Now at the helm, looking to take on new challenge

It is with great pleasure that I write this column as the new publisher and editor for Wawatay Native Communications Society.
It has been quite journey since I first became published journalist when I still was going to college in Ottawa back in 2005. I had attended a hearing about plans to tax the funds First Nations students receive from their bands for their post-secondary education. It was the first time I was paid for writing, and I was hired that summer as a student reporter.
Since then, I’ve worked as a reporter for Wawatay News on several occasions.
When I was first hired on full-time, one of my duties was to put out a youth newsletter that would later become the SEVEN youth magazine.
And recently I was a reporter for two years.
Over the years, I’ve written many columns about myself and experiences, so many readers are probably familiar with who I am.
As a brief introduction, I am a member of Attawapiskat First Nation who grew up in Moosonee, Ont. along James Bay.
With grandparents from Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, and a great-grandparent from Weenusk, my ancestral roots run deep on the coasts.
So you can guess, and as you’ve likely read time and again, I love goose hunting.
At the end of my latest tenure as a Wawatay News reporter, I left with some regret. It felt like I was abandoning readers and the stories out there waiting to be told.
At the time, I had accepted an internship position with another media organization in radio. And while it was exciting to take on a new challenge and explore a new storytelling medium, something was missing.
As weeks passed, I realized that I missed sharing those stories – those of the First Nations people in northern Ontario.
When I was that college student getting my first paid writing gig, I was ignorant of the history of the Wawatay organization and many of the issues facing the communities.
Community members and leaders alike have taught me so much over the years, and it gave my writing more purpose.
So now, as the editor and publisher, I want to help continue telling those stories.
Firstly, there’s the business side of things.
I want to balance our news coverage with the northeast, northwest, and Treaty 3 and 5 communities in Ontario.
I want to also increase our online presence through our website and social media.
And I want to develop partnerships and enhance existing ones to help improve our publications.
More importantly, I want to get you, the communities, to be more involved in our publications.
Have any ideas for stories or projects? Or do you have funny or interesting photos to send? Any comments or feedback on how to improve our newspaper?
Send me an e-mail at lennyc@wawatay.on.ca
Being new to this position, I’m a sponge and am open to many things.
There will be challenges of course but I’m looking to take them head on.
Thank you for reading over the years and supporting Wawatay Native Communications Society since 1974.
As the new editor and publisher, I can only hope to meet the expectations set by my predecessors.