Lenny Carpenter — Wawatay News

Community members in Mishkeegogamang First Nation are still struggling to cope with a house fire that led to the death of a mother, her two young daughters and her nephew on Feb. 13.
Faced with overwhelming demand, chief and council declared a state of emergency on March 3, stating that the widespread trauma has been compounded by a persistent significant shortage of services and resources.

Aboriginal Team Ontario is seeking young athletes to register for the the upcoming North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) set to take place July 20-27 in Regina, Sask.
Scott Haines, Team Ontario’s track and field head coach for the games, said they are seeking Indigenous athletes aged between 13-19 to register before the March 31 deadline.
Athletes do not need to have tried out before registering. Tryouts can continue until early June, when teams must submit their final rosters.

Sandy Lake’s Jeffrey Kakegamic said it was a thrill to try out the shot put for the first time during NAN’s track and field skills development camp in Thunder Bay.
“Pretty fun,” the 15-year-old said with a smile as he reflected on the new sport. “It would be nice to play those things again.”
The Grade 9 student was among 40 youth who took part in the skills development camp on April 6, the second day of the event. The first day featured about 54 aspiring athletes from 11 NAN communities in northern Ontario.

A First Nations superhero was officially announced as one of several characters in a new series by DC Comics.
DC Comics recently unveiled Equinox, who is a 16-year-old Cree from Moose Factory.
Equinox has powers connected to the Earth that change with the seasons. When she’s not busy being a superhero, she is Miiyahbin of Moose Factory.
Equinox will join seven other superheroes in the series, which will split its time between Canada and space, contrasting small town life with epic space adventures.

When Canadian comics artist and writer Jeff Lemire was commissioned by DC Comics to create a new gang of superheroes, one was inspired after he learned about Attawapiskat’s Shannen Koostachin.
He also decided to set much of the storyline along the James Bay coast. A southern Ontario boy with limited experience with First Nations, Lemire ventured up to Moosonee and Moose Factory to spend time with local youth and learn about the culture.