Category: 2015 02 20

One shovel at a time

Long ago, one of my favourite escapes during cold February days was to the outdoor ice rink next to our old school in Attawapiskat. After winter blizzards, the ice surface would be covered in drifting snow three to four feet deep. As a teenager the challenge of clearing all that snow ... read more ››

Sub-zero ecstasy

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s winter in the land of the wandering polar bear, with the biting and burning winds in this sub-zero climate we like to call home. Taking note of this, the wind chill hovering around minus-50 and my thermometer actually not registering anything, I venture out ... read more ››

Secret police and smart TVs

The Twitterverse exploded recently over the revelation that Samsung’s new SmartTV models might be watching the watchers. It was an odd admission for an electronics manufacturer to make. Samsung promotes the new product by saying viewers need only “speak into the new Smart Remote’s built-in microphone” to find a desired channel ... read more ››

Programs and ideas for improving your health during the cold months

With the light and warmth of summer months away, the natural inclination is to bundle up in front of the TV as much as possible. However, this is the worst plan for your health as human beings need to be physically active. According to Dr. David Dannenbaum, of the Cree Board ... read more ››

The Grand Chief responds to Quebec Bar Association report on Northern justice

At the end of January, the Quebec Bar Association released a report that detailed how above the 49th parallel the justice system was “failing” in just about every way because of a serious lack of infrastructure and resources. The report – “La justice dans le nord” – compared justice administration above ... 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 ››

At the Grammys

Best Native American Music Album Bless The People – Harmonized Peyote Songs by Verdell Primeaux & Johnny Mike [Canyon Records]

Healing and Protecting our Sacred Mother Earth

The traditional Hopi spiritual elders say that we have not learned our lessons in the past from our use of technology. Technology is now having a world of its own. We are using technology to accumulate wealth and power. We are now using technology for the wrong reasons. Technology is ... read more ››

Time to heal our communities

It feels like forever since I wrote an editorial. Or should I say since I felt like writing an editorial? There have been great events happening in Eeyou Istchee. A decision has been made. What the consequences of that decision will be or whether it will even be honoured is something ... read more ››

Arrests overshadow signing

Premier Bernard Landry called it “the peace of the brave,” but the signing of the Agreement between the Crees and Quebec in Waskaganish Feb. 7 was marred by scuffles and two vigorous arrests by police from six Eeyou Istchee communities who erected a wall of security around the ceremony. The first ... read more ››

White Privilege Part II

[Note: A version of this essay ran in the Perspective section of the Baltimore Sun on July 4, 1999. It is a follow-up to an essay on the same subject that ran in July 1998. By writing about the politics of white privilege—and listening to the folks who responded to that ... read more ››

Happy Birthday Ouje-Bougoumou

Ouje-Bougoumou has just celebrated its tenth anniversary. The model community on the shores of Lac Opemisca marked the occasion with a week-long series of events and festivities that ran from Jan. 20-27. Though not even a teenager yet, Ouje-Bougoumou has already established an impressive list of achievements during its brief lifetime. ... read more ››

Walk’n and talk’n bout diabetes

Little did I know when I arrived in Mistissini that the walk across Eeyou Istchee to raise awareness about diabetes would be arriving during my stay. It was a pleasant surprise as I had heard about the possibility of this walk in the summer. At that time it was only ... read more ››

the Dogs Ear

Lakota Woman Written by Mary Crow Dog and Richard Erdoes. Published by Harper Perenial, 1991 -Reviewed by Will Nicholls This is the story of a Lakota woman, hence the title, who started life as Mary Brave Bird. She was born into a reservation world that Crees know well. When she was born ... read more ››