Wabigoon Lake’s two awards in 2013 for best tasting water is Wawatay’s #1 Health story of the year.
“That was definitely something,” said Marcel Shabaquay, Wabigoon Lake’s water plant operator, after Wabigoon Lake won the 2013 Water Taste Challenge award on Oct. 25 at the North Western Ontario Water and Wastewater Conference.
The Fort Albany senior girls basketball team’s run to the provincial championships this fall is Wawatay’s #1 Sports story of the year.
“It was good feeling to be there,” said Amber Nakogee, a Grade 12 student. “Those teams are really good. It made us want to try harder.”
The Fort Albany girls were the first First Nations high school team from a fly-in community in Ontario to win their regional finals and make the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations’ (OFSAA) ‘A’ Girls basketball tournament, which was held Nov. 21-23 in Sault Ste. Marie.
The Lac Seul Eagle’s third straight championship at the Northern First Nations Hockey Tournament is Wawatay’s #2 Sports story of the year.
“I think them running two lines as opposed to us running four lines, and keeping all our lines rolling, really tired them out,” said Lac Seul forward Clinton Kejick about his team’s success. “You need more than just two lines to compete in this tournament.”
Couchiching First Nation Chief Chuck McPherson is remembered as a tireless advocate for his community and all of Treaty #3.
“He has definitely left an indelible mark on the region and has shared his insights and vision with many First Nation leaders over his time,” said Regional Chief Stan Beardy.
“He will be missed by many for his determination, his good nature and his humour.”
McPherson died at home on Jan. 5.
Born in 1953, he was first elected as chief of his community in 1986 for one term before being elected for seven straight terms from 1998.
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug has rejected a proposed Ministry of Natural Resources aerial moose inventory survey set to begin on Jan. 8 over its traditional lands.
“From our perspective as council, we do not approve of that,” said KI Chief Donny Morris. “We don’t see a decline in our moose population and we live off of them. Like any initiations by the MNR, the intent is to limit use or gathering of our traditional wild game. We see that coming and we’re just telling them that, no, we do not want it — stay away.”
Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School students now have access to 50 Kobo Touch eReaders thanks to a donation through Frontier College, Kobo and Free The Children.
Wikwemikong’s Donna Simon called for more dialogue between Thunder Bay residents during the Jan. 20 Building Bridges community gathering at Lakehead University.
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s Jean Marshall focused on family members in her latest art exhibition, Surface and Symbol, which is on exhibition from Jan. 10-Feb. 15 at Definitely Superior Art Gallery.
A monument is being planned for the former St. Joseph’s Indian Boarding School (Fort William Indian Residential School) location at the corner of Arthur and Franklin Streets in Thunder Bay.
Regional Chief Stan Beardy is calling for changes to the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) program due to a widening gap in health outcomes.
“The outcomes gap between First Nations and non-First Nations health continues to widen,” Beardy stated in a Dec. 19 special bulletin posted on the Assembly of First Nations website. “First Nations are being denied high quality, equitable access to the health products and services that non‐Indigenous Canadians take for granted.”
When I was a boy growing up in my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast, I was deathly afraid of looking at the full moon.
I grew up...
I’m happy to see the ongoing support and assistance in our northern remote communities to help our people cope with so many lifelong and generational issues...