Mother Earth Needs You Now

I am the product, evolution of many thousands of years as are you. I grew up on the land in the remote far north of Ontario following in the footsteps of my Cree ancestors of the great James Bay and Muskego. I speak my Cree dialect based on a language that is ancient and I understand the history of my people and our connection to Mother Earth.

My people have been living the nomadic life of hunters and gathers for thousands of years and this is knowledge that I have learned from my parents and Elders. I grew up on the land in my remote First Nation of Attawapiskat but I have also lived and worked in southern cities and towns of Ontario. I have been fortunate to have travelled to 35 countries, learned about other cultures, their foods, music, issues, life and filled my eyes with incredible and beautiful images.

All of these experiences, teachings and connection to the land has given me a real appreciation for Mother Earth. I am in awe of what a wonderful planet we live on. For many reasons I have discovered and was trained in writing, reporting, journalism, research and communication. I do my best to learn as much as I can about our world and our history. I carry the knowledge I learned from my Elders and my dad Marius and mom Susan. My partner Mike has also been an excellent guide that has helped me as a writer and to dedicate my efforts to representing my people the Cree and all First Nations of this country. This is a wonderful, challenging and rewarding reality however it comes with much responsibility and vulnerability.

I have almost 30 years sobriety and being in recovery. In my world I have needed to research and write about so many things including: drug and alcohol addiction, how government works in both Native and non Native politics, how corporations operate, the dangerous state of dealing with global warming and its causes, the incursions by government on First Nation lands without free prior informed consent and consultation, the pollution of lakes, rivers and air with all kinds of out of control resource development and the unjust reality of racism, bigotry, homophobia while globally wealth inequality dominates the world. In a 2023 report by Oxfam, ‘81 billionaires have more wealth than 50% of the world combined’.

The responsibility of being a journalist, a writer and columnist is daunting at times and often I wish I could just jump into a float plane and fly off to the remote Akamiski Island or the remote parts of the Attawapiskat River where my family origins trace back to. The problem is that if I did so I would be abandoning you, all of the people who have given me teachings on my way, First Nation people who need a voice and most importantly Mother Earth. We are all life forms on this planet not separate from Mother Earth. We are Mother Earth and what happens to our planet affects us all directly.

I do my best in my own way with my research and writing but we all need to act to really make it all worthwhile. We need you to rise up and demand a change in how politics are run with out of control lobbying that makes governments more like casinos. We need to make a stand and step up to protest war and out of control development causing global warming and destroying our world. We need to stand up to racism, bigotry and hate in any form. We need to stand up to the system that has allowed a small group of billionaires to control everything. We all have to think about the fact that two wars right now could end up in a nuclear conflict that would end our civilization at any moment either by accident or design. We need to think about the fact that global warming is causing severe weather, terrible forest fires, floods and storms all over the planet.

We need to think about what our Federal government is doing with Bill C5 and in Ontario with Bill 5 which will result in development that could remove protection in terms of conservation, the environment and labour laws. These fast tracked developments will affect huge carbon sinks like the Hudson Bay Lowlands that we need to combat global warming. These new laws have ignored free prior and informed consent and consultations with First Nations. These governments are giving their rich corporate friends out of control development and funding while at the same time cutting all kinds of social programs for people.

You can join groups and donate to organizations that are standing up to all of this. Right now First Nation youth are looking for support as they push back and stand up for Mother Earth and the land, the rivers, the lakes, the creatures and the very air we breath. Movements like ‘Here We Stand – Call To Action’, ‘Youth Rising Together’ and ‘Okiniwak’. Help them out if you can.

Mother Earth needs you now.

www.underthenorthernsky.com