This past month, I was happy to attend two Pow Wows I hadn't been to in years. I attended the Mattagami First Nation Pow Wow and the Matachewan First Nation...
I was happy to see my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast announce the opening of the new St Francis Xavier Parish Church on August 25....
As a First Nation person I have been terrorized by alcohol and drug addiction all my life. I grew up with this reality and continue to witness the effects of addictions today. From the time I was a child I realized how terrible life was because of alcohol and drugs. I vowed to never head in that direction however, as soon as I went into my teen years I joined the party.
In a world that is so upside down these days we really need to count on our leadership and Elders to stand up for us, for mother earth and to make sure that there is a world in place for future generations. When I first started out writing and faced with interviewing government representatives like Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament, local, regional, provincial and national Chiefs, council members, Mayors, bureaucrats and business corporate executives I was intimidated.
One of the last hunting trips I took with my father Marius Kataquapit was out onto our traditional lands next to the opening of the Attawapiskat River on the James Bay coast. Dad had injured his foot that winter and although he had a cast on, he insisted on heading out for Niska Tah-mah-nah-oon, (the goose hunt) with myself and my two younger brothers Joseph and Paul. To my dad, it was an easy and short trip as the ride was only an hour snowmobile ride away.
I think all of us northerners are fed up with this long and dismal winter. The misery is made because so many people in my life have passed away this winter over the past month. It does not feel like spring.
I have lost my cousin Norman Kataquapit, a kind and gentle man I grew up with. I know his brothers Robert, Billy, Steve, Ron, Eric and Lindy and their families and friends will always hold the memory of Norman in their hearts. It’s especially sad as our families have only recently recovered after losing their brother Jeffery just over a year ago.
The historic Hudson Bay Company has been diminished and the company is on its way to becoming lost to the history books. Starting this past month in March 2025, the company filed for creditor protection which forced it to liquidate all of its stores across the country except for six key flagship stores in major cities including the historic flagship location on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto.
I grew up on the James Bay coast and from an young age I learned early on that we were more or less on our own when it came to medical emergencies. We had limited health care on the James Bay coast as was the case with most remote Indigenous communities across Canada. Most have never had a full time on site doctor and if any serious health matter arose, people had to be airlifted from Attawapiskat to Moosonee, Timmins or Kingston on emergency flights.
Winter flu season is causing all kinds of sickness and notably for our senior citizens and those with compromised immune systems. This past couple of weeks have been so hard as two of my favourite Elders have passed. John Mercier of Timmins and Ignace Koostachin from my home community in Attawapiskat. They will always have a place in my heart and memories and they were known and well respected far and wide.
Attawapiskat First Nation is my home community and it was where I was born and raised with my family. When I think about where I grew up, I feel like I came from some different country or part of the world that is not part of Canada at all. It was so different to everything I later learned about that was outside my home community.
My father Marius Kataquapit, a hunter, trapper and traditional person from the remote Attawapiskat First Nation could understand the English language but seldom spoke it yet every night he tuned into the late night CBC news and he encouraged me to also. He was curious about everything and he believed it was important to have an awareness of what was going on in the world even though the news was often filled with war and tragic events. He made me aware that other outside forces had control of our lives.
When I first met my partner Mike’s mom Emily McGrath so many years ago I was immediately struck by how open and kind she was. Everyone knew her as Emmy and she reminded me so much of all the Elders I had grow up with in my family. I was a soft spoken Cree from the James Bay coast when I first got to know her. Life was intimidating for me when I first started to live and work as a writer away from my home community but Emmy made sure I was always safe, comfortable and looked after. I owe a lot of my transition to a new life to her.
This past month, I was happy to attend two Pow Wows I hadn't been to in years. I attended the Mattagami First Nation Pow Wow and the Matachewan First Nation...
I was happy to see my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast announce the opening of the new St Francis Xavier Parish Church on August 25....