ARTICLES BY Sonny Orr

The Adventures of Wee Willie Nicholls

Once upon a time, there was a young Cree with great ambitions. He was going to take the computer world by storm and he had all the right credentials. Yes, he looked like Bill Gates. After completing studies in the then unknown world of computing and Basic language, he went ... read more ››

The Jeckles and Hydes of Election Time

Here I go again, writing about elections that seem to happen every other month or so. This time around it’s a local election, regional election and national election. Just my luck! Lately I’ve been ducking in and out of voting booths and choosing the unfortunate; I haven’t chosen a winner ... read more ››

What’s in a Name?

Sometimes, names can be misnomers, an accident of the tongue, a slip of the lip, a mispronunciation or misspelling. In the case of aboriginal people countrywide, names are anglicized or interpreted from their true meaning, names like Luke Warmwater. At one time in my life, I came across a letter addressed ... read more ››

Writing for a Living in a World of Body Language

Writing comes from a form of expression, a code from one to another, a message of some sort… Writing most likely came from one’s message to one’s self, a reminder to turn this way down the path instead of the other way, leading straight into a briar patch or tar sands ... read more ››

High Tech Hunting

“Let’s see, now, the angle of the wall is perpendicular to the 22.5 degree offset at 221 degrees to the south… “I mumbled to myself. That Nimiq satellite, some distance off in the near space orbit, can’t be too hard to find with this 10 inch dish I was installing ... read more ››

Song Sung Blue

I could barely speak as I went on the stage at the Val d’Or arena. The muffled crowd of a 100 or so sun baked fans filtered slowly to my ears, as the sound of feedback and my dull attempt to tune the cheap guitar in my hands seemed deafening. ... read more ››

The Song of Spring

A few weeks ago, north of the 55th parallel, it rained. This may seem to be an ordinary event in the south during the month of March. But in the north, rain in the month of storms is rare. In fact, the rain followed by a snowstorm of epic proportions ... read more ››

On War and Peace

One thing that I have never really been interested in was the aspect of war. In my lifetime, the number of wars have always seemed to involve the Americans in one way or another, the Vietnam war, the Panama skirmish, the Grenada experience, the backing of the Afghanistan revolution against ... read more ››

Which Whale River

I read the news releases from the GCEE/CRA/etc. about the dismay of hearing that a young man with political aspirations of becoming the next premier of Quebec stating that he would give the Grand Baleine project a try, to boost the sagging economy and justify the increased demands for “clean” ... read more ››

Family Orchard

I had to deliver pictures to the local daycare to help my little girl with her family tree and it got me thinking. What of my family tree? I had done a lot of research on my paternal side and I wondered how to find out the tree on the ... read more ››

Get Rich Fallacies

Bulldozers clanked by on the rough snowy road hewed out of the Nemaska hinterland as truck after truck rolled by in succession, all in a hurry to get the job done and get back to haul the natural gravel. I looked from the back of a heavy duty pickup and ... read more ››

Funnyman Lives!

Okay, okay, okaaaay! I’m not funny! So what, maybe you are, but go ahead. Make my face wrinkled with laughter with your banal jokes and offside humour. Who cares, jokes are supposed to be fun, right? Wrong! Jokes are supposed to maim and torture those who are at the butt ... read more ››

Tired of Being Poor

I’m going to say things that will probably make many of my friends teed off at me, but I don’t care right now. I’m tired of being poor. I want to make money and lots of it so I don’t have to work when I’m older and still have time to ... read more ››

Leaders et al

I looked into the shiny new gymnasium floor at the yet to be named Sand Park High, in 1971. “How old do you have to be? I’m 12 years old. I’ll be 13 next year, and can I join the Leaders Corps?” I questioned John Delaney. “What grade are you in?” ... read more ››

As the Year Ends….

I’ve notice that many communities have different styles for their year end celebrations and that festivities and traditions vary. For example, one new year, I was apprehended by the police moments after I emptied out my automatic shotgun into the silent night and was explained that, no, they didn’t celebrate New ... read more ››

One Moment Please…

I tried to call someone I knew at an office, where I knew he was, just sitting there and waiting for some one to get through to him and call him to say hello. I dialed the number that was on the brochure and Lord of all Lords, a mechanical voice ... read more ››

When You Need a Break From the Holidays

It seemed like just yesterday (in fact it was three weeks ago) when all the goblins, witches and masks were put away, when someone in a red suit started making his appearance. Give me a break man, are there only three months of the year when we are safe from ... read more ››

From fights to bingo

My grandfather and his brothers and buddies would sit around in the evening with aniticipation of the next call the radio announcer would make, amidst the intensity of listening through the crackling static and the lazy smoke from hand rolled cigarettes rising from the heat of the small wood stove. ... read more ››

Our Forum to fame…

20 years of Mamauiitau have flashed by the screen on nearly every television in the Cree world and have left a lasting indelible impression on many people. From the time that it was first introduced and the faces of Emily, Diane, Diane, Bentley Charlotte and Ernie And Many others became ... read more ››

Just when you thought we were safe…

I happen to live in Whapmagoostui, were the weather is harsh at many times and fair on a few. The community depends on its resources and when those resources are down, times get even tougher. For example, just around Halloween last year, the power generating station caught fire and for ... read more ››

Beluga Blues

In Kuujjuuarapik (or Whapmagoostui), whale hunting is a tradition still practiced by our Inuit brethren. When the whale is sighted out amongst the rolling waves of the Hudson’s Bay, people anxiously await the return of the favored muktuk, or raw whale skin, a delicacy that may go the way of ... read more ››

Rez notes

I’ve been very busy with the intrepid crew of Rezolution Pictures, as we capture moments of history on 8mm of high quality digital video tape. The saga of Eyasho, an incredible hero who fought off witches with sharp and deadly elbows and killed his evil father, the one who had ... read more ››

Chads and all that stuff

As I write this column, the first regional election of this millennium is heading the direction of Bush vs Gore’s Florida famous chad recount. Yes, a recount. May not a recount to end all recounts, but most likely the recount that will confirm that our people are divided in their ... read more ››

Rez notes Berry Strange No Nasty Backstabbing Politicians Here

Having recently become a campaign manager for this upcoming election, I thought that I would learn a few dirty tricks of the trade, something downright nasty. As the campaign slowly geared up, I soon realized that this campaign for the deputy grand chief was different than other efforts throughout history. No ... read more ››

Like a rolling stone over Elvis

I thought that I had gone back in time to when people shook to the rocking beat of the Rolling Stones when my good friends the Chisasibi Rockers arrived in Whapmagoostui to perform at the famous Social Club. As young heads turned with a quizzical look on their post-pubescent peach-fuzzed ... read more ››

Happy Aborginal Day…

We were here first. Christopher Columbus never found North America, we did, thousands of years ago. I hear tell that good of Chris was lost on his way to China and was way off course by thousands of nautical miles and suffering from scurvy, no less. Heck, if he hadn’t “found” ... read more ››