Many families along the James Bay coast are headed out onto their ancestral lands during this time of year. It is our most important season as so many...
This month has been a sad period for my family and friends as several Elders have passed on. It is sad to lose someone we love and so difficult to imagine...
Former regional chief Charles Fox says The Secret Path film about Chanie Wenjack, who ran away from residential school and died along the railway track, brought back “a lot of memories.”
Deputy Grand Chief Derek Fox recently spoke about First Nations law and governance at the first event in the Lakehead University Aboriginal Awareness Centre’s Speaker Series.
“I grew up in Thunder Bay — we moved here when I was five,” Fox says on Oct. 20 at the University Lecture Theatre. “I went to school every single day. I didn’t miss class. I don’t know how, but at that young age I knew that education was going to get me somewhere.”
Fox says hockey was his passion, noting his dream was to play in the NHL.
Deputy Grand Chief Anna Betty Achneepineskum was encouraged by her experiences after completing a fast and 48 hours of prayer on the grounds of Shelter House Thunder Bay.
“It was very encouraging to see the support we were getting from the community,” Achneepineskum says. “I saw the interaction between the staff and the (clients), so it was very encouraging to see that there’s very nice people working here. And there was a lot of traffic going through here. Apparently that (path near the fast area) is a shortcut that’s used quite often.”
Lakehead University’s Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux looks forward to fulfilling her new responsibilities after being introduced as Lakehead’s first chair on truth and reconciliation.
The Revenant’s Grace Dove spoke about her career as an actor during the 3rd Annual Maadaadizi Orientation for Aboriginal post-secondary students, held Sept. 10 in Thunder Bay.
Wunnumin Lake’s Tamara Hartley looks forward to graduating from Lakehead University’s Native Language Instructors’ Program after completing her fourth summer session of studies.
“I still haven’t officially graduated — I still have a winter course,” Hartley says at the NLIP Recognition of Achievement Dinner. “I feel good that I have finished these courses here.”
Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug’s Elyssia Nanokeesic enjoyed the CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) activity during the Northern Ontario School of Medicine’s Health Sciences Summer Camp in Thunder Bay.
“The most interesting one was doing the CSI,” says the Grade 11 student. “I’m interested in that branch (of medicine) too, the forensics.”
The CSI activity took place throughout the week with the murder scene set on Monday and the camp participants gathering evidence for the rest of the week.
Eabametoong’s Owen Boyce enjoyed the drone flying session at the First Nations Youth Employment Program Science Camp south of Thunder Bay.
“It’s pretty cool — it’s got nice controls,” says the second-year First Nations Natural Resources Youth Employment Program (FNNRYEP) student. “It’s just like a video game. It’s (got) a camera, you can maneuver wherever you go, right or left, up and down, forwards and backwards.”
Wahgoshig’s 13-year-old proxy Aaron Chokomolin was the youngest representative at the Chiefs of Ontario’s 42nd Annual All-Ontario Chiefs Conference (AOCC), held June 28-30 in Thunder Bay.
“I’m very honoured to be recognized by chiefs from everywhere in Ontario,” Chokomolin says. “And I’ve discovered that there’s new generations to come. Chiefs can see stuff in you that you cannot see yourself.”
Chokomolin was chosen by his community’s youth council to attend the AOCC. He encourages other youth to “keep on pushing” for their objectives.
Nishnawbe Aski Nation is calling for the federal and provincial governments to begin a process for the immediate implementation of the 145 recommendations from the Seven Youth Inquest.
Many families along the James Bay coast are headed out onto their ancestral lands during this time of year. It is our most important season as so many...
This month has been a sad period for my family and friends as several Elders have passed on. It is sad to lose someone we love and so difficult to imagine...