ARTICLES BY Sonny Orr

Bad News Hounds

I see a certain flair to the articles flying about in cyber/paper-space that are driven by sensational stories of killings, bad politicians, rampant substance abuse, chronic alcoholism and poor grades. I brush those aside and think about how good life is and get on with my day. Sure, there are problems; ... read more ››

Working For the Gas Man

Driving my SUV at 150 kilometres per hour on the autobahn of the north, the James Bay Highway, I watched my gas level go down steadily. Not to worry, I reassured my white knuckled passengers, we’ll have enough fuel to get to our destination. True to my word, we reached ... read more ››

Coming Out Of The Bushes

Now why is it that when you need to get in touch with someone with political power, you can’t, and when you do see them, it’s because their face is plastered on every porch bulletin board in town asking for our support? Argh! The irony! Yep, it’s election time again. This ... read more ››

Scorchers

I thought May was bad for heat, reaching 28 Celsius, until the other day, I felt like I was blow-dried on high when I went for a so-called cool ride in the breeze. The wind, imported directly from the Arizona desert, tortured my now blistered red skin with constant burning ... read more ››

Wrestling Mania

I watched the chanting crowd dodging the spit being spewed from the ugly face of the wrestler in the ring, as they eagerly absorbed themselves in a live version (albeit smaller) of the WWE. A few elderly men, who were previously in the higher seats of the small arena, moved ... read more ››

Smoke ‘n Mirrors

It’s funny how we Cree seem to know what is happening in other communities, usually through the radio, via this magazine or by the totally reliable and accurate method known as word of mouth. The news travels faster than wildfires and can sometimes be just as damaging. When the word ... read more ››

Our High-Tech Traditional Lifestyle

May has come and gone in a blur of heat, fire and smoke. The inconvenience of forest fires seem to be handled quite well and the early summer has some folks puzzled and perplexed. Aren’t we supposed to be bound in snow and ice at this time of the year? ... read more ››

Off to a Bad Start

The reports came in slowly, each word carefully pronounced over the crackle of the HF radio. Camp by camp, the intelligence grew to another inconclusive conclusion. The geese were not showing as in the past years. The camps slowly emptied, children were brought back to school and workers gladly went ... read more ››

It’s In My Genes

The helicopter had reached its weight limit and hovered for what seemed an eternity before ungracefully stirring enough sand to uncover a pyramid, then flew up and beyond the trees and towards the north. Meanwhile, a Twin Otter loaded to the gills with supplies taxied off the tarmac and buzzed ... read more ››

Take It Easy

The days whizzed by into weeks and then months drifted by in a haze of nonstop administrative fervour, numbers crunching into the millions drifted past my screen in the oblivion I call work. Twenty moons circled the earth before my brain told my body to stop before I dropped into ... read more ››

Inner Peacenik

Inner peace is something of a rarity these days. It is a feeling without the adrenaline to interfere with the mind’s ability to comprehend sensible things. Like, for instance, why is that guy looking at my girlfriend that way? Should I react with my face or fist? Should I smile ... read more ››

Easter Phobias

Many things come to mind when thinking of the holiday that accompanies spring’s joyful arrival. One of them is how the dates are determined. I checked the Bible and it seems to end in the year 2016, which I interpret as being the next time good ol’ J.C. is to ... read more ››

Made in an Igloo Made of Snow, Just Like….

Basking in a moonlit night, the dome of the igloo contrasted with the night sky. A barely discernable glow from the crack in the snow house was the only indication that human life forms were here. Three hundred meters away, the last house on the southern side of town began ... read more ››

Quebec, Quebec

In one of my rare forays to Quebec City, I chanced upon a tavern rare, just feet away from the hotel exit. Strangely enough, the bar was half full of mainly men. I and two chums commented on the “Louie-ish” aroma that pervaded the air and brought back memories of ... read more ››

My Experience with RSS

I know many people, who I consider to be good friends from childhood, who went through the residential school system. I, on the other hand, lived a privileged life alongside the system for many years. I grew up with those who had to live that life in the system and ... read more ››

Get on the Bus, Gus

Before Eeyouch could afford even a grungy Suburban, public bus transportation was the only way for people in those communities connected by road. Experiences that reflect that era come to mind as I ready myself for the chiropractically challenging and gruelling haul from Montreal to Val d’Or on the red-eye ... read more ››

Snowtrax

One of the many things that we enjoy is the fact that in the North, snow is around for about eight months of the year. Another true fact is that it gets damn cold, yet it is an important time for people of the north. I happen to like using ... read more ››

Old Long Since…

Auld Lang Syne could barely be heard over the din of the New Year’s revellers’ cheers and quiet kisses to loved ones or even total strangers as it swept over North America, chiming in the New Year in four different time zones and memories of past years come to rest ... read more ››

Dance til you Drop

T’was the morning after and all through the night, all creatures were stirring, dancing to fiddle music and laughing with delight. The party had ended and the old folks went home, content with the thought of knowing, that, yes, they can stay out all night, too. The sound of the ... read more ››

Career Day for Wimps

Often I tend to look at life with a sarcastic twist, some would even say from a bizarre viewpoint, but life is not always what it looks to be, at face value or superficially. The model-thin women who prance the walkway often plead the cause of world peace as the ... read more ››

Party on

One of the most dangerous seasons is approaching, dangerous for those who have dared to speak up on what lurks behind the annual Christmas office party. I haven’t really been party to the party or the ensuing cold-weather risks (from being booted out on to the cold and barren streets ... read more ››

Traveling Man

On one of my few forays out of the cold white north, I ventured down to seek out new life forms and technologies to bring back to my home town. I discovered some things look new, but are really the same old things packaged in flashy wrappings. I also discovered ... read more ››

Righting Wrongs

Someone once told me that all I do is complain, complain and complain about every little thing. That I tend to point out all the things that are wrong or that will go wrong. However, it seems to me that things that look wrong or are wrong are quite obvious. ... read more ››

Downloading…

In times of the nano-second and plain times of the nano-second and platforms that don’t have anything to do with political speeches but rather, operating systems, we Cree seem to have adapted seamlessly into the technological world. E-mail this and e-mail that, naughty postcards and puzzles, digital this and that, ... read more ››

C.O.

What does that stand for? In America, it’s a military acronym for Commanding Officer. (Heavy drums rolling…) But up here, it means Conservation Officer (sounds of birds whistling and moose mating calls). They are muscular men, (and women too, who are invited to spend a stranded night in the woods ... read more ››

Beware of Sharks

A couple of the best things about summer is that the water is not hard enough to walk on and that the best star in the universe, the sun, is out in all its glory. This allows those without fear of melanoma and skin so sensitive that a cold shower ... read more ››