Overall Winner
The importance of Education
I am very grateful to have been raised by a stern and loving father. I have much to thank God for. If it weren’t for my father, I would not be where I am or what I am today. I honestly believe that he did a great job in raising me. I would like to share a short story about my experiences and hopefully bring some level of awareness to our youth about the importance of education.
I remember when I was growing up as the only girl in our family, I was his favorite but I knew that he loved my brothers equally. He tried to teach me right from wrong, though it was not easy at times. I was headstrong and tried to do as I pleased.
I always knew that he always wanted what was right and the best for me. Yes, sometimes I had to learn things the hard way because I did not always respect what he wanted me to do. I realize that these mistakes were learning experiences and that from these experiences we learn and grow. I am no religious fanatic; however, I truly believe in what the Bible says that you should respect your father and mother so that you will live longer and prosper. You have to heed their words and abide by them.
My late father taught me a lot about life and how I should live my life. He taught me that you have to have a dream to be what you want to be so that you can aspire to achieve that goal, no matter how difficult it may be and if you persevere you will eventually get there. I used to wonder how he knew the importance of education despite the fact that he had no formal schooling. He would encourage us to go to school and tell us that we would not get anywhere without education. He would tell us that we wouldn’t be able to get good jobs if we did not go to school and that we will be living on the welfare system for the rest of our lives. This is what got me to think about my education seriously or so I thought.
As soon as I graduated from High School I went to college, I was 17 years old. I completed one year of college successfully from the Native Core program and the following year I started to drink and experiment with drugs. This is ironic because I was enrolled in the Social Worker program; this is a program where one had to be serious and to prove their commitment to helping others and themselves as well. I was doing more harm than good to myself. This is when I learned that education and drinking don’t mix. I failed miserably. I was not allowed to stay in school because I had failed. I could have appealed but I chose
not to in fear of a second failure.
For the next few years, I had jobs that had no meaning for me.
I was not serious about anything. Then in 1987, I went back to school I was enrolled in the Early Childhood Education Program at Vanier College in Montreal. I was still drinking and completed 2.5 years of this program over a span of 3 years. I don’t know how I managed to pass my courses but I barely made the passing grade of 60. This is the passing mark if you study at the college level in Quebec. I decided then to take a year off from school.
In 1991, I worked for one year at a job that I did not particularly like because I did not understand the functions of this position. I was subsequently released from this position due to the fact that I was not fulfilling the requirements of this job. The following year I had a baby and I decided that since I had another person to care for, I realized that I had to change my life drastically. This was when I began to seriously think about getting my priorities straight. I knew that going to school and trying to raise a baby alone at the same time would be very difficult, but I decided to give it a try anyway. I went back to school and got my college diploma in Office Administrative- Executive program in 1995. It was hard at times, my baby who was then a year old went through three surgeries for her hip problems, but I managed to finish my program with a decent grade this time. I could not have done it without my parents’ support and encouragement.
In May 1995, there was a job opening for an Executive Secretary in the Legislative Department at the WFN Corporation and I applied for the position. I was very grateful to have been hired for that position and promised myself that I would try to do a good job now that I had the relevant training in this field. I worked in this capacity for two years. In 1997,1 got a promotion as the Administrative Assistant to the Chief’s office, which I held until November 1999 when I was appointed to another important position as the Executive Director of the WFN Corporation. Our present Chief served as the Executive Director until he had to resign from this position in order to assume his duties and responsibilities as Chief. I was officially hired as the Executive Director in July 2000.
In view of my present role as it is a key position with the WFN Corporation and is a demanding job, I know that in order for me to be an effective administrator I needed to further develop my skills and to acquire knowledge and tools to achieve my goal. I decided to return to school to study at the university level in Administration. It is hard but I know I have to work hard to achieve what I set out to pursue and it is up to me to succeed. I am a firm believer that anything is possible if you don’t give up.
The point of my story is that you have to work hard towards your goals and never give up on yourself. No matter how difficult it gets, if you are patient and persevere you will achieve your goal. Even if you fail the first time you try to do something, never give up. You just have to persist and keep trying until you get achieve what you set out to do for yourself. Remember, when one door closes another door of opportunity is open. It is up to you what you want to do with your life, if you want to work hard to pursue your goals or just stay in the community after you graduate from high school and get odd jobs. For some of us, our biggest fear is failing, but how will we know if we don’t even try. Who knows, you might succeed the first time. The Creator gave each of us a special gift or talent and it is within us. It is also up to each of us to find what this gift is. Don’t waste your life, get your education and be all that you can be.
Be smart and stay in school!
Louisa Mamianskum-Wynne
1st place English
Verbal Abuse
I remember my first day of school. The kids accepted me right away, we would all play together in the classroom. At the end of each day, my mom would ask about how everything was at school, I would tell her about my little friends and how much fun we had.
I was raised in a loving home where I was taught to be kind and share my toys with other kids. Not knowing that not everyone had parents like mine. As I grew, I learned that troubled kids do exist.
The first year in grade one, I experienced feelings that I could not understand. I would often cry at home and begged my parents not to send me to school again. One of my classmates was making fun of me in front of everyone. Soon I did not have friends because nobody wanted to talk to me, I guess they were afraid that they are going to be treated the same way. Everyday I faced name-calling, belittling, swearing and insults.
I recall that we were asked to write about our dreams. That’s when I noticed that my dream was to be able to stand on the playground without anyone hurting me. I could not see myself in any profession. I just wanted to get out of this world.
As I approached my teen years, I realized that I had dreams too. After school, other students would want to beat me up just for the fun of it. I would run home as fast as I could, hoping that they would not catch me. Lately I realized that I wanted to be a marathon runner which I did not bother to try.
Verbal Abuse robs you of energy, drive, certainty, talent, spirit and love. A tremendous damage is done to a verbally abused person. I cannot tell you how emotionally tiring it is. It affects one’s health and weakens your self-esteem. It also leads to negative self-image, depression and self-destructive acts.
Verbal Abuse exists in every school and it is tough on kids. The earlier and more pervasive the abuse, the greater the potential for crippling a child’s development, socially, academically or otherwise.
Having gone through feelings of hopelessness, guilt, worthlessness or helplessness, I can tell you that Verbal Abuse is cruel and scars your soul. These are scars that stay in your heart and never truly go away.
A negative internal dialogue may cause us to avoid challenges and miss opportunities in life for fear of “failure”.
Today, I am glad that I am still here and able to share my experience with others. I am also very proud to say that I got out of school by graduating. My advice to anyone who relates to what I just shared is to be patient, strong, go for your dreams and never give up. After all it is your life, don’t let anyone ruin it!
Name: Cindy Neeposh
Community of origin: Mistissini
Name of institution: Algonquin College
2nd Place English
Why Reading is Important to ME
In school we read. We read lots of interesting books. Reading is very important because it can teach us new words – It can make us smarter.
I think reading is important to me because it can help me learn new words. Books can take us places that we’ve never been before. Books can make you cry and make you happy.
Reading is very very important because it can make your writing skills better and you can learn new words and things. Reading can give you ideas. Reading can make you think for yourself and make you stand up for yourself.
When you read, your mind gets stronger. Reading is very important for school and in life. If no one learns how to read it would be possible for then not to be able to talk well. Reading is important to me because it gives me good grades and I like it. It helps me have a good life, because it helps my mind.
Sometimes when I read I do not want to get disturbed. In some books, the author is a good writer. Reading takes you to a whole new level of learning. Learning is an important thing in life, you will use it in many ways, like helping people.
I think everyone should try to read every now and then so that will bring up their reading skills. I don’t know a person who cannot read. Sometimes when a person is reading they can burst out crying. Every once in awhile I think people could go to the library to get a book.
Submitted by: Jannah Loon
For: The Nation & CSB Essay Contest
Age: 12
3rd Place English
Agreement in Principle between the Cree and
Quebec.
Deciding the future
Making a decision on such a big issue, an issue, which will affect a whole nation for years to come, is not easy, especially when you have to make it in a few short months. How do you come to a decision? What information do you use to guide you? It’s not a simple yes or no answer; it takes a lot of thinking, research and soul searching. I’ve spent many hours researching and reading, not for this essay but for myself. There were many questions I’ve had to ask myself. The following will consist of the first announcement, the Crees reaction, my personal reaction and feelings, the contents, benefits, the losses, the youth’s reaction to it, the decision that was made and the decision I made.
The Agreement was first announced on October 23rd 2001. It came as a shock to many people, mostly because of the fact that it was negotiated in secrecy. Feeling of betrayal, confusion, anger and hurt were in the hearts of many Cree people. Roger Orr, in an interview with the Nation, referred to it as “prostituting your own mother”. In my interpretation it would mean selling something that had given you life. “I almost feel betrayed. It’s like the Grand Council is an extension of the Quebec Government”, said Chisasibi council member Larry House in an interview with the Nation. Another person I quote is Bill Namagoose who said, “I’ve spend seven years of my life fighting for our rivers and in the end I end up losing mine”, then goes on to say, “we have elders who say we cannot own the land, we can only be it’s stewards”, he says, “we are the owners of the land, not the janitors. I love the land and I love the river, but I love the people more.” In my opinion, I think that he is disrespecting the beliefs and views of our elders. I would rather take an elder’s word than politicians.
When I first heard that an agreement was going to be signed it was from an inside source. He merely said to me that my chief was lying to me and that something big was going to happen in Waskaganish. As soon as I heard those words I immediately thought of Rupert River and felt sad. I didn’t think much of it considering my source was a bit intoxicated.
A couple of weeks later it was announced. I had heard rumours about it while chatting with someone over the internet. I felt a great pain in my heart and I started to weep. Visions and memories of time spent by the river with friends and family flooded my head. Ever since I can remember I have taken walks by the river with my parents, grandparents, friends and alone to sort out my thoughts in my head. I’ve shed tears on the banks of the river from losing loved one like the time I lost my grandfather. It was by that river that he spent time with me as a child; evenings while we sat by the river he could predict what the weather was going to be like in the coming day. He was never wrong. I always believed that I would on day be doing the same thing with my own grandchildren. There are times when the view of the river during sunset just takes my breath away, and a feeling of love fills my heart knowing that the Creator has blessed me and that through this beauty shows that he loves us all. It holds a very special place in my heart, and the thought of losing it just tears me apart, a feeling like losing someone very dear to you. I still carry that pain with me today as I write, and I am sure that it will be with me forever.
After the tears, came the questions, the biggest question was why? I longed so badly to be home and to speak to my elders, wanting to understand. I wanted to search for answers. It wasn’t easy considering I was so far away from home. I came to school thinking I would educate myself and then join the fight in defending my home, my land and our river. What do you do when something that you truly believed in defending has already been given up? I lost all interest in school, but went on as best I could,
I am not a quitter. So, I have shown you my passion and love for the great Rupert River, this is not just any river, it is my home.
The breakdown of the agreement given in an article entitled, “Dancing with the enemy”, is that the Quebec government will pay the Cree a minimum of 3.5 billion dollars over the next fifty years. In return the Cree people of James Bay must allow Hydro installations on the Eastmain and Rupert Rivers. Also, the Cree will have more say and control over the logging and mining in their territory. They would also have to drop 3.8 billion dollar in lawsuits against Quebec. Sounds like a sweet deal, but is it really? The question of will the agreement in principle be honoured, still ponders my thoughts.
According to Alex Roslin in his article, “Cree deal, a model or betrayal?” stated that Premier Landry told Grand Chief Ted Moses, there would be no deal on forestry or funding for housing, sewers and other community infrastructure if the Crees do not accept new dams on their territory.
The deal took an interesting turn when Deputy-Grand Chief Matthew Mukash broke ranks and came out against the agreement. In his statement to the Eeyou Nation he brought out one of the main points for his opposition; the Canadian and Quebec government’s policies to extinguish aboriginal rights and title. The magazine Eeyou/Eenou Nation stated that the AIP process appeared to have no extinguishments clauses, but would not say for sure. He also argued that there was not enough time to make an informed decision, if we were ready to sacrifice more land and natural resources, and forgive Quebec for twenty-six years of unfulfilled obligations.
Will Nicholls, in his article, “Looking Ahead”, gave a brief summary of where the 3.5 billion dollars promised in the deal is intended for. Development in all the Cree communities, funding of operations and programs such as the Cree Trappers Association, Cree Outfitting and Tourism, Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association, an Economic Development agent in each community and money to provide assistance to Cree entrepreneurs.
Monies will also go towards development for communities for things such as a permanent water supply for the community of Eastmain, job training programs, Cree Community Centers, sanitation services, electricity supply for Waskaganish and Whapmagoostui, Fire Protection including training equipment and facilities, assistance for Friendship Centers outside of the communities, improvement of access roads to Wemindji, Eastmain and Waskaganish. Yes, the Crees will finally have money to do things and all it will cost is more damming of our rivers.
The cost of the river? This river runs through three Cree communities, Waskaganish, Nemaska and Mistissini. A river that has provided a passage of trade and access to traditional hunting grounds, a river that provided a subsistence of life for the land, animals and the Cree people for many generations even before the arrival of Europeans. A river that not only runs through their land; but thought their hearts as well. The Crees have been fighting for the protection of their lands and traditional ways for decades. At first with the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement in the 1970’s and then the fight against the proposed Great Whale Hydro-Electric Development Project in the 1990’s in which the Cree were successful in getting that matter shelved in 1994. Also with logging and mining disputes that are damaging traditional lands and traplines.
There are many concepts that the Government and the Hydro-Quebec have not considered, like how will this affect our children. The future generations will be most affected by the damage that our political leaders have caused. This decision was made by referendum, 56% of eligible Cree voters turned up to vote and out of those 69% voted yes to the Agreement in Principle. When considering the Cree Nation as a whole, not even half of the Cree Nation voted yes. Is it fair to say that a majority of the Cree Nation was for the agreement? The Crees had the final say but not everyone would agree with the decision. There were many people who opposed and protested the best way they knew how. The youth also wanted their voices to be heard.
In an article, Alex Roslin stated that the chiefs were selling the agreement as good for the youth, but it was the youth who stood up to oppose it. The Cree Nation Youth Council came out in opposition of the deal and tried many times to have their voices heard. The youth from all nine Cree communities came together in Waskaganish to express their opinion and try to get answers to their questions. Then the new about the passing of the Grand Chief mother-in-law forced changes to the consultation process schedule. On January 24th, the youth gathered a second time in Chisasibi but were told that the leadership would be too busy that day and the next to attend.
They wanted to make a huge impact, they opened discussion on the Internet. They made pamphlets, signs and held special meetings to urge the youth to vote no. It is the youth that are the majority, 60% of the Cree population in the Cree Nation is under the age of thirty. They wanted to change the voting to thirteen but the chiefs did not allow it because they knew a majority of the youth would vote no. Communities suffer from unemployment, poor housing, drugs and alcoholism. The people in the communities want something to change, more jobs, training and houses. All this come with a price.
In 1976, when the Cree people had signed the JBNQA was when Hydro-Quebec and the Quebec government first made promises of compensation from the dams built and the damage it caused but these were unfulfilled promises. This shouldn’t have to happen again, broken promises and still nothing for our people. After the mining companies have taken our natural resources and the forestry companies have clear cut all our forests, what will we have left? We have fought in the courts. The Crees have promised to drop all lawsuits. Are they tired of fighting?
In the end, the decision was made. The agreement was signed on February 7th 2002. It was broadcasted live on T.V. It was an agreement that divided leaders, communities, families… a nation. It was a decision that every eligible Cree voter had to make, whether to decide with the heart and vote no, or with the mind and vote yes. In the end it was a decision of the mind. It was scary to think of what will become of my people in the future, what will become of my home. If this is the wrong decision, it is not us but the future generations who will have to deal with our mistake. It is them who will feel the burden of their past and our present
Stacy Bear
Post-Secretary Student from Waskaganish
General Arts and Science – Aboriginal Studies
Algonquin College, Ottawa
1st Place French
La vie de mon grand-père
Bonjour, je m’appelle Daphne Trapper. Ma professeure est Marlene Beaulieu. Je suis en secondaire 5 français. Je suis présentement à l’école Wiinibekuu. J’habite à Waskaganish. Le sujet que j’ai choisi pour faire mon texte est la biographie de mon grand-père. En commençant, la biographie de mon grand-père je vais vous introduire mon grand-père et aussi parler de sa famille. Tous les métiers qu’il a exercé et la salaire qu’il a gagné. Je vais aussi parler de sa famille et de ses enfants.
Mon grand-père s’appelle William James Stephen et est connu par beaucoup de personnes par le nom de Billy Stephen. Dans mon texte je vais référer à mon grand-père par Billy Stephen. Billy Stephen est né le 4 juin 1929. Ses parents s’appelaient Louise Katapatuk et Charlie Stephen. Il avait trois soeurs et six frères, ils étaient dix enfants don’t lui qui était le sixième de sa famille. Ses frères s’appelaient Walter, Freddie, Stanley, Bobby, Patrick, Bert et ses soeurs étaient Florrie, Ethel et Edna. Seulement deux de ses frères sont encore vivants, Bobby et Stephen. A 23 ans, mon grand-père Billy a marié une jeune fille qui s’appelait Lizzie-Ann McLeod, le 24 juin 1952. Ils ont eu treize enfants ensemble dont neuf étaient des filles et quatre des garçons, ils ont aussi adopté une jeune fille qui avait perdu sa maman étant très jeune. Leurs enfants sont Nellie, Florrie, Doreen, Barbara, Charlie, Lucie, Kristy, Steve, Bernard, Valerie, Ronald, Sherry-Ann, Queenie et Margaret Cheezo, la fille adoptée. Billy a voulu que tous ses enfants apprennent le français et finissent leurs études.
Je vais maintenant parler de mon grand-père Billy et des métiers qu’il a exercé et aussi de quelques salaires qu’il a gagné. Le premier emploi qu’il a eu, il a travaillé avec la compagnie de la Baie d’Hudson pour donner à manger aux castors pendant les années où ils voulaient sauver les castors. Il travaillait avec Isaiah Salt. Billy a aussi travaillé à couper du bois de chauffage pour le gérant de la Baie d’Hudson. Il a travaillé dans la fabrication de canoës comme artisant de canoë. Un autre métier que mon grand-père a fait fut un homme de maintenance pour la mission catholique. Il a aussi participé à la construction de l’ancienne école qui est maintenant la bâtisse de l’éducation des adultes. Il aida aussi Bell Canada à poser des fils téléphoniques. Après1 il travailla pour l’aviation de LaSarre comme débardeur d’avion. Avec toute sa famille, il déménaga au “James S. C. Watt Memorial Hall” pour s’occuper de la grande salle qui s’appelait le “Hall”. A dix-huit ans, il travailla pour la conservation de la chasse et de la pêche. Ensuite il retourna avec l’aviation LaSarre toujours comme débardeur d’avion, lia ensuite travaillé dans la construction de maisons, et c’est là où mon grand-père a été frappé de malchance. Il a eu une légère crise cardiaque et les docteurs lui ont interdit de faire des travaux trop difficiles. C’est alors que le bureau de Bande lui a offert de diriger les services de buanderie pour le village de Waskaganish. En 1978, il devient chasseur et trappeur à temps plein. Même avec tout ces métiers, mon grand-père trouvait du temps pour aller s’assoeolr auprès des gens mourants et consolait les familles qui perdaient un de leur membre. Il a cessé ça il n’y a que trois ans. Mon grand-père n’a pas étudié beaucoup. Il a fréquenté l’école jusqu’en deuxième année, son salaire n’était pas très gros; il gagnait $1.50 par jour. Ensuite quand il a travaillé pour Bell Canada, il gagnait $1.00 de l’heure
et il travaillait 8 heures par jour. Quand il a travaillé à la buanderie, il gagnait $7.00 de l’heure. La buanderie était ouverte de 7:00am à 9:00pm.
En conclusion; aujourd’hui mon grand-père a soixante et treize ans. Il a cinquante-cinq petits enfants et vingt-neuf petit-petits enfants. Il est veuf depuis treize ans. Sa femme est morte le 2 juin 1987, deux jours avant sa fête. Il habite présentement avec Queenie, son mari et ses deux garçons. La raison pour laquelle j’ai voulu écrire la biographie de mon grand-père est parce que William James Stephen est mon seul grand-parent vivant. Je suis très fière de l’avoir pour grand-père, je le respecte beaucoup et je l’aime bien gros.
Merci!
Daphne Trapper, 2002
Ecole Wiinibekuu School, Waskaganish
2nd Place French
Le suicide…un acte qui fait mal!
Qu’est-ce qu’un suicidaire? De nos jours, quelles sont les majeures causes du suicide? De quelles façons peut-il s’y prendre? Qu’arrive-t’il quand un proche met fin à ses jours? Que faire si c’est vous qui y pensez? Voici quelques informations utiles à ce sujet…
Qu’est-ce qu’un suicidaire…et l’acte auquel il pense?
Le suicidaire est quelqu’un qui souffre et qui se trouve dans une impasse. Il se sent incapable de faire face à la situation alors aucune solution ne mettrait fin à sa souffrance qui est devenue intenable. A ce moment-la, il réalise que la seule issue de secours est le suicide, qui est en fait une absence de choix. Certainement que la personne avait envisagé divers scénarios qui malheureusement n’étaient pas tous valables. Le suicidaire veut avant tout mettre fin à la douleur quîl y a en lui, mais pas nécessairement y laisser sa peau. Le seuil de tolérance diffère d’un individu à l’autre. Avant de prendre une mauvaise décision, même si vous dites que c’est votre vie et qu’elle vous appartient, vous vous devez de réaliser que le suicide est un acte irréversible tandis que votre problème lui est temporaire.
Quelles sont les plus grandes causes du suicide?
Chez les adolescents, les principales causes du suicides sont la consommatin de drogues (qui causent aussi la dépression), l’alcool, l’anorexie et la boulimie (plus souvent chez les filles et rarement chez les garçons), la violence conjugale, les agressions sexuelles, la dépression causée souvent par une peine d’amour, la mauvaise estime de soi, la mort d’un proche, etc. Parfois, il y a le suicide collectif, qui peut avoir lieu, par exemple, dans une secte quelconque, mais cela est plus souvent vu chez les adultes.
Certaines raisons ont l’air stupides pour les personnes qui ne sont pas visées, mais pour le suicidaire, c’est tout autre chose; elles sont d’une grande importance et c’est pour ça que la personne croit que ça durera toujours ou trop longtemps pour elle, qu’elle estime qu’il n’y a rien d’autre à faire et qu’elle imagine la mort comme une délivrance.
Comment peuvent-ils penser à se suicider?
Ils peuvent avoir recours à différents moyens. Ça passe du couteau à la simple corde à linge. Cachez-lui les médicaments, surveillez la personne en question quand elle mange (elle pourait se servir des ustensiles), essayez de voir ce qu’elle met dans son véhicule et qu’elle soit le plus souvent possible avec quelqu’un (car elle peut penser à utiliser un boyau pour tenter de s’asphyxier avec le gaz d’échappement du véhicule). Ces gens peuvent même penser aux choses les plus banales comme un crayon (qui remplace un poignard) ou des choses comme ça. Il y a plusieurs autres façons, bien sûr, alors observez toujours ce qui l’entoure.
Que faire si vous pensez passer à l’acte?
Il vous faut parler à une personne de confiance, comme un ami, un parent, un professionnel de votre école ou du CLSC. Vous pouvez faire appel à des organismes comme Tel-Jeunes ou le Centre de Prévention du Suicide.* Il est bon aussi de régler ses problèmes un à la fois, étape par étape, car quand on veut tout régler un même temps, la tâche semble insurmontable et on se décourage plus facilement.
Comment se sortir du suicide d’un proche?
Il est sûr que vous pleurerez, crierez et que vous serez colérique (sinon, vous n’êtes pas normal), que vous ressentirez de la culpabilité et que vous vous ferz des rproches (par exemple : si je n’avais pas été comme ça il serait probablement encore la…) et même que vous penserez sûrement à imiter son erreur. A ce moment-la, il faut accepter que la personne ait fait ce geste, à savoir que ce n’est pas de votre faute, que tu n’as pas le contrôle sur les actes qu’il ou elle pose et que vous devez en parler à une personne de confiance. Par exemple, vous pouvez appeler à Tel-Jeunes au 514-228-2266 si vous êtes dans la région de Montréal, ou le 1-800-263-2266 de l’extérieur. Vous pouvez également aller sur Internet pour d’autres informations sur le site de www.tel-jeune.com ou sur d’autres sites en anglais ou français que vous trouverez avec l’outil de recherche de www.google.com
*Sites webs en français
Écrit par Kamala Héroux Houle 2002
École Eeyou de la Baie James – Chisasibi
3rd Place French
L’École Annie Whiskeychan Memorial School
Bonjour, je m’appelle Twyla Diamond. J’ai 13 ans. Je suis en 2e secondaire. Mon école s’appelle École Wiinibekuu School. Mon village c’est Waskaganish. Je vais vous parler de l’école Annie Whiskeychan Memorial Elementary School.
Il y a un gymnase, un local de culture crie, une salle d’ordinateurs, une bibliothèque et une salle d’audio-visuel. L’école est située près de la clinique médicale, en arrière du “Gathering Place”. Le gymnase est plus gros que le nôtre. L’école est un peu bleu et beige.
L’école a été nommée Annie Whiskeychan parce que les élèves ont voté pour ça. Annie était une merveilleuse personne. Elle était une enseignante ici à Waskaganish. Elle a aussi fait des livres pour les élèves. Elle était la soeur de mon grand-père. J’aimais beaucoup Annie.
On a besoin d’une nouvelle école parce qu’on est beaucoup ici à Wiinibekuu. Présentement les élèves de maternelle vont à l’école au “Gathering Place”.
L’école va ouvrir après Noël. J’espère que nous aussi nous aurons une nouvelle école avec une piscine et une cafétéria. J’aimerais voir plus de gens aller à l’école parce que nous au secondaire on pourrait aussi avoir une nouvelle école.
Twyla Diamond
École Wiinibekuu School, Waskaganish
Honourable Mention
L’École Annie Whiskeychan Memorial School
Bonjour, je m’appelle Savannah Jonah. Je suis en 2e secondaire français. J’ai 13 ans. Mon école s’appelle École Wiinibekuu School. Je vais à l’école ici à Waskaganish.
La nouvelle école est rouge et bleue. Il y a un gymnase, une bibliothèque, deux locaux de culture crie, un pour les filles et un pour les garçons, il y a aussi une classe d’ordinateurs. Nous avons aussi un logo.
Annie était une professeure ici à Waskaganish. Elle aimait écrire en cri. Elle était gentille avec tous les élèves de l’école Wiinibekuu. Annie a beaucoup de petit-enfants ici à l’École Wiinibekuu.
On a besoin d’une nouvelle école parce qu’il n’y a pas assez d’espace pour la maternelle, la pré-maternelle et le cours de morale. Il y a beaucoup d’enfants au primaire.
L’école ouvrira après Noël. J’espère que la famille de Jimmy Whiskeychan sera la et j’espère qu’il va couper le ruban.
Savannah Jonah, 2002
École Wiinibekuu School, Waskaganish
Cicely Trapper – First Place Cree
Gloria Diamond – Second Place Cree
