Rick Garrick — Wawatay News

Keewaywin’s Derek Harper has been painting traditional legends since he was introduced to acrylic paints about 20 years ago.
“I started off with pencil crayons at first,” Harper said. “Then my father-in-law (Lloyd Kakepetum) introduced me to acrylics.”
Harper had been ill at the time and was not able to go outside for the whole winter.
“So that’s when I started painting,” Harper said, explaining he likes using acrylics because they are easier to work with than other paints. “It dries up a lot quicker, I can water it down to like ink to make those fine lines.”

Webequie’s Andrew Sug-anaqueb makes all of his traditional crafts entirely by hand.
“Everything is by hand that we make — no machines,” Suganaqueb said during the 11th Annual Aboriginal Fine Arts and Crafts Christmas Gift Show and Sale, held Dec. 4-8 at Victoriaville Centre in Thunder Bay. “We didn’t use machines, even when we make slippers. Everything is really hard to make when you’re trying to make high quality (products by hand).”
Suganaqueb began making traditional crafts about 50 years ago while he was living in Webequie.

Stanley Cup champion Jordan Nolan is Wawatay’s newsmaker of the year.
After being called up to the Los Angeles Kings in February, the six-foot-three, 227 pound winger from Garden River First Nation played every game until the Kings won the Stanley Cup on June 11.
“The countdown at the game (during the last minute of play), it was more exciting than the New Years Eve countdown at Times Square,” said Nolan’s aunt, Barbara Nolan. “It was more than that.”

Grand Chief Harvey Yesno’s one-vote election win over former deputy grand chief Terry Waboose to lead Nishnawbe Aski Nation gets an honourable mention as Wawatay’s news story of the year.
Yesno received 22 votes on the third ballot of the election, which was held during the Keewaywin Conference in Kashechewan, while Waboose received 21. Mike Metatawabin was eliminated on the second ballot, after receiving 12 votes compared to Yesno’s 16 votes and Waboose’s 15 votes. Brian Davey, Lawrence Martin, Doug Semple and David Neegan were eliminated after the first ballot.

Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike and the Idle No More protest movement are Wawatay’s news story of the year.
Spence began her hunger strike on Dec. 11 and and plans to continue until Stephen Harper and a representative of the Queen meet with her and First Nations leaders to involve them in the legislative process that affects First Nations across Canada. Spence said she was “willing to die” in the process.