In almost every person’s life there is a “that one”. That one who makes your heart race, and makes you feel like you are going out of your mind. Some may call it hormones or infatuation or even love. And yes, it makes you do crazy things. A lot of the time “that one” doesn’t even notice.
That’s why Valentine’s Day was always special to me. It allowed me to do things that normally would have been seen as too much or just plain crazy.
For example, when I was working at CINI-FM in Mistissini during my 20s, I would often go to Chibougamau for the weekends. Yes, some weekends were spent fishing, hunting, cutting wood or working on the car. But I had a sweet thing on my weekends in Chibougamau. A friend of mine rented out her spare room for $25 per weekend, which saved me from drinking and driving and no doubt an accident or two.
Whilst in Chibougamau I met a nice girl. We got along fine and then Valentine’s Day was just around the corner. I told this sweetheart that she would be getting a special gift from yours truly. The day arrived and I employed a couple friends (who may have had a drink or two) to help me out. They delivered a huge box to her place. Then, wearing an all-white tux with matching fuchsia and polka-dot cummerbund and bowtie, I popped out of the box. Between my teeth was a red rose and in my hands were two blue crystal wine glasses and a bottle of vino.
She laughed her head off... and so did her whole family. Did I mention that she lived with her parents and her dad was a sergeant in the local police force? But
no problem. Daddy was impressed that someone would go to such lengths for his little angel.
Sometimes, that big effort pays off. Though I caution you Romeos that sometimes it does not. But I’ve never worried too much about the speedbumps on the road of love.
Continuing my escapades later in life, I convinced a band to join me on one of my Valentine romps. With the approval of her boss, I went to the girl’s workplace and prepared a table while the band got set up. I had a nice meal brought in and the band played her favourite song. She entered the room with a startled look that
changed to a huge smile. Her co-workers loved it almost as much as she did. You don’t have to go that far... unless you want to. Flowers are always nice and have the benefit of being around for a week or so. During that week she’ll be looking at them and thinking of you fondly.
If you choose to give roses, look up online how to make rose beads. It’s easy and they are used in dresser drawers to make things smell good, ensuring even longer that your loved one knows that they are “that one.”
Happy Valentine’s Day, and may your love be shared in the best spirit of your imagination
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Malthouse, Danielle Valade
After nearly a half a century in several American prisons, celebrated Native American activist Leonard Peltier will be released from United States Penitentiary Coleman, located in central Florida, on February 18. Former US president Joe Biden commuted Peltier’s life sentence mere minutes before he left office January 20.
Peltier was convicted of the murders of two FBI agents, Ronald A. Carter and Jack R. Coler, after a shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota on June 26, 1975. At the time Peltier was a member of the American Indian Movement. Partially modelled on the Black Panthers, AIM organized protests and armed occupations to defend Indigenous rights and demands.
After the killings on the Jumping Bull family ranch, Peltier fled to Canada and was later arrested near Hinton, Alberta. Two months later he was extradited back to the Unted States to stand trial. Amidst much controversy he was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
Over the years scores of people across the world protested his con-
After 50 years
Leonard Peltier to be released from prison
by Neil Diamond
viction, citing coerced testimony and false evidence. People such as Nelson Mandela, Rigoberta Menchu, the Dalai Lama, actor Robert Redford, folk singer Pete Seeger, Jackson Brown and organizations like Amnesty International have all called for Peltier’s release.
His son Chauncey Peltier said after the news, “It means my dad finally gets to go home. One of the biggest rights violation cases in history and one of the longest-held political prisoners in the United States. And he gets to go home finally. Man, I can’t explain how I feel.”
But Peltier will not be free. After he is released, he will serve the rest of his sentence under house arrest, possibly at his sister’s home in Fargo, North Dakota, or on the Turtle Mountain reservation.
Not everyone in Indian Country is in the mood to celebrate Peltier’s release from prison. The daughters of the late Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, who was a Mi’kmaq activist from Nova Scotia and a member of AIM, were surprised by the news. Denise Pictou Maloney, in an APTN interview, said they found the news “devastating.”
In 1976, Aquash’s body was found on the Pine Ridge Reservation with a bullet hole in the back of her head. Certain AIM leaders thought she might have been an FBI informant. Her daughters maintain that Peltier was complicit in her murder as someone who had interrogated Aquash while shoving a gun in her mouth and who might have ordered her slain. They also believe he could have testified in court about the case and revealed the ones responsible for their mother’s murder.
Pictou Maloney said Peltier “knew about what happened to my mom and at least was complicit and obstructed justice by not saying anything for 28 years.”
In 2024, the Assembly of First Nations rescinded a 1987 resolution demanding Peltier’s extradition back to Canada, and a 1999 resolution demanding the activist be freed.
Peltier, who is 80 years old, is in poor health suffering from diabetes, hypertension, and is partially blind and wheelchair bound.
Concordia waives tuition for Quebec Indigenous students
Bridges to the Future
Concordia University is enhancing support for Indigenous students through its Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program. Launched in 2022, the university preparatory program was designed to help First Nations, Inuit and Métis students gain the prerequisite courses needed to study at the Montreal-based institution.
The program, offered through Concordia’s Student Success Centre, allows eligible Indigenous students seeking these prerequisites to enroll at Concordia. Upon completion of the Bridging Program, students automatically move into their chosen undergraduate degree without needing to reapply. Credits gained during the Bridging Program go towards this degree, meaning students are one step closer to graduation once they àbegin their undergraduate courses.
Aimed at increasing Indigenous representation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, the Bridging Program began by offering pathways into Concordia’s Bachelor of Engineering. Since then, the program expanded to include bridges into commerce and psychology.
Starting in 2025, Indigenous students interested in journalism and all science programs will be able to apply.
Saba Din, program coordinator of the Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program, is excited to see the program continue to grow.
“We’ll also keep refining program supports and identifying opportunities that build confidence and empower Indigenous students throughout their journey,” said Din. “This means creating more pathways for success, fostering a strong sense of community, and providing the tools and resources students need to succeed not only at university, but to build their careers and make meaningful contributions to their communities.”
To help with the transition into undergraduate studies, bridging students follow university skills courses designed by Concordia’s Student Success Centre. They also participate in events at the Otsenhákta Student Centre –Concordia’s on-campus resource for Indigenous students. Students can receive additional support through a weekly Indigenous-led seminar that addresses individual needs, whether academic, social, cultural or spiritual.
The creation of the Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program is one of many steps outlined in Concordia’s Indigenous Directions Action Plan, a document which provides concrete actions to decolonize and indigenize the university.
Earlier this year, Concordia announced a tuition waiver for all First Nations and Inuit students whose territories are in Quebec.
“Through the tuition waiver and the Bridging Program, Concordia is work-
ing to remove barriers to education and provide ongoing support throughout students’ journeys at the university, helping ensure they feel valued, supported and empowered to succeed,” Din explained.
“Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke” is a Kanien’kéha term that translates to “the four winds” or “the four directions.” The program was named by Katsistohkwí:io Jacco, who is Kanien’kehá:ka and part of the Bear Clan, to honour the local territories and their ancestral language.
The winds represent a shift in the natural world, promoting the growth and rebirth of plant life. It is also a nod to Concordia’s four faculties, recognizing that students come from many different directions. Finally, it symbolizes the directions that students may take after their degree.
“Students can apply what they’ve learned to contribute to their communities’ growth and development,” said Din. “Ultimately, I hope this program contributes to a more equitable higher education system by addressing systemic barriers that Indigenous peoples have faced historically.”
Students can apply for the Kaié:ri Nikawerà:ke Indigenous Bridging Program at concordia.ca/apply. Applications close on March 1 for the 2025-2026 school year. To learn more, information sessions are offered yearround. Register at concordia.ca/virtualevents.
Healing Support Fund
You are not alone. The Survivors Circle for Reproductive Justice has launched a national Healing Fund to provide healing support funds to First Nations, Inuit and Metis survivors.
Violence shocks Waskaganish
Police officers in Waskaganish responded to reports of stabbings and possible gunshots on January 25 at 7:45pm. On arrival, they encountered a vehicle carrying two individuals needing medical attention for stab wounds.
The officers transported them to the clinic where they were treated. A third person, who had sustained a gunshot wound, was also taken to the clinic. Their injuries were not life-threatening.
The Sûreté du Québec major crimes unit has taken over the investigation, interviewing numerous community members in collaboration with investigators from the Eeyou Eenou Police Force. A 17-yearold was arrested January 27 on charges related to crimes against a person and firearm offenses connected to this event.
The Waskaganish detachment responded to another call the same night at 12:05am reporting that four individuals had sustained gunshot wounds at a residence on Mississicabi street. All four victims were quickly transported to the local clinic where their injuries were determined not to be life-threatening. The SQ major crimes unit is investigating these incidents.
Authorities are encouraging anyone with relevant information to contact the police to
assist in the investigation. The EEPF is urging all community members to prioritize the safe storage of firearms and ammunition.
Mistissini Warriors regret
spitting incident
The Mistissini Warriors recently won the 36th Annual Hockey Tournament held in Mistissini, but the victory was marred by a regrettable incident. Coach Errol Mianscum noted that in one intense game, one of their players spat on an opponent.
“When one of our players confirmed what happened, the team agreed to immediately suspend the player who did the spitting,” said Mianscum. “We informed the tournament committee of our decision. I reached out to the player on the opposing team and apologized to him as did some of our players.”
Mianscum noted trash talk is a common tactic.
“A lot of things are said on the ice, and it is part of the game to mentally get someone off their game,” he explained. “Spitting is not an acceptable action. The game will always be intense and rough at times. But we hope to continue to play within the boundaries of the rules. We do regret what happened, but we have to learn from our mistakes and move forward from this, this includes our player.”
Sugarcane documentary nominated for Oscar
Sugarcane , a documentary detailing a journey of discovery regarding allegations at the former St. Joseph’s Mission Residential School in Williams Lake, BC, has been nominated for an Academy Award.
Directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie recently returned to the Sundance Film Festival, where it originally premiered, to receive the Vanguard Award.
“We want to acknowledge the courage and fortitude of our participants and the thousands of survivors of Indian residential and boarding schools across North America who have been ignored for too long,” said the duo. “We are grateful that Sugarcane has helped illuminate the
truth, bring about healing and called institutions of power to account.”
The film follows NoiseCat, a member of the Canim Lake Band Tsq̓éscen̓, and his father as they learn about the institution’s history. The residential school operated from 1886 to 1981 just outside the Williams Lake First Nation community core of T’exelc, also known as Sugar Cane.
An ongoing investigation has heard accounts of disappearances, murders, systematic torture, rape and starvation of children, and newborn babies fathered by priests tossed into the school’s incinerator. The co-director’s father, Ed Archie NoiseCat, was born at the school and still grapples with the circumstances of his secretive birth.
“I am incredibly grateful to him and to my family for trusting me to tell that story and also for having the bravery to want to look for and ask the questions,” said Julian Brave NoiseCat.
Sugarcane has already won various awards and is available to be streamed on Disney+. It was acquired by National Geographic Documentary Films, which will air it on February 16.
Starting from scratch
Snowshoe workshops transfer vital traditional knowledge
by Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Cree tradition of snowshoe-making is being revitalized thanks to newly designed courses that take participants from finding the right tree to each intricate step of the frame bending and lacing processes.
While the Chisasibi band office has offered workshops for the past decade, the wood was always provided to the students, so they never learned how to make snowshoes from scratch. Last year, Christopher Cox and Lee Ann Angatookaluk created a non-profit organization called maaskinaachaasiuch (“trailmakers”), with the administrative support of Vincent Gautier-Doucet.
“I wanted to change the program to something you could really learn from,” Cox told the Nation. “Nobody knew how to get a snowshoe tree until we changed the program – it should have been like that the first time. If you don’t get the right tree, you don’t know how to cut or to measure.”
With funding from Niskamoon Corporation, Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association (CNACA) and other organizations, the initial
course was offered in Chisasibi from October 25 to December 7. The 12 participants met six days a week: weeknights from 6-10pm and Saturdays from 2-6pm, when framing instructors Cox and Harry House would take advantage of the daylight to find trees.
According to traditional gender roles, men would handle the framing and middle laces with women lacing the top and bottom sections; the courses encourage everyone to learn all aspects of development. Other maaskinaachaasiuch instructors – Abraham Cox Sr, Connie Bearskin and Ruby Napash – helped guide participants with traditional teachings.
“There are not many of us left who can still make these things used in traditional activities,” said Christopher’s grandfather Abraham Cox, who made his first snowshoes about 70 years ago at age 14. “A person who knows which tree is good to use for snowshoes knows just by looking at the branches.”
As a field technician for the Chisasibi Council of Elders, Christopher Cox learned the tra-
ditional snowshoe-making craft from his grandfather and other Elders about 11 years ago. However, he modernized the design used by Cree hunters for thousands of years by moving the foot-hold closer to the front.
“The Elders were all experts at making snowshoes,” explained Cox. “I figured out how to make them more efficient and easier to walk on. In the old days they had no measurements, all the snow would accumulate in the front, so they’d get heavier and heavier.”
Today’s snowshoe-makers have the advantage of precise measurements and a full range of tools for cutting, lacing and binding the wood together. While caribou or moose hide is ideal for the laces, modern snowshoes generally use synthetic paracord, which is available at Chisasibi’s Ouwah Store.
Proper tree selection is the key to creating successful snowshoes but finding the right tamarack or birch isn’t easy. Once a suitable growing area is identified, Cox will often find three or four good trees. Although sometimes he cuts a “wrong one”, he’ll still take it home for handmade crafts to avoid wasting anything.
“The hardest part is finding the right tree and next is the bending part,” said Cox. “You have to look for one that’s really nice and straight like a chimney with nice grain. Flexibility, no knots, in an open area. You have to walk around, test it out, look at the tree very carefully at the bottom.”
Following the grain of the wood’s shape is essential as cutting it will break the snowshoe. With today’s tools, it takes about a week for someone experienced to make a pair – by hand it would take closer to a month. Among the 34 pairs made during the Chisasibi course, one man who had previously studied with Cox made six.
The Chisasibi course was divided between a bush camp and canvas winter shelter. The diverse group of participants in their 20s and 50s included some who had previously attended workshops and wanted to perfect their craft. Through physical activity on the land, one man observed that he had lost 10 pounds.
“It was a very intensive program, very intimate,” noted Gautier-Doucet. “It’s a communal activity, a bit of a therapy. We had
catering on the weeknights. You become part of a little family that’s together six days a week.”
As a non-Native working with the Cree Nation Research Institute Project, GautierDoucet helped launch maaskinaachaasiuch in gratitude for learning snowshoe-making from Cox and Angatookaluk over the past four years. Many participants were interested in taking the course again to become more fully autonomous.
Following Chisasibi, the maaskinaachaasiuch instructors held another successful course in Eastmain throughout January. Angatookaluk said they are proud to transfer this knowledge to younger generations.
“We find it inspiring for young women to do more hands-on snowshoe parts,” said Angatookaluk. “Some older women who came by the last few days learned the lacing a long time ago when they were teenagers. They say it brings back memories of their grandfathers or grandmas making snowshoes.”
While few Elders can spend much time in the cold or lift heavy logs in the bush, Cox provides wood for them to work on snowshoes from home. As indispensable tools for carrying nomadic ancestors across deep winter drifts, snowshoes have profound cultural significance.
Cox alluded to one story about the spider making a web for the rabbit to cross the snow. According to tradition, snowshoes have to be held pointing in both directions to ensure the walker returns home and doesn’t get lost. Cox advised to always put them on in the morning sun where you’re walking from.
Snowshoes remain essential footwear for Cree hunters in the snowy bush and highly popular for diverse winter activities. With substantial demand within Eeyou Istchee and beyond, including CNACA’s Wachiya Store and online marketplace, snowshoe-making is a potentially lucrative economic opportunity.
“My partner and I cannot keep up with the demand,” said Cox. “People are always asking me personally, even from out west, the south. There’s big demand for snowshoes – no one really has the handmade ones from the Cree.”
by Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The Cree School Board is joining with the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation to offer a scholarship program for post-secondary students pursuing careers identified as critically needed in Eeyou Istchee.
The Eeyou-Eenou Chiskutamaachewin (Education) Scholarship Program will initially target Cree students pursuing medicine, nursing, social work and education university programs. Thirty-three Cree students will receive $214,000 in scholarships this 2024-25 school year.
“This scholarship will play a key role in shaping our future leaders in Eeyou Istchee,” explained CSB director general Caroline Mark. “The program represents an important step to accelerate capacity building. From doctors to educators, nurses to social workers, there is a pressing need for diverse Cree professionals in our communities.”
CSB chairperson Sarah Pash has also served for the past year as the chair of the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation, whose board of directors is comprised of leaders from the major Cree entities. The Foundation’s mission is to provide philanthropic support for
Cree social and cultural development priorities.
“We’re looking forward to expansion of the scholarship program if the funding is found,” Pash told the Nation. “The Foundation is actively seeking partnerships to provide scholarships in other areas – there are so many areas in need for capacity development.”
With a new regional hospital being built in Chisasibi, along with expanding CMC community clinic services and Elders’ homes, the Cree Health Board wants to fill hundreds of positions in the next few years. The CHB website states they are “actively recruiting” nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and midwives.
“Medicine is definitely targeted,” explained Pash. “We know how effective our Cree doctors are in the communities, how they can talk to people, speak the language and understand the context of the communities where they’re working. It’s the same for Cree nurses serving our communities.”
Only a handful of Cree doctors are currently working in the territory. Last year, a one-year “springboard to nursing” program was launched for Cree
students to earn nursing school prerequisites while staying in Eeyou Istchee. After finishing the Cree-tailored program, students can continue their education at John Abbot College in Montreal.
“We have 82 vacancies in nursing, but it’s like that across the province, across Canada,” said Nancy ShecapioBlacksmith, director of nursing at the CHB. “Let’s try to recruit our own people instead of looking elsewhere. Why don’t we invest in our own people and start there?”
To increase the number of Cree social workers, the scholarship will target students pursuing a Bachelor of Social Work. Other medical fields requiring a bachelor’s or master’s degree will also qualify for incentives.
Education is another priority for the scholarship, with a focus on attracting Cree secondary school teachers. Pash said there is an acute need for teachers of science, math, geography and others. This specialized path requires not only a Bachelor of Education, (BEd) but also another degree in a field of study.
“For instance, I have a BA in English and Liberal Arts and had to do a
Education’s transformative power
New scholarship for Cree post-secondary students targets capacity development
Bachelor of Education to be qualified,” said Pash. “We need to recognize that it’s actually a student engagement and success issue. For Indigenous students, it’s important they see themselves reflected in the teachers who work with them every day.”
When Pash was a secondary school teacher in the early 2000s, she thinks there were only two Cree subject-area teachers in the entire region, a number that remains unchanged today. This figure doesn’t include Cree culture and language teachers, who are trained through the CSB’s own program.
As of last summer, there were 154 Cree students enrolled in six CSB teaching programs offered in collaboration with McGill University, including specific programs for kindergarten and elementary students and children with special needs. From the first cohort of the full-time in-community teaching program, 23 celebrated their graduation in July.
“We launched our second full-time cohort in 2023 with 28 students right now,” said professional development coordinator Charlene Erless. “We’re in talks to get a master’s degree offered
in communities for students who are teachers. Most of these students have families they don’t want to leave behind.”
The CSB’s department of higher learning, launched in late 2023, is currently exploring new programs to be offered within Eeyou Istchee. A BSW program is already in development, which is likely to be followed by a Bachelor of Nursing program.
“We also have information technology post-secondary programs on the horizon, related to computing, networking and data management, and also programs that are more vocational oriented,” Pash revealed. “There are a lot of things on the table – we’re going to see a rapid growth of the number of programs offered in the community over the next five or 10 years.”
In this first year of the Chiskutamaachewin scholarship, funding will be provided to selected students already in medical, nursing, social work, dentistry, psychiatry and education programs at bachelor’s, master’s or doctorate levels. With CSB’s post-secondary application deadline approaching in March, it’s hoped this program encour-
ages more students to apply to these programs.
The new incentives are in addition to the regular post-secondary funding the CSB provides to about 500 Cree students each year. Recognizing the critical importance of post-secondary graduates for the Nation’s capacity building, the CSB has expanded in-community preparation or “springboard” programs in the last few years to simplify the transition.
Pash is a passionate proponent of post-secondary education’s potential to not only transform Cree organizations and communities, but to inspire future generations. Her father’s completion of a BEd when she was a young girl demonstrated a pathway that she and her brother later followed. Now her own children are in university.
“The pursuit of post-secondary education becomes a gift showing us what’s possible in our lives,” said Pash. “They become role models for their children. It has been one of the most impactful tools we have had as a Nation for determining our own destiny.
film Heed the
children
Award-winning documentary provides a different portrait of Indigenous youth
by Natalia Fedosieieva
Abenaki filmmaker Kim O’Bomsawin’s latest documentary, Ninan Auassat: We, the Children, is shot from the perspective of Indigenous children. The feature-length film highlights the daily lives, courage and dreams of “ordinary children.”
Produced at the National Film Board of Canada and premiered last fall at the Vancouver International Film Festival, it features stories from several youth from three Indigenous Nations: Atikamekw, Eeyou Cree and Innu.
O’Bomsawin is passionate about sharing
the stories of First Nations people. For the past 20 years, she has travelled to numerous communities to understand the issues Indigenous children face, such as cultural barriers and socio-economic inequality.
O’Bomsawin says she wants to counter negative portrayals of Indigenous youth in the media.
“The general opinion is that they were dropouts, druggies or lazy, and that there was no hope for them,” she explained. “But this was not the experience I had with them. With the film, I wanted to give them the mic and the possibility to express themselves and be their own experts.”
Photos courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada
Over a period of six years, O’Bomsawin spoke with Indigenous children from different age groups. “I was impressed with their maturity and their freedom, with their capacity being truly themselves in front of the camera,” she said.
“They were really happy to be able to speak out,” she added. “They are fully capable of telling what’s going on, what is great about being Indigenous and living in a reserve. But at the same time expressing what’s wrong and knowing what the solutions are. It tells society that we don’t do enough.”
In this free-flowing film, we see kids riding their bikes, singing, hanging out after school and experimenting with makeup. They speak about their dayto-day lives, as well as the challenges and concerns in their communities.
“Some kids said, ‘The adults are failing us,’ They think the adults sometimes don’t step up enough for them.”
O’Bomsawin sees bullying and the chronic lack of funds in the schools as systemic barriers to their growth and education.
“These kids are amazing,” she said. “They are brilliant, fun, and full of hope and dreams. But we are letting them down, and this is very unfair.”
In the Mukash family of Whapmagoostui, children were raised in a Cree cultural environment with an emphasis on artistic expression. Jade Mukash, a 19-year-old artist at that time and now a Youth Advocate with over 10 years of experience, believes that spirituality makes her family different.
“I’m very connected to our spirituality,” she states in Ninan Auassat. “We are not afraid to talk about it, to let each other know that something is wrong.”
She thinks it is not easy to be spiritual. “We’re in a time where a lot of people don’t accept spirituality, they think it is evil.” But it allows her family and siblings to be connected to Cree ceremonies and traditional lifestyle.
For Indigenous youth, cultural identity is a big part of their life, but sometimes it is hard for them at school. They want to fit in, but being different makes them feel isolated, O’Bomsawin points out.
“We can’t afford to lose our culture, but it is a big responsibility to learn every little thing,” says Monique Hervieux, a teen from Pessamit. “My dad says that when I have kids, I’ll realize the importance of our culture.”
O’Bomsawin believes these issues have existed for a long time, and while changes happen, they are slow.
“I have to be realistic,” she stated. “I am only a filmmaker and try to do my best. I don’t expect this film to change everything, but at least I can show the world that we have amazing kids and raise awareness. I hope that the kids can be proud of themselves and push themselves forward.”
One of the film’s producers, Mélanie Brière, a member of the First Nation Wolastoqiyik Wahsipekuk, strives to build bridges between Indigenous and francophone communities though her NFB projects.
She believes Ninan Auassat will wake up society to do more
for the youth in order to avoid some issues in the communities.
“Having more time with the children and having more services not only in the schools but also for different social activities, will make sure that the youth is healthy,” Brière explains. “It is really important to listen to the children, they have a lot to say.”
One Atikamekw teen from Manawan says that adults don’t do a lot for the youth, and Brière thinks having these children speak about their realities encourages listening and understanding.
“This is how they talk about their community,” she said. “They know exactly what the problems are and how they want to fix them for the future. It’s impressive how mature they are. They give hope to the community – they are the future leaders.”
Brière says this film can help change the stereotypes of how Indigenous people have been depicted in mass media for years.
“I hope it will help to connect more Canadians with the Indigenous children, because we have a lot in common,” she added.
Ninan Auassat: We, the Children won the Tides Award for Best Canadian Documentary at the Vancouver festival and the Magnus Isacsson Award at the Montreal International Documentary Festival. It will be screening at Montreal’s Cinémathèque québécoise starting February 7, with French and English subtitles, and then in different regions in Quebec.
Planting Seeds
MoCreebec Chief and founder Allan Jolly remembered as a visionary leader
by Patrick Quinn, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
MoCreebec Chief Allan Jolly is being remembered as “a visionary and compassionate leader” after his passing January 19 at Kingston General Hospital, aged 74. He was surrounded by his wife Lorraine and other family, including children Michael, Diane, Aaron, Debbie, James and Sheila.
While Jolly didn’t live to see the fulfillment of his dream to establish MoCreebec as a distinct Indigenous community, he achieved impressive
steps towards this goal. Before he died, discussions were underway to create a permanent home for MoCreebec members in Moosonee.
“Chief Jolly was a beloved family man, an inspirational leader and an integral part of his community,” stat-
“I have to be optimistic about it, we’ve been at it for 40 years”
- Chief Allan Jolly
ed the Grand Council of the Crees, which recognized MoCreebec as Eeyou Istchee’s 11th Cree community in 2017. “He guided MoCreebec with courage and wisdom, leaving a lasting impact that will continue to inspire generations to come.”
Jolly founded the MoCreebec Council of the Cree Nation in 1980, formally organizing families who had been living in the Moose Factory and Moosonee area. Although members of MoCreebec trace their ancestry to James Bay’s east coast in Eeyou Istchee, they migrated to this northern Ontario region over the years as it grew into a regional hub for employment, education and healthcare.
Originally from Waskaganish, Jolly and his siblings were sent to the residential school in Moose Factory. Intended as a temporary situation, the family camped in the area each summer to trap until Jolly’s father got sick and stayed one winter. His mother got a job at the nearby federal Indian hospital, built in the 1950s to deal with the tuberculosis epidemic.
Due to the complications of Quebec ancestry and an Ontario home, MoCreebec members are excluded from both Treaty 9, signed by the Moose
Cree and neighbouring First Nations in 1905, and the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Meeting with former Grand Chief Billy Diamond to better understand the JBNQA, Jolly formed a local working group and secured initial funding from the GCC.
“When we started back in the 1980s, we surveyed the people three times over three years,” Jolly told the Nation in 2002. “Do you intend to go back to where you came from? Eighty-five per cent weren’t planning to go back. There were obvious problems facing us. We were living in canvas tent frames year-round with no water, electricity or anything.”
Many community members lived in an area of Moose Factory Island called Tent City, Jolly was instrumental in organizing efforts to transfer lands from the Anglican Church to a non-profit housing association. It ultimately became provincial land that enabled water and sewage access and property titles.
“Allan made Tent City a beautiful subdivision,” explained good friend and longtime Moosonee mayor Wayne Taipale. “I have to give credit to Chief Allan for that. He was the one who got almost 30 houses where our residents could rent-to-own. People own their own homes now in Moosonee through that program.”
Taipale became friends with Jolly in the 1960s when they both attended school in Moose Factory and got to know his whole family. He even worked on a construction project with Jolly’s
father, George, recalling him as a very hard worker. As they became leaders of their respective communities, their paths crossed many times.
“He was a real leader, a real go-getter, and he’ll be sadly missed,” said Taipale. “He also brought in cable television and internet for the town of Moosonee and Moose Factory. Before we only had two channels. Allan was my go-to as mayor when I had some doubts or hard times.”
As JBNQA beneficiaries without most of the benefits, MoCreebec’s local services board had no source of funding in its early years. With their “backs against the wall,” they established businesses in Moose Factory and Moosonee over two decades, generating enough income to survive as an organization.
Jolly made numerous presentations on his community’s behalf at Cree AGAs over the years, navigating recurring conflicts regarding his people’s exclusion from JBNQA rights, such as the income security program. In September 2022, the GCC reached an understanding with the federal government to explore options for the recognition of the MoCreebec Eeyoud as a distinct Cree community in Ontario.
“I think there’s an open ear with the government,” said Jolly at the time. “I have to be optimistic about it, we’ve been at it for 40 years. We’ve done what we need to do at our end in order to bring our people along to this point.”
MoCreebec is planning a new rentto-own project in the town involving about 50 houses that is open to any Indigenous person.
“He was also looking at Crown land within the boundaries of Moosonee and possibly moving the MoCreebec operation over to there,” shared Taipale. “We gave an MOU they can bring to the provincial and federal governments and the other band as well. We have to give them property.”
The region’s First Nations leaders extended condolences to Jolly’s family. The Mushkegowuk Council stated: “May his spirit and the impact of his work continue to inspire all those who were fortunate enough to know him.”
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler noted, “H was also a teacher and mentor for younger generations, sharing traditional knowledge of his life experiences hunting, harvesting and living in harmony with the gifts of the land.”
Jolly jokingly called Taipale “little Chief” as they discussed everything from community issues to how the geese were flying. They had recently been looking forward to retiring and spending more time at their bush camps.
“The sad thing is we were just discussing if this was going to be our last term in office,” Taipale said. “He just loved spending time in the bush with his grandkids and family. He will really be missed. He planted many more seeds that could be grown.”
Introduction by Christopher Herodier | Facebook post by Emma Jade Pepabano
The following is a Facebook post by 16-year-old Emma Jade Pepabano from Chisasibi/ Waskaganish. Along with some friends on January 25, she was shot at with a shotgun. Four pellets struck her on the face, and she bled from her mouth and nose.
The same night, there was another shooting and a stabbing. All incidents are under investigation.
Her mother, Carrie Weistche, gave permission for this to be published, as Emma Jade was asked to present at a local roundtable-style discussion in Chisasibi, where she was heard by the audience of the local radio station.
Emma JadE PEPabano
If Chiefs and Councils can’t handle the chaos and violence tearing apart our communities, then what are the other departments – Justice, Wellness, Miiyuupimaatsiiun, Niishiyuu, Social and Health Services, CHB, Social Services, Youth Protection, and the Elders and Youth Council – actually doing about it?
We can’t keep depending on Chief and Council or the police to clean up the mess our youth are making. There are enough people working in these departments, and they need to start working together to fix these issues. Enough with the arts and crafts programs, games and activities that just distract us for a few hours. Yeah, they’re “fun,” but they don’t solve anything. The violence, the fights, the constant chaos – it’s real. And we need real solutions.
This whole idea that “they have to choose for themselves if they want help” is total BS. The youth are not in the right state of mind to make those decisions, and a lot of them are still minors. They’re confused, hurt and caught up in things they don’t fully understand. Waiting for them to “figure it out” is only making it worse. They need help. They need people to step up and guide them, not just let them flounder.
Parents, it’s time to stop letting your kids walk all over you. You’re the parents – not their friends, not their buddies. Step up, set boundaries, discipline them and stop ignoring the warning signs.
If you don’t want your kids involved in crime and violence, be the example they need. Show them right from wrong. Stop turning a blind eye to what’s happening, because it’s not going away on its own.
If they get involved, let them face the consequences. Look for other ways to offer your child the support he or she desperately needs. As they say, “It all starts from home.” Find support in external departments as well. Ahjeeshdohkit shdosheemot!
I’ve had enough of the violence. Every time I come back for a visit, I face harassment, name-calling, threats and vandalism at my grandparents’ home. And the weekend of January 25-26 in Waskaganish was too much. We were stalked, threatened and harassed outside of my own home by those “gangsters”.
We came here just to visit, show support for a friend playing in a tournament, and get a break from everything. Instead, we were followed around at a public facility. They even took pictures and videos of us. It was obvious we were being targeted.
Later that evening, we went to check up on our friend, and out of nowhere, we were shot at. We suffered minor injuries, but it could have been so much worse if it had been at closer range. Who knows what could have happened. I really hope whoever did this has their parents held accountable and they face the consequences of their actions.
Honestly, I have a feeling it was the people I used to call “friends” and “family” that did this to us. The drugs and alcohol have such a tight grip on them now, and I see it clearly. They’re so deep in that world that they don’t know how to come out. But it doesn’t make it right. They’re hurting themselves and everyone around them, and it’s causing this ripple of destruction. I used to hope and pray it would get better, and that they would get better and actually try to “change.” But now I see the reality –things are only getting worse.
And yet, people say kiyah, “Our children are the future.” Well, what kind of future are you seeing for us now? Is this really the future you want for us? Communities filled with violence, stabbings, shootings? Is this what you want for our future?
I hope our youth realize they are NOT gangsters. We are CREE. They need to know where we came from, what our ancestors fought for, and what makes us who we are. Our strength doesn’t come from violence or hate. It comes from our traditional values, from the land, from our culture, from the wisdom of our Elders. We need to reteach our youth that they are part of something bigger, something sacred. We must help them find themselves, rediscover their identity, and reconnect with the values that built us as a people.
I’m grateful that my friends and I are okay. It could have been so much worse. But we need the community to take these issues seriously. If we don’t stand together and make changes, we’ll keep losing more of our youth, more of our future. We can’t keep pretending everything’s fine when it’s not.
The reality is, our youth are in danger. And we can’t keep waiting for someone else to fix it. We need a real plan, real support and real change. Departments need to work together, parents need to step up, and we need to hold each other accountable. It’s not just about giving kids a few hours of distraction. It’s about stepping up to make sure they have a future, and that’s not happening right now.
I hope my point of view opens the eyes of others. I know I’m only 16 and still considered a minor, but that doesn’t mean my voice – or any of our voices – shouldn’t be heard. If we don’t start speaking up now, no one else will.
It’s time to stop pretending, stop waiting, and take action. If we don’t act now, we’ll lose more than just our youth – we’ll lose our community and our future.
Under the Northern Sky
Eighty-nine seconds and counting
by Xavier Kataquapit
My father Marius Kataquapit, a hunter, trapper and traditional person from Attawapiskat, could understand the English language but seldom spoke it. Yet every night he tuned into CBC News and encouraged me to do so. He was curious about everything, and believed it was important be aware of what was going on in the world. He taught me that other outside forces often controlled our lives.
Recently, I tuned into the internet broadcast for the Doomsday Clock, which is maintained and provided by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. They announced January 28 that they have moved the clock’s time a second closer to midnight, the metaphorical point when the world will be consumed by nuclear war. It now stands at 89 seconds. Listening to the panel of scientists reminded me of how my dad must have felt when he tuned into those late-night news broadcasts when I was growing up.
The idea of the Doomsday Clock was developed in 1947 by scientists who helped to build the first atomic weapons during the Second World War. Originally it was meant to symbolize how close we all are to nuclear catastrophe, but in recent decades the warnings now include climate change, artificial intelligence and biological threats.
The Cree of James Bay have always been aware of the nuclear danger in the North. In the late 1950s, we witnessed the long tractor trains of equipment that moved through our communities to remote Cold War-era military stations that were being built on the Hudson Bay coast. These Mid-Canada Radar Line stations closed by 1965.
This incursion shocked us and made us realize that there must be a serious danger to the world. It made everyone realize the insanity of nuclear weapons which could lead to the end of civilization. Modern weapons systems now mean that we are less than half an hour away from nuclear Armageddon. The disturbing part is that this has not changed, and we are still in imminent danger.
The danger of global warming is obvious to everyone in the North. Dad reminded us often that the James Bay winter road started years ago in December before Christmas and lasted until April. Now the winter road lasts for heavy vehicles about two months or less.
In the winter of 2023-24, the season was so mild that it barely lasted over a month for heavy equipment to use. The warming trend is leading to more intense summer forest fires, as was obvious in the summer of 2023 throughout Canada.
Scientists have sounded this alarm many times for decades. NASA recently announced that 2024 was the warmest year on record, topping the previous record set in 2023. It is a proven fact that our world is warming far faster than expected. The perilous predictions of a future of catastrophic storms, flooding and forest fires are now part of our present life on the planet. And it will get worse.
Technologies like artificial intelligence represent an unknown accelerant being thrown into this flammable mix. Even our awareness of reality is manipulated by social media that is manipulated by automated systems that severely diminish the quality of public information, and thus, our democracies. It is getting harder to know what is real and what is not, what is right and what is wrong.
I believe in knowing more and being aware, as knowledge is power
We also have to contend with emerging diseases and the possibility of another pandemic. All these issues are confused and confounded by disinformation, misinformation and non-information that are shouted everywhere online.
If we don’t coherently address the threats that could potentially destroy our world, why would anything else matter? Governments are not doing enough to push back against the wars that bring us closer to nuclear conflict. They are not pushing back on the fossil fuel industry which is the main cause of global warming.
I am grateful to the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists for alerting us to the danger we face. However, I am reminded of the fear, frustration and helplessness my dad felt when he looked out into the world for information. Like my dad, I believe in knowing more and being aware, as knowledge is power.
