be required are submitted on time.

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Location: Sioux Lookout, Ontario Apply Before: Friday, December 14, 2012 – 4:00 PM CST Please send resume and three references to: Tabatha Jourdain, Human Resources Box 1180 Sioux Lookout, Ontario P8T 1B7 fax: 807.737.3224 e-mail: tabathaj@wawatay.on.ca WNCS thanks those who apply. However, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

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healing through arts,” Andrews said. “Some of our NNADAP workers are new to the field.

A lot of times we have funding restraints so I’ve come up with a lot of creative ideas that we can do in our communities that cost next to nothing, just being creative through our land base and nature.”

Andrews loved the laid-back environment at the retreat, noting that the work environment back home often involves people dealing with traumas, addictions and other issues.

“This retreat gives us time to ourselves to share ideas, talk to one another and support each other,” Andrews said. “The work we do is very hard.”

Mendowagon was also impressed with some of the ther-

DFC students to create Crime Stoppers video Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Life Promotion Strategy Coordinator (Full-Time) The Life Promotion Strategy Coordinator will be responsible for the coordination of activities during the work under the Supervision of the Director of Special Projects and in collaboration with AIAI, UOI, and HCU to ensure the objectives of the program are being met. The Life Promotion strategy is to develop capacity in order to provide communities the tools to assist youth within their communities and providing a safety net for participating youth. The Life Promotion Strategy Coordinator will plan, develop, report, evaluate, document and financially manage the program at the NAN level.

The deadline for applications is 4:00pm EST, December 13, 2012. To download the complete job description, please visit www.nan.on.ca or contact Rod Geddes, Human Resources Assistant, at (807) 625-4948, or Ian Beardy, A/Human Resources Director, at (807) 625-4941 for more information.

apeutic techniques he learned during the retreat, such as EFT. “We learned something new every day,” Mendowagon said. “It was a good experience.”

Long Lake #58 Chief Allen Towegishig, who previously worked with NNADAP for about 35 years, attended the retreat as an instructor to share knowledge he picked up over the years on a variety of topics, including the Seven Grandfather teachings and the Creation story.

“I came here to teach what I know,” Towegishig said. “Maybe they’ll teach other people how to cope with life and how to help their brothers and sisters at home.”

Towegishig said the retreat also provided an opportunity for the workers to support each other.

“You have to help yourself to help your community and to be able to help your family,” Towegishig said. “If there is a lot of stress in your life, it is pretty hard to work on yourself.”

Towegishig enjoyed meeting some of the workers he has known for many years, such as a worker from Muskrat Dam he met 25-30 years ago.

“You could see him and the new workers being able to share their stories with each other,” Towegishig said. “When I used to be a NNADAP worker, it was like I was working all alone. But when you see other people, our load becomes lighter to help other people.”

Two Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School students are looking forward to creating a Crime Stoppers video for their school.

“We’ll have to brainstorm to get a clear idea of what we’re going to do,” said DFC student Moses Patawanick during a Nov. 30 Thunder Bay District Crime Stoppers training session with students from across the Thunder Bay area. “Get all the steps in place first and do it right.”

The Crime Stoppers video project was developed in partnership with the Confederation College broadcasting program to help each school in the district create a video with key messages, such as bullying, assaults, drug and alcohol, specifically geared towards their own students.

“We’re trying to find unique interesting ways to promote Crime Stoppers to their peer group,” said Thunder Bay Police Services Const. Julie Tilbury, coordinator of Thunder Bay District Crime Stoppers. “We want to get new current ideas and they are the ones who are going to help us do this.”

Tilbury said the videos should be completed by the end of March 2013.

“We just want to have the youth of Thunder Bay help us in crime prevention strategies and getting the word out about Crime Stoppers to their peers,” Tilbury said. “We know that youth have information and we want to let them know how this program works so that should they ever need to call Crime Stoppers for

a variety of reasons, they know how to do it.”

In addition to the video project, the students learned about a variety of topics that affect their peer group, such as a video that showed the dangers of texting while driving a vehicle.

“We’re trying to find unique interesting ways to promote Crime Stoppers to their peer group.”

- Julie Tilbury

“They showed us a video of the dangers that can happen if you text and drive, what the consequences are that is going to happen if you are unlucky,” said DFC student Rashii Fiddler. “Some people lost their loved ones; some people lost the ability to function properly.”

DFC teacher Trevor Workman said the DFC students enjoyed the training session, noting they interacted in group activities and contributed valuable responses.

“It’s a really nice opportunity for the students from all the high schools in Thunder Bay to interact and get to know one another,” Workman said.

Tilbury is looking for the students to promote Crime Stoppers in their schools on a yearly basis.

“We’re hoping some of these kids will stay with us for a couple of years until they graduate high school,” Tilbury said. “It’s our way of just getting into the high schools and getting peers to promote to peers about Crime Stoppers and the message we are trying to get out.”

1

Wawatay Wawatay News News DECEMBER DECEMBER 6, 6, 2012 2012

Communities need help with funding for suboxone programs Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Generic oxycodone production and use of Suboxone for treating addictions were among the prescription drug abuse issues raised during the Nov. 27-29 Special Ontario Chiefs Assembly.

“We are seeking a collaborative approach with the (Ontario) health minister (Deb Matthews) to try to put pressure on the federal health minister (Leona Aglukkaq) and the government of Canada to recognize the horrendous impacts these drugs are having in our communities,” said Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee.

“There are 13 different jurisdictions across the country, of Deb Matthews counterparts, that are trying to tell the federal government the concerns with allowing the permitting of these drugs for market.”

Madahbee raised the generic oxycodone issue during a live webcast on the third day of the special chiefs assembly, which was held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

“We have to put pressure on the federal government as a whole if the (federal) health minister is not prepared to take responsibility for the portfolio she has,” Madahbee said.

Aglukkaq told her provincial and territorial counterparts on Nov. 19 that she would not politically interfere with the regulatory approval process for a generic form of OxyContin. That decision allows drug manufactur-

ers to develop a generic form of the drug after the patent for it expired on Nov. 25.

Madahbee also raised the use of Suboxone for treating opiate addictions, which he said has now been made more flexible as an alternative to the use of methadone.

“The opiate addiction problems in our community has raised a lot of havoc,” said Long Lake #58’s Judy Desmoulin during the webcast. “And it’s through this drug (Suboxone) that we are able to speak to our people once again who are recovering from this addiction.”

Although the Suboxone treatment program has been a success in her community, Desmoulin said it is not covered by the benefits available to status Indians.

“So my chief and our council footed the bill to cover this drug for the first group for the first few months,” Desmoulin said. “And we continue to advocate with the government to have it covered.”

Desmoulin also spoke about the assistance needed by babies born with opiate addictions.

“In our community we have a celebration every year where we celebrate the babies that were born,” Desmoulin said. “It’s really sad because of the addiction problem in our community, the number of babies born has been cut in half. And the other thing is our babies are hospitalized for anywhere from three to six weeks after they are born. They have to go through withdrawal. They are given morphine to go through this process.”

9

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Wawatay News DECEMBER 6, 2012

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A silent documentary on moose hunting by a Moose Cree First Nation filmmaker recently concluded its screening as part of an exhibit at the Banff Centre in Alberta.

The 50-minute documentary, titled Modest Livelihood, follows Duane Linklater and his friend Brian Jungen, a DaneZaa from Doig River First Nation in northern British Columbia, as they hunt for moose on Jungen’s traditional territory.

The project came about after the two contemporary artists first met at the Banff Centre in 2009.

“We met and had coffee and discovered we both grew up in northern communities and hunting cultures,” Linklater said.

Linklater was working towards his Masters of Fine Arts degree at Bard College in upstate New York with a focus on video and film and decided to produce a project on hunting. In October 2010, Linklater and Jungen went moose hunting north of Cochrane, Ont., for five days. They documented the hunt digitally on a Canon DSLR camera.

“To move forward, we used the initial video as sort of a sketch,” Linklater said.

In October and December 2011, the filmmakers hired a camera operator to follow them as they hunted moose near Fort St. John, B.C. In a time where an industry is moving towards shooting digitally, they decided to shoot on actual Super 16mm film.

In the first hunt, Jungen’s uncle, Elder Jack Askoty, shares with Linklater and Jungen his intimate knowledge and a local history of the land. He leads the hunt while Linklater and Jungen follow.

“The dynamic of the camera person, or the view, following me, following (Jungen), fol-

Duane Linklater, a Moose Cree member, says his silent moose hunting film shows the idea of waiting, looking, being patient and following signs and tracks through its camera work.

The film, Modest Livelihood, recently wrapped up its screening as part of an exhibit at the Banff Centre in Alberta.

Submitted photos

lowing Jack, is sort of a metaphor,” Linklater said, referring to following the teachings of the Elder. “There’s an idea of waiting, looking, being patient, and following signs and tracks.”

In the second trip, the filmmakers hunted on their own, without Jack.

Following the shoot, the filmmakers ended up with nine hours of footage.

Upon reviewing the raw footage, Linklater and Jungen independently decided that it should be completely silent.

Modest Livelihood has no soundtrack, sound effects or ambient sounds of the bush.

“It’s giving the viewer an opportunity to give a focus on visual material that’s presented to them,” Linklater said.

Linklater added that historically, in films, silence was imposed on Aboriginal people, often portraying them as silent stoic characters.

“It’s a construct and artifice by white people to show this is how Native people are,” Linklater said. “There was no choice. So I think to actually choose silence was important.

It’s also a form of protection.”

In titling the documentary, Linklater referred to a 1999 court case in Nova Scotia

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against a Mi’kmaq fisherman who sold his fish commercially so he could support his family.

The court said he could do this under the treaty rights, but only up to a “moderate livelihood.”

“Why is this limitation placed only on Native people?” Linklater asks. “It’s not placed on corporations, who can accumulate wealth indefinitely.”

“So we thought this coupling of two words is interesting, and we wanted that wording to more reflect the value system we believe in, and that the idea of modesty, or respect, cannot only be placed in the people to

the film, but also what we’re looking for, including the moose.”

Modest Livelihood premiered at the Banff Centre on Aug. 2 and was screened as part of an exhibit from Aug. 3 to Nov. 18.

Unused footage from the project was edited together to produce a new film that will be screened in Chicago at the UChicago Arts from Dec. 11 to Feb. 3, 2013.

Linklater has since completed his Masters of Fine Arts and said he will look into bringing Modest Livelihood to northern Ontario in the upcoming year.

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Wawatay Wawatay News News DECEMBER DECEMBER 6, 6, 2012 2012

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Youth hold key to the future Novelist says learning about past helps build healthy individuals

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In the First Nations and Inuit Health section of the Health Canada website, it states that “suicide rates are five to seven times higher for First Nations youth than for non-Aboriginal youth.”

On World Suicide Prevention Day in September, Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo said “we must come together to stop the tragic loss of life due to despair and loss of hope, and focus on supporting and empowering the potential among our peoples.”

“Our young people must be supported to fulfill their dreams,” Atleo said.

David Alexander Robertson, a Swampy Cree graphic novelist, has worked with First Nations communities in Manitoba that have dealt suicide time and time again.

Though he himself cannot ever remember a time when he felt suicidal, he is certain there were “times when I felt like I wasn’t worth anything.”

“My dad was First Nations, but because my parents were separated growing up, I grew up disconnected from that part of who I was,” he said.

Robertson explained that growing up, he learned about Aboriginal people and culture through stereotypes.

“It gave me a poor selfimage and in many ways a broken identity,” he said. Later in his life his parents reunited, and Robertson made sure to reconnect with his First Nations roots. His work aims to shatter stereotypes and educate readers on the history of First Nations people.

“I understand somewhat why (suicide) happens. Loss of identity. Hopelessness. Isolation. Loneliness,” Robertson said.

Robertson works closely with communities who are plagued by suicides, one community having endured a rash of suicides amongst a circle of friends. “I think that when somebody does it (commits suicide), it seems easier somehow - which, of course, is never the case,” he said. “It is never easier on the ones left behind. It is almost romanticized to seem easier, too.”

Robertson can see the link

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David Robertson’s latest graphic novel deals with youth suicide and traditional teachings. between the First Nations youth of today and the youth from generations ago, especially the generations who were subjected to the assimilation and trauma of the Canadian residential school system.

He explained that understanding the past helps the future become clearer.

“Our youth are beautiful. They are talented.

They are powerful. And the more they realize and harness that power, the better we will be as a people and as a nation.”

-David Robertson

“I don’t cope well with loss, especially preventable loss that stems from decades and centuries of history that has left our youth in the position that they are in today,” Robertson said.

One of the graphic novels he authored, a four-part series called 7 Generations, is about a young First Nation man who attempts suicide, and about how learning about his family’s past helps shape his future.

“I hope that (7 Generations) encourages youth to learn about their own history, and to heal. Whatever that healing looks like might be different for everybody, but healing in any way is important.”

Robertson feels that the reality of suicide isn’t just the

end of a life but also the end of everything that could have been: the end of potential, end of love, and end of positive change.

“We all get stuck in these moments where we feel things cannot be better, and that it might be better if we just weren’t around,” he said.

“What we find, though, if we find the strength to carry on, is that those moments pass by just as surely as time moves forward.”

“Imagine the things you can do if you find that inner strength. There is a book by Dr. Seuss that is called “Oh the Places You’ll Go” - just think about it.”

Robertson has a marvellous way of viewing the First Nations youth today, youth who may not realize their own potential and their own worth.

“What youth need to understand is that they have endless potential, and that the sun always rises. All that matters in the end is that they know they are worth it, and that they have amazing things to contribute to this world.”

“Our youth are beautiful. They are talented. They are powerful. And the more they realize and harness that power, the better we will be as a people and as a nation,” Robertson said.

“You see, there will come a time when our youth will be the majority in this country, and if they are prepared for that responsibility, then we will see a change that we can’t even imagine. Our youth hold the keys to our future.

Period.”

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Wawatay News DECEMBER 6, 2012

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Fort Albany girls fall just short 807-476-0616

Peetabeck lose northeastern Ontario finals Shawn Bell Wawatay News

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In the end, Fort Albany’s amazing girls high school basketball team came within 14 points of representing northeastern Ontario at the provincial championship.

The Peetabeck team, the first team from a fly-in community to ever make the northeastern Ontario final tournament, fell to the defending champion Kapuskasing District High School in the final game of the tournament.

“We left with our heads held high,” said Peetabeck coach Justin Sackaney. “We played hard, we just lost to a better team.”

After falling behind 17-5 early in the finals, the Peetabeck girls fought their way back with an impressive run. At the end of the first half it was Kapuskasing 21, Peetabeck 17.

But as Sackaney put it, his team “ran out of gas” in the second half.

“The youth of our team came out for sure that day,” Sackaney said. “We were too tired, too emotionally drained, so it was hard to overcome the experience (of Kapuskasing’s team).”

Peetabeck’s loss in the finals came after the girls beat O’Gorman High School in the semi-finals.

The O’Gorman game ended with Fort Albany winning by four points, a close, back and forth affair. Sackaney said the game against O’Gorman “took

Submitted photo

Peetabeck’s girls basketball team came within one win of a berth in the Ontario senior girls basketball finals. Their coach Justin Sackaney (right) thinks they will be even better next year. a lot of energy” since the Fort Albany girls were nervous the entire match.

“We left with our heads held high.”

-Coach Justin Sackaney

While Fort Albany did not end the season as northeastern Ontario champions, they did send a message to the rest of the league. Peetabeck is now a basketball team to be reckoned with.

It is also a young team. Seven of the nine players from Fort Albany were actually junior

basketball aged, playing in the senior division. All but one of the girls from this year’s team that won six games and lost none during league play will return for next year’s campaign.

Sackaney is expecting big things from the team next year.

“Only one player won’t be back, everyone else is coming back,” he said. “We’ll be a year older, more seasoned.”

They will also have the experience of losing in championship finals to take with them, for added motivation as they train over the summer and into next year’s season.

Yet for all of the team’s success this year, Sackaney said he

is most proud of the girls’ dedication to practicing to get better.

Two girls on the team missed only one practice during the season. Everyone else attended every single practice, an amazing statistic considering the girls practice four times per week for an hour and a half, and only three years ago as few as three girls would show up regularly for practice.

“It was a good year, we learned a lot,” Sackaney said.

“The girls learned that it doesn’t matter who they face, they can play hard and do the things we’ve taught them and be successful.”

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