The Nation | Vol. 29, No. 10

FROM JANUARY TO APRIL 2022

B

WINTER ACTIVE Let’s Build a Strong and Healthy Cree Nation

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HELPS US PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY, EMOTIONALLY, AND SPIRITUALLY Staying active with our friends and family helps us face the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information about Winter Active across Eeyou Istchee, contact: WALLY RABBITSKIN PPRO Physical Activity, Public Health (CBHSSJB) Phone: 418-923-3355(x42365)

Cell: 418-770-3975 wrabbitskin@ssss.gouv.qc.ca

creehealth.org/winteractive

CONTENTS 10

EDITORIAL 4

Deadly words

NEWS

A Yellowstone Park novel

An endemic approach

5

Faces of displacement

6

BRIEFS FEATURES

David Galloway recounts 40 years of history

Arts

9

A land of wonder

10

Powerful medicine

16

Life is magic

20

Home cooking

22

REZ NOTES Shooting for the stars

25

UTNS

20

Innu actor Marjolaine Mckenzie

26

Ice road heroes

Food

16

Chisasibi Mikw Chiyâm

ᐅᕙᓂ ᐱᒋᐊᕐᐳᖅ ᓄᓇᕕᒃ ᐅᕙᓂ ᐱᒋᐊᕐᐳᖅ ᓄᓇᕕᒃ Nunavik Starts Here

22

Traditional food project

ᐃᓂᓕᐅᕐᓃᑦ RESERVATIONS 1 800 361-2965

Photo provided by Clarence Louie

ᖃᖓᑦᑕᔫᓂᒃ ᐊᑦᑕᑐᐊᖃᕐᓂᖅ CHARTERS 1 800 661-5850

Editorial

Deadly words

by Will Nicholls

T

he social media culture war many of us have participated in over the past decade or more is bearing its fruit in a real blood-and-bullets war.

Those incendiary posts and hate-filled comments are exploding in the hospitals, universities, apartment buildings and nuclear-power plants of Ukraine. The millions of people displaced from their homes, the lives destroyed or irreparably disrupted – all are collateral damage when an overwhelming power identifies the principles of truth, equity and democracy as an implacable enemy that must be eliminated.

Each missile, bomb and bullet Russia is raining down on its neighbours started as a word. Words have power, sometimes to build, or, as now, to destroy. And from Kyiv to Ottawa to Washington, D.C., the negative words are hitting their targets of division, destruction and ruined lives.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin – I think by now we can drop the pretense that he is an elected president – is displaying a classic disconnect with reality.

It’s almost as if he believes his own words when he says that Russia is not indiscriminately shelling Ukrainian cities, or that he is only trying to “deNazify” Ukraine.

His hallucinatory statements recall those of the protesters in Ottawa and elsewhere a few weeks ago as they stamped their feet like three-year-old children crying for “freedom”. A year ago, more untrue words led thousands to attempt to overthrow American democracy by storming the Capitol in Washington, D.C. The hatred, narcissism and infantile selfishness of online disinformation echo chambers have led to a mass psychosis across the world.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin – I think by now we can drop the pretense that he is an elected president – is displaying a classic disconnect with reality.

All are explicitly anti-democratic. They are fed by a steady stream of misinformation from Russian and other social-media black-ops teams that so successfully sow discord and division in the democratic West. To wit: Russia is defending itself from Nazis in Ukraine (whose president is of Jewish descent); that Covid-19 is a hoax, being asked to wear a mask is tyranny and vaccines are tools of genocide; that Donald Trump actually won the election in 2020.

In Russia itself, the nightmare has come full circle. Last week Putin shut down all independent media organs. Now, not to publish or broadcast lies is a crime in Russia. Any attempt to tell the truth in public is illegal and is met with immediate repression. Just ask the thousands of protesters arrested on Russian streets over the past couple weeks for denouncing an unprovoked war of aggression against a peaceful neighbour.

If there is a silver lining in this horror, it is in the utter determination of the Ukrainian people to stand for truth, human rights and democratic self-determination.

They have done so again and again: in 1991 in gaining their independence from the Soviet Union, in the pro-democracy Orange Revolution of 2004, and in the 2014 overthrow of a pro-Russian puppet president. They are an inspiration to humanity in the face of what we can now see clearly as implacable evil.

There is also hope in the relative unity of democratic nations to stop pretending that Vladimir Putin’s politics – or those of his equally genocidal ally, Chinese President Xi Jinping – belong in the civilized world.

We are at a crossroads. We can hear and see the jackboots marching in our own streets. The future they will create is becoming reality in Ukraine. We need to fight back, with more than words.

the Nation is published every two weeks by Beesum Communications EDITORIAL BOARD L. Stewart, W. Nicholls, M. Siberok, Mr. N. Diamond, E. Webb EDITOR IN CHIEF Will Nicholls DIRECTOR OF FINANCES Linda Ludwick EDITORS Lyle Stewart, Martin Siberok PRODUCTION COORDINATOR AND MANAGING EDITOR Randy Mayer CONTRIBUTING WRITERS X. Kataquapit, S. Orr, P. Quinn, B. Powless DESIGN Matthew Dessner SALES AND ADVERTISING Danielle Valade, Donna Malthouse THANKS TO: Air Creebec CONTACT US: The Nation, 4529 CLARK, #403, Montreal, QC., H2T 2T3 EDITORIAL & ADS: Tel.: 514-272-3077, Fax: 514-278-9914 HEAD OFFICE: P.O. Box 151, Chisasibi, QC. J0M 1E0 www. nationnews.ca EDITORIAL: will@nationnews.ca news@nationnews.ca ADS: Danielle Valade: ads@nationnews.ca; Donna Malthouse: donna@beesum.com SUBSCRIPTIONS: $60 plus taxes, US: $90, Abroad: $110, Payable to beesum communications, all rights reserved, publication mail #40015005, issn #1206-2642 The Nation is a member of: The James Bay Cree Communications Society, Circle Of Aboriginal Controlled Publishers, Magazines Canada Quebec Community Newspaper Assn. Canadian Newspapers Assn. Les Hebdos Sélect Du Québec. Funded [in part] by the Government of Canada. | www.nationnews.ca | facebook.com/NATIONnewsmagazine | Twitter: @creenation_news

4 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

CMCA AUDITED

C O V I D - 1 9 U P D AT E

by Ben Powless, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

An endemic approach part of life

C

ree health officials announced a sweeping new approach to their Covid policy February 25, moving away from an isolation protocol to a “testing and reduced-activity protocol that will greatly relieve pressure for everyone in Eeyou Istchee,” according to a bulletin.

“As the world begins to deconfine, remove certain restrictions, and return to a more normal life, Eeyou Istchee is also preparing to deconfine, cautiously, with the health of our population and the conservation of our healthcare networks’ capacity as priorities,” the bulletin continued.

The new protocol removes the need for mandatory self-isolation required when returning from any area of risk over any duration of time. Instead, only those who are in an area of risk for more than 72 hours will be required to get tested.

Those who are fully vaccinated will need to follow the “reduced-activity protocol” for five days, then get tested on Days 3 and 5. Those not fully vaccinated are to follow the “reduced-activity protocol” for 10 days, with tests on Days 3, 5 and 7.

The reduced-activity protocol allows for individuals to go outdoors, but not enter indoor public places. They may also return to work, wearing masks and protective gear appropriate to their work.

They are to refrain from visiting the homes of others or attending any indoor gatherings. For students, their return to school will be determined by Cree School Board protocols.

Beginning March 11, those who are not fully vaccinated will only need to follow the reduced-activity protocol for one week. Then, on March 25, the reduced-activity protocol will no longer be in effect, with only testing required on Days 3 and 5 instead. Those who test positive are still to undertake mandatory self-isolation. This approach mirrors similar efforts at national and international levels, as jurisdictions worldwide move towards an approach of

Four people recently died during the most recent wave of the pandemic managing the disease, abandoning efforts to fully stop it.

The areas considered “at risk” have not changed from February 7, with the entirety of Quebec and the rest of Canada considered at risk, except for Eeyou Istchee and Northern Quebec. Locally, Chisasibi, Mistissini, Ouje-Bougoumou, Waskaganish and Waswanipi were in Phase 3 of deconfinement protocols, allowing for a maximum of three households to meet, and up to 25 people indoors and 75 outdoors. The remaining communities were in Phase 4, with no restriction on the number of households, and limits of 50 people for indoor gatherings and 150 outdoor.

Cree health officials confirmed that four people recently died during the most recent wave of the pandemic, which began in December. It was not clear which communities the deceased were from, as privacy policies only allow the identification of a community with more than five deaths. There were still 116 active cases as of February 25, with 2,020 individuals having recovered and 28 people hospitalized.

Cree School Board chairperson Sarah Pash said that it was important for parents to continue daily health checks ahead of sending children to school in a livestream presentation announcing the new health measures. She said that elementary and high schools in Wemindji, Eastmain,

Nemaska, Whapmagoostui, Chisasibi and Waswanipi Elementary were doing in-person education, while Waskaganish, Mistissini and Ouje-Bougoumou were doing a hybrid model, with Waswanipi Secondary online-only.

In schools, testing is required if students show symptoms either at home or in class, or if a child in the same class tests positive for Covid. Testing kits were available in schools with individual kits being distributed to parents. Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty said that those studying outside their community would be able to return for their spring break, but they should first get updates on the latest local protocols.

Across Quebec, working from home is no longer mandatory, as bars and sports venues reopened. Funerals and places of worship no longer have any capacity limits. In long-term care homes, caregivers and visitors will be allowed in common areas and not just a resident’s room.

Residents are permitted up to 10 visitors a day, up from two.

After March 14, Quebec no longer require vaccine passports for places like gyms, cinemas, restaurants and long-term care homes. Masks will remain mandatory in public indoor spaces, probably until mid-April. Proof of vaccination is still required for domestic air and rail travel, however.

www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022 the Nation 5

Photo provided by Nakuset

6 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

Faces of displacement

Editorial News

Outdoor art project in Montreal features 50 portraits of local Indigenous people

by Ben Powless, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

R

esidents in several Montreal neighbourhoods awoke February 21 to find large photos of members of the local Indigenous community plastered across the front of buildings, as part of a global art project collectively titled Indigenous Forced Displacement. Featuring 50 portraits, the installation highlights how Indigenous peoples have been displaced throughout history.

The installation is part of the Inside Out project, which features over 442,000 large black-and-white portraits from 2,329 groups in 138 countries, drawing attention to issues local to each community. In Montreal, the project is led by Nakuset, whose daytime job is the Director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal.

“Because of the work I do, I know we are forced out of safe spaces, forced onto tiny reservations, we are continuously being removed,” Nakuset explained.

I know we are forced out of safe spaces, forced onto tiny reservations, we are continuously being removed “They’re trying to get rid of the population.

I wanted to remind people that after everything we’ve been through, all the colonial issues we’ve faced, we’re still here. With this project, people are going to walk by and see an angry Indigenous person staring at them,” she added with a laugh.

“Two years ago, I was watching 60 Minutes on TV and they featured JR, the French photographer and street artist. He spoke about his life’s work and introduced the project,” Nakuset explained. Individuals and communities were encouraged to apply join the project.

“After I watched the show, I said, I’m so applying. Then I got this email stating that due to the large interest I might not get a response for six months. That was two years ago, then the pandemic hit, so I thought I’m not doing

this now. Then last fall, they wrote and asked if I was still interested in submitting the project for Indigenous Forced Displacement and I had to figure out what to do,” she added.

Nakuset contacted Native artists/photographers Vicki MacDonald, Craig Commanda and Martin Loft. The three took portraits of local Indigenous people in Montreal and Kahnawake, those on the reserve and in the streets, as well as students ranging from elementary school to university.

“I love putting the children in with the adults and showing that the children are our future leaders and knowledge keepers,” Nakuset said. From there, they worked with a group of volunteers to approach various building owners, send out press releases and post on social media to get ready to put up the portraits.

“It all came together really well, considering the first day, February 20, was crazy cold. I thought we would fail. I didn’t think the portraits would stick, because the glue had to be hot. On the second day, someone brought a camping stove, so we were boiling water and sticking them up right away. It took lots of innovation, and lots of good energy.”

Nakuset said everyone reacts differently when seeing themselves. Simon Bird, a Cree from Saskatchewan, shared on Facebook that when he saw his picture posted on social media, it cheered him up and made him feel connected to the local community. Nakuset said that some of the images are of Inuit people, who are very proud to see their portraits.

“It’s bringing the community together and it’s elevating all the photographers because they’re part of a worldwide initiative. Even though the portraits will fall apart, the images on the website are forever,” she added.

For those interested in seeing the portraits, the Montreal locations are at 1900 rue le Ber, 5795 de Gaspé, 633 Beaumont, and 7010 Henri-Julien. People can also visit the project’s website at www.insideoutproject. net. The project is looking for new spaces, as they plan to put up more posters on March 20-21.

www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

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For more info...

Jordan’s Principle Of ce Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSSJB) 418-923-3355 x42186 18tcr.jordans.principle@ssss.gouv.qc.ca creehealth.org/jp

Individual Applications for Eeyou Istchee

The legacy of Jordan River Anderson

Jordan was born in Norway House Cree Nation, Manitoba in 1999, with multiple disabilities and stayed in the hospital from birth. When he was 2 years old, doctors said he could move to a special home for his medical needs. However, the federal and provincial governments could not agree on who should pay for his home-based care. Jordan passed away in the hospital at the age of 5.

In 2007, the House of Commons passed Jordan’s Principle in memory of Jordan. Today, Jordan’s Principle is a legal obligation, which means it has no end date—it will support First Nations children for generations to come.

Is your child eligible for Jordan’s Principle?

Current eligibility criteria under Jordan’s Principle are: • 0 to 18 years old • Must have a band number (or parents’ band number, if not yet assigned)

24-hour Jordan’s Principle Helpline

1-855-572-4453 Your child does not have to have a disability to be covered under Jordan’s Principle.

In Brief More unmarked graves possibly discovered A potential 169 more unmarked graves at a former residential school were discovered after a six-day search near High Prairie in northern Alberta.

The Kapawe’no First Nation announced March 1 that anomalies consistent with burials were discovered during an initial search with ground-penetrating radar and drones.

The search covered only one acre of the several-hundred-acre property around the former Grouard Indian Residential School, also known as St. Bernard Mission.

“Finding one grave is too much. Finding multiple is incomprehensible,” Kapawe’no First Nation Chief Sydney Lee Halcrow said in a news conference. “The grief we felt when discovering our stolen children has opened fresh wounds. We remember the horror and devastation we felt when our children were forcibly removed from their families and communities to be placed in Indian residential schools.”

Further examinations of the vast property will take place in coming weeks and months.

US tribes settle $1.7 billion water dispute

Rights Settlement Completion Fund.

US Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Laguna Pueblo, said 16 tribes and settlements will receive the funding this year. The money is to come out of a portion of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill.

Part of the reason for the settlements is that Native tribes in the US have long-established rights to water that are often infringed upon by other entities, and the government has taken to settling with tribes instead of trying to negotiate in courts.

A leader of the Gila River Indian Community, which will receive $224 million in funding, said it would help the community begin irrigation projects and create around 200 jobs.

Many tribes in western states struggle to get adequate water, particularly as drought conditions have worsened in recent years.

In Canada, there are still 26 long-term drinking water advisories in place in 29 communities, while 128 communities have had advisories lifted in the past seven years. Canada committed $1 billion in the 2021 budget towards the First Nation Water and Wastewater Enhanced Program, after many have called for action to deal with the lack of potable water across First Nations communities for decades.

Letter to the editor

In Brief

Paix des Braves nuances Regarding your article on the 20th anniversary of the Paix des Braves, the Grand Council did not conduct a referendum on the agreement.

Each Cree community held a referendum with their own question and mostly under pressure from the few Chiefs that opposed the agreement and from the Cree press.

Some chiefs and the Cree press continued to oppose the agreement even after the people had spoken and voted in favour. The let-the-people-decide mantra was clearly not respected. The opponents ignored the results of their own referenda.

The reference to Billy Diamond is unfair, who is no longer alive to set the record straight.

The story indicates that he did not support the PDB, which is a very important agreement for Cree community development and an implementation of the promises Billy negotiated in 1975. This tarnish of his legacy is unfair.

Billy initially opposed the sudden announcement but then was in total support after learning the context of the negotiations.

He in fact was the negotiator on the Rupert diversion with Hydro-Québec and added value for the Cree companies.

Bill Namagoose Executive Director Cree Nation Government Grand Council of the Crees

The United States Department of the Interior has announced it would pay tribal governments $1.7 billion for “outstanding federal payments necessary to complete their terms” of implementing the Indian Water www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

the Nation 9

Features

f o d n A La

Wonder New novel explores the history of Yellowstone Park and its Indigenous links

by Ben Powless, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

10 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

Photos provided by David Galloway

D

avid Galloway first experienced the wonders of Yellowstone National Park as a university student working as a tour guide in 1977. He piloted a passenger boat around Yellowstone Lake and fell in love with the place.

Now, over 40 years later, he shares some of his personal history – including a run-in with a grizzly bear – and some inventive storytelling in Burning Ground, a book that tells a part of the history of Yellowstone, as the park celebrates its 150th anniversary.

Founded by the United States government on March 1, 1872, the park was not just the first national park in America, but in the entire world. After the Hayden scientific expedition in 1871, which included geologists, ornithologists, climatologists, geographers, a painter and a photographer, the U.S. Congress was persuaded by the unique geological and biological setting and decided to set aside 2.2 million acres from major development.

“What makes Yellowstone so unique, first of all, it’s the most active geothermal area in the world. There are more geysers and hot springs and thermal features per unit area than anywhere else in the world,” Galloway explained. “All this thermal activity is because Yellowstone itself is the remains of a giant volcanic caldera that erupted 600,000 years ago and we’re seeing the remnants of that.

“Most of the park is over 8,000 feet and so you’ve got these wonderful thermal features in an alpine area with wildlife that is unlike almost anywhere in North America,” he added. “In this area you have bison, wolves, elk, moose and all matter of wildlife living in this wonderland – which is what it was called initially when it was established, and aptly so.”

While the first expeditions by non-Indigenous people began in the 19th century, it was widely used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years, including the Crow, Blackfeet, Nez Perce, Cheyenne and Sioux all living within or making use of the lands at different times.

www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

the Nation 11

Hayden Survey approximate route of travel: July 21 - Aug 25, 1871

Adapted from Yellowstone and the Great West. Edited by Marlene Deal Merrill. 1999.

12 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

“Imagine the wonderment of a modern person going back 150 years and seeing what the Europeans had never seen before, experiencing it with the expedition contemporary sensibilities” - David Galloway

Galloway says the 1970s protagonist in Burning Ground goes on a vision quest only to find himself in the 1870s and a member of the Hayden expedition. Part of Galloway’s inspiration for the story was a Crow friend named Redfield he had worked with, and whose culture is reflected in the vision quest.

“Imagine the wonderment of a modern person going back 150 years and seeing what the Europeans had never seen before, experiencing it with the expedition for the first time with contemporary sensibilities, the shock of how he would view things,” Galloway explained. “Part of the shock is the conflict – a lot of cultural conflict between Europeans and Native Americans, and how we view the world today versus during the frontier times.”

Galloway said he wanted to help readers understand the mindset of Indigenous groups from that era. “They were wronged in so many ways: their lands were taken away and they were put on reservations, and the government reneged on treaties. I wanted readers to think about what it was like to be in their shoes.

“History for some folks tends to be dry – facts, figures and dates. I wanted to put it into a story format to show what I see as a significant part of the history of Wyoming and Montana that we now take for granted. While it’s fiction, it’s authentically researched historically based fiction. I wanted the book to be entertaining while readers learned about that history,” he added.

Galloway said Burning Ground has been very well-received and he’s now halfway through writing a sequel which should be ready by this summer. Asked if he’d like to see the book turned into a movie, he said, “It would be wonderful, obviously, but I have no false dreams about that happening.”

www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

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PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT ANNOUNCEMENT PUBLIC EASTMAIN, QC – EEYOU ISTCHEE (FEBRUARY 22, 2022) EASTMAIN, QC – EEYOU ISTCHEE (FEBRUARY 22, 2022) Waachiyaahkw misiwaa, it is my great pleasure to introduce the Waachiyaahkw misiwaa, it is my great pleasure to introduce the official logo selected to represent our Iiyiyuu Ayimuwin of Eeyou official logo selected to represent our Iiyiyuu Ayimuwin of Eeyou Istchee.

Istchee.

Our mission statement on Cree Language is to enhance, strengthen, Our mission statement on Cree Language is to enhance, strengthen, promote and safeguard the Language of the Eeyou/Eenou Nation. It promote and safeguard the Language of the Eeyou/Eenou Nation. It is these four commitments that support and stand by the tallest tree is these four commitments that support and stand by the tallest tree which represents our Cree Language. which represents our Cree Language.

Together, the trees represent the vitality and strength our language Together, the trees represent the vitality and strength our language upholds, the roots represent our connection as the people of Eeyou upholds, the roots represent our connection as the people of Eeyou Istchee to keep and protect what is rightfully ours. The blue Istchee to keep and protect what is rightfully ours. The blue represents our strong rivers that carry and sustains life to all that represents our strong rivers that carry and sustains life to all that draw from it. draw from it.

As the Commissioner of the Cree Language, I will wear this logo with As the Commissioner of the Cree Language, I will wear this logo with great pride symbolizing that our language is alive and vibrant and a great pride symbolizing that our language is alive and vibrant and a priority to preserve and maintain with the utmost respect. I invite you priority to preserve and maintain with the utmost respect. I invite you to join me in spreading our message that we will keep and protect to join me in spreading our message that we will keep and protect our language wherever we go. our language wherever we go.

NIIYI, JAMIE MOSES NIIYI, JAMIE MOSES Commissioner of the Cree Language of Eeyou Istchee Commissioner of the Cree Language of Eeyou Istchee

Powerful

medicine Chisasibi Mikw Chiyâm helps students through the pandemic

by Patrick Quinn Photos provided by Mikw

16 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

Chiyâm

A

ciplinary arts program at Mistissini’s Voyageur Memorial High School back in

After facilitating screen printing arts residencies in almost every community, Robertson took the next natural step and became the full-time Mikw Chiyâm teacher in Chisasibi last fall. Back in Montreal, he would find himself eagerly waiting to return to the Cree Nation that now feels like home.

“The most asked question for any new teacher is, ‘Are you coming back?’,” Robertson told the Nation. “I get asked that question every day by students. The answer is yes. Before I started doing the residencies, I had never taught anything or at least I didn’t think I had that skill within me.”

Early experiences in Mistissini and Chisasibi revealed he had far more to teach than printmaking, such as life lessons that have made an impact with students. As the innovative program steadily expanded into each Cree community, a growing network of returning artists is similarly invested in youth success.

“A lot of my personal work became advocating for things they care about,” said Robertson. “One of the benefits of being around so long is seeing the students grow up. It’s always a good intention coming from down south that I’m trying to work myself out of a job. The idea that some students I’ve taught are now in a position to do that is the most beautiful thing.”

While Mistissini’s Angel Baribeau is the most notable example of a Cree student realizing their dreams through Mikw Chiyâm, several other students have also come full circle through the program to become artists-in-residence.

“The most important thing is that everyone tries to participate even if it’s not their thing,” Robertson asserted. “Painting is very popular, same with music, but there wouldn’t necessarily be a lot of crossover.

Some have never spraypainted before in their lives, so if they can be free with it, you see a lot of joy in those moments that’s very rewarding.”

Although a new school building is being built, the materials James Bay Eeyou School has accumulated over several years of the program enable students to easily pursue projects in any artistic medium for their final term. Student input has shaped not only the program’s evolution but also the physical layout of the classroom.

“One of the most important things for me as a teacher is that when they walk in, they feel this is their class and they feel comfortable,” Robertson explained.

“It feels like a safer space from the rest of the school. We have one large table where everyone sits together. We also have a chill zone in a quiet corner – whatever is comfortable for them to access the lesson.”

Mikw Chiyâm facilitators aim to nurture a supportive and respectful environment, encouraging creativity to bloom as students make friends during collaborative projects. Artists like Peatr Thomas, who will be teaching mural painting in his upcoming residency, find it particularly fulfilling when students choose to continue practicing these skills at home.

“Some of the youth have really taken to the skills I’ve passed on, painting with layers and being resourceful,” Thomas told the Nation. “Some practice at home – if they have that connection, they’re able to express themselves in a fun way.

I just say have fun with it, don’t pressure yourself. Art teaches you it’s okay to make mistakes and try again.”

Before Christmas, students were learning photography techniques with artist Steve Haining. With the guiding question “where is my pride”, students were able to sign out professional digital cameras to explore images of their camp, cultural activities – wherever their inspiration took them.

“It’s been a beautiful journey for them,” Robertson remarked. “They’re learning in the moment. I like the idea of the guiding question, that we spend time before we

make things thinking about our intention behind our work so we can put more meaning into it and communicate better with our art.”

A Mikw Chiyâm highlight has always been the year-end festival, when students from all over the Cree Nation would gather in Chisasibi to share their work and reconnect with the visiting artists. But that hasn’t been possible during the pandemic.

“It’s important for them to finish the year by showing their art and have that fun art trip together,” shared Robertson.

“There are a lot of things that we used to do but the pandemic has made it difficult, and that’s the social aspect.”

While Robertson’s previous experience with Mikw Chiyâm simplified his transition, becoming a full-time teacher in a new community isn’t easy in the best of times. Coordinating the schedules of about 70 students from Secondary 1 to 5 is a challenging administrative task, especially with in-person classes delayed since the new year.

“With the hybrid model, some grades are here in school, some are at home,” explained Robertson. “We end up teaching in-person and online with me in the classroom and the artist in isolation, so there’s a lot of moving parts. I’m learning the hard way, learning through my mistakes.”

These last few months were even harder for students, but Mikw Chiyâm helped maintain a sense of community.

Originally intended to increase student retention and motivation, the pandemic has reinforced how artistic expression can give life meaning.

“If that is the motivation for them to come to school and their other classes and friends, it helps build things back to the way it was before the pandemic,” suggested Robertson. “The skill we teach is taking that pressure in their brains and getting it outside of them through art. Art is a very powerful medicine.”

www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

the Nation 17

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JolinaGull GullBlacksmith BlacksmithMemorial MemorialSchool School Jolina Jolina Gull Blacksmith Memorial School ÉcoleRainbow RainbowElementary ElementarySchool School&&& École École Rainbow Elementary School ÉcoleWillie WillieJ.J.J.Happyjack HappyjackMemorial MemorialSchool School École École Willie Happyjack Memorial School (819)978-0270 978-0270 (819) (819) 978-0270 Formore moreinformation, information,visit visitour ourwebsite websiteatat ateeyoueducation.ca/youth/parents/mozaik eeyoueducation.ca/youth/parents/mozaik For For more information, visit our website eeyoueducation.ca/youth/parents/mozaik Allschools schoolswill willjoin jointhe theportal portalinin inphases phasesby byJune June2022.

2022.

All All schools will join the portal phases by June 2022.

18

Doyou youwant wantaccess accesstoto tothe theMozaÏk MozaÏkParent ParentPortal Portalwhen whenitititbecomes becomesavailable availabletoto toyour yourschool? school?

Do Do you want access the MozaÏk Parent Portal when becomes available your school?

Stay ahead and update your email at your school.

Stay Stayahead aheadand andupdate updateyour youremail emailatatyour yourschool. school. the Nation

What to do before seeking medical attention during the pandemic.

I’ve tested positive for COVID-19.

BEGIN TREATMENT AT HOME

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CALL INFO-SANTÉ 811

I have concerns or I’m in a difficult situation.

CALL INFO-SOCIAL 811

I want to renew my prescriptions.

SPEAK TO YOUR PHARMACIST

Québec.ca/HealthNeeds If you need more information or have additional questions, contact our office in Val-d”Or. By phone: 819-874-2600 By email: justicevaldor@cngov.ca

Arts

Life is magic Innu actor Marjolaine Mckenzie treads the boards in New York

by Martin Siberok Photos by Donna Svennevik

L

iving in New York City just a stone’s throw from Central Park and rehearsing for a play that had its world premiere this month is a dream come true for Marjolaine Mckenzie.

“Being here in New York and working as an actor is more than I could have imagined,” said Mckenzie.

It’s a far cry from her home community of Matimekush Lac-John on the Quebec-Labrador border, and the Innu actor loves taking long walks to explore Manhattan’s densely populated neighbourhoods.

“What surprises me is how many dogs there are here. Some people have really big ones, and they live in small apartments. And in the park, you see dogwalkers with 10 dogs – I need to post a photo of this,” she shared with a laugh.

Mckenzie is a cast member in Misdemeanor Dream, a multi-layered project that is being produced

by Spiderwoman Theater, a company that focuses on feminist and Indigenous material.

Rooted in Indigenous storytelling, Misdemeanor Dream uses the technique of story-weaving to blend traditional and personal stories with movement, sound and projections – all to reclaim and revitalize missing stories, languages and identity.

Mckenzie and her fellow Indigenous actors have been working on the project

for the past five years – from its workshop inception in Stratford, Ontario, to its polished premiere at La MaMa in New York.

“Usually, we are 12 people on stage, but due to Covid there are only six of us,” explained Mckenzie. “But we did not forget the others. They are with us

20 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

telling their stories on video which will be projected on a large screen.”

In developing Misdemeanor Dream, director Muriel Miguel gave the actors certain words to focus on and build stories around. The two words Mckenzie was given were “dreams” and “stars”, and she created stories that reflect

Department of Justice and Correctional Services

CAVAC

like our play – is about magic, about dreams, about the stars, and about the spirits”

events in her personal life. One involves the mysterious disappearance in 1981 of her father, Daniel Mckenzie, in the bush about 25 kilometres outside of Schefferville.

“My story about stars is focused on my father who got lost on the land when I was only one. It is about him lying down on the land and looking up at the stars, which keep coming closer and closer. In my piece I imagine myself looking into the sky to see when he saw. And I say I know where my dad is – he is with the stars.”

Then she added, “When I first shared this story with the others, I was very emotional and started crying. It is very powerful.”

On a lighter note, another story Mckenzie shares is about being a young girl dreaming of becoming a superstar. “I wanted to be an actor. As a child I was in love with Julia Roberts. I watched her films dubbed in French and then walked around pretending to be like her.”

Mckenzie pursued her dream of becoming an actor and attended the Centre for Indigenous Theatre in Toronto in 2001, but she realized early on that it was going to be hard to survive as a professional and be able to pay her rent and bills.

In 2004, she landed her first major contract with a role in Hamlet-le-Malécite, an adaptation of Hamlet by HuronWendat playwright Yves Sioui Durand and Québécois director Jean-Frédéric Messier. But once the run was over, there were no roles waiting for her.

“By then, I had a young daughter who I needed to take care of, and I knew that I could not have a life that was not secure and did not pay well.”

Despite it being her passion, acting took a back seat in her life with Mckenzie working as a community organizer over the years; today she is the operations coordinator for the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador.

“I knew I couldn’t have the kind of life I dreamed of, but life gave it to me in a different way,” said a contented Mckenzie. “As I am finding out, life – like our play – is about magic, about dreams, about the stars, and about the spirits.”

CREE CAVAC SERVICES

(Crime Victims Assistance Centre) CAVAC or crime victims assistance centre, have been created to help victims overcome the physical, psychological and social consequences of a crime, and to advocate on their behalf to help them obtain compensation for the harm suffered. If you are a victim or witness to a crime, then there are three Cree CAVAC offices that have been established to serve you in the Cree Nation.

CAVAC officers provide a wide range of assistance services, including: POST-TRAUMA AND PSYCHOLOGICAL INTERVENTION, to assess the needs of victims of crime INFORMATION ON THE RIGHTS CRIME VICTIMS HAVE AND THE REMEDIES AVAILABLE TO THEM, which encompasses the main stages of judicial process TECHNICAL SERVICES, to assist crime victims in filling out required forms REFERRING VICTIMS TO SPECIALIZED SERVICES, such as appropriate legal, medical, social and community resources capable of assisting victims as they attempt to deal with problems they face ACCOMPANYING CRIME VICTIMS, through their dealings with medical and community resources, and providing sustained support throughout je judicial process as the case proceeds Our front-line services are free of charge and strictly confidential with you.

Community

Toll Free Number

Whapmagoostui, Wemindji / Chisasibi / Waskaganish, Eastmain, Nemaska /

855-603-6136 855-603-0009 855-603-6168

Mistissini / Ouje-Bougoumou, Waswanipi /

855-603-6137 855-603-0044

cavacinfo@creejustice.ca

www.creejustice.ca

www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

the Nation 21

Food

Home cooking Traditional food project gives Montreal patients a taste of home

by Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

C

ree patients arriving for medical appointments in Montreal are enjoying a much-appreciated taste of home thanks to an urban bush camp that Philip Matoush and his wife Sharon Pepabano launched two years ago.

One medical transport driver – who recently celebrated 20 years with Wiichihiituwin (Cree Patient Services) – would often tell Matoush about patients who were craving traditional food roasted over the fire. That inspired Matoush to establish a bush camp close to the city, and two years ago they discovered Camping D’Aoust in Hudson, about 40 km from downtown Montreal.

“The owner of the campground, Michel Daoust, told us we could do the cooking in a specific location in the campground,” Matoush told the Nation.

“We started off with a fire pit with sticks to hang our geese or other traditional food we cooked. The guy was nice to us – I was surprised he let us do all that stuff, what we love doing back home.”

Even Daoust’s son would sometimes contribute geese he had shot. Soon, the project began to attract Crees in the city who were happy to have a welcoming reminder of home during the initial pandemic lockdown. From the beginning, the project benefited from volunteers such as Flora Weistche and Chantal Otter Tétreault.

For many years Pepabano cooked meals that Matoush would deliver to Cree patients and escorts staying at the Espresso Hotel. Now they could invite them to their nearby camp for a sense of home. Usually every second week-

end, they cook and deliver meals to the hotel where it can be warmed up in the community kitchen.

“Traditional food helps bring them back home,” said Matoush. “We cooked for Elders because it’s like medicine for them. People ask about bringing traditional food from back home and cooking it at the teepee – we say go ahead.”

Whether the food is delivered from families in Eeyou Istchee or harvested locally, Matoush and Pepabano are always happy to share. Matoush sees this generosity as a natural extension of Cree values.

“People try to give us money, but we don’t ask for anything,” Matoush explained. “When my father would bring a caribou or moose, he’d start cutting up and distributing the meat to whoever came to our house. That’s how I first learned to share what we have. A lot of people do the same.”

When the weather cooled after the project’s first summer, they collected supplies to build a teepee. Weistche suggested that Cree entities might help cover the growing expenses and the couple’s daughter Josephine Pepabano Matoush, who begins university this fall, wrote a letter to explain the project.

Cree communities and organizations raised about $8,000 for the teepee and

22 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

cooking supplies that enabled the project to grow. When Bob Patton suggested relocating the teepee to his family’s beautiful property on the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake, just a 15-minute drive from downtown Montreal, they jumped at the opportunity.

Kahnawake welcomed the project with open arms, and Patton has hosted Crees for southern goose hunts every spring since 1996. It’s a cultural exchange that evolved from working several years as a police officer in Waskaganish.

“The people of Waskaganish pretty much took me under their wing,” Patton told the CBC in 2020. “They showed me the way of life in the bush and how to trap and how to hunt. I was taught by the Crees. I’m passing it on to my grandson – the Mohawks are picking it up quite a bit around here.”

“We feel more at home in Kahnawake,” recalled Matoush. “The Mohawks also love the way we cook our food on the open fire. For many of them it’s a new experience. They lost a lot of their traditions but they’re trying to get them back – that’s where the Crees come in.”

While Matoush sometimes hunts bear or moose and is currently planning a caribou hunt up North, his biggest

hunts are generally in Ontario at springtime. Last Goose Break, a large harvest yielded a particularly special Mother’s Day meal at the Espresso.

“We cooked about 30 geese over the open fire that time,” Patton shared. “We delivered about 130 plates to Espresso patients and escorts. That’s the biggest one. I’m hoping we get to do that again.”

Last fall, Patton and his hunting group from Kahnawake brought four moose from a trip to the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Nation in the Gaspé region. All the butchering was done at the teepee and one moose was donated to Cree Health Board patients.

Between Matoush, Patton and the Espresso, they have nine freezers to store their wild meat until the next cookout.

What began as a project for patients and escorts has grown to become an urban oasis of cultural sharing, helping both Indigenous people reconnect with their identity and non-Natives to appreciate Cree culture. The teepee has welcomed visitors from numerous Indigenous nations, students from Concordia and McGill universities, and even guests from Zimbabwe, Iraq and Egypt.

“My favourite part is helping out different nations,” said Matoush. “People from all over check out the teepee. People from Six Nations and Inuit say they’ve heard of it and really enjoy spending their time there. I guess we could change the name to Multicultural Teepee.”

The project may expand this spring, as partnerships with the Cree Health Board and Nishiyuu spurred discussions about developing a more insulated modern teepee. Cree Youth Healing Services recently reached out about the possibility of sending youth to participate in cultural activities like preparing moose hide, which the Mohawks are also eager to start.

“After 23 years in the city, I guess my wife and I were meant to be in Montreal somehow for this project to start,” Matoush suggested. “Bringing the teepee, the culture, the traditional food to the city from back home. Patients and escorts feel less homesick. People love that – they feel like home.”

“We cooked for Elders because it’s like medicine for them” - Philip Matoush

www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

the Nation 23

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Power and Influence ininEeyou Eeyou Istchee (Humanities) Power andInfluence Influencein EeyouIstchee Istchee (Humanities) Power and (Humanities) language/French for Indigenous peoples ! !!Cree Contemporary Issues !!Cree language/French for Indigenous peoples Contemporary Issues Contemporary Issues Contemporary Issues Land-based physical education (in-personpeoples intensive course) !!!!&./01%1!98-+/3%= !!Cree language/French for Indigenous Land-based physical education (in-person intensive course) !!Cree language/French for Indigenous peoples !!Creelanguage/French language/French forIndigenous Indigenous peoples !!Cree for peoples Power and Influence in Eeyou Istchee (Humanities) Land-based physical education (in-person intensive course) Land-based physical education (in-person intensive course) Land-basedphysical physicaleducation education(in-person (in-personintensive intensivecourse) course) Land-based Contemporary Issues eeyoueducation.ca/springboard | (418) 923-3347 ext.

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eeyoueducation.ca/springboard | (418) 923-3347 ext. 1321 | iyeskuwiiu@cscree 24 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

Shooting for the stars

Rez Notes

by Sonny Orr

A

s far as the stars go, I’ve traveled nearly three and a half billion miles in my life. That’s quite a distance but in the big scheme of things, it’s a mere blip on the speed radar of the universe.

I remember one starry night when we were lucky enough to witness a supernova low in the eastern skies. That event probably happened thousands of years before we were born, given the distance the light of that cataclysmic event had to travel. Looking at the stars is, to say the least, a contemplative activity.

Early last summer, I sat outside gazing at the moon brighten up in the sky. My young grandson sat beside me and we talked about the moon. According to him, only aliens live up there and us humans, we live on earth. We talked about Mars, and he stated that he would go there and come back. I guess watching sci-fi with his grandpa and some internet education got him going on that.

We scanned the sky for falling comets or dangerous asteroids that might have to be blown up. Then we decided that the moon might be closer to get to since humans have already been there.

Something to do on a weekend excursion.

He concluded that we might have to bring some guns just in case. But I told him that we are scarier. He agreed and noted that we have zombies, which are really scary.

We went back inside as the northern summer night wasn’t that hot and muggy and the mosquitoes were thirsty. We continued our talk about the universe and again the subject of Mars came up as my grandson elaborated for quite some time

The moon might be closer to get to since humans have already been there.

Something to do on a weekend excursion

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on how he was going to get it down. Even a reference to Sponge Bob drying out if we don’t get enough water popped up in his interesting and entertaining perspective of the universe. I guess reaching for the heavens is a good goal in life and getting more attainable. Hopefully, when the space hotel goes up, I can watch it on a clear night with my binoculars.

Space is an interesting place, however fraught with dangers that could appear at any moment. Your DNA and other microscopic matter in your cells could be damaged, which is what happens on earth but at a much lower level of radiation, namely sunburn. Maybe that space hotel could offer flash suntans in the spa.

How brown would you like your skin?

Should we start with one millisecond of exposure?

Or would you like the full spectrum tan, in which your cells get sterilized and any germs are eliminated? Taking a soothing bath in yogurt is recommended afterwards to reestablish any good bacterium in and around your body.

Probably there would be categories: first class meaning a return on a

spaceship while economy would see you ejected in a small pod. Hopefully, a family member or friend would be waiting close to your splashdown target area.

Otherwise, if tossed out over a bad area of the earth, like in the middle of the Himalayas, you would need a reputable country’s passport. Thankfully, Canada has enough friends on earth to make it safely back home.

Back at home, meanwhile, my little astronaut snuggles up in bed content with his possible future. Hopefully in the morning he might want to be something else, because our daily talks have become my new education.

I briefly wonder if I was like that as a kid. But then we didn’t have that worldly stimulus that the internet brings into our homes. Nope, we could only see as far as the stone that flew out of our slingshot in terms of ballistic technology. Today, the slingshot is a technology that comes in handy during kung fu showdown fights, like the sniper who stings from a distance. But hey, maybe in a few billion more kilometres we might have that.

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Contact Voyageur Driving School at 418-770-3699 or check out our Facebook page. Still on foot? Then just come and see us at 203 Mistissini Blvd. The course is available for everyone in Mistissini.

SO DON’T DELAY! Come and sign up to expand your horizons

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www.nationnews.ca March 11, 2022

the Nation 25

www.underthenorthernsky.com

UTNS

Under the Northern Sky

Ice road heroes

by Xavier Kataquapit

W

inter ice roads have been a big part of life on the James Bay coast for decades. The road has existed in one form or another since the 1950s and 1960s when the American and Canadian military sent men and material north to build the Mid-Canada radar stations for the Cold War effort. Since those early years, the seasonal ice road has been maintained as it was the only means to transport heavy material over land from the rail head in Moosonee to places north like Attawapiskat, Fort Albany and Kashechewan.

My dad Marius was always an adventurous spirit. As a young man, he was part of the workforce that travelled up and down those first ice roads. The wages helped him purchase a modern Ford New Holland tractor with a heated cab in the early 1990s. It was powerful enough to hitch and pull a loaded wagon and a custom-built heavy snow sled caboose.

At the same time, he got his first contracts for constructing the winter road.

These contracts simply involved the use of snowmachines and a few workers. Dad did not have any heavy-duty machines back then.

These days the building of a winter road starts after a good layer of snow and ice have built up. Snowmachines are still used to tramp down the snow to drive the frost deep into the ground to prepare the surface for the next phase. Once the snow has been set, small tractors and trucks begin to move over the road. In

successive waves, larger tractors smooth the road, grade it and keep it as level as possible.

In the late 1990s, dad began to hand over the equipment business he had built up over the years to his youngest son Paul. In the early 2000s they purchased their first modern Caterpillar front-end loader. Paul went on to acquire and purchase other pieces of heavy equipment, including additional front-end loaders, tracked tractors, excavators, graders, dump trucks, transport trucks and other support vehicles and machinery.

Our older brother Lawrence Rose has also developed a substantial transport trucking business. Another brother, Antoine, became a skillful operator and business partner. Their work brought employment and experience for dozens of young people in the community. including my nephews Willie, Joshua, Ekwan and Liam.

Over the past 20 years, Paul has taken on several contracts to build the winter road from the ground up. The work has turned into a major effort using modern equipment, custom-built pumps, watering trucks and new methods in constructing a winter road for use by all types of vehicles small and large.

To meet the challenge of river crossings and to deal with muskeg, bulk pumps spread hundreds of gallons of water on the ice. Many of the river crossings also feature high, steep banks that require ramps made of ice and snow. The winter

26 the Nation March 11, 2022 www.nationnews.ca

road experts use tons of packed snow and then pump water over it make a solid block of ice capable of supporting heavy vehicles.

Tanker trucks built and prepared for cold weather are used to ice the road.

They transport thousands of gallons of water and spread it over the road surface through the tundra and frozen swamps.

Much of the land is muskeg and is dangerous in that it can swallow any vehicle if not properly frozen. If a heavy vehicle drives over a thinly frozen layer of muskeg, it can disappear and there is great difficulty in extracting it. Even once the frozen winter road is in place there are still possibilities for severe accidents as huge transport trucks sometimes slip and slide on the icy ramps and hills.

Thankfully, my brothers, nephews and local workers have been having a good winter even though it has been very cold with -40 degrees with heavy snowfall.

We owe a huge Meegwetch to these ice road experts. They work long hard hours to facilitate movement of goods to our communities.

There are also other heavy equipment and transport companies in Attawapiskat, Fort Albany and Kashechewan owned and operated by local Indigenous people to build and maintain these roads. I salute all the winter road companies and workers that deal with such demanding work in such dangerous and hostile conditions.

Stay safe boys.

Air Creebec is operating by respecting and exceeding the rules with extensive cleaning and disinfecting of the aircraft, social distancing on board and at all service counters.

We encourage everyone to respect the rules and to stay safe.

For the latest Air Creebec updates, please visit aircreebec.ca/covid19

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