ARTICLES BY Sonny Orr

Daddy Dearest…

Daddy Dearest… During the bachelorhood days of any man’s life, the issue of being a father was nearly always nine months away from the time of doing the “sweaty tango.” Fatherhood was a concept that was left to someone else, namely good ol’ daddy, who cared for you in most cases ... read more ››

Action Heros Come TO Life

One of things I used to enjoy (and still secretly enjoy) was reading comic books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, X-Men, Dr. Strange, the Hulk, were all friends to my imagination. In my lifetime, these imagined heroes sprung from paper to the big screen and became modernized to fit the active and instant-to-instant ... read more ››

Community mourns three of their own

The small Inuit community of Kuujjuarapik is reeling from three suicides within 30 dtys. Two 18-year-olds and one adult, all male, took their lives for reasons known only to them. Why? This question was raised many times among the Inuit and in the adjacent Cnee village of Whapmagoostui and voices of ... read more ››

Dr. Ted’s New World Order

The Quebec government is mighty pleased with Ted Moses. Premier Bernard Landry announced during a pomp-filled ceremony at the National Assembly May 14 that the Cree Grand Chief has been named an Officer of the Order of Quebec. According to a statement from the premier’s office, the distinction is reserved for “Québécois ... read more ››

Nothing but static

I was actually getting used to the sound of Arnold on the air at seven and eight in the morning and even began to like his heavy Moose accent (because his dialect bothered everyone else, it gave me a strange sense of satisfaction knowing that I’m not the only one ... read more ››

The Sweet Sleep Smell of Spring

One of the most revered and most welcome of all seasons is here with the arrival of the first goose brave enough to venture past that suspicious looking plastic decoy. The first goose of spring usually signals the primal instinct in all of us and goes off like an itchy ... read more ››

At a loss for words

I was dumbfounded when I read in the Gazette that two new hydroelectric projects were signed off by our Inuit brothers and sisters to the North. Nunavik is to be exploited for hydro electric power, which is to be sent down to the south. On the recent aftermath of the ... read more ››

Easter Fallacies

As Easter approaches, I wonder of how the bunny ever got into the scenario of a usually somber and religious ceremony of the rebirth of Jesus Christ and how the transition to modem day chocolate bunny personification began. As far as I can remember back to my childhood days, Easter ... read more ››

The way to walk is with your head high

Everyone was talking about them, the walkers for diabetes awareness. It was exciting to know that people could still walk the way our ancestors did, with dogs and sleds. As they appeared out of the trail from across the river, I marveled at the speed they crossed the last stretch ... read more ››

Coffee to go

Some days, it seems that there is just not enough time to get everything done. The other day, I went up North to go hunting and the damn machine broke down, leaving us little to do but repair and hope for the best. This took a good six hours waiting for ... read more ››

Taxi Driver Survival Tips

In my long list of occupational hazards, driving a taxi has to be somewhere near the top level dangerous jobs, right next to nuclear bomb testers, action-hero stunt actors, Preparation H guinea pigs and deep-cover journalist operatives in Afghanistan. Many of these jobs come with some form of insurance and ... read more ››

Flying on Snow

Not so long ago, we were introduced to the concept of racing with snowmobiles. I remember my aunt entering a race in the late 60’s with the venerable Bombardier nine-horsepower putt-about across the river and back against the men, while people scoffed at her and doubted her resolution to race ... read more ››

The first month of world peace

In a move to bring some form of peace enforcement program, several Mohawk police officers have joined with the Chisasibi police to “clean up the town.” Some people have embraced this bold move, but many others feel intimidated with the “Rambo” tactics of the imported security measures. I think that ... read more ››

Countdown to 00:00:01 01/01/02

Countdown to 00:00:01 01/01/02 The second after New Years Eve, 2001 will go down in history as the most remembered year in history, when the world held its breathe in disbelief and a sick astonishment came over the world during the following months after the terrorist attacks on New York ... read more ››

All I want for Christmas is my AIP…

Sometimes I come up short for ideas and I call the great Will Nicholls for advice and he usually gives me some sort of theme to deal with. If he isn’t in a good mood, he’ll call me and ask “Where’s my Rez notes? I keep reminding you to send ... read more ››

AFN Chiefs Vote Against Ending Boycott, Call For Nault’s Dismissal

The Assembly of First Nations chiefs have nixed a proposed plan to co-operate with Minister of Indian Affairs Robert Nault on revamping the Indian Act. The plan, calling for co-operation between the AFN and Minister Nault to develop the proposed Governance Act, was voted down by a margin of 126-49 ... read more ››

Suspicious fire at Badabin Eeyou school

On the quiet morning of Sunday December 2 in Whapmagoostui, the predawn darkness was interrupted by the shrill siren of a warning system designed to go off in extreme heat or cold. At first look, it seemed to be either at the band office or the school. Two hours later, ... read more ››

What is a tourist?

A tourist is anyone like you or I who goes to a different land. We want to stay in hotels, eat at good restaurant, enjoy some entertainment in town and perhaps, take in a tour or two. It’s the same for people who come to our lands to explore and take ... read more ››

To Sign or Not to Sign That is the Debate

Before large hydroelectric dams, transmission lines and power stations were even heard of, we depended on the wood stove. The occasional house had electricity and even fewer had running water. Institutions or the Hudson Bay Company owned these houses and the best thing about knowing someone who lived in one ... read more ››

The Joy of Flying

In the last several weeks, the world held it’s breath while the search for terrorists responsible for the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon building became a primary and burning concern for the Americas. Although terrorism is a gruesome subject, the most convenient way to travel has ... read more ››

How I Came to be a Master Baker!

First of all, I wish to apologize to my growing fans for the evil caricature instead of the world famous Rez Notes that ordinary people have grown to love or hate in the last issue. I would like to attribute this loss to the ever-growing dependency we have on technology ... read more ››

Out of Cigarettes

It was a cool fall day when we, a trio of young lads, decided to go out on a major hunting expedition out on the islands of James Bay. We thought of everything, including a camera to record our incredible hunting prowess. We picked Big Mand for our spot for ... read more ››

Anadromously Speaking

One of the things that I like about myself is that I come from a salt-water community. It’s the brine in the air that made my community not quite a unique community but similar to other enhanced places like Wemindji, Attawapiskat and the like. The taste of salt in the ... read more ››

Action plan

I’ve read the news and seen it a bit on television. We are prepared to block all roads if necessary; to halt whatever is wrong or bad until we see something in the line of positive action. It’s really using a negative action against a negative action to produce a ... read more ››

Ain’t no Cure for Summer Time Blues

A long time ago, when I had a full head of hair, summertime was the time of the year. It was the time when a beautiful sunrise meant it was time to hit the sack after a long night walking mile after mile throughout our town of sleeping and worried ... read more ››

It’s been some time since I started going to school…

It’s been some time since I started going to school, at the tender age of six, at Horden Hall in Moose Factory in the early ‘sixties. I was a model student and getting into trouble only a few times a year, like setting off the fire extinguisher in grade four ... read more ››