CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS MAGAZINE
CELEBRATING TWO DECADES OF INDIGENOUS SUCCESS AND INGENUITY
ISSUE 113 FUTURE OF INNOVATION DISPLAY UNTIL MAY 1, 2022
PM 43436539 PRINTED IN CANADA $8.99
ARY S R E IV ANN ISSUE
2 | INNOVATION l FEB 2022
SINCE 2002
6
SAY Magazine Celebrates 20 Years of Publishing
CONTENTS ISSUE 113 FUTURE OF INNOVATION
12
SAY MAGAZINE Volume 21, Issue 1 SAY Magazine is a bi-monthly publication that publishes six issues a year—one issue every eight weeks. SAY Magazine is published by Spirit of Youth Enterprises Inc.
Submissions are welcome. Articles, letters, queries, etc. should be sent by email to the editor at editor@saymag.com. SAY Magazine assumes no responsibility for submitted material.
Mailing Address: Kildonan Place, RPO Box 43084 Winnipeg, MB Canada R2C 5G7
SAY Magazine assumes no responsibility for statements made by advertisers or in submitted material.
E: info@saymag.com www.saymag.com Publishers: Dominick Blais and Kent Brown Editor-in-Chief: Danielle Vienneau editor@saymag.com Editorial Team: Terra MacPhail terra@saymag.com Cheliza Crawford cheliza@saymag.com Sarah Ritchie sarah@saymag.com Theresa Peters theresa@saymag.com Art Director: Orli Gelfat - Orli G. Design Sales Team: Terra MacPhail terra@saymag.com Megan Henry megan@saymag.com Darrell Boyko darrell@saymag.com Website and Social Media Sphere Media Agency info@spheremediaagency.com
Graphics, photographs, editorial content and other printed material that are created by SAY Magazine are the property of Spirit of Youth Enterprises Inc. and may not be used without written permission from the publishers.
Social Media Activists at the Forefront of Change
8
Windsor Law Offers New Specialization
in the Future 22 Investing with Social Finance
10
Innovations at First Nations Treatment Centres
Innovation 24 Indigenous Flourishes
14
Talk Tobacco Hotline Supports Smoking Cessation
16
An Elder’s Perspective on Innovation
28 Music Bannock 31 Métis Recipe
18
Indspire: The Student's Journey
Printed in Canada ISSN: 1707-3049 GST: 856627534RT0001 This project has been made possible [in part] by the Government of Canada
SAY Magazine acknowledges that we publish in Treaty One Territory, at the crossroads of the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota and Dene Nations, and at the heart of the Métis Nation homeland.
Network Canada’s 20 Food Newest Judge
32 A Mile in My Moccasins 36 Poem: The Tree 38 Advertiser Index
As a diverse team of both Indigenous and ally collaborators, we strive to embrace, embody and live the truth that we are all Treaty people. All our relations!
Connect with us: www.facebook.com/saymagazine www.twitter.com/SAYMagazine www.instagram.com/say_magazine www.pinterest.ca/SAYMagazine www.linkedin.com/company/say-magazine
26
Troy Westwood, aka Little Hawk, Recounts His Friendship with Music Legend Vince Fontaine
34
Hope Moved Me: The Story of How One Woman Changed the Trajectory of Her Life through the Power of Positivity FEB 2022 l INNOVATION | 3
2002-2022
Celebrating 20 Years of SAY Magazine
T
By Danielle Vienneau
"As a community, we have grown and evolved, and today there are plenty of other lights in the sea of Indigenous representation in the media. We choose to honour that widespread representation and grow it even further by highlighting the individuality of every Indigenous being on the planet. With the new and old melded together, SAY Magazine will continue to ensure that Indigenous voices have a platform and allies have a resource." - Cheliza Crawford, SAY Magazine intern and content creator
6 | INNOVATION l FEB 2022
wenty years ago, SAY Magazine was founded, and the first issue was published with Jordin Tootoo featured on the cover, just shy of his NHL debut. But this story really begins nearly thirty years ago. SAY Magazine’s founder Leslie Lounsbury, an educator in the community college system at the time, was greatly disappointed in the lack of attention given to Indigenous Peoples in the education system. She also noticed a significant lack of positive Indigenous stories in Canadian media. Most of what she witnessed in the mainstream news, and in the education system, were negative narratives. She sought to find places that would publish good Indigenous news stories, but there were few. Notably, APTN was working hard to change the face of Indigenous representation in media as well. Lounsbury made it her mission to change the narrative with a magazine that could reach young people in schools across Canada. She wanted to give a voice to those being silenced. It took seven years of research, work and planning before Lounsbury could secure the funding required to start a publication of her own. In 2002, with the support of her community and the financial assistance of Aboriginal Business Canada, SAY Magazine was born, and so began the legacy of spreading positive messages of hope and resilience. After a courageous battle with cancer, our faithful leader Leslie Lounsbury crossed into the spirit world on May 27, 2018. She was a visionary who left her mark on the world as an educator and through community-based journalism with SAY Magazine. This is the legacy we intend to continue, with deep thanks to our supporters, partners and readers.
After two decades in business, our evolution as a magazine has gone from just a print publication, publishing a few times a year, to a bi-monthly subscription-based magazine, available in print and digital editions. With an enhanced digital presence, SAY Magazine aims to be a contemporary Indigenous resource for all people, and play a vital role in understanding and advancing reconciliation. Our mission is to motivate and inspire Indigenous Peoples through knowledge and positive success stories. We are still learning and growing. As we enter our third decade of operation, we continue our commitment to publishing in print. We will continue to be a safe space for stories to be shared and a source to highlight positive First Nation, Inuit and Métis role models for youth. 2022 marks the beginning of the Decade of Indigenous Languages as declared by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). We will do our part to support the revitalization and survival of Indigenous languages as an outlet for knowledge sharing. SAY Magazine will continue its legacy of being a platform for communities to have a voice, inspiring positive action in others and creating impactful change in this world. Although based in and focused on Canada, we will continue to include diverse perspectives from Indigenous Peoples across Turtle Island and abroad so that we may learn from one another.
SAY Magazine’s team includes a combination of Indigenous and non-Indigenous professionals working as allies to share Indigenous perspectives, knowledge and ways of life.
FEB 2022 l INNOVATION | 7
HEALTH
Quit Smoking or Vaping with Support from Talk Tobacco Adapted by Kimberly Morrisseau, sponsored by the Canadian Cancer Society
At the age of nine, Mark Quinn was introduced to cigarettes, and by the time he was fifteen, he was smoking regularly. Eventually, Quinn managed to quit for two years, but then a serious work accident occurred. In 2014, a faulty welding machine electrocuted Quinn, landing him in the hospital for seven days and leaving him with ongoing health issues.
T
o deal with the stress of this traumatic event, Quinn began smoking again. “When I was discharged from the hospital, I ran for a pack of cigarettes,” said Quinn. Eventually, the financial and health costs of smoking started to take a toll. “Six years later, it became the struggle of my life to quit.” But having quit once before, 58-year-old Quinn knew he had the strength to do it again. In 2019, Quinn was introduced to the Canadian Cancer Society’s (CCS) Walk or Run to Quit, a tobacco cessation program that helps individuals quit smoking while teaching them how to walk or run 5 km. Quinn’s experience with the program was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, he was introduced to another CCS program, Talk Tobacco, a free and confidential smoking and vaping cessation service for First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. Quinn connected with one of the Talk Tobacco Quit Coaches, a cessation specialist who supported him with his goal of quitting smoking. Between August 2020 and May 2021, the two spoke over the phone weekly.
14 | INNOVATION l FEB 2022
“Sarah’s support was marvelous,” said Quinn, “and with her help, I’ve been smoke-free since January 2021. It’s given me more hope. I can now take a breath of fresh air or a bite of food and truly appreciate it.” According to Alethea Kewayosh, director of Ontario Health’s Indigenous cancer care unit, “mainstream interventions do not appear to have reduced commercial tobacco use in Indigenous communities. In view of 50 years of tobacco control experience with the general population, it is unrealistic to expect a major reduction in Indigenous smoking rates without the development of communitydriven, sustainable, culturally-relevant programming.” In the development of Talk Tobacco services, Indigenous leaders, community members and healthcare providers provided input and guidance. The Talk Tobacco program provides culturally-relevant, accessible, and targeted tobacco and vaping cessation services for Indigenous communities by phone, text and live chat. Services are free, confidential and available in 16 Indigenous languages.
Mark Quinn
Commercial smoking and vaping are, on average, twice as high among Indigenous populations in Canada. For anyone looking to quit, Quinn encourages trying the Talk Tobacco program with an open mind. “It helped me reach my goals, and it was a great experience for me. I encourage others just to try it once. Listen and accept the help, and know you’re not alone.” Thinking of quitting smoking or vaping? Contact Talk Tobacco by calling 1-833-9988255 (TALK), texting CHANGE to 123456, emailing talktobacco@cancer.ca, visiting talktobacco.ca, or joining their Facebook page for support and inspiration. Kimberly Morrisseau is the senior specialist with the Canadian Cancer Society’s Talk Tobacco Program in Manitoba.
FEB 2022 l INNOVATION | 15