Current issue

Sagatay

  • February / March 2010
  • December 2009 / January 2010
    • Circle of Caring:
      Mamow Sha-way-gi-kay-win: North-South Partnership for Children matches resources with community needs
    • ᑲᐱᒥᑭᓂᑲᐧᓂᐡᑲᒪᑲᐠ ᓇᑕᒪᑫᐃᐧᐣ:
      ᒪᒪᐤ ᔕᐁᐧᐣᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ: ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᒥᓇ ᔕᐊᐧᓄᐠ ᑲᐊᔭᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐃᐧᑕᓄᑭᒥᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᑕᐧ ᐊᐊᐧᔑᔕᐠ ᑲᐃᔑᓇᓄᑌᓭᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ
    • Hoop dancers:
      Tre Fiddler, Korwin Linklater and Miles Kakekagumick are three youths from Sandy Lake First Nation who formed a traditional hoop-dancing group. Kakekagumick is 21 years old, Fiddler is 15 and Linklater is only 10.
    • Chief Rodney McKay: leadership lineage:
      Chief Rodney McKay is one busy guy. For instance, the interview for this profile took three sessions to complete because each time I caught up to Chief McKay, he was on the road going to yet another meeting. Thank goodness for the portability of cellphones.
    • Pioneer Homeowner:
      Stan Bluecoat of KI secures bank mortgage for reserve house
    • I AM Indigenous:
      A portrait series that celebrates people of northern Ontario
    • Jan 09 - Dec 10
  • October / November 2009
    • Healing from suicide:
      From a candlelight vigil to sharing circles to inspiring music, there were a variety of healing mechanisms at the 17th annual Survivors of Suicide (SOS) Conference in Wapekeka First Nation.
    • Leader profile: Former bishop returns to politics:
      When I talk to him, Gordon Beardy proclaims proudly he has now been chief of Muskrat Dam for 30 days. All kidding aside, though, while he had just recently been elected to his current term as chief, this is actually his sixth term in that role.
    • Destination: Kasabonika:
      The old settlement of Kasabonika Lake First Nation was five kilometres downriver from where the community is today.
    • Long house ceremony at Sandy Lake:
      One long-ago June evening, I was privileged to witness a Native drumming and feasting event in extreme northwestern Ontario.
    • Thanksgiving drumming and dancing:
      They performed the long house ceremonies at Finger Lake but also near Ahab Rae’s house, where it is situated and just a little further up, along the run of the river.
    • ᐁᐧᐡᑲᐨ ᑲᑭ ᐊᐧᐱᓄᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᓀᑲᐃᐧᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ:
      ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᒋᐁᐧᐡᑲᐨ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᓴᑭᐸᑲᐃᐧᐱᓯᑦ ᑲᐱᒪᑭᓱᐨ ᐁᔭᓄᓇᑯᓯᐠ, ᐣᑭᐊᐧᐸᑫᓇᐸᐣ ᐊᓂᓯᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᒪᑌᐧᐃᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᒥᓇ ᐁᒪᑯᓭᐃᐧᓂᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐧᑎ ᑭᒋ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᓀᑲᐱᐊᓄᐠ ᐃᓀᑫ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐊᐦᑭᐠ.
    • I AM Indigenous:
      I am an Anishnabe Quay and happy to be living the life as an Anishnabe quay. I am concerned that the majority of our young people are not following the teachings of our ancestors.
  • August / September 2009
  • June / July 2009
    • 20 Year Anniversary Photos:
      Photos from Wasaya's 20 year history.
    • Elders recall origins of Wasaya Airways:

      Elders Simon Sakakeep and Charlie Bighead recently got together via teleconference to speak about the origins of Wasaya Airways. Sakakeep, the first chief of Kingfisher Lake, recalls Albert Mamakwa asking him if they could come up with a business idea to provide future employment for community members as the commercial fishery was closing in the late 1970s-early 1980s.

    • 'Growing the hard way, the business way': Tom Morris:

      A day before Tom Morris was set to leave on a three-day business trip this spring, he sat back in the Wasaya Airways LP boardroom and reflected on Wasaya’s first 20 years in business. “Our biggest achievement is we have been able to survive for 20 years as a First Nation business,” said the president and chief executive officer of Wasaya Airways LP. “Last year we made $60 million-plus.”

    • Strong and enduring:

      Welcome aboard Wasaya Airways. In 1989, for the benefit of their communities and in accordance to the general consensus of their band members, eight First Nation communities of northwestern Ontario signed a deal.

    • I AM Indigenous:
      I am a strong, caring Anishinawbe. I am a supportive, loving husband. I am a good son. I am a best friend. I am many things to many people. They all know me as Mike. I hope to find good in everyone, make someone’s life better, and die having made a difference.
    • ᑲᒥᓇᐊᐧᑕᒥᐣ ᐊᒋᓇ ᐅᑎᓀᑕᐣ ᓂᔑᑕᓇᐃᐧᐊᐦᑭ ᐊᔕ ᑲᐱᐅᒋᐊᓄᑲᑕᐠ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᓂ:
      ᑭᔭᐱᐨ ᐯᔑᐠ ᐊᔭ ᐅᑕᓄᑭ ᐊᑯᓇᐠ ᐊᐱᐣ ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᑲᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᑌᑭᐸᐣ ᐊᐧᓭᔭ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᔭᓂ ᒪᐦᒋᐱᒪᑯᑌᐠ ᐁᐧᑎ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᐃᓀᑫ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐱᓂᐡ ᓄᑯᑦ ᑲᑭᔑᑲᐠ, ᐊᒥᐦᐊᐁᐧ ᑕᐧᑦ ᑲᒥᓇᐊᐧᑕᒥᐣ ᑲᐃᔑᓂᑲᓱᐨ.
    • 20 Years Fly By for Kamenawatamin:
      There’s been at least one constant from the day Wasaya Airways’ first plane touched the skies over northwestern Ontario until present day – Tom Kamenawatamin.
  • April/May 2009
  • February / March 2009
    • Resolutions for serving you better:
      Waciyea! Happy New Year to all of you.
    • Beaded artwork relaxes, inspires:
      Nellie Matthews’ beaded art pieces attract this and similar comments of praise during Art Zoom, an art tour hosted Dec. 6 by several venues in Thunder Bay.
    • Nellie Matthews’ design and technique:
      Nellie Matthews begins her beading projects by concentrating on a shape, which eventually evolves into her design, which she then draws onto the material she will be beading on.
    • Sky is the limit: More growth for Wasaya Group of Companies:
      Wasaya Group Inc. and the Wasaya Group of Companies have steadily grown over the last 20 years from a small float plane operation based in Pickle Lake to what can now only be described as one of the most successful First Nation business entities in northern Ontario!
    • Hunting trip turns medical ordeal & dream world journey:
      I  take quick sips of my hot coffee, which burn my lips. I can’t feel the pain, as I pace up and down the carpeted walkway at the Thunder Bay airport.
    • Leader profile:
      James Mamakwa is surprised he is once again the chief of Kingfisher Lake First Nation. Although he was the fifth or sixth person nominated for chief this past September, then tied for second behind incumbent Matt Winter after the first round of voting, he garnered the most votes in the final round of voting.
    • Trapline mediator, photographer:
      I joined the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests at Parry Sound, Ontario in 1949. In 1950, I began working out of the Sioux Lookout office as a field man on a conservation program launched jointly by the federal and provincial governments.
    • ᐊᐧᓂᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᐸᐸᒥ ᓇᓇᑲᒋᑐᐨ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐊᔑᐨ ᑲᑭᐸᐸᒥ ᒐᒐᑲᑌᓯᒋᑫᐨ:
      ᐁᐧᑎ ᐯᕑᐃ ᓴᐤᐣᐟ ᐁᐃᔑᓂᑲᑌᐠ ᐅᑌᓇᐠ ᔕᐊᐧᓄᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐊᒥ ᐊᐱ ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᑲᑭᒪᑕᓄᑭᑕᒪᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᒥᑯᑭᒪ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ 1949 ᐁᔭᑭᐊᐧᐠ. ᐁᑲᐧ ᐊᐱ 1950 ᐁᔭᑭᐊᐧᐠ, ᐣᑭᒪᑕᓄᑭ ᐊᐧᓂᓇᐊᐧᑲᐠ ᐁᑭᐃᓇᓄᑭᐦᐃᑯᔭᐣ ᒋᐸᐸᒥ ᓇᓇᑲᒋᑐᔭᐣ ᐊᐧᓂᐦᐃᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᒪᐦᒋᑐᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᒥᓇ ᑲᓇᑕ ᐅᑭᒪᐃᐣ.
  • December 2008 / January 2009
    • Goats: trail to self-sufficiency:

      In early August, a herd of 15 goats bought by KI from a New Liskard, Ont. farm arrived aboard a Wasaya cargo plane. A pen installed temporarily inside the Hawker Siddely 748 kept the livestock properly contained while airborne.

    • ᒥᓴᐳᓱᐠ ᑕᔭᐸᒋᐦᐊᐧᐊᐠ ᑫᑭᐊᓄᒋ ᐱᒥᐧᐃᒋᐦᐃᑎᓱᓇᓄᐧᐊᐠ:
      ᐊᐱ ᑲᐊᓂᒪᑕᑭᓱᐨ ᐅᐸᐡᑯᐱᓯᑦ, ᒪᒪᐤ ᓂᔭᓄᔕᑊ ᒥᓴᐳᓱᐠ ᑭᐱᑕᑯᓴᐦᐅᓇᐧᐊᐠ ᐧᐁᑎ ᔕᐧᐊᓄᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐱᔑᑭᐧᐃᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᐁᑭᐱᐅᒋᐧᐃᓂᐧᑕ ᐁᐧᑲ ᐃᒪ ᐧᐊᓭᔭ ᐳᓯᑕᓱᓂᐱᒥᓭᐧᐃᓂᐠ ᑭᐅᒋᐱᒧᓇᐧᐊᐠ.
    • Elders challenged Morris to lead better life:
      Chief Donny Morris of Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI) says he was “thrown into” a political career that began in 1992.
    • Shy-Anne gains stage confidence, national recognition:

      She was surfing the Net, running her name through a search engine, when she got the news. She had been nominated for three Aboriginal Music Peoples Choice Awards: best new artist, best songwriter and single of the year.

    • Games glory for mother of three:

      Mother by day, runner by night. That was life for Racheal Anishinabie heading into the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in August.

    • Anishinabe Shooniyaawakamik Credit Union Wasaya Group of Companies assists with opening of credit union in Bearskin Lake:
      “People in our community have always been scrambling just to make basic financial transactions. This credit union will help them to look after their financial affairs. This has been needed for a long time – a place to deposit our cheques, open up bank accounts ... We have needed something like this for a very long time and we are pleased the credit union is now open.” –Bearskin Lake Chief Rodney McKay
    • Environmentally friendly:
      Good day from the skies above northern Ontario! I am writing this message today on-board one of Wasaya’s 28 aircraft that make our many daily departures the lifeline connection to the north.
    • Anishininimowen Basics: Past issues of Sagatay have included some basic Oji-Cree or Anishininimowen language terms, and we are continuing with our promotion of indigenous language for our readers in hopes that you will “use it before we lose it.”
  • October / November 2008
  • August / September 2008
    • ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᐊᐧᐊᔑᔕᐠ ᑲᑭᐱᑕᔑ ᑲᓇᐧᐁᑕᑯᓯᐧᐊᐨ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᐸᑭᑌᓂᑲᑌ ᑌᐧᐯᐧᐃᐣ ᒥᓇ ᑭᐧᐁᐅᑕᐱᓂᑫᐧᐃᐣ:
      ᑲᕑᓂᐟ ᐊᐣᒋᑯᓀᑊ ᐅᒋᑎᐯᑕᑯᓯ ᐅᐱᔑᑯᑲᐠ ᐁᐧᑲ ᓄᑯᑦ ᐧᐊᓂᓇᐧᐊᑲᐠ ᐃᔑᑲᐯᔑ. ᑭᐱᐃᐡᑯᓄ ᐯᓫᐃᑲᐣ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᐁᐧᑲ ᐊᑯᓇᐠ 1998 ᑭᐱᐅᒋᐧᐊᐧᐃᒋᐧᑕ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᓇᑕᐧᐃᐦᐃᐧᐁᐧᐃ ᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᐧᐃᓂᐠ ᑲᐃᔑᐊᐱᑕᒪᑫᐧᐊᐨ.

       

    • Residential school truth and reconciliation:
        Garnet Angeconeb is an Anishinaabe originally from the Lac Seul First Nation and now living in Sioux Lookout. He attended Pelican Indian Residential School and has been an active member of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation (AHF) board of directors since 1998.
    • Camps fun, educational:
      Georgina Wabano is a teacher’s assistant in her home community of Weenusk, located on the shores of Hudson Bay. Last summer, for the second year in a row, Georgina worked as a camp counsellor with the Lieutenant Governor’s Aboriginal Summer Reading Camps, hosted by her community, instead of taking a much needed break after the school year.
    • Aboriginal Youth Mentorship Award for Muskrat Dam member:

      The Native counsellor at her high school says she has a quiet dignity about her. The director of an anti-racism play she acted in calls her absolutely wonderful. “I don’t really feel I’m any different than anyone else,” Ginger Beardy, 16, says in a shy but confident voice. “I just try hard.”

    • Hip Hop Poet:
      Stye Quequish, a Weagamow Lake member living in Sioux Lookout, is a prolific rap artist, although his music is still more hobby than career. Rapping under the name Sunsetting Kidd, he has recorded five solo albums, sold more than 1,000 CDs and hundreds of fans have listened to his songs and watched his music videos online.
  • June / July 2008
    • Finding strength through the Sundance:
      Rain. A steady stream of rain. For most of the day, rain drenched the dancers. It wasn’t expected, this precipitation.
    • Cultural content:

      Wachiyea everyone! This edition of Sagatay is a little different and I hope you will all enjoy it. Recently Wasaya decided to take our Sagatay content in a new direction.

    • Confidence boost:
      Three ‘turtles’ visited students who attend Pelican Falls First Nations High School earlier this year. Actually, Dave Jones, Jamie Corston and Mekwan Tulpin are motivational teachers from Turtle Concepts who spent three days empowering the Pelican students.
    • ᓇᓇᑕᐧᐃᐱᒪᑎᓯᐧᐃᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂ ᑲᑭᐃᔑᓂᑲᑕᐠ ᐃᔑᒋᑫᐧᐃᐣ:
      ᐅᑎᐸᒋᒧ ᑊᕑᐁᐣᐟ ᐧᐁᐢᓫᐃ ᑲᑭᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃᐱᐦᐃᑫᐨ ᐱᑐᓂᔭ ᐊᐣᒋᐢ
    • Cultural sensitivity:
      Cultural Sensitivity is being aware cultural differences exist and have an effect on the values, learning, and behaviours of ourselves and those around us.
    • The Art of Roy Morris:
      When I first arrived and became a member of this Planet Earth, Bearskin Lake was my choice as an excellent place to begin an adventure.
    • Baby Labron survives:
      Labron Nate recently celebrated his first birthday. He was born six weeks early, May 17, 2007. He weighed five pounds, four ounces. “ He was a happy, healthy little guy … until February,”
    • Turtle Concepts: the concepts behind the name:
      Turtle represents the Anishnabe spirit name of the company’s founder, Dave Jones.
    • BOOSHOO, You’re On the Air!:

      Wasaya Airways Introduces the WASAYA HOUR on Wawatay Radio. The Wasaya Hour made it’s debut March 6, 2008 on Wawatay Radio.

    • Ojicree: Anishininimowin, or “Oji-Cree” as most know it, is the prominent Aboriginal language spoken in Nishnawbe Aski Nation territory. It is an amalgamation of both the Ojibway and Cree languages and has more than 10,000 speakers across northern Ontario.
  • April / May 2008
    • Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Education and Prevention: According to Aboriginal Healing Foundation tatistics, up to 80 per cent of ur people are affected in some way by alcoholism, and alcohol consumption is he most common form of substance abuse among indigenous women (61 per cent of Native women drink regularly).
    • Summer arts festival in Red Lake:
      Red Lake Woodland Arts Festival: A Tribute to Norval Morrisseau and the Woodland Artists will take place July 4-6.
    • Videoconferencing connects remote communities:
      Videoconferencing is like a winter road network that is open all year. As with the winter roads, videoconferencing is vital to northern communities. People use it to connect in real-time and face-to-face.
    • Modern Love, Ancient Rite:
      In the tradition of days long ago, Frank Beardy and Maggie Chisel of Sioux Lookout recently exchanged marriage vows. With family and friends surrounding the couple, Beardy and Chisel celebrated their modern love through an ancient ritual.
    • Art therapy in Kasabonika:
      “Whoa,” a chorus of students echoes as Moses Beaver pulls different items from his bag. Standing before a Grade 4 class at Simeon McKay Memorial School in Kasabonika Lake, Beaver lays out a few flutes and a hand drum.
    • Website offers customer support, weather reports and online store:

      Booshoo, wachiya! Deanna Marie Therriault ndishnikaaz. I am the newly appointed interim marketing coordinator for Wasaya Airways LP. I have been employed with Wasaya for approximately two years working first as receptionist, graduating to administrative assistant and now finding myself as part of Wasaya’s marketing team.
  • February/March 2008
    • Warchief Clothes Inspired by Culture - Oji-Cree: ᐧᐊ ᐧᐁ ᓫᐊᔭᓫ ᐧᑕᒪᐢ ᐃᑭᑐ ᑲᐅᔑᑐᒋᐨ ᑭᑭᐡᑭᑲᓇᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᒪᓯᓂᒋᑫᐧᐃᓂᐠ ᐅᑐᒋᐱᒥᓂᔕᐦᐊᐣ ᑲᐃᔑᒪᒋᐨ. ᐅᓄᐧᐁᓂᐧᐊᐣ ᐅᒪᓯᓂᒋᑫᒋᐧᐃᓇᐣ ᑭᑭᐡᑲᒋᑲᓂᐠ ᐃᔑᒪᓯᓂᓯᓂᓂᐧᐊᐣ, ᐧᐊᕑᒋᑊ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᑭᑭᐡᑭᑲᓇᐣ ᐃᔑᓂᑲᑌᐧᐊᐣ, ᐧᐁᑎ ᑕᐡ ᐊᑯ ᐅᑎᔑᐧᐃᑐᓇᐣ ᐁᐸᐸᒪᑕᐧᐊᑫᐨ ᑲᑕᔑ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᓂᒥᐧᐃᓂᑫᓇᓄᐧᐊᓂᐠ ᒥᓯᐧᐁ ᐅᒪ ᑌᑎᐸᐦᐃ, ᒥᓇ ᐱᑯ ᐊᐧᐁᓀᓇᐠ ᐅᑭᑭᐡᑲᓇᐧᐊ ᐅᓂᒥᐠ ᒥᓇ ᑭᑐᒋᑫᐧᐃᓂᓂᐧᐊᐠ.
    • Photographic insight:
      Nadya Kwandibens is a rising talent in the world of photography. The self-taught, 29-year-old from Northwest Angle #37 First Nation in northwestern Ontario has also designed attractive websites, including one for Nishnawbe Aski Nation about AIDS and healthy lifestyles. Adrienne Fox-Keesic, a member of Bearskin Lake First Nation and an award-winning photojournalist, interviewed Kwandibens about photography, their shared passion. The interview took place online, using GMail Chat, between Dec. 6, 2007 and Jan. 5, 2008.
    • Warchief clothes inspired by culture:
      War Cry DEZINE

      Lyle Thomas refers to the designs he creates as tribal art.

      The designs are featured on a clothing line, Warchief Native Apparel, spotted for sale at powwows across the region, and worn by hip hop artists and DJs.

    • Healing Voice:
      Anderson Guitar Inspiration touched Betty Anderson during church meetings that used to be held in her home community of Kasabonika Lake.
  • November 2007 / January 2008
    • Biggest Moose for Women Hunters:
      Susan Beardy had never been face-to-face with a live moose before. During a hunters festival in Kitchenuhmaykoosib (Big Trout Lake) this past fall, Susan found herself in that very position. It wasn’t just any moose, either. It was a bull, towering and powerful.
    • Traditional midwives, special deliveries:
      A young Eliza Chlidforever ran faster than she probably should on the uneven ground. This was a matter of life, after all. “Hurry!” she’d been told in the Oji-Cree language everyone spoke. “The baby is coming fast.”
    • Life With Brandon:
      Having a child with special needs is a challenge, definitely. But the rewards far outweigh the perceived hardships. Brandon was born on a cool March evening in 1993 in Winnipeg at the Health Sciences Centre.
  • August / September 2007
    • Sandy Lake Golf Tour
    • Bilingual Kingfisher Lake students thrive at school:
      Kindergarten and Grade 8 graduates wait to receive their certificates in the Mary Agnash Memorial School gymnasium. Students at the Kingfisher Lake school begin their academic learning entirely in Oji-Cree during Kindergarten and evolve into a mostly English curriculum by the time they enter Grade 8.
    • Battle of the Bannock-Makers:
      Flour, lard, baking powder and water. They can be mixed in different ways and cooked by various methods, but the right combination will earn the coveted Bannock Clock for best bannock in Sioux Lookout.
  • June/July 2007
    • Little brother’s first goose hunt:
      Goosehunt calling
      		“Cool,” Morris says.

      My little brother is wading through a ditch, trying out his hip-waders for first time. He walks around, cracking as much ice as he can. He looks down at his feet, marvelling at how he can walk through water knee-high and not get wet.
    • Becoming a healer:
      Dan CutfeetDan Cutfeet has come a long way from his boyhood summers, which against his mother’s wishes he spent tromping through swamps, his brother in tow, looking for frogs to play with.

      The 32-year-old Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug band member is now married and a father of two young boys of his own, and is going to medical school to become a doctor.
    • North Spirit celebrates 20 years:
      The wife of the late Stanley Rae, former chief of North Spirit Lake, remembers a different time for the community. Eva Rae recalls a time when there was no running water, no housing, no roads, and definitely no airport.
  • April/May 2007
    • Healing through hockey:
      Micheal Trapper Memorial GatheringWhen the community of Moose Factory lost three young people in a devastating snowmobile accident, no one would’ve thought they would find healing through hockey.

      But so it was.
    • Jamboree more than gospel music and sermons:
      Gospel Jamboree

      A couch cushion cradles Howie McKay as he sits on a St. Matthews Anglican Church pew.

      The involuntary spasms that rack his body do little to daunt the spirit of Bearskin Lake’s first Anglican minister. He’s here in Muskrat Dam to celebrate God’s grace.
    • Arena action:

      ‘Friends not home? You’ll find them at the arena’

      An arena is what its users make out of it.
  • February/March 2007
    • Baker breaks trail as runner:
      Baker OFSAA November 2006
      		When Henry Baker ran through mud and snow on an eight-kilometre course in Vancouver, B.C., it was one of the toughest races he had run to date.

      Indeed, the 19-year-old from Mishkeegogamang First Nation likened the national cross-country championship race in December to running in “swamp.”
    • Moose on the move:
      Whitehead Moose

      A group of Elders are gathered at the Wee See Nea We Gamic restaurant in Pikangikum.

      The tables have all been moved around and set up for a meeting. The Elders are listening to a presentation from a group of consultants assisting with the Whitefeather Forest Initiative, a sustainable forest management project spearheaded by the community.
  • December 2006/January 2007
    • Rabbit Alley:
      Logan Keesic Rounding the bend into rabbit alley – snow covered after an early October storm – the four of us stop abruptly and stare.

      With obvious dismay, I ask, “Is it caught?”
    • Northern names rooted in colourful history:
       Charles Morris

      What's in a name?

      An awful lot it turns out. In many cases the names that resound today represent strength, resilience and family values. Some may also echo past acts of racism and discrimination.
  • October/November 2006
    • Creefest culture and pride:
      Canoe Race

      The dust is still unsettled as I step off the twin-engine airplane.

      I shield my eyes from the blazing afternoon sun as I descend the stairs and place my first step in this community.
    • Archaeological evidence in Pik area up to 10,000 years old:
      Archaeological Collection

      Ancient artifacts have been found peppered around sites held sacred by Ojibway people of Pikangikum.

      Arrowheads, pottery and animal bones, remnants of items once used in daily living, have been unearthed at ancient campgrounds and summer gathering places throughout the 1.3 million hectares of land known as the Whitefeather Forest, north of Red Lake.
    • June Trout shares her talent for eye-catching quilt design:
      June TroutWhen June Trout started quilting as a hobby seven years ago, she had no idea it would one day take over her life.

      One look around her sewing room, it’s easy to see why quilting has come to consume her.
  • August/September 2006
    • Seoul food: Muskrat Dam chef cooks in Korea, China:
      Brad MorrisBrad Morris will always cherish the memories of the two weeks he spent overseas in Shanghai, China and Seoul, South Korea.

      The 23-year-old Muskrat Dam member went to Shanghai on an international placement through his culinary program at Thunder Bay’s Confederation College.
    • Mushquash awarded Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers:
       Clifford MushquashSeven young people were honoured with the Ontario Medal for Young Volunteers for their exceptional voluntary contributions that have changed communities across Ontario, Canada and around the world, the Honourable James K Bartleman, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, announced June 23.
    • Memorial for a long lost brother:
       GravestoneGravestoneAchieving closure for the Beardy family came from the most unusual of places – a 20-pound slab of granite.

      “It’s called Barrie grey granite,” says Glen Kellaway, the manager of Lakehead Monument in Thunder Bay, as he cups a finely finished headstone in his hands. “It’s the same material that the Terry Fox Monument is made out of.”
  • June/July 2006
    • Maggie Sofea proves doctors wrong:
      Maggie Sofea proves doctors wrong
      		When her head broke through the water and stopped abruptly, 11-year-old Maggie Sofea knew something had gone horribly wrong.

      Instead of feeling water rush past her face after she dove, she struck a boulder in the shallow river. In that instant, her life would change forever.
    • Fishing guide and storyteller:
      Leon Beardy
      		Most people would describe Leon Beardy as quiet and unassuming. But those who have sat down and talked to him about fishing know a different Beardy, one with a booming voice, quick wit and enough stories to publish a book.
  • April/May 2006
    • Hooked on fishing:
      O'Gass Fishing Tournament
      		Walleye seem to dig jigs, rigs and big scented minnows.

      When it comes to ice fishing, people have different thoughts on how to catch the big one.
      For Scott Nothing, a 23-year-old Bearskin Lake First Nation member, the key is providing attractive bait.
    • Red Lake hosts residential school exhibit:
      Michelle Alderton
      		The whirring of the motor in the mechanical door seems all the louder as it opens into the cavernous entranceway of the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre.

      Inside is a long, high-ceilinged hallway. Dominating the hallway’s right side is an immense ceiling-to-floor wall of glass that spans the length of the front of the building.
  • February/March 2006
  • November/December 2005
    • Staring a polar bear in the eyes:
      James with Polar BearAs I locked eyes with a thousand-pound polar bear, standing a mere eight feet in front of me, I wondered why it wasn’t charging at me.

      It could have been the weather, it could have been sick or it could have been uninterested in me – I’ll never know. He made no effort to leave and seemed to pose politely for photos – his yellowing fur discoloured with caked-on sand.
    • Polar bear tours on the tundra:
       Polarbear in WaterTommy Miles gives people a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” In his spare time, Miles leads guided tours of the northern tundra around Fort Severn where people hope to come across polar bears.
       
      Some groups are lucky enough to see dozens of the huge carnivores along with other animals – arctic fox, geese and caribou – about 100 kilometres north of Fort Severn along the coast of Hudson Bay.
    • Game-winning goals for LadyHawk:
      Brianna WasaykeesicBriana Wassaykeesic feels most comfortable on the ice among her peers.

      Wassaykeesic plays with the Mishkeegogamang LadyHawks broomball team despite being 18 and facing competition from bigger, stronger ladies. She describes the LadyHawks as a young team with a drive to succeed.
  • September/October 2005
    • Crowd pleasing sound:
       Crowd pleasing soundIf music be the food of love, play on.

      Shakespeare’s words have a special place in the hearts of a trio of fiddlers from Kingfisher Lake First Nation, a community of about 400 people.
    • Bush life best for 106-year-old:
      Clara Ash

      Walking past Lizabelle Trout’s modern Frenchman’s Head home and into her backyard is akin to stepping back in time.

      In a small intimate grove, shielded by pines and spruces, stands a tribute to tradition, to living off the land, to breathing in the outdoor air – it’s a canvas tent. A few feet to the right a small blaze licks the surface of a large silver pot.
  • July/August 2005
    • The Beauty of Beadwork:
      Beauty of Beadwork 

      Muskrat Dam women sew traditional and inventive patterns

      Flora Beardy plucks red beads from a pill bottle onto her needle fast – in a one, two, three, four, five motion she does by feel more than sight.
    • Tanning hides: Flora Beardy’s 13 steps for home-tanning a moosehide:
      Alan and Flora Beardy I love my new moccasins. I love them so much I haven’t even worn them yet. I’m saving that moment for when I move into a new place and I begin a new chapter in my life.
  • May/June/July 2005
    • Sally Kakegamic’s rescue mission:
      Sally's Hand

      Son’s death inspires youth safe house in North Spirit Lake

      Purpose.

      It’s a simple noun that means intention to act, resolution, and determination.
    • Elders’ tears and hopes for North Spirit youth:
      Maggie Linklater
      		The doorknob is gone and in its place is a piece of wood roughly carved into a large peg.

      It’s the makeshift handle that holds Maggie Linklater’s porch door in place. Inside her North Spirit Lake bedroom, the 63-year-old hurriedly moves her personal belongings aside to make room for her guests to sit.
  • March/April 2005
  • February/March 2005
    • Hockey Week in Sioux Lookout:
       Pik fans The Biggie.

      It’s the unofficial name former Wawatay sports reporter Liz Thunder used to brand the annual Sioux Lookout tournament for northern hockey supremacy.
    • Dancing at the SkyDome:
      Morriseau painting

      Toronto trip empowers students

      A group of Pelican Falls First Nations High School students and teachers burst through the doorway of First Nations House on a mild late-November morning.
    • ‘The land will sustain all of us’:
       Norman Quill

      Pikangikum Elder Norman Quill speaks at Wilderness Society event

      As Pikangikum Elder Norman Quill spoke about his connection to the land, a crowd of more than 300 people listened intently inside the Prince Arthur Hotel.
  • December 2004/January 2005
    • Sunny side up at Youth Café:
      Chef Mamakwa  Laughter flows as fast as the food at Wunnumin Lake’s Youth Café.

      Just after the lunch hour begins at Wunnumin’s Lydia Lois Beardy Memorial School on a damp mid-October Friday, children began trickling into the Youth Café, singly, in pairs and in groups, for a free lunch courtesy of the Youth Café.
    • Hunting caribou and harvesting baby powder:

      18 youth learn from Elders on the Severn River

      Elder Adelaide Koostachin is happy to have returned to Beaver Lake, where her parents trapped until she was six years old.
    • Fanny’s nomadic lifestyle:
      Moccassin's by Fanny
      		As three of Wunnumin Lake’s Elders speak early one Saturday in late October, one soon realizes they witnessed a complete change of lifestyles during their lives.

      Fanny (Bighead) McKay, Annie (McKay) Martin, and John George Martin all spoke about the traditional way they grew up on the land with their parents and how that all changed over the years.
  • October/November 2004
  • August/September 2004
    • World record for Wapusk Trail: “We have the longest, roughest winter road in the whole world.”

      Those are the words of George Kakekaspan as he speaks about the Wapusk Trail, which in winter winds its way over the frozen muskeg from Peawanuck and Fort Severn in Ontario to Shamattawa and Gillam in Manitoba.
    • A fishing tale: Across the waters of Kitchenuhmaykoosib:
       Big Trout LakeOn a spring day in 1956, George Sainnawap and his friend, Rory Chapman, set their minds on testing out a new five-horse power motor. George had purchased the motor with money he earned while mining in Pickle Lake. 
  • June/July 2004
    • Wasaya Airways’ flight path:
      Imagine the quantities of food, clothing, hardware, building materials, gasoline, heating fuel, boats, motors, snowmobiles, medical supplies, school and office supplies that are required to meet the needs of over 25 communities with populations of 500 to 4,000 people.
    • One tough Elder:
      Paul Beardy is attentive and his eyes are watchful. His right arm is casually draped behind his head as he lounges on a bed that has now become as comfortable as a well-worn shoe. It’s been a process of adaptation for the 74-year-old Bearskin Lake Elder.

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