Xavier Kataquapit

Tragedy seems to be a normal part of life for my people. I’ve known so many sad stories during my life time that with every passing event, I feel numb to the pain that a normal person should realize. It doesn’t mean I am immune to the pain. Instead, I feel a deep sense of sadness when I experience the passing of loved ones in my life as it reminds me of so many others that have gone before.

This past month when most of us should be enjoying summer joy several people passed on unexpectedly.

It is always difficult to figure out what is happening with major issues in government, politics and how people are affected. A recent issue I have been watching develop really makes me wonder how bright our leaders in government are. The federal government, which has actually been doing a fairly good job in dealing with Indigenous people in this country, really went off the rails when they decided it was a good idea to push through legislation regarding the Metis Government Recognition and Self Government Agreement.

Happy Pride Month to the LGBTQ+ and Two Spirited community. I was very happy to see that in Kirkland Lake recently the Mayor and Council celebrated Pride Day with a ceremony announcing a rainbow colour sidewalk in the downtown core. There are also many other celebrations of Pride Day and Pride Month being held in Northern Ontario which is a great thing to see.

It is that time of the year when the Niska – the Canada Goose, are flying north and the traditional hunt of we Cree happens out on the land. This is something my people on the James Bay coast have been doing forever. We consider this time of the year as a way to walk in the trail of our ancestors and to spend some time out on our traditional lands.

I grew up in my home community of Attawapiskat First Nation on the James Bay coast and there were a lot of challenges living in the far north. As a matter of fact there still are. We have had a hospital in place for a long time but never really had a local full time doctor or dentist. However, we have had a lot of great nurses and midwives over the years. Thankfully because we have had a good public health care system in place for so many decades remote Indigenous communities across the country have had the benefit of some degree of health care.