Volume 20, Issue 1

Construction of Cree Nation women’s shelters await confirmation

According to a CBC report, there is a plan to open two women’s shelters in Eeyou Istchee, but it appears unlikely they will open in February 2015 as initially scheduled. Lisa Petagumskum, Assistant Executive Director for the Miyupimaatisiiun Department of the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay ... read more ››

Cree doctor wins prestigious Dreamcatcher Foundation Award

Swapping her lab coat for a fancy gown, Eeyou Istchee’s first and only Cree medical doctor, Dr. Darlene Kitty, was honoured October 23 for her career in medicine by the Dreamcatcher Charitable Foundation, in Hamilton, Ontario. The foundation raises funds for various endeavours involving children. It also recognizes members of Canada’s ... read more ››

Former EEPF officer found guilty of sexual assault, victim speaks out

A former lieutenant with the Eeyou Eenou Police Force, Joshua Kawapit, has been found guilty of sexual assault and sentenced earlier this month after a two-year trial concluded in August. His victim was Linda Masty, a fellow employee at the Whapmagoostui detachment. EEPF detachment in Whapmagoostui When Masty began working as an ... read more ››

Goose Wings: The lost music of James Bay and beyond

Lloyd Cheechoo Fresh out of high school back in the mid-1970s, Eastmain’s Lloyd Cheechoo was in Moose Factory playing drums and a bit of guitar in a band with his cousins. One day a fiddle player named Clarence Louttit asked him a favour: someone from the Oji-Cree Cultural Centre was recording ... read more ››

Green energy for Great Whale and Wemindji

Doing away with their old diesel power plant, the community of Whapmagoostui / Kuujjuarapik will become the first northern Native community with a renewable energy off-grid hybrid power plant. Fueled by wind and biomass with an integrated battery storage system, it will also eventually power a greenhouse to produce fresh ... read more ››

Guatemala, Stevie Nicks and a resolution

“Guatemala, land of eternal spring where Native people and Europeans have lived together and made the country rich with traditions and culture” is how my Guatemalan friend Dana describes her country. I couldn’t agree more. I had the chance to attend the World Indigenous Business Forum in Guatemala in late October ... read more ››

How karate offered one man a way to lead a fulfilling life

Special to the Nation by David Bergeron In the land of the rising sun the people of Japan have practiced karate for centuries. The words – honour, justice, courage, mercy, politeness, honesty, loyalty, character and self-control – describe a way of life, which they called bushido, meaning the ways of the ... read more ››

Hunting camp burglaries are a growing problem

Last Thanksgiving Monday, Willie Ottereyes of Waswanipi enjoyed a feast at camp with his family before heading back to the community. Less than a week later, he wasn’t feeling so thankful – when he returned on the weekend he discovered burglars had looted his camp. Paul Dixon, Coordinator of the Waswanipi ... read more ››

James Daschuk rewrites Canada’s uncomfortable Indigenous history

In the middle of the 19th century, the Plains Nations lived on an abundance of bison, which provided them with a seemingly endless source of quality meat and clothing. Their diet was high in protein and low in fat – and they were among the tallest people in recorded history. ... read more ››

Lemon Cree online brings the workout home and anywhere else

For those who fell in love with Lemon Cree’s brand of bounce fit and other exercise programs back when founder Theresa Ducharme toured the communities to train and engage Eeyouch in fitness in a fun and friendly atmosphere, the program is now available online. Realizing a long-sought dream, Ducharme and her ... read more ››

Mistissini death

Mistissini fisherman David Miamscum has passed away. Miamscum was reported missing on October 27, and was found by his son the following day. His body was recovered in the Bay Penicouane, his traditional hunting territory. It is believed that Miamscum fell out of his canoe. David Miamscum was 67 years ... read more ››

The colour of theft

Mark Twain wrote that Indians are dirty, lying, thieving beggars. Long before this, French explorer Jacques Cartier also opined on thievery among Indians. It doesn’t help that in 1534, he treacherously seized 10 Iroquois, including chiefs, and sailed for France. None would ever return home. This characterization of North American Aboriginals ... read more ››

The thing that flies

I recall my early infatuation with “kah-mee-nah-mee-kok”, literally translated from Cree as “the thing that flies” or in modern English as “airplanes”. Every day after school in the autumn my friends and I ran from our dusty gravel playground to the airport at the north end of the community. We ... read more ››

What the rehabilitation professions at Allied Health can do for you

A few months ago the Cree Board of Health of Social Services of James Bay’s Department of Allied Health decided that it was time to raise their profile within Eeyou Istchee. Not because there wasn’t enough demand for occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language pathologists and psycho-educators, but because these ... read more ››

Why diabetics may want to re-evaluate their insulin use

Insulin is one of the oldest treatments for diabetes, first hitting the market in the 1920s. It remains one of the most effective treatments for the disease, says Dr. David Dannenbaum of the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay. Despite its effectiveness, Dannenbaum said the medication strangely has ... read more ››