Gull-Masty’s
Help Eeyou Istchee
by Will Nicholls
We all remember the wildfires that took place two years ago. Not only in Eeyou Istchee but across Canada and the US.
Well, it’s been an early start this year. For example, in northwestern Ontario the Wabaseemoong Independent Nation has one they are fighting that is just over a kilometre from their community. Over 800 residents have been evacuated to date. Rain and cooler temperatures have helped.
About 100 firefighters are working to stop that fire and two other fires that are larger than the one threatening the First Nation. In the past six years the community has experienced three evacuations and six emergencies.
First Nations in Alberta have more to worry about then the separation issue as wildfire season is about to start. Cold Lake First Nation Chief Kelsey Jacko told APTN he is worried as muskegs are drying up, adding a lot of potential tinder.
“I’m scared,” said Jacko, adding, “Frog Lake [First Nation] lost three houses recently. Onion Lake First Nation had to evacuate 22 homes after a May 3 brushfire. Over 1,500 hectares have been impacted by that fire but fortunately no one has been hurt to date.”
Interestingly, First Nations in the area have made a firefighting agreement to ensure that they are all as safe as can be.
Peguis First Nation in Manitoba lost a home, several garages and other buildings in early May. They declared a state of emergency and evacuated 350 people, who have recently been allowed to return home.
Wildfires and their effects on First Nations require a Canada-wide response team. It would be able to suppress the fires before they get out of hand, according to the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council. Given the costs that Canada has shouldered in the past it might be a good idea to listen to them.
In 2023, more than 230,000 people were evacuated and over 15 million hectares of forest burnt. That is a crazy amount of habitat and biodiversity lost. The insurance companies should be on board with stopping the wildfire problem as it was estimated the insured damages exceeded $3.1 billion.
In Eeyou Istchee, bands should be looking at shoring up or expanding firebreaks to secure the safety of communities. For example, ensuring fire departments have enough equipment.
It is different from the tools that urban firefighters use. As well, creating plans for evacuations based on present-day needs. Addresses of those who are not as mobile and have special medical needs would be important.
Individuals should prepare an emergency evacuation package, including passports and other identification one normally wouldn’t carry. Precious items, like photos, jewelry and family heirlooms, could be gathered together so they are easy to grab at a moment’s notice. This way you won’t spend time running around and putting yourself and others in danger. Also, any fires you make, be safe when you do it.
And one last thing: A big congratulations to Mandy Gull-Masty on her win and being named a minister!
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 MANAGING EDITOR Randy Mayer STORY COORDINATOR Patrick Quinn CONTRIBUTING WRITERS X. Kataquapit, P. Quinn, N. Fedosieieva, J. Janke DESIGN Matthew Dessner SALES AND ADVERTISING Donna Malthouse, Danielle Valade THANKS TO: Air Creebec
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Cree midwifery celebrates historic milestone
An amendment to provincial regulations governing midwifery that took effect May 22 enables Indigenous trainees in community-based programs to provide full perinatal care throughout pregnancy, birth and new life.
The change follows a campaign by the Cree Health Board, the Inuulitsivik Health Centre, the Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec and other organizations.
“We changed the law,” said Jasmine Chatelain, managing director of the CHB midwifery education program. “Now our students are no longer limited and can learn all requirements for becoming a licensed midwife. The by-product is that Indigenous people can become midwives.”
The health board’s groundbreaking midwifery training program, Eeyou Istchee Pimâtîsuwin Chiskutimâchuwin (EIPC), launched last July with four learners in Chisasibi and one in Waskaganish. But they were legally restricted from delivering a baby and other procedures, such as injections and vaginal exams.
The CHB hired students as Primary Care Community Representatives to provide counselling, take blood pressure, weigh babies, and check an unborn baby’s position in the womb. Learning side-by-side with practicing midwives, they supported childbirth with what Chatelain calls “four-handed catches”.
“Our program is focused on learning by doing so every single client has a student who follows them,” Chatelain explained. “They do all the pre-natal and
post-natal visits, a lot of the counselling and education, partly because they speak Cree. Our students can go on medevacs when women are transferred in labour or for something urgent.”
However, before the regulatory change, only students in a Trois-Rivières university program and immigrating midwives in approved bridging programs were allowed to perform many professional acts. Despite Nunavik’s longstanding community education program, Indigenous trainees were completely omitted from the law.
The Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec regulates midwifery acts in the province, and were instrumental partners in lobbying the government to change the law. The OSFQ also collaborated with the EIPC program to ensure Cree graduates have equivalent competencies to university programs.
“We could not have done this without them,” Chatelain asserted. “They’ve been very outspoken about being in this tricky position, responsible for public safety and wanting to be part of reconciliation, supporting Indigenous self-determination.”
Several individuals and organizations issued letters of support for the regulatory change, including the National Council of Indigenous Midwives. It currently applies to four Indigenous midwifery programs running in Quebec’s Cree, Inuit, Akwesasne and Innu communities.
Catching babies at home
by Patrick Quinn Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
While expectant mothers from Nunavik were sent to Moose Factory starting in the 1970s, women began refusing to leave and communities mobilized to create the Inuulitsivik Midwifery Service in 1986. The EIPC program worked extensively with Inuulitisivik education coordinator Kimberly Moorhouse and her team to develop its curriculum.
As the self-paced program requires trainees to attend 60 births, they will have access to clinical learning opportunities outside of the region to increase their birth volume, such as the Inuulitsivik Health Centre or Val-d’Or hospital. Expanding their exposure to different skill sets and environments will better prepare trainees to expect the unexpected.
“In Chisasibi now, we’re doing 85% or 90% of pregnancies,” said Chatelain. “Once a month, students lead a breastfeeding drop-in and it will be up to 30 people showing up. Every time the students do something public, we have an amazing turnout, so the community is really responding to it.”
By the end of March, the Chisasibi trainees had accompanied 22 births, 300
pre-natal visits, 177 post-natal visits and 45 school workshops and community health education activities.
Pre-natal and post-natal midwifery services expanded to Waskaganish last September, with births expected to begin towards the end of this year. Midwives are already doing 80% of follow-ups. One student began in Waskaganish in March with another to be added when capacity is available. A third birthing hub will eventually be developed in Mistissini.
“In labour, mothers are going right into their maternal language so having people there who can speak with them is incredible,” said Chatelain. “There’s a level of empathy. These students know what it’s like to have their baby in Vald’Or so can connect with these women in a way no other midwife can.”
The EIPC program began with a week on the land, making a teepee, gathering medicines and learning traditional ceremonies. Elder Jane Matthew has shared her wealth of lifetime experience, from catching her first baby at about age 7 to her last one three years ago at age 91.
“We did a demonstration of how it was done a long time ago when women
gave birth in the teepee,” recalled student Linda Gray. “There was a placenta ceremony and naming ceremony. That helped me connect with my roots. It was awesome how the course started off.”
Gray embodies the commitment of Cree midwives to reclaim the traditional practice, moving from Mistissini last summer to join this first cohort. Coming from a lineage of midwives, Gray has experienced the joy of witnessing babies being born surrounded by their families without having to leave their community.
Although there are challenges participating in a program that continues to evolve and being on call all week to meet mothers, Gray wouldn’t have it any other way. She believes bringing births back to the territory makes family bonds stronger with young fathers becoming more involved.
“When you catch that baby you’re overjoyed,” Gray said. “My first baby I attended to, I was crying with the little girl there at the birth of her sister. It’s magical. We have a planned teepee birth this summer, so I’m excited for that. It will be my first time.”
of the outcome,” Gull-Masty told the
ating an inter-regional table to encour
Indspire’s
Deadlines
Rangers help battle water crisis
The Canadian Rangers have been called in to help distribute drinking water and install temporary pipelines in the Nunavik community of Puvirnituq, which has been struggling with a water crisis since March.
Quebec Public Security Minister François Bonnardel made the request to Public Safety Canada May 20 after consulting with Kativik Regional Government. Assistance is arriving from the 2nd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, the Army Reserve that serves northern Quebec, James Bay and the Lower North Shore.
The crisis has escalated since the primary source pipe feeding water to the community froze in mid-March. Water trucks have been manually chlorinating untreated water from outside the community, but some have broken down or become stuck due to extreme weather.
Since May 16, the Quebec government has been flying in drinking water and hygiene supplies twice a day. A local state of emergency was declared May 17 when two houses burned down, with firefighters hindered by the water shortage along with a blizzard and heavy winds.
Kativik Ilisarniliriniq announced it is immediately ending the school year. The community has flown some patients from Pivurnituq’s
Inuulitsivik Health Centre and the Sailivik Elders care facility to hospitals in Montreal for treatment.
Most Rangers in Quebec are Indigenous and 41% are Inuit. The province’s first Ranger Patrol group was launched in Puvirnituq in 1948.
Makivvik is investigating to determine if there’s been a lack of funding or vehicles. Makivvik president Pita Aatami emphasized it’s unacceptable for a community of 2,100 to go without proper water and sewage services.
“We don’t have an aqueduct system,” said Aatami. “We rely on water trucks. We need water for basic needs, to do laundry, to have showers, for everything. Water is a lifeline to all of us.”
Lake Rouge dries up
Waswanipi community members are devastated by the complete drainage of Lake Rouge (also known as Round Lake) on William Dixon’s trapline W-26. After learning a nearby road collapsed, his great-nephew Manoel Dixon found the lake drained and surrounding land collapsed, preventing access to several hunting campsites.
“This trapline is where we’ve hunted for many years, my grandparents and their grandparents,” said Manoel Dixon. “It’s a big impact for a lot of families. It’s something really concerning.”
He said a forest fire in the area two years ago caused significant destruction, with logging companies then removing burned trees and constructing new roads the following year. With tree roots disconnected, a mudslide in early May apparently emptied the lake completely.
“The trees also drink the water,” Dixon explained. “When you don’t have roots to the ground, the soil gets soft. When there are no trees, water doesn’t know where to go.”
A public notice suggested the incident “may be related to post-fire land conditions, snowmelt or recent rainfall.”
An aerial survey found the lake had drained through smaller ponds toward nearby Doda Lake.
“Too much scarification around Lac Rouge and the river,” said tallyman Paul Dixon, who witnessed the scene from the air. “Brown dirt water flowing out to Doda Lake. Fish can’t breathe in that kind of water. Forests stabilize shorelines and mountains, but forestry doesn’t care. Raindrops fall straight to the ground whereas trees were umbrellas before.”
Chief Irene Neeposh called an emergency meeting with the Cree Nation Government to investigate the disaster’s cause and resulting impacts on wildlife. With Doda Lake connecting to several lakes including Lake Waswanipi, she expressed concern for the traditional camps and historic sites downstream.
“It’s unprecedented,” said Chief Neeposh. “Any people who use the land ... be mindful when it’s thaw season. Advance with caution, make sure you let people know where you’re going and try not to go alone if possible.”
Marjolaine
McKenzie models at fashion
show
Over 2,000 fashion lovers converged at LaSalle College’s Signature 2025 fashion show May 13 in Old Montreal. The sold-out event featured a focus on environmental impact and highlighted the beauty of the 11 Indigenous Nations of Quebec.
Cree traditional healer Wayne Rabbitskin shared that his wife, Marjolaine McKenzie, modeled a fitting she co-designed. She thanked Lise Bastien, Eve Bastien, designer Jean-Claude Poitras, assistant Frédéric Limoges, and the KWE! team behind the adventure.
“My shawl represents my origins, a caribou is also embroidered on it, but for this show, I wore it like a second skin,” said McKenzie. “The red represents the blood and flesh of the caribou. The ribbon in my hair, an offering ‘for the sky, for the earth, and for the spirits of nature.’ I thought I was a warrior, I walked with full power.”
The event featured the debut of Tressages, a cultural collaboration between LaSalle, Poitras and 11 Indigenous artists. Developed with KWE!, the project merged heritage, art and innovative fashion.
Hopes High
by Jamie Pashagumskum
Indigenous leadership delighted by Gull-Masty’s victory but some still prefer their own riding
Leaders agree the appointment of Mandy GullMasty as Indigenous Services Minister – the first Indigenous person to take the role – is a historic move forward for the federal government. Gull-Masty was sworn into the new Liberal cabinet May 13 under Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“I was very happy with the outcome of the election,” said Grand Chief Norman A. Wapachee. “And then her appointment as minister caught everybody by surprise. Now I have a feeling the Indigenous population will be more of a priority in Ottawa.”
The Grand Chief said communities from all over the province were sending their congratulations.
“After getting sworn in as Grand Chief I started receiving her emails and they were all from Indigenous leaders who were very happy to see Mandy get in as MP and for her appointment as a cabinet minister.”
Makivvik President Pita Aatami was one of those leaders. “I’ve known Mandy since I became president,” Aatami said. “She is aware of our issues and will be able to fight for our causes, not just for the Cree but also for the Inuit and Naskapi of the region.”
Aatami said he is hopeful Gull-Masty will be able to move forward on the issues Inuit have been struggling with for years. Aatami went on to voice his disappointment with former Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou MP Sylvie Bérubé of the Bloc Québécois.
Aatami said Gull-Masty campaigned throughout riding, “which is huge.” He first met with Gull-Masty in Kuujjuaq as she began touring communities.
“She took the time to come up here unlike the other candidates who never even reached out to us or asked us what our needs are,” Aatami said.
Aatami revealed an Indigenous riding is in the works and the Inuit of Nunavik have been planning with the Eeyou and Naskapi of Quebec for their own electoral region.
Grand Chief Wapachee confirmed the three nations’ plans, which have been in discussion for years. Wapachee said he presented their proposal for an all-Indigenous riding to the province, but it was denied due to the requirements that electoral ridings must have a population of at least 80,000 people. The intended Indigenous riding would have fallen short of those numbers.
“I was the one who presented the riding change so our region could have more adequate representation at the federal level,” Wapachee told the Nation.
Wapachee’s idea was to cut out the Abitibi region entirely from the riding using the argument that it is a highly populated area creating disproportionate representation of the region.
Like Aatami, Wapachee also gave a failing grade to former Bloc MP Bérubé and confirms she never
“Now we have an Indigenous leader who can work directly with First Nations across Canada”
- Grand Chief Wapachee
visited Nunavik or Eeyou Istchee. “It didn’t look very good on her,” he said.
Atami called it unfortunate that the three Indigenous groups were not allowed their own riding this time around but vowed to keep working on it.
The Inuit President’s vision for the future is one where an Indigenous MP becomes the norm for the region which he said is an important goal as those in the south cannot relate with the struggles of living in Canada’s North.
“We all face similar issues up here and we are living in a very different world than the rest of the province,” Atami said.
Wapachee said although the request for their own riding wasn’t approved, it is on the province’s radar that the Indigenous populations want change.
Shifting from a regional role as Grand Chief, Gull-Masty now speaks for the riding of Abitibi–Baie-James–Nunavik–Eeyou and, in her new role as minister, also represents Indigenous People from across the country.
AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak commended Carney, calling the selection of two First Nations women for his cabinet, Rebecca Chartrand and Gull-Masty, inspiring.
“First Nations across Canada are so proud of these strong leaders,” Woodhouse Nepinak said in a statement. “Their skill, knowledge and experience will serve all Canadians well in the important portfolios on Indigenous Services and Northern Development.”
The National Chief is looking forward to collaborating with the new cabinet, highlighting public
safety and job creation as her priorities for First Nations.
Atikamekw Nation Grand Chief Constant Awashish said his priorities for the new minister are for better social and health care for Native people in Quebec, adding “maybe this time things will be different.”
Awashish is cautiously optimistic saying the government machine is “a big boat” and although the new Liberal government will have its own agenda, he is confident Gull-Masty will do her best to further self-determination for all Indigenous People.
For the Inuit of Nunavik, Aatami said Gull-Masty is well aware of the priorities of his people which are housing and the high cost of living in the North.
Grand Chief Wapachee said projects will move a lot smoother with an Indigenous person representing government, which will help to foster trust between federal representatives and Indigenous nations.
“She lived up North, she knows the realities, challenges and social issues,” he said. “Now we have an Indigenous leader who can work directly with First Nations across Canada.”
Wapachee added that he will miss working alongside GullMasty but is certain her vision for the people of the Cree Nation will carry over to the office of Indigenous Services.
“One of the things she told me when I asked if she had a message for the people,” Wapache noted, “was this: ‘Tell them that I have never left. My role has changed to a different capacity in Parliament, but I am still here for them.”’
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With Eeyou Istchee recognized as a top-tier global mining destination, Cree leaders are now more visible at influential industry events. A pragmatic approach to government-industry collaboration has enabled extensive Cree participation in the region’s exploration and extraction projects.
At the Resourcing Tomorrow conference in London last December, former Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty emphasized that as sustainability is central to project development, collaboration must focus on mitigating long-lasting impacts while promoting development opportunities and knowledge sharing with community members.
“Engaging early with the Indigenous community allows for the protection of your investment,” Gull-Masty asserted. “It removes barriers to communication and surprises in the project management chain. Social acceptability begins with the point of contact.”
Most companies operating in Eeyou Istchee today appear to have learned that lesson, partnering with communities to overcome resistance and engage local workforces. Ahead of a copper-gold
exploration drilling campaign near Chibougamau this year, Cygnus Metals sponsored events and identified community priorities in Ouje-Bougoumou.
“Working with the community for a project that benefits them as well is important,” said Nick Kwong, the company’s chief operating officer. “It’s producing well-paying, long-term jobs, building that training so the next generations can be part of the workforce. What’s really nice in Ouje, there’s a new training centre that was just built last year.”
At the CIM Connect conference in Montreal May 4-7, Kwong worked with Jarris Gull, director of mining services at Waswanipi’s Asinii Consulting. Waswanipi Development Corporation president Marcel Happyjack delivered a presentation about a transmission line the community built to connect the Windfall mine to the Hydro-Québec grid.
Working relationships with mining companies have changed immensely since the Cree Mineral Exploration Board (CMEB) was created out of the Paix des Braves agreement in 2002. Its efforts at bridging companies with communities were acknowledged with a sustainable development award at the Quebec
Mineral Exploration Association’s gala in November.
“I’ve made conferences and presentations in Alberta, BC, Australia about how the Crees are doing,” said Youcef Larbi, CMEB chief geologist and director general. “The Crees are doing very well because they thought about good strategy from the beginning, benefiting from this development that’s going to happen anyways.”
Noting violent confrontations worldwide between mining companies and Indigenous communities, Larbi suggested that Billy Diamond wisely negotiated a compromise with developers in the 1970s while the more resistant neighbouring Algonquins have remained relatively impoverished.
With about 630 active projects in Eeyou Istchee, CMEB’s mandate is to highlight the region’s mineral potential while guiding exploration companies in respecting the people, culture and land. While mining claims are filed across nearly the whole territory, there are currently only about 30 significant projects.
“There are a thousand projects before you get one off the ground,” Larbi explained. “We have seven Cree exploration companies and 30 Cree prospec-
Digging for Opportunity
by Patrick Quinn
Journalism Initiative Reporter
tors on the land, all of them independent. The Australians can’t be here, so they deal with our companies.”
After new provincial regulations introduced last year, exploration companies must apply for authorization to carry out work like excavation or rock stripping that impacts the land. The CMEB communicates extensively with the Cree Trappers’ Association about activities on the land while promoting the hiring of Crees to increase social acceptability.
Although gold was CMEB’s initial focus, lithium is increasingly important and, despite Stornoway’s bankruptcy, a huge diamond deposit remains. Altogether, Larbi estimated that less than 200 Crees work directly in mining, which he suggested wasn’t necessarily bad because “mines are not a way of life” and rarely active more than 15 years.
He believes their geology program at Centre d’études collégiales à Chibougamau in partnership with Apatisiiwin Skills Development (ASD) offers more empowering career opportunities. Although the challenging program’s success rate is less than half, graduates are in high demand.
ASD provides training funds and salary subsidies to promote Cree employment in the industry, working with companies to support Cree
Crees take greater role in mining industry
capacity building and developing courses to meet specific needs through the Cree School Board.
At the Éléonore goldmine on Wemindji territory, the Opinagow Collaboration Agreement signed in 2011 states a goal of employing as many Crees as possible. Although Newmont sold the mine to Dhilmar in November, regular on-site training programs should continue. At the end of 2024, 53 of its 807 employees were Cree.
“They’re predominantly heavy equipment operators,” said ASD program manager Stephane Petawabano. “Unfortunately, the current workforce isn’t too happy regarding their promotional opportunities. They see their peers climb the ladder faster, which is concerning.”
With Cree turnover at the mine three times higher than average, a recent employee retention report revealed allegations of stereotypical attitudes and favouritism affecting promotions. The report addressed cultural communication differences and the challenges of being far from family.
“Some guys don’t like working with women,” said Mary-Jane Rabbitskin. “Some guys talked in French on the radio [thinking she couldn’t understand] and I responded back. That’s when they
got quiet. I think for some Crees they put down their confidence – they can’t get me.”
Rabbitskin was one of only four Crees selected from 200 applicants for Éléonore’s semi-annual training program. She thinks the other woman in her cohort quit after some explosives blasting underground were too close for comfort. With experience driving 12-wheelers in Chisasibi, Rabbitskin enjoyed driving all types of trucks in the mine.
“I got to drive 45-ton and 60-ton trucks underground,” Rabbitskin said. “At first it was scary because it was so dark – it was really deep. But I was confident and good at it and I’m going back again.”
She’ll initially be working aboveground with Tawich Construction when returning to the site next month. Saying that there’s demand for drivers at the Galaxy lithium mine near Km381 of the Billy Diamond Highway, Rabbitskin appealed for more women to join the profession.
“In Chisasibi, people are so proud to see a woman be a truck driver and I’d like to see that in the mining industry,” said Rabbitskin. “I’ve always been all alone. I see little girls wanting me to use the biggest horn and I get so proud. A woman told me her girl saw me and wants to be a truck driver too.”
Local
A Cree Sesame Street
John and Friends use puppets to teach Cree culture on JBCCS show
by Patrick Quinn
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
John and Friends , recently launched by the James Bay Cree Communications Society, teaches Cree language, culture and traditions through songs, stories and laughter. The children’s program is an entertaining and educational puppet show starring an elderly couple and their animal friends in Mistissini.
Since debuting April 11, the halfhour pilot episode has amassed over 30,000 views on the JBCCS Facebook page. Founded in 1981 and broadcasting Cree news since 1986, the non-profit regional radio network is increasingly publishing video content to reach wider audiences.
“We’re losing our language and trying to compete with iPhones and iPads,” said show creator Patrick Forward. “What better way than create our own Cree Sesame Street with a little English, a little Cree and a whole lot of fun and learning for the kids?”
With the support of JBCCS executive director Scott Forward, the team worked with US-based Axtell Expressions to adapt puppets to Cree culture. A reindeer was converted to a moose, a white goose transformed into a Canada goose and the facial features and skin-tone of the old man and woman resemble Cree people.
Patrick Forward worked primarily with Jason Swallow and Noah William Jolly behind the scenes to bring the idea to life. The show revolves around Cree Elder John and his wife Mary Anne
at their bush camp. They are joined by Morley the Moose, Ghaline the Goose, and the mischievous crow twins, Ka and Kachoo. As in Sesame Street, the puppet characters interact with real people.
The first episode features a discussion with former Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty about what she eats for breakfast and how her friends help her in her role. Gull-Masty also reads from the children’s book she wrote about her dogs, called Minnie and Monica Make New Friends. Besides playing Ghaline, Kitty Mary Neeposh hosts a segment making bead earrings while Phoebe Blacksmith leads an exercise routine.
Production was a learning process, particularly in using green screens that enable visually complex digital backgrounds without the need for costly sets. Currently working on episodes two
and three, JBCCS is aiming to release six more this year. Thy plan another 12 for the second season next year.
“We were thinking if we should get an actual set, houses, locations,” said Swallow, the show’s co-director and co-writer. “The easiest way was using green screen. The first episode was learning how we can produce in a certain timeline. Wapikoni has been teaching me camera work.”
Samuel Macleod drew inspiration from the classic animated squirrel and moose duo Rocky and Bullwinkle for his voicing of Morley the Moose. With a longstanding interest in the iconic Muppet creations of Jim Henson, he’s been excited to learn puppeteering alongside his Morley stand-in, Justin Ryan Swallow.
“We’ve both been into that since we were children,” Macleod shared.
“It’s cool learning how to give puppets life. My son didn’t realize I was voicing the moose but told me it was his favourite character. I told him it was me and his mind was blown.”
In the second episode, Morley the Moose will be teaching kids the colours in Cree and Macleod hopes to eventually pass on skills like making fishnets, which he has fond memories of doing with his grandfather. Future segments focus on people and places in the community, cooking and singing.
“We eventually want to put together an interactive website so kids can pick a puppet to learn to count to 20, colours, weather, trees,” Forward explained. “The younger ones absorb it like sponges. Making the Cree language fun means they’re going to learn and want to continue to do it.”
Forward remembers when his mother Georgina, a teacher for 40 years, used puppets during English lessons as “the best times ever.” Now she’s a major part of John and Friends, teaching the Cree language in the role of Mary Anne.
Georgina Forward asserted that learning begins with a strong foundation in hearing and speaking Cree. John and Friends helps accomplish this goal, as the characters alternate between English and Cree (with English subtitles).
“We make mistakes and don’t know certain words, but we help one another,” she said. “We have lots of laughs. Children will see it’s okay to make a mistake
and laugh about it because someone will help you.”
Working alongside Clarence Snowboy (who plays John), Georgina Forward noted the many opportunities to learn, from the puppeteering adventures to expanding their Cree vocabularies. She was challenged to recall ingredients in Cree during a non-puppet segment demonstrating how to make bread.
“One person told me you encouraged me to make bread for Easter,” she said. “You’ll see me making cookies and probably see me sing. I would love to get a group of kindergarten children who can sit with the puppets and sing with us – that would be a hit.”
Swallow said they’re trying to get singers involved as John and Friends becomes a bigger focus at JBCCS. The organization’s team and programming continue to grow, from the Speak Cree to Me series to an upcoming project investigating local paranormal stories.
There are already discussions with the Cree Health Board and Cree School Board about developing special programming that can be screened in classrooms, such as a bus safety campaign.
“We have lots of people interested in contributing,” said Patrick Forward. “As they start to teach Cree in Grade 1, we could maybe help with curriculum. Same thing with daycares. We can help them have materials to teach our kids Cree and make our language good and strong again.”
by Margie E. Burke
Here’s another edition of the Nation’s puzzle page. Try your hand at Sudoku or Str8ts or our Crossword, or better yet, solve all three and send us a photo!* As always, the answers from last issue are here for you to check your work. Happy hunting.
Word with "task" or "air"
Nit-pick
Difficult position
Pertaining to birds
Leave out
Apiece
Mercury in
Prefix with body or freeze
Deletion
Bud holder?
Mother ___
Birthday buy
Official emissary
Arm waver's shout
Now partner
Go to and fro
Type of tennis stroke 38 Run off together 40 SNL network 65 Corn units
Coral or Caspian
Ultimatum word 41 Maria of "Coyote 66 Facial features
Morse code Ugly" 67 ___ of Capri seeker symbols 42 Representative 68 "Fiddlesticks!" 12 Duo quadrupled
Plumed wading group 69 HS students 13 Yours, in old bird 45 Take a breather days 43 Type of name 46 Dinghy pair DOWN
"Good ___!" 44 Part of USNA 47 Bad way to be 1 Meter reading
Detox locale 48 "As if that ___ caught 2 Word after 25 Element No. 65 enough...." 49 They might be "bowl" or "brim" 27 Biological 49 Suspect's out acute or obtuse 3 Comic Rudner classes 50 Dressed to the
"Get a ___ on!" 4 Benjamin Orr 28 Newspaper 52 52, in old Rome vehicles? piece
Soaking spot
Matt Dillon, e.g.
Ample
Mark of a ruler 7 Mia in "Pulp related
Dwelling in a Fiction"
Wild pig
Sneaker, e.g.
Water carrier
Prayer ending
Nullify, as a law 59 Amount to make park, often 8 Potatoes, maybe 35 Janet Yellen, do with 64 Mr. Bridges 9 Kind of US e.g. 61 Old TV knob bomber 63 Bikini part
Crossword
TTales from an old dinosaur hunter
by Sonny Orr
he clouds look dark and scary. A flash of lightning arcs across the skies. Slowly the winds start twirling about and within seconds a funnel forms. The wind sounds increase tenfold, and the once quiet sky is in turmoil. Then a loud thunderclap brings me to my senses.
I wake up to the sound of geese calling right over my well-hidden blind. The wings of 50 geese sound like a jet whooshing by, and the thunder of gunshots came from my hunting partner. Damn! Fell asleep in the blind again!
I fire off five rounds into the flock and knock down a few honkers. I blink off a few cruddy lashes from my eyelids and return to the land of the awake as I think back on life. For me, it’s more than six decades. For others, it’s just a week or two.
We’re already nearing the end of the first quarter century of this millennium and what does the 21st century have to offer us? One thing for sure, it’s short-term memory loss as every week is an eternity passing by. Most of us can’t remember what we did from Monday to Friday, only that payday is a few days away and will only be a fleeting memory to recount.
Yes, the dozen eggs that cost a buck an egg, the milk at a buck a cup, the sugar at a buck a spoonful, and the water at two bucks a litre. Memories of prices are shared around the campfires, when food prices were unbelievably low, low enough to fill a grocery bag for just under $100.
The CMEB Aims to
Facilitate the development of mineral exploration enterprises with Cree Entrepreneurship while respecting the Environment and Culture.
Help the Crees and Cree Enterprises to benefit from Quebec’s regular funding programs as well as other provincial assistance allocated to mineral exploration activities.
Act as the main intermediary between the Exploration companies and the Cree Leadership & Tallypersons in matters relating to mineral exploration.
Tonight, it’s scary storytelling time again. I talk about the days when we made our own bread and carried groceries home in free paper bags that we used over and over again. Today, if you can afford a full bag of groceries and daily necessities, the prices elicit both a gasp of disbelief and a look of respect that you can pay for a full bag of goodies. Even the price of toys is dramatically high, and get cries of protest as I pull out a basic ball and shout out if anyone is interested in a game of dodgeball. Sorry, batteries are not needed for this toy.
My grandson wonders about my life as a young boy. He asks if I ever played with a stick and stone as a kid and is downright amazed to hear that I did. After a few moments of reflection, he asks me with a serious look if I was ever scared of the dinosaurs that roamed around childhood neighbourhood.
Without cracking a smile, I state that I was never afraid of them. Seeing the glow of respect and pride on his face, knowing that his grandfather stood up to those terrible lizards from the past, made my day. Even for a grizzled dino hunter like me, it’s those little moments in life that make me very happy.
A shout from my hunting partner warns me of another flock of geese approaching their final destination. I hide in my blind, waiting for the air pressure
wave of goose wings descending to their pending last moments to stop. The gentle sound of water splashing is the signal to pop up and start harvesting food in the most satisfying way, with the rumble of thunder erupting from our muzzles.
Under the Northern Sky
The road to recovery
by Xavier Kataquapit
As a First Nation person I have been terrorized by alcohol and drug addiction all my life. I grew up with this reality and continue to witness the effects of addictions today. From the time I was a child I realized how terrible life was because of alcohol and drugs. I vowed to never head in that direction. However, as soon as I went into my teen years I joined the party.
Lucky for me, my cousin, who had gone to treatment then studied as a drug and alcohol counsellor, returned to my community and started up an Alcoholics Anonymous healing group. I joined and began to figure things out. Thanks to that help, support from others on the road to recovery, and traditional and cultural healing guidance, I have been sober now for almost three decades. It has not been an easy road but believe me it’s much easier than being a slave to alcohol and drug addiction.
I commend all health and service workers and the leaders doing their best to help our people recover from these terrible addictions. Sometimes those in power also deal with addictions and resist seeking help because they feel threatened. Like others, they may be in denial.
First Nation communities have dealt with all kinds of abuse, violence, and hopelessness for what seems like forever. That is what happens when people are
alcohol- and drug-addicted with communities and families being torn apart.
I urge our young people to pursue education in drug and alcohol addiction to help our communities recover. Above all, they should face any addictions they may have. We need this so that we can deal with colonization, residential school trauma and the racism we have experienced for centuries.
I am exhausted from hearing of people I know dying due to drugs and alcohol. These days the drug reality on the street has changed and we see substances that are so powerful that once a person gets hooked it is very difficult to recover.
Yet it is possible to save people. I give thanks to all those frontline workers who deal every day with this terrible epidemic. We need these survivors who are in recovery to help our people. We need First Nation counsellors and workers with experience first-hand in recovery, relapse, the use of AA, NA, traditional and cultural healing to give our future generations hope.
One of my favourite stories I picked up years ago gives us an idea of how important it is for our people in recovery to be a big part in helping our communities suffering with alcohol and drug addictions. It goes like this:
A man is walking down a street when he falls in a hole. The walls are steep,
and he can’t get out. A doctor passes by and the man shouts up, “Hey you, can you help me out?” The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down the hole and moves on.
Then a priest comes along, and the man shouts up “Father, I’m down in this hole, can you help me out?” The priest kneels down and recites a prayer for the man in the hole and then moves on.
Next a psychologist walks by and the man in the hole calls out for help. The psychologist suggests that the man think about his childhood, trauma experiences and consider making an appointment for counselling.
20-year-old John Mercier
Lastly, a fellow walks by and the man in the hole calls out for help saying, “I’m in this hole and can’t figure out how to get out.” The fellow jumps into the hole, where the trapped man says, “Are you stupid? Now we’re both down here.” His new friend says, “Yeah, don’t worry I’ve been down here before, and I know the way out.”
We need First Nation survivors who have been through the journey of recovery to help our communities. We need people who already know how to crawl out of the dark hole of addiction to help those who are still trapped. These people are precious to us and are a great part of the solution to healing First Nations.
