One of the most beautiful serene places I’ve ever visited was on the banks of the Opinagau River in northern Ontario, just near the corner of land where...
This wave of cold weather reminds me that I do not have a lot of motorcycle riding time left and that summer will soon be turning into fall. Students are...
I never quite realized how hard life was when I was growing up in my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast. At the time in the 1980s, our Elders saw the community as becoming modernized and more comfortable compared to what they had known a few decades before.
There has been some good news lately in honouring agreements and righting wrongs when it comes to Indigenous peoples on the James Bay coast. The big news recently was the announcement of 1.2 billion dollars for the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA) in regards to their Hospital Redevelopment Project.
We have proof that when governments work together good things can happen and that was demonstrated in Matachewan First Nation when the community announced recently the settlement of a Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) claim. The announcement was made on May 25, by Chief Alex ‘Sonny’ Batisse of Matachewan FN, along with Will Bouma, Parliamentary Assistant to the Ontario Minister of Indigenous Affairs on behalf of the Honourable Greg Rickford and also by the Honourable Gary Anandasangaree, Canada’s Minister of Crown–Indigenous Relations.
Recently I was involved in a discussion with my partner and some of his friends who came of age in the 1960s. Our discussion was all about how upside down the world is these days with wars going on in the Ukraine and Gaza killing many thousands of people and destroying cities. It is interesting to hear from people who grew up in the 1960s and 70s because they bring an historical background to what is happening now. Many people I know were part of the hippie and counter culture movement of the time.
Every morning for a few weeks now I am waking up to the sound of Pee-Nay-Sheesh (small birds) singing outside my window. Mostly the singing is coming from the tree swallows flying frantically around in what seems like circles. I never learned the Cree name for this pretty little bird because they are rare to see on the James Bay coast. At this time of year, they are either mating or challenging each other for the ownership of the birdhouse I constructed a few years ago and perched on the garage roof.
It looks like the swallows are back and that is a sure sign of spring and warmer weather to come. A couple of weeks ago I heard the honking of Niska (Canada geese) as they paused to take a break on the field behind our house here in Kirkland Lake. They seemed to have moved on now and have arrived at their summer destinations on the shore of James Bay.
If you pause to think about it, there are special people in our lives that we always assumed would always be around no matter where our life journey takes us. We take for granted that the things and people we grew up with will never change and will forever stay the same.
There have been so many changes over the past couple of decades for Indigenous First Nations and I am amazed at how life has changed for many people. Most of the changes have been for the good and that of course has to do with more access to education and employment opportunities. Sadly, we have also experienced a terrible time of drug addiction in our communities that have made life difficult for a lot of people and many have died.
Extreme cold weather is part of life every winter on the James Bay coast. The cold was normal for my parents who were both born on the land during a time when people didn’t have very much. My late father Marius Kataquapit was a trapper and hunter that learned to live and thrive on the land from the time he was a child.
Recently I have been watching news reports on how the left more socialist parties in our country and other parts of the world are being taken over by more conservative, right wing factions and some of this I suspect is also happening in Indigenous political organizations. When I look at political trends and decisions being made by governments, I follow the old saying that states “always follow the money”.
One of the most beautiful serene places I’ve ever visited was on the banks of the Opinagau River in northern Ontario, just near the corner of land where...
This wave of cold weather reminds me that I do not have a lot of motorcycle riding time left and that summer will soon be turning into fall. Students are...