Inside
◆ Opinion P. 4 ◆ Trading the Arctic P. 5
◆ Blowin’ in the wind P. 6 ◆ Classifieds P. 10, 11
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WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2015
NEWS BRIEFS Addictions Awareness Week Centres around Fort St. James will be hosting events in support of the Nak’azdli Addictions Awareness Week, April 20-25. Put on your hiking shoes and tag along for a historical walk from Chief Kwah Memorial Site to Kwah Hall, taking place today from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. If tasty treats are more your style, head over to Kwah Hall and experience Nak’azdli traditional food cooking and demonstrations between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Wild game such as beaver, rabbit, moose and fish will be used in the demonstrations. On April 22, Nak’albun Elementary will be hosting Ancient Traditional Games from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. Carrier Nation oral history and storytelling will also be happening from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Nak’azdli Health Centre. Learn how to trace your family history and enjoy skill and craftsmanship with arts and crafts from the Carrier Nation and Family Tree Tracing taking place April 23 at Kwah Hall from 1-8 p.m. Beading, medicine making and how to make a medicine bag will be some of the crafts showcased at the event. If snares and traps are on your list of things to learn about, come out to Stuart Lake Cont. on page 3
VOL. 38 NO. 08 $1.30 inc. GST
Celebrated authors tour Northern BC
Michele Taylor photo
Vancouver poet Kayla Czaga, author of For Your Safety Please Hold On, has been shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize. Czaga is part of the Northern BC speaking tour for BC Book Prizes which celebrates British Columbian writers’ achievements. Czaga spoke to FSJ Secondary students during the tour on April 16.
Students treated to poetry and literature from some of provinces best writers MICHELE TAYLOR Caledonia Courier
Students at David Hoy Elementary and Fort St. James Secondary received a visit from two BC Book Prize finalists this past week. Gabrielle Prendergast and Kayla Czaga are touring Northern BC presenting their works through talks and reading their books with students at both schools. The authors are two of 35 authors, illustrators and publishers selected as finalists for the seven prizes that are awarded through BC Book Prizes. Bryan Pike, Executive Director with BC Book Prizes and the tour’s driver, said the showcase is a way for kids to see that books come from more than just the library. “It’s a great chance for (students) to hear an author talk,” he said. “Kayla, who is on tour right now, she’s from Kitimat … You don’t have to climb Mt. Everest or be in a war to write a story. It’s good for kids to see
that, those types of things are valuable.” Pike said the authors read from their books and share personal experiences with students, and said often the talks trigger an interest in reading with students. “It’s a nice way for everybody to get a little inspiration.” Kayla Czaga, author of For Your Safety Please Hold On (Nightwood Editions), is a finalist shortlisted for the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize an award for the author of the best work of poetry. Czaga spoke at FSJ Secondary School to the Grade 11 and 12 English students April 16. The 23-year-old shared her perspectives on growing up and living in Kitimat, B.C. Czaga brought a unique point of view that the students were easily able to relate to, sharing poetry on being 15, her nudist father, that drunk uncle and living in a town with only one road in and out. “When I was in high school I never thought I would write about high school … now, I have an outside perspective,” Czaga told the students. “I never
really know what I’m going to write about until I write a line about a memory that happened years back, then it turns into a poem.” Czaga relates her positive point of view to students about making the choice to become a writer and being able to make a living as a writer living in Vancouver. “It is something that you can achieve.” Gabrielle Prendergast, author of Capricious (Orca Book Publishers), is a finalist shortlisted for the Sheila A. Egoff Children’s Literature Prize, an award for the author of the best original work of literary fiction. Prendergast spoke to Grade 6 and 7 students at David Hoy Elementary on April 16. She pulls the quiet group of students into conversation by talking about current books that have been made into movies and engaging students on their favourite reads. She has a way of getting the students talking by relating to writing at the student’s level. Cont. on page 2
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