We must continue to manage the pandemic
This has been a worrisome month. After a year and a half of dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, like everyone else I was hoping that things would be getting back to normal by now after our world shut down.
Voices
ᐋ ᐄᔮᔨᐧᒫᓂᐧᐃᒡ
Once again
This editorial is the one that comes around time and time again. In Kamloops, the unmarked graves of 215 children were discovered. Shock, surprise and outrage spread across the country and the world.
Old friends and goofballs
As we grow up, friends become an important part of your life. Someone you can relate to no matter how goofy they may seem; it makes sense somehow to go along with any antic we could think up.
A safe space for youth
When I feel down, it motivates me to remember who my relatives are. My family – like many families in our communities – experienced hard and dark moments in their lives.
Echaquan’s inquest
Joyce Echaqaun died September 28, 2020, in a Joliette hospital. Before dying she recorded and shared a video on social media of the treatment (or lack of it) she was receiving from the hospital staff. The video outraged people around the world as they watched and heard staff calling her stupid, a drain on the system and better off dead.
The magic of a story
In our Weenabaykoo Ininew Peemahteeseewin, our James Bay Cree way of life, Elders play a pivotal role in the lives of everyone in a community. Our language, stories and history are all passed down in an oral tradition. We learn by listening to the stories our parents share with us and the teachings we hear from our Elders.
Spring blizzards
We thought spring was here, but as I write these notes, there is a blizzard blowing to remind us that winter is a tough beast to kill. The winds howl incessantly, and visibility is so bad that June seems to be a distant promise of the possibility to venture outdoors sans long johns and big fur mittens.
Still looking for a drink
Covid-19 has changed many of the things we take for granted. But it hasn’t changed the federal government’s lack of urgency to provide safe water for far too many First Nations communities in Canada. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals pledged, hands on hearts, that this basic necessity could be taken for granted in every community by the end of March this year.
After Goose Break
Goose Break is over, and the kids are back at school for yet another Covid-restricted term. But it’s hard to shake off Goose Break fever – the daily dose of outdoor activities, good old hunting and grumblings over an early spring.
Goose Break blues
Huge flocks of geese are flying above the community. I’m fond of Goose Break. I love seeing people enjoying quality time with their relatives in the bush.