February 2, 2012

Page 1

PM#0382659799

Bingwi Neyaashi takes control of reserve lands PAGE 6

Unity walk halted by Thunder Bay police PAGE 14 Vol. 39 #3

Housing needs highlighted by community tour PAGE 10 9,300 copies distributed $1.50

February 2, 2012 Northern Ontario’s First Nation Voice since 1974

www.wawataynews.ca

Finding laugher in Kasabonika Lake

Photo by Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Gregory Anderson (right) of Kasabonika Lake First Nation was interviewed about his community’s housing crisis on Jan. 18. He was asked where he slept and he replied, “Uh, a bed?” Then he, Trudy Sugarhead(left) and another youth shared a laugh. In addition to a lack of housing, Kasabonika Lake’s sewage treatment plant and diesel generation station have been at capacity for years, causing health and safety concerns, and its school is overcrowded and in disrepair, leading to high dropout rates. See stories on Kasabonika on page 3 and 8.

Cat Lake chief pleads for drug abuse help

ᓇᑕᐁᐧᐣᑕᑲᐧᐣ ᒋᐊᔭᐠ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᐳᓂᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᐣ ᑲᐃᐧᐣᒋᑫᒪᑲᐠ ᑲᐱᐳᓂᒪᑲᐠ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᐣ

First Nation declares state of emergency Shawn Bell Wawatay News

The prescription drug crisis devastating First Nations across northern Ontario boiled over in Cat Lake on Jan. 23, as the community declared a state of emergency and issued a plea for help in addressing the health and safety of band members. Chief Matthew Keewaykapow issued the call for help to the federal and provincial governments, saying the band could no longer provide essential services or protect its members. “The situation is beyond our current band resources and we require immediate and long term assistance from our federal and provincial partners,” Keewaykapow said. An estimated 70 to 80 per cent of the community’s 500 residents are addicted to some form of prescription drug, primarily Oxycodone or Percocet, according to an environmental scan done by the band office. The users include children as young as 11 years old. Russel Wesley, a spokesperson

for the First Nation, noted that the number of Elder abuse incidents and other crimes in Cat Lake are shockingly higher than other communities of similar size. The number of people on welfare in Cat Lake has also risen dramatically, from 80 in 2009 to over 200 in 2011, with another 100 applicants on file.

“Yet again we see another First Nation trying to deal with the harmful effects (of prescription drugs).” - Mike Metatawabin, NAN deputy grand chief

Wesley said that the cash brought into the community each week by the Northern Store for the purpose of cashing checks is now gone the day it arrives as drug users flock to the store. The Cat Lake state of emergency comes nearly three years after Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) declared a state of emergency across all NAN communities due to rapidly increas-

ing prescription drug addiction rates. Despite the NAN-wide call for help, NAN deputy grand chief Mike Metatawabin said that response from governments has been “slow or none at all.” “We’ve done everything we can to bring resources to address the issues,” Metatawabin said. “It’s a serious matter which needs to be addressed as immediately as possible, but yet again we see another First Nation trying to deal with the harmful effects.” Of growing concern is the prevalence of people in Cat Lake and other First Nations using needles to inject drugs. In Cat Lake since Dec. 1, 2011 the community’s nursing station has exchanged over 500 needles. Claudette Chase, the medical director of Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA), said the health authority is seeing a huge increase in rates of Hepatitis C across northern Ontario as injection drug use continues to rise. See Cat Lake on page 7

ᑲᑭᐸᐸᒥ ᑭᐅᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑭᒪᐠ ᑭᐊᐧᐸᐣᑕᐦᐊᐊᐧᐠ ᑫᑯᓀᓇᐣ ᑲᓇᓄᑌᓭᑭᐣ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ, ᐁᑲ ᑲᒥᓇᐧᔑᓂᑭᐣ ᐅᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᐊᐧ, ᒧᐊᐧᐳ ᑲᐃᐧᓇᑲᒥᒋᑫᒪᑲᐠ ᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᒥᓇ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᕑᐃᐠ ᑲᕑᐃᐠ ᐊᐧᐊᐧᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐃᐧᓇᐣ

ᐁᑲ ᑲᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᐣ ᑲᐅᒋᐃᐧᐣᒋᑫᒪᑲᐠ ᑲᐱᐳᓂᒪᑲᐠ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᐣ ᐃᒪ ᒣᒣᑫᐧᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᒥᐦᐅᐁᐧ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᒋᑫᑯᐣ ᑲᑭᐃᐧᐣᒋᑲᑌᐠ ᑲᐸᐸᔐᐣᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᒋᑭᑲᑫᐧᐊᔭᑭᐸᐣ ᓄᑯᒥᑫ ᑲᑭᐊᔭᑭᓀ ᑭᐅᑫᐊᐧᐸᐣ ᐅᑎᐸᒋᒧᐠ ᐃᒪ ᓂᔭᓇᐣ ᐊᓂᔑᓇᐯ ᐊᐢᑭ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓇᐣ. “ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᓂᓇᑕᐁᐧᐣᑕᐣ ᐅᐁᐧ ᐊᐸᒋᒋᑲᐣ ᒋᐊᔭᒪᐠ ᓂᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᓇᐣ” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᒣᒣᑫᐧᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᕑᐃᑕ ᑕᐧᑦᓴᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᒉᐣᐁᐧᕑᐃ ᐱᓯᑦ 18 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ ᑲᑭᐊᔭᒥᐦᐊᐨ ᒥᓯᐁᐧᑲᒥᐠ ᒥᓇ ᐅᒪ ᐯᔓᐨ ᑌᑎᐸᐦᐃ ᑲᐃᔑᐸᑭᑎᓇᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᑎᐸᒋᒧᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᑲᑭᐱ ᐱᔕᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᑲᑭᐃᔑᐸᐣᑭᓯᓂᐠ ᑭᐢᑐᐣ ᐁᕑ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᓂ

ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐁᑲᑫᐧᐳᓂᒪᑲᑭᐸᐣ ᐃᐁᐧ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᑭᓄᐣᑌᐸᐣᑭᓯᐠ ᒉᐣᐁᐧᕑᐃ ᐱᓯᑦ 10 ᐁᑲᐧ ᑲᔦ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᑭ ᑭᒋᓱᑭᐸᐧᓂᓄᐁᐧᐸᐣ ᐃᐁᐧ ᐊᐱ. “ᑲᓂᑲ ᐊᐱ ᑫᐃᓯᓭᑫᐧᐣ, ᐸᓂᒪ ᑲᓇᐱᑯ ᑭᒋᒪᒋᓭᐃᐧᐣ ᐁᓇᑭᐡᑭᒪᐠ ᑫᑲᐱ ᓂᑲᐱᓯᐢᑫᓂᒥᑯᐣ. ᒥᑐᓂ ᐱᑯ ᐊᐧᐊᐧᓀᐣᑕᑲᐧᐣ.” ᓂᐃᐧᐣ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᑭᐊᐱᒋᔑᓄᐠ ᐃᒪ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᓀᓯᐠ ᓇᐸᐦᐅ ᑲᑭᐸᐣᑭᓯᐠ ᒥᓇ ᑭᐸᓯᑌᐁᐧᐱᓯᐣ ᐊᐧᑭᑎᑯᑦ ᐯᔑᑯᑎᐸᐦᐊᑲᐣ ᓂᑲᑌ ᐱᒥᓭᐳᓂᐃᐧᓂᐠ. ᐯᔑᐠ ᐁᑕ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐊᐱᒋᔑᐠ. “ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᓂᑭᑫᐣᑕᓯᐣ ᑭᐡᐱᐣ ᑭᑫᐣᑕᒧᐊᐧᑯᐸᓀᐣ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᑭ ᑭᒋᒪᒋᑭᔑᑲᓂᐠ ᐊᐱ ᑲᐱᑕᑲᐧᑯᒋᓄᐊᐧᐨ” ᐃᑭᑐ ᑕᐧᑦᓴᐣ. “ᑲᐃᐧᓂᐣ ᑲᓇᑫ ᐊᑲᒥᐠ ᒋᑭᐅᐣᒋ ᑌᐱᓇᑲᐧᐠ ᐁᐱᒋᒪᒋᑭᔑᑲᐠ ᐊᐱᐣ ᑲᐱᑲᑫᐧᐳᓂᒪᑲᐠ.” ᐃᓇᐱᐣ ᐸᑭᑭᓂᑲᓂᐠ 6

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2

Wawatay News

INSIDE WAWATAY NEWS

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

THIS ISSUE...

ᐱᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᐱᑯᓭᐦᐃᑯᓇᐧᐊ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᑫᐃᐧᐣ

ᐁᑲᓄᑫᐣᑕᐊᐧᑲᓄᐨ ᒪᕑᑕ ᑲᑦᐳ ᑲᐅᐊᐧᑯᒪᑲᓂᐊᐧᐨ ᒥᓇ ᑲᐅᑐᑌᒥᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐧᑎ ᒣᒣᑫᐧᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᐅᑭᒪᒥᑲᐁᐧᓂᒪᐊᐧᐣ ᒪᕑᑕ ᑲᑦᐳᐊᐧᐣ, ᐊᐧᐁᐧ ᐃᑫᐧ ᑲᑭᐊᐱᒋᔑᐠ ᐱᒥᓭᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᑲᐃᔑᐳᓯᐸᐣ ᑲᑭᐸᐣᑭᓯᐠ ᐯᔓᐨ ᐃᒪ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᓄᑯᑦ ᐱᓯᑦ. ᑲᑦᐳ, ᒥᓂᑯᐠ ᐃᑯ ᑲᐅᒋᐱᒪᑎᓯᐨ ᑭᑲᐯᔑ ᒣᒣᑫᐧᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᐁᑲᐧ ᐊᐱᐣ ᑭᔭᓂᓯᓭᓂ ᒋᐃᔑᑯᓯᐨ ᐃᐧᓂᐯᐠ ᐊᐱ ᐅᓇᐯᒪᐣ ᐁᑭᔭᓂ ᑭᒋᐊᑯᓯᓂᐨ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐊᔭᑲᐃᐧ ᓇᓇᐸᐱᑫᔑᒪᑲᓄᓂᐨ, ᐁᑲᐧ ᑕᐡ ᐊᒋᓇ ᐱᑭᐁᐧᑯᐸᐣ ᐁᐱᐊᓄᑭᐨ ᐃᒪ ᐸᐣᐟ ᐊᐸᐢ. ᐊᒥᐦᐊᐁᐧ ᐯᔑᐠ ᑲᑭᐊᐱᒋᔑᐣᐠ ᒪᒪᐤ ᓂᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᑭᐊᐱᒋᔑᓄᐊᐧᐨ. ᒣᒣᑫᐧᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᕑᐃᑕ ᑕᐧᑦᓴᐣ ᐅᑭᐃᓇᒋᒪᐣ ᑲᑦᐳᐊᐧᐣ ᐁᑲᐃᐧᑲ ᐁᑭᐅᒋᑭᑎᒥᐦᐃᑯᐨ ᐅᑕᓄᑭᐃᐧᐣ. “ᐅᐸᐸᒪᓄᑭ ᓂᐣᑭᐃᔑᓂᑲᓇᒥᐣ ᐊᐣᑎ ᐱᑯ ᑭᐃᔑᐊᔭᓄᑭ ᒥᓇ ᑫᑲᐟ ᐃᑯ ᒥᓯᐁᐧ ᑲᑕᓱᐃᓇᓄᑭᓇᓄᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᒪ ᐸᐣᐟ ᐊᐸᐢ ᐅᑭᑐᑕᐣ, ” ᐃᑭᑐ ᑕᐧᑦᓴᐣ. ᑲᑦᐳ ᑭᐃᔑᓇᐦᐃᓇᑲᓄ ᒣᒣᑫᐧᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᒉᐣᐁᐧᕑᐃ ᐱᓯᑦ 27 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᐨ.

ᐱᔑᐃᐧᓴᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᐠ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑭᑎᐸᒋᒧᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᐃᑭᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᒋᒪᒋᓭᐃᐧᐣ ᐁᓇᑭᐡᑲᒧᐊᐧᐨ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᐱ ᒉᐣᐁᐧᕑᐃ ᐱᓯᑦ 23 ᑲᐃᓇᑭᓱᓂᐨ, ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᒥᓇ ᐅᑐᓇᔓᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂᓂᒪᐣ ᑭᐃᑭᑐᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᑲ ᐁᑌᐱᓭᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂ ᑫᑭᐅᒋ ᓇᑕᒪᐊᐧᐊᐧᐨ ᒥᓇ ᑲᓇᐁᐧᓂᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑕᓂᔑᓂᓂᒥᐊᐧᐣ. ᐃᒪ ᑕᐡ ᐅᐣᒋᒪᑲᐣ ᒪᒋᓭᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᐁᐃᔑᑫᒋᓇᐁᐧᐣᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᓇᐣᑕ ᐱᑯ 70% ᑲᑲᐯᔑᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓂᐠ ᐁᐊᐧᓂᐊᐸᒋᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᐣ ᑭᒋᐃᐧᓴᑫᑕᒧ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᐣ, ᐊᐧᐠᓯᑲᐧᑎᐣ ᓇᐣᑕ ᒥᓇ ᐳᕑᑭᓭᐟ. ᐊᔕ ᑫᐃᐧᓇᐊᐧ ᐊᐊᐧᔑᔕᐠ ᐅᑕᓂᐊᐸᒋᑐᐊᓇᐊᐧ ᐯᔑᑯᔕᑊ ᑲᑕᓱᔭᑭᐃᐧᓀᐊᐧᐨ. ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᐃᐧ ᐊᓄᑭᑕᒪᑫᐠ ᐅᑕᓀᐣᑕᒥᐦᐃᑯᓇᐊᐧ ᒥᓯᐁᐧ ᐊᔕ ᑌᑎᐸ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᐁᔭᓂᒋᑕᐦᐅᑎᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᐁᐧᓂ ᒪᐡᑭᑭᐣ ᑲᐅᑕᐱᓇᒧᐊᐧᐨ. ᐊᔕ ᑕᐡ ᑲᔦ ᐊᓂᒥᔑᓄᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᐁᔭᓂᓇᐱᓀᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᐦᑯᓇᐱᓀᐃᐧᐣ ᐁᐅᒋ ᐊᔭᔓᐦᐃᑎᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇ ᑯᑕᓀᑕᑲᐧᐣ ᐃᐁᐧ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᔭᓂᒪᐠ ᒪᒐᐱᓀᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᐁᐧᑎᓄᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐁᔭᓂᐃᓇᐱᓀᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᐃᐧᔭᐠ ᐁᐧᑎ ᓀᐣᑲᐱᐦᐊᓄᐠ ᐁᐱᐅᐣᒋᒪᑲᐠ.

Remembering Martha Campbell

Drugs cripple Cat Lake Cat Lake First Nation declared a state of emergency Jan. 23, as chief and council say they cannot provide essential services or protect band members. The problems stem from the fact that an estimated 70 per cent of people in the community are addicted to prescription drugs, either oxycodone or percoset. It is believed that children as young as 11 are using the drugs. Health officials are also concerned that many people across the North are using needles to inject prescription drugs. There has been a huge increase in Hepatitis C cases, and there are fears that HIV is heading to Ontario from western Canada. Pages 1 and 7

ᐱᐣᑭᐧ ᓀᔭᔑ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᑭᑌᐱᓇᓇᐊᐧ ᒋᑎᐱᓇᐁᐧᐃᐧᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑕᑭᒥᐊᐧ ᐱᐣᑭᐧ ᓀᔭᔑ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᐸᐧᓫ ᐠᓫᐅᑐ ᐃᑭᑐ ᒥᐦᐅᒪ ᑫᔭᓄᒋ ᑲᐡᑭᐦᐅᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᔭᓂᐱᒧᓂᑎᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᐱ ᑲᑭᐃᐡᑲᐧ ᒪᒪᐃᐧ ᒪᓯᓇᐦᐅᑎᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᓇᑯᒥᑐᐃᐧᓂ ᑲᓇᑕ ᐅᑭᒪᐊᐧᐣ. ᐅᐁᐧ ᐅᒋᐯᐧ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᐊᒥᐦᐅᐁᐧ ᐯᔑᐠ ᒪᒪᐤ ᐊᐃᓇᓀᐅᔕᑊ ᐃᐡᑯᓂᑲᓇᐣ ᑌᑎᐸ ᑲᓇᑕ ᐊᐦᑭᐠ, ᒥᓇ ᐁᑕ ᐅᒪ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᐊᐦᑭᐠ ᑲᑭᒪᓯᓇᐦᐅᑎᓱᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᐁᐧᓂ ᓇᑯᒥᑐᐃᐧᓂ. ᐅᐁᐧ ᓇᑯᒥᑐᐃᐧᐣ ᑕᓴᑭᒋᐃᐧᓂᑎᓱᒪᑲᐣ ᐱᐣᑭᐧ ᓀᔭᔑ ᐊᑎᐟ ᐃᓂᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᔓᓂᔭᐃᐧᑭᒪ ᐅᑐᓇᑯᓂᑫᐃᐧᓇᐣ ᐁᑲ ᐃᒪ ᐁᑲᐧ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐅᓇᔓᐊᐧᓂᑕᐧ, ᐁᑲᐧ ᑕᐡ ᐅᑭᒪᑲᐣ ᒥᓇ ᐅᑐᓇᔓᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂᓂᒪᐣ ᐃᐧᐣ ᐅᑲᐅᓀᑕᓇᐊᐧ ᐊᓂᐣ ᑫᐃᔑᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᒋᑲᑌᓂᐠ ᐅᑕᑭᒥᐊᐧ. ᐠᓫᐊᑐ ᐃᑭᑐ ᓂᔓᔭᑭ ᓇᐣᑕ ᓂᐦᓱᔭᑭ ᑕᐅᒋᐃᐧᒋᐦᐃᐁᐧᓭᓂ ᐊᐱ ᑫᑯᓂ ᑲᐃᐧᒪᑕᓄᑲᑕᒧᐊᐧᐨ.

Pill addictions are devastating Cat Lake, top left; the family of Martha Campbell honours her life, top right; and North Caribou Lake celebrates its new Rangers patrol, above.

ᐱᑲᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᐦᐊᔾ ᐢᑯᓫ ᐊᔕ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᑭᐁᐧ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑯᓯᐊᐧᐠ ᓂᔓᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲ ᑲᑭᐸᐧᑕᐃᐧ ᒪᒋᑕᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᐁᐧᓂ ᐅᒋ ᑲᑭᐊᑲᐧᑯᔑᐊᐧᓂᐠ ᐅᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐠ ᐅᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓂᐊᐧ ᐃᒪ ᐱᑲᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ, ᐊᔕ ᑕᐡ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᑭᑭᐁᐧ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑯᓯᐊᐧᐠ ᐦᐊᔾ ᐢᑯᓫ ᑲᐃᔑ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑯᓯᐊᐧᐨ. ᑯᑕᑭᔭᐠ ᐅᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐠ ᐅᑭᑕᐃᐧᐡᑲᓇᐊᐧ ᑲᑭᐃᔑ ᑲᐯᔑᐦᐃᑕᐧᐸᐣ ᒥᐡᑲᐧᐨ ᐦᐊᔾ ᐢᑯᓫ ᐅᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐠ ᒋᐱᑭᐁᐧᐡᑲᐊᐧᐨ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ. ᐱᑲᐣᒋᑲᒥᐠ ᑲᓂᑲᓂᐡᑲᐠ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫ ᐱᒧᒋᑫᐃᐧᐣ ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐁᑭᒋᓀᑕᑲᐧᐠ ᐃᐧᐸᐨ ᒋᔭᓂ ᑭᐁᐧᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐃᐧᑕᐧ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᐁᑲ ᒋᐸᓂᓭᐊᐧᐨ ᑲᐱᒥᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐃᐧᑕᐧ ᒥᓇ ᒋᔭᓂᑭᔑᑐᐊᐧᐨ. ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᐡᑲᐧᐨ ᑲᐊᑲᔐᔑᐊᐧᐨ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐊᐧᑲᓇᐠ ᑲᐃᐧᐣ ᒪᔑ ᒋᑭᐁᐧ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐃᐧᑕᐧ, ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐃᒪ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ ᐱᐦᐅᐊᐧᐠ ᒋᐱᑕᑯᑕᐸᒋᑲᑌᓂᑭᐣ ᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓇᐣ ᑫᐃᔑᑲᐯᔑᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐠ. ᐃᓂᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐣ ᐊᐧᑲᐦᐃᑲᓇᐣ ᒣᑲᐧᐨ ᐊᑌᐊᐧᐣ ᐊᑲᒥᐠ, ᐁᐱᐦᐅᐊᐧᐨ ᒋᑭᐸᑲᑎᐠ ᒋᐊᔓᑕᐸᑌᑭᐣ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ.

Pikangikum high school back in class Bingwi Neeyashi gets control of land Bingwi Neeyashi Chief Paul Gladu says the agreement his band signed with the federal government is a big step towards self-government. The Ojibway community is one of 18 First Nations across Canada, and the only northern Ontario First Nation to sign the agreement. The agreement takes Bingwi Neeyashi out from under some of the Indian Act, and allows Chief and council to make final decisions on how reserve land is used. Gladu says it will save two or three years for a development project to happen. Page 6

After a two-week delay caused by mould in the teacher houses in Pikangikum, high school classes have resumed. Elementary school teachers have given up their homes so that high school teachers could return to the community. Pikangikum’s education director said it was important to get the high school students back in class so that they can finish their year and graduate. The elementary school is still on hold, while the community waits for new trailers for the teachers to live in to arrive. The trailers currently sit across the lake from the community, waiting on the ice to thicken. Page 8

Family and friends in North Spirit Lake recalled Martha Campbell, a woman from the community who died in the plane crash outside the community in early January. Campbell, who lived in North Spirit Lake all of her life until moving to Winnipeg so her husband could access dialysis treatment, was returning to her home to do work for the band. North Spirit Lake Chief Rita Thompson called Campbell a tireless worker. “We called her a floater because she worked in almost every department in the band office,” Thompson said. A funeral and memorial service for Campbell was held in North Spirit Lake on January 27. Page 13

ᐃᑫᐧᐊᐧᐠ ᐱᑲᐧᑕᑭᐃᐧᐱᒪᒋᐦᐅᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᑭ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐃᐧᑕᐧ ᐅᐣᒋᒥᔑᓄᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᐱᐨ ᐃᐧᐣ ᓇᐯᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪᐠ ᐁᐧᑎ ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᐅᒪ ᑲᓇᑕ ᐊᐦᑭᐠ ᐱᑲᐧᑕᑭᐃᐧᐱᒪᒋᐦᐅᐃᐧ ᑲᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᐁᐅᐣᒋᒥᔑᓄᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑫᐧᐊᐧᐠ ᐊᐱᐨ ᐃᐧᐣ ᓇᐯᐊᐧᐠ ᐅᒪ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ. ᐁᑲᐧ ᒪᒪᐤ 17 ᑲᑕᓯᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᐡᑭᐦᐊᐠ 10 ᐃᑫᐧᐃᐧᐊᐧᐠ. ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪᐠ ᐱᑲᐧᑕᑭᐃᐧᐱᒪᒋᐦᐅᐃᐧᐣ ᑲᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑫᐊᐧᐨ ᐊᓄᑭᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᑭᐅᑯᐡᑲᐊᐧᐠ ᐁᑭ ᑭᑭᓇᐊᐧᒋᐦᐃᑕᐧ ᑲᑭ ᑭᔑᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᒉᐣᐁᐧᕑᐃ ᐱᓯᑦ 26 ᐃᒪ ᐃᐡᑯᓄᑲᒥᑯᐠ ᒣᑕᐁᐧᐃᐧᑲᒥᑯᐠ. ᐁᑲᐧ ᒥᓇᐊᐧ ᐱᐦᐅᐊᐧᐠ ᒋᒪᒋᒋᑲᑌᓂᐠ ᐅᐡᑲᑎᓴᐠ ᒋᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐃᐧᑕᐧ ᐱᑲᐧᑕᑭᐃᐧᐱᒪᒋᐦᐅᐃᐧᐣ ᐃᐧᐸᐨ ᓇᐊᐧᐨ. “ᒪᐊᐧᐨ ᐃᑯ ᒥᐢᑕᐦᐃ ᐅᑲᑭᑕᐸᒋᐦᐃᑯᓇᐊᐧ ᑲᑭᐃᔑ ᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᐃᐧᑕᐧ ᒋᐅᒋ ᐃᐧᒋᑕᐧᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᒪ ᑕᔑᑫᐃᐧᓂᐠ, ” ᑭᐃᑭᑐ ᐊᐧᐃᐧᔦᑲᒪ ᐅᓇᔓᐁᐧᐃᐧᓂᓂ ᓴᐧᓂᓴᐣ ᑭᓂᑲᐧᓇᐡ. “ᐁᑲᓇᐊᐧᐸᒪᑲᐧ ᐅᑯᐁᐧᓂᐊᐧᐠ ᑲᑭ ᑭᔑᑐᐊᐧᐨ ᐅᑭᑭᓄᐦᐊᒪᑯᐃᐧᓂᐊᐧ ᑌᐯᐧ ᐱᑯ ᐅᑲᐅᐣᒋ ᑭᑭᓇᐊᐧᐸᒥᑯᐊᐧᐣ ᐣᑕᓂᔑᓂᓂᒥᓇᓂᐠ.”

Women Rangers outnumber men North Caribou Lake became the first Canadian Rangers patrol with more women than men in Ontario. Ten of the 17 new members are female. The North Caribou Lake Ranger detachment held its graduation ceremony on January 26 in the community’s high school gym. The community is now waiting for the Junior Ranger program to come as well. “This patrol will be very beneficial to our community, big time,” said North Caribou councilor Swanson Kenequanash. “Looking at these graduates I think they will definitely be role models for our people.” Page 18

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Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

3

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Contamination fears in Kasabonika Wastewater flowing into lake; diesel plant at capacity Lenny Carpenter

Timeline

Wawatay News

The health and safety of Kasabonika Lake First Nation’s 940 residents are constantly a concern because of an overflowing sewage treatment plant and a diesel generator that’s been at capacity for years. Kasabonika’s sewage treatment plant has been polluting Kasabonika Lake with sewage for more than 10 years on one side of the community’s island home, while drinking water is brought in to serve the community’s needs from the other side of the island. Abraham Wabasse oversees Kasabonika’s treatment plant, where he says the sewage from the houses should be cleaned and drinkable by the time it reaches the lake, but it’s not. “There’s too much wastewater coming through the community, and (the sewage treatment plant) is too small to take care of it,” he said. The design capacity of the plant is 170,000 liters a day, but the demand is 306,000 liters a day as of 2004. At times, the sewage plant becomes so overwhelmed that the raw sewage leaks out the door and drains into the nearby lake, which occurred as recently as October 2011. Because the sewage treatment plant is always at capacity, the First Nation has not connected new houses to the water systems. “Otherwise, we’d be flooding,” Wabasse said.

1992: The sewage treatment plant is commissioned. 1999: The sewage treatment plant overflows for the first time. INAC says it is unable to provide funding for upgrades. KFLN creates trenches off reserve for excess sludge. 2000: More sewage overflow, this time spilling into residential area adjacent to sewage treatment plant and into Kasabonika Lake. KFLN begins trucking over excess sludge to trenches. 2004: Sewage treatment plant is reported to have a demand of 306,000 liters a day where its design capacity is 170,000 liters a day.

Photo by Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Kasabonika Lake First Nation wastewater treatment facility administrator Abraham Wabasse inspects the Rotating Biological Contactor room on Jan. 18. The sewage treatment plant has been at capacity since 1999, causing sewage overflow that drains into the nearby lake where residents get their drinking water. The community has not been able to get funding from Aboriginal Affairs to upgrade the plant to meet the demand of cleaning 306,000 liters a day. Since the sewage treatment plant first began flooding in 1999, the cleanliness of the water has been a constant con-

the research project. “People know not to fish in this lake,” Diabo said.

“People know not to fish in this lake.” - Mitchell Diabo, Kasabonika Lake’s community projects manager

Desperate measures The excess sewage from the plant and sewage from the homes not connected to the water pipelines has to be trucked off the island to a lagoon the band constructed on Crown land. The community applied for a permit to use the land as a lagoon, then went ahead illegally and built the lagoon without approval. “We don’t have time to wait, we just go ahead and do it, otherwise we’d be killing our own people,” Wabasse said.

cern, said Mitchell Diabo, community projects manager. “People are wondering about the water quality in Kasabonika Lake, which surrounds this island,” Diabo said. Diabo said the community has been looking to have research done by a team from the University of Ottawa to determine if the sewage is creating a problem at the water intake, but have not had any success in accessing $50,000 in funding for the first phase of

Generator at capacity The community’s diesel generation plant is also at capacity in the First Nation. Since 2007, connection restrictions limited growth in Kasabonika Lake after the 1MW diesel generator reached its peak generating limit of 85 per cent (850 kW), at one point reaching 90 per cent in January 2011. Even with these restrictions, and with an “aggressive” con-

servation program in place, Hydro One wrote to INAC in March 2011 that the diesel generation station’s capacity is “stretched beyond what is normal and safe practice.” Band councilor Gordon Morris said that because of the connection restrictions, there are new homes built since 2008 that are not connected to the power grid. Some of these homes have extension cords running to houses with electricity to meet basic electrical needs such as lights.

Many projects on hold The First Nation said the hydro restrictions and sewage treatment plant limitations have severely limited all development in the community. There are nine projects on hold, including houses, a nurs-

ing station, a garage/hangar, a new store, a small business centre and a warehouse. The community estimates that these projects could generate more than $9 million in jobs and economic opportunity. The First Nation lacks the funding to upgrade the sewage treatment plant and diesel generation station. Last year, it spent more than $1 million on the components for a new generator. However, the components sit in shipping containers on the reserve after Aboriginal Affairs cut construction funds. Until those two components get upgraded, Kasabonika Lake cannot build houses for its fast-growing population, which is already facing overcrowding at an average of more than five people per house and a backlog of more than 50 new units.

Winter/Spring 200708: The community’s onemegawatt diesel generation station reaches its peak generating limit of 85 per cent (850kW). Connecting restrictions are imposed, where no new connections can be made, including new houses. 2008: Sewage treatment plant fails completely but is later restored. January 2011: Diesel generation station reaches 95 per cent (950kW) capacity. 2011: KLFN purchases components for diesel generation station upgrades but cannot proceed with constructing due to funding delays. October 2011: Sewage treatment plant overflows again. Excess sewage and sludge continue to be trucked off reserve. KFLN submits funding proposal to Aboriginal Affairs for plant upgrades and await response.

Airport approach procedures coming to North Spirit Lake Rick Garrick Wawatay News

North Spirit Lake is scheduled to receive GPS instrument approach procedures by April 2012. “NAV Canada has been taking steps to increase the number of airports with instrument approaches,” said Ron Singer, a NAV Canada spokesman, in an e-mail reply. “Instrument approach procedures are scheduled to be published for two additional northern Ontario airports this April. A GPS instrument approach for Keewaywin and North Spirit Lake will be in place this April.” NAV Canada is a private company that operates Canadian airport navigation systems. Singer said 31 of the 35 approaches in northern Ontario currently have GPS instrument approach procedures, which use GPS signals

Photo by Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

North Spirit Lake was the site of a passenger aircraft crash on Jan. 10 during a snowstorm, which claimed the lives of four people. NAV Canada has since announced the community will receive a GPS instrument approach system by April 2012. from a satellite to guide airplanes in to an airport for a more efficient landing. North Spirit Lake had been calling for “an approach sensor” since the airport was built 17 years ago. “We need that (airport approach sensor) here,” said

North Spirit Lake Chief Rita Thompson Jan. 18. “What does it take — a tragedy to hear us? It’s frustrating.” A Keystone Air Piper PA 31 Navajo aircraft crashed on the ice about one kilometre short of the community’s airport while attempting to land

on Jan. 10 during a snowstorm. One person survived the crash. Thompson and North Spirit Lake Deputy Chief Cameron Rae suggested airlines call ahead before taking off to find out what the weather conditions are in the

community. “We don’t have any approach sensors; I think it should be a policy that they phone somewhere in North Spirit and ask about the weather and make sure the weather is good,” Thompson said.

“If you can’t see across the little bay here, then you have no business trying to fly in.” Thompson said the community’s struggle to get appropriate levels of funding would be easier if Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited to see what life is like on the ground. “I wish he could come to our communities and really see what it is like,” Thompson said. “We try really hard to use what they give us.” For example the chief noted that North Spirit Lake had only one phone for use by everyone in the community up until 1999, and no roads for much of her childhood.. “They had Internet even before they had telephones,” said Thompson, who returned to the community in 2000 after living in Winnipeg for many years. “People want to come home too but we have no housing for them to move into.”

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Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

From the Wawatay archives 16-5th Avenue North P.O. Box 1180 Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B7 Serving the First Nations in Northern Ontario since 1974. Wawatay News is a politically independent bi-weekly newspaper published by Wawatay Native Communications Society.

ᓂᐢᑕᑦ ᑲᑭᒪᑕᓄᑲᑌᐠ 1974 ᐁᐅᒋᐊᓄᑲᑌᑭᐣ ᑭᐧᐁᑎᓄᐠ ᐅᐣᑌᕑᐃᔪ ᑕᐃᑦᔑᑫᐧᐃᓇᐣ. ᑕᓱᓂᔓᐱᒥᑯᓇᑲ ᐅᔑᒋᑲᑌ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᓂᔑᓂᓂᐧᐃ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ ᒥᓇ ᑲᐧᐃᐣ ᐅᓇᔓᐧᐁᐧᐃ ᑲᓇᐧᐊᐸᒋᑫᐧᐃᓂᐠ ᒋᐃᔑ ᐸᐸᒥᓯᒪᑲᐠ ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓂᑫᐧᐃᓇᐣ. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Neegan

Commentary

Keeping the northern skies safe Xavier Kataquapit UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY

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ravelling in the north has always been a hazard for all kinds of reasons. The remoteness makes it difficult to have all the latest technologies in place. It is not like life in the south where many safety precautions are in place for the every day traveller no matter what their means of transport. The weather is a risk factor in the north most of the year but in the winter time things can actually be deadly. Most northerners from remote First Nations were saddened but not surprised to hear about the recent aircraft accident that occurred in North Spirit Lake First Nation in northwestern Ontario January 10. The accident involved a Keystone Air passenger plane, which crashed a kilometre short of the community’s runway during a blinding snowstorm. Four people died in the crash and one person survived. The community leaders have pointed out that navigational aids for landing aircraft are not available at their airport. That creates problems for landings in poor weather. The lack of the latest safety equipment contributed to this tragic accident. The news of this plane crash in a remote northern community brought back memories of fearful flights during the winter back home in Attawapiskat. We did a lot of flying around when I was a teenager attending high school in southern communities like Timmins and North Bay. My friends and I regularly flew up north and down south again for every major holiday during the school year. The flights arriving home for Christmas and the ones leaving after the New Year were always the scariest. To make matters worse we had to take off and land several times on one journey. On a trip from Timmins to Attawapiskat we had to land and take off in Moosonee, Fort Albany, Kashechewan and then finally arrive home. I recall taking off from Timmins at night in near blizzard conditions and landing at each community with blinding snow all around us. I always had an appreciation of the on board aircraft technology, navigational aids and the pilot’s skill needed to fly a plane in the wintertime. Even when I was young I also understood that our safety depended on some luck. I remember watching the lights outside my passenger window and wondering how

anyone could see through the blizzard of white specks and the darkness beyond. There were times during some flights when the pilot just couldn’t land our plane safely with the first approach and had to take off, circle the airport and try again. It was frightening to be tossed about in an enclosed cabin, up and down, then left and right, without knowing if we were going to survive the flight. I was always relieved to hear that loud thud of the wheels hitting the frozen gravel runway and then the whine of the engines as we braked. Anyone that lives in a remote First Nation community has stories like mine. Even if people never flew they were always aware of the comings and goings of aircraft. My dad and my brothers handled a cargo business in Attawapiskat and our work regularly took us to the airport to unload the freight service. It was a common occurrence in the wintertime during blinding snow storms to listen to the aircraft circling the community. We could hear the plane just over our heads and understood that the pilot was waiting for a short window of opportunity to line up and possibly land. I recall watching some cargo flights that had no passengers, dip down from under the clouds, bank steeply left and right over the treetops to line up for the runway and at the last second straighten out for a quick landing. It’s a scary sight to see the flood lights of a plane appear out of the clouds, bobbing in all kinds of directions before finally finding the runway. Community leaders in many northern First Nations understand what is needed to make these flights safer but in too many cases, their requests are put off or forgotten. Chief Rita Thompson, of North Spirit Lake FN explained in news reports after the accident that her First Nation has been asking for airplane approach sensors for more than a decade. Flying aircraft in the north is a challenge and doing so during the wintertime is an even greater risk. We shouldn’t have to wait for a tragedy to occur like the one in North Spirit Lake to take notice of these risks. Many northern remote communities across Canada rely on air service as a lifeline to the rest of the world. Our leadership and those responsible for providing services and funding for remote northern First Nation airports should really make a point to provide airplane approach sensors and any other vital technology for communities that don’t have the latest aids. This will save lives.

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Mishkeegogamang, 1981.

Born again Indians, more than colour Richard Wagamese ONE NATIVE LIFE

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oon I will be fifty-five years old. That means a lot to me. There were times in my younger life, living through desperate times that were largely self-inflicted, that I doubted that I would ever see thirty. So a full quarter century beyond that speculation is a nice place to be. This age feels good. I can look back and see the experience of living with the framework of six decades on this planet. It doesn’t make me feel old. Just experienced. The comforting thing about a niche in time like this is clar-

ity. I can see where I’ve been, who I’ve been and what I’ve accomplished or failed to do with equal sharp-sightedness. For instance, when I first met my people I was twentyfour. I’d been taken away as a toddler and placed in foster care and later, when I was nine, I was adopted by a white family who lived a thousand miles away from where I was born. I moved from the bush to the pavement of a Toronto suburb and it was a colossal change. But in that home and the schools I went to I learned nothing about who I was as a Native person. Instead, I was made to behave and act and walk and talk as though I were white. I wasn’t, of course, but great effort was made to allow

me to become a reasonable brown facsimile. As I’ve said before, it’s not the pounding in of the round peg in the square hole that hurts so much; it’s the scraping away that occurs. So when I made it home there was little of the Ojibwe left on me except for my skin. Coming home was traumatic because I knew nothing of who I was. It’s a hard thing to exist as a tribal person by the skin only. In felt great shame over not knowing my language, history or culture and just like in that adopted home, I felt like a fake, a fraud, an actor. I believed that if my own people didn’t accept me, I would be truly lost. That didn’t happen. Instead, I was welcomed and introduced gently to an Ojibwe

life and I took to it like a duck takes to water. I found a language, a culture, a tradition, a history and a stretch of territory in northern Ontario that was my home. It felt wonderful to be reconnected even if the feelings of doubt and insecurity still lingered at times. Like all truly healing things, what you need most seems to pop up suddenly like a friend at your door. I discovered ceremony. A friend introduced me to Elders and traditional teachers and when I began to learn the heart of my culture I felt awake and aware for the first time in my life. My insides were filled; even the dark corners where self-doubt sat mumbling at me. See RESURFACING page 5

CONTACT US Sioux Lookout Office Hours: 8:30-5:00 CST Phone: ....................737-2951 Toll Free: .....1-800-243-9059 Fax: ...............(807) 737-3224 .............. (807) 737-2263

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CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER David Neegan davidn@wawatay.on.ca

ART DIRECTOR Roxann Shapwaykeesic, R.G.D. roxys@wawatay.on.ca

EDITOR Shawn Bell shawnb@wawatay.on.ca

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Matthew Bradley matthewb@wawatay.on.ca

WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER Rick Garrick rickg@wawatay.on.ca INTERIM REPORTER Lenny Carpenter lennyc@wawatay.on.ca

SALES REPRESENTATIVE James Brohm jamesb@wawatay.on.ca CIRCULATION Adelaide Anderson reception@wawatay.on.ca

TRANSLATORS Vicky Angees vickya@wawatay.on.ca Agnes Shakakeesic agness@wawatay.on.ca CONTRIBUTORS Xavier Kataquapit Chris Kornacki Richard Wagamese

Guest editorials, columnists and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views of Wawatay News.

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FEBRUARY 2, 2012

5

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Pick up

COMMENTS

Weighing in on nuclear waste Re: Battle lines drawn on nuclear waste storage Thanks to Wawatay for the great coverage of this story. Unfortunately, it is one that we are probably all going to be following for some time. The nuclear industry has a history of being slow learners of the meaning of the word “no,” so the NWMO may continue to lurk around northern Ontario for quite a while, despite the very clear messages coming from both the treaty organizations and

individual First Nations. We’ve set up a web site with information about the concept and hazards of burying nuclear waste deep underground, and are visiting communities with workshops and other information, and generally keeping company with those who find their community entangled in some way in this struggle. In peace and justice, Brennain Lloyd Northwatch

Re: Battle lines drawn on nuclear waste storage This article contains an important mistake, Manitoba has a law on the books prohibiting the storage of nuclear waste in that province, a law passed in the 1980’s. In Saskatchewan, a group of First Nations and Metis people from the north have been collecting signatures on a petition opposing nuclear waste dumping, and have collected well over 10,000 names to date. We stand with the folks of Northern Ontario who say no. Submitted by MaryC

High cost to run a remote community Re: Verbal sparring on Attawapiskat continues I believe the Canadian public is generally unaware of the cost of running a community (especially a remote one). I also believe that the government knows this and is using it as a strategy to gain public support on the issue.

The unfortunate truth is... it’s working. Another unfortunate truth is this issue is causing a rift between Natives and the rest of Canada. When a question is asked (“where did the money go”) and no answer is offered, there will be suspicion. There is only one way to quell the suspicion. Chief

Spence, please publish your budget and expenditures, and put the accusations to rest. Let the rest of Canada see just how expensive it is to run your community. If there is misappropriation or mismanagement, then let the guilty parties fall and move on! Your community needs you! Setinstone

Reserve land allocation unfair Re: ‘Monumental shift in thinking’ needed, says national chief Atleo I submit these thoughts to you as an 83 year old non-Native admirer of Native culture. Back in the 60’s we brought two Natives and a Metis into our family and tried to learn as much as we could about the culture in order to give them pride in their heritage. We also learned first hand of their difficulties. In listening to the conversation on the problems at Attawapiskat and Mr. Atleo’ call for change in the relationship between Aboriginal and nonAboriginal Canadians, I noted that one fundamental issue was not addressed. This is the unfairness, which has resulted from the manner on which the various native bands were allocated reserve lands. It is a fact that many native bands, who were hunter-gatherers at the time of their coerced signing away of their heritage, were “conned” by the government negotiators through paternalistic promises of future care ad infinitum, into accepting reserves totally inadequate in area for maintaining their way of life. Now it is time to re-examine the legacy of the Indian Act and replace it with something more in keeping with today’s realities.

First, why are some bands flourishing and others not? The answer to this is that some reserves encompassed land which eventually proved to have potential for agriculture, fishery, mining (including oil and gas), forestry, tourism and/or simply proximity to centers of population sufficient to replace their hunter-gatherer economy, while many others did not. Examples abound that demonstrate the adaptability of Native people when presented with economic opportunities. But the arbitrary manner of selection of the location of the reserve lands and the capricious way Nature scatters its resources has resulted in many small reserves being located in areas in northern Canada totally lacking in any natural resources that could form a foundation adequate to replace the existing hunter-gatherer economy , and in many cases inadequate to support any economic activity whatsoever. As a result there are, perhaps, a hundred reserves that have become what amount to Welfare Colonies of the Federal Government, at an appalling cost, both to Canadian taxpayers and to the quality of residents’ lives. No amount of investment in reserves lacking access to economic opportunity can solve this dilemma. Their residents

are living beyond the margin of economic production. Unless the foundation of access to opportunity for meaningful economic employment is put in place, no good will come simply by relocating reserves to higher ground or constructing schools or installing utilities. Education and health care will suffer simply because small populations in isolated locations are too costly to economically provide services up to acceptable Canadian standards. What is needed are discussions among the residents of these isolated reserves on what they would prefer to do to improve their opportunity to live productive lives. Land swaps might be needed, particularly where the existing reserve lands are uninhabitable by reason of flooding or excessive isolation. This is where Federal and Provincial governments can supply support. It will be costly, but all such costs are a trifle next to the wealth flowing from the heritage lands surrendered for a pittance years ago. Education combined with access to economic opportunity are the essentials needed to transform our Native Canadians lives. And their next generation will have something to live for. Forget suicide. Think outside the box! John Alston

asm some of them called me a Born Again Indian. It was an insult and meant to say that I wasn’t genuine, that I didn’t really fit, that I was a dancing, singing, praying fraud and it hurt me greatly. I began to stay away and slink off into my isolation again. But Elders took me aside and told me that in our way everyone was equal and that as long as I came to ceremony with an open heart, an earnest desire and in honesty, I was worthy. They told me that if I approached my culture in this way, with humility as my guide, that I would be connected to it – and every time I would be

Aroland First Nation Band Office Atikokan Native Friendship Centre Attawapiskat Northern Store Balmertown Diane’s Gas Bar Balmertown Keewaytinook Okimakanak Batchewana First Nation Band Office Bearskin Lake Co-op Store Bearskin Lake Northern Store Beaverhouse First Nation Band Office Big Grassy First Nation Band Office Big Island First Nation Band Office Big Trout Lake Education Authority Big Trout Lake Sam’s Store Big Trout Lake Tasona Store Brunswick House First Nation Band Office Calstock A & J General Store Calstock Band Office Cat Lake First Nation Band Office Cat Lake Northern Store Chapleau Cree First Nation Band Office Chapleau Value Mart Cochrane Ininew Friendship Centre Collins Post Office Couchiching First Nation Band Office Couchiching First Nation Gas Bar Curve Lake Rosie’s Variety Deer Lake Northern Store Dinorwic Naumans General Store Dryden A & W Restaurant Dryden Beaver Lake Camp Dryden Greyhound Bus Depot Dryden McDonalds Restaurant Dryden Northwest Metis Nation of Ontario Dryden Robins Donut’s Ear Falls Kahooters Kabins & RV Park Emo J & D Junction Flying Post First Nation Band Office Fort Albany Band Office Fort Albany Northern Store Fort Frances Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre Fort Frances Sunset Country Metis Fort Frances United Native Friendship Centre Fort Hope Corny’s Variety Store Fort Hope First Nation Band Office Fort Hope John C. Yesno Education Centre Fort Severn Northern Store Geraldton Thunder Bird Friendship Centre Ginoogaming First Nation Band Office Gogama Mattagammi Confectionary & Game Grassy Narrows J.B. Store Gull Bay Band Office Hornepayne First Nation Band Office Hornepayne G & L Variety Store Hudson East Side Convenience & Cafe Iskatewizaagegan Independent First Nation Band Office Kapuskasing Indian Friendship Centre

Kasabonika Chief Simeon McKay Education Centre Kasabonika First Nation Band Office Kashechewan First Nation Band Office Kashechewan Francine J. Wesley Secondary School Kashechewan Northern Store Keewaywin First Nation Band Office Keewaywin Northern Store Kenora Bimose Tribal Council Office Kenora Chiefs Advisory Office Kenora Migisi Treatment Centre Kenora Ne-Chee Friendship Centre Kenora Sunset Strip Enterprise Kingfisher Lake Omahamo Hotel Complex Kingfisher Lake Omahamo Store Kocheching First Nation Band Office Lac La Croix First Nation Band Office Lake Nipigon Ojibway First Nation Band Office Lansdowne House Co-op Store Lansdowne House Northern Store Long Lake First Nation Band Office Michipicoten First Nation Band Office Migisi Sahgaigan First Nation Band Office Mishkeegogamang First Nation Band Office Mishkeegogamang Laureen’s Grocery & Gas Missanabie Cree First Nation Band Office Moose Factory Echo Lodge Restaurant Moose Factory GG’s Corner & Gift Store Moose Factory Northern Store Moose Factory Weeneebayko General Hospital Moosonee Air Creebec Counter Moosonee Native Friendship Centre Moosonee Northern Store Moosonee Ontario Northland Railway Moosonee Polar Bear Lodge Moosonee Tempo Variety Moosonee Two Bay Enterprises Muskrat Dam Community Store Muskrat Dam First Nation Musselwhite Mine Naicatchewenin First Nation Band Office Namaygoosisagon Band Office Nestor Falls C & C Motel Nicikousemenecaning First Nation Band Office North Spirit Lake Cameron Store North Spirit Lake First Nation Band Office Northwest Angle First Nation Band Office Ochiichagwe’babigo’ining First Nation Band Office Ogoki Trappers Store Ojibways of Pic River Nation Band Office Onegaming Gas & Convenience Onegaming Public Library Pawitik Store

Pawitik Whitefish Bay Band Office Pays Plat First Nation Band Office Peawanuck First Nation Band Office Pic Mobert First Nation Band Office Pickle Lake Frontier Foods Pickle Lake Winston Motor Hotel Pikangikum Education Authority Pikangikum First Nation Band Office Pikangikum Northern Store Poplar Hill First Nation Band Office Poplar Hill Northern Store Rainy River First Nation Band Office Red Lake Indian Friendship Centre Red Lake Video Plus Red Lake Wasaya Airways Counter Red Rock First Nation Band Office Rocky Bay First Nation Band Office Sachigo Lake Co-op Store Sachigo Lake First Nation Sandy Lake A-Dow-Gamick Sandy Lake Education Authority Sandy Lake First Nation Band Office Sandy Lake Northern Store Saugeen First Nation Band Office Sault Ste. Marie Indian Friendship Centre Savant Lake Ennis Grocery Store Seine River First Nation Band Office Shoal Lake First Nation Band Office Sioux Narrows Anishinaabeg of Kabapikotawang Slate Falls Nation Band Office Stanjikoming First Nation Band Office Stratton Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah- Nung Historical Centre Summer Beaver Nibinamik Community Store Taykwa Tagamou Nation Band Office Timmins Air Creebec Counter Timmins Indian Friendship Centre Timmins Wawatay Native Communication Society Wabaskang First Nation Band Office Wabigoon First Nation Band Office Wabigoon Green Achers of Wabigoon Wabigoon Lake Community Store Wahgoshing First Nation Band Office Wapekeka Community Store Washaganish First Nation Band Office Wauzhusk Onigum First Nation Band Office Weagamow Lake Northern Store Weagamow Lake Onatamakay Community Store Webequie Northern Store Whitedog Kent Store Whitesand First Nation Band Office Wunnimun Lake General Store Wunnimun Lake Ken-Na-Wach Radio Wunnimun Lake Northern Store

Landmark Inn Metis Nation of Ontario Native People of Thunder Bay Development Corporation Negahneewin College of Indigenous Studies Quality Market, Centennial Square Redwood Park Opportunities Centre Seven Generations Education Institute Thunder Bay Indian Friendship Centre Wawatay Native Communications Society

Wequedong Lodge 1 Wequedong Lodge 3 Westfort Foods Fort William First Nation Band Office Fort William First Nation Bannon’s Gas Bar Fort William First Nation K & A Variety Fort William First Nation THP Variety and Gas Bar

Thunder Bay Outlets Central News Chapman’s Gas Bar Confederation College Satellite Office, 510 Victoria Ave. East Dennis F. Cromarty High School Hulls Family Bookstore John Howard Society of Thunder Bay & District Ka-Na-Chi-Hih Treatment Centre Lakehead University Aboriginal Awareness Centre

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Resurfacing traditions continued Con’t from 4 So I became a regular at ceremonies and gatherings. There was nothing I did not want to experience. But my people had been wounded. Their way had been outlawed, their spiritual lives forced to go underground, generations taken away from them and their culture nearly left for dead by churches and governments. They brought the hurt from those experiences into the burgeoning reclamation of themselves and their ceremonial lives and were very protective of it. When I came along with my awkward white way of doing things and my enthusi-

at these locations

“borne again” to its spiritual center. They said that this was the true definition of a born again Indian, to be borne again into the heart of ceremony. It saved me. I celebrate my traditions proudly these days even if my hair is no longer braided or my home filled with cultural artifacts and art. In every ceremony I am borne again to my identity. I bear the truth of my identity and my being on the inside. It can’t be scraped away. It can’t be extinguished or altered. It exists as a truth – that I was born to be a male, Ojibwe human being and that I always will be.

5 Mile Corner Al’s Sports Excellence Best Western Chicken Chef DJ’s Gas Bar Drayton Cash & Carry Fifth Avenue Club First Step Women’s Shelter Forest Inn Independent First Nations Alliance Jeremiah McKay Kabayshewekamik Hostel Johnny’s Fresh Market

Lamplighter Motel Mascotto’s Marine Nishnawbe-Gamik Friendship Centre Northern Store Pelican Falls First Nation High School Pharmasave Queen Elizabeth District High School Robin’s Donuts Sacred Heart School Shibogama Tribal Council Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre Sioux Lookout Public Library

Sioux Lottery Sioux Mountain Public School Sioux Pharmacy Slate Falls Airways Sunset Inn & Suites Travel Information Centre Wasaya Airways Counter Wawatay Native Communications Society Wellington Inn William A. Bill George Extended Care Wilson’s Business Solutions Windigo Tribal Council

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Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

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Land use agreement marks ‘exciting time’ for First Nation Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek takes ‘huge’ step towards self-governance Shawn Bell Wawatay News

The first northern Ontario First Nation to opt out of the Indian Act as it applies to land use decisions says it has taken a huge step towards self-governance. Under a federal government land use management agreement signed Jan. 24, Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek (BNA) was given full authority over the development of its reserve lands. The agreement means the First Nation will no longer be governed by 34 land-use sections of the Indian Act. BNA Chief Paul Gladue said the agreements will help the First

Nation attract private business partnerships into the community. “What it does is open up many doors for economic development,� said Chief Paul Gladue. “We now don’t have to go through the bureaucratic system, we won’t have two-year land designations and the cost of doing that.� BNA is one of 18 First Nations communities across Canada accepted under the Framework Agreement on First Nations Land Management, and one of only two Ontario First Nations. The agreement essentially means that when it comes to reserve lands, the community – not the federal government

– has the final say on development and land use. Gladue explained that previously any land use decision made by chief and council had to be ratified by the department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, with final approval given by the minister. That process took up to three years, he said, a time frame that often jeopardized partnerships with industry. The BNA chief listed a range of projects the community has planned, including a sawmill, a wood pellet plant and an eco-lodge resort, that will now be able to go ahead without requiring federal government approval.

“What it does is open up many doors for economic development...� – Chief Paul Gladue

Kenora MP Greg Rickford, the parliamentary secretary to the minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, said the agreement on First Nations Land Management is an example of practical adjustments to the Indian Act – something chiefs from across Canada were calling for at the First Nations-federal government summit on Jan. 24.

REVIEW White River 2008–2018 Forest Management Plan Review of Proposed Operations for Phase II 2013–2018 Information Centre The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), White River Forest Products Ltd. and the White River Area Co-Management Committee (WRACC) invite you to an information centre to help us develop the second five-year term (2013–2018) of the 2008–2018 Forest Management Plan (FMP) for the White River Forest. You will have the opportunity to review and comment on: t 5 IF QSPQPTFE BSFBT JEFOUJGJFE GPS IBSWFTU SFOFXBM BOE UFOEJOH PQFSBUJPOT t 5IF QSPQPTFE SPBE MPDBUJPOT BOE DPOEJUJPOT GPS UIF TFDPOE GJWF ZFBS UFSN You will also have an opportunity to contribute to the background information to be used in planning. How to Get Involved To facilitate your review, an information centre will be held at the following location from 1 p.m. – 8 p.m. on the following days: Thursday, February 23, 2012 White River Seniors Harmony Club 309 Spruce Street White River, Ontario A summary map showing proposed areas for harvest, renewal and tending operations as well as the proposed road corridors will be available at the information centre or upon request.

White River Forest

The information and maps available at the information centre will also be available for review and comment at the Jackfish River Management office and at the MNR Wawa District Office by appointment during normal office hours for a period of 30 days from February 23, 2012 to March 23, 2012. Comments must be received by Tyler Straight at the MNR Wawa District Office by March 23, 2012. Meetings with representatives of the planning team Lake Superior and the WRACC can be requested at any time during the planning process. Reasonable opportunities to meet planning team members during non-business hours will be provided upon request. If you require more information or wish to discuss your interests and concerns with a planning team member, please contact one of the individuals listed below: Tyler Straight Management Forester Ministry of Natural Resources 48 Mission Road, Wawa, ON tel: 705-856-4720 fax: 705-856-7511 e-mail: tyler.straight@ontario.ca

Boris Michelussi Forester Jackfish River Management Ltd. 10 Becker Road, Hornepayne, ON tel: 807-868-2370 ext. 222 fax: 807-868-2594 e-mail: b.michelussi@jackfishriver.ca

Dino Tarini Chairman/Planning Team Rep. WRACC tel: 807-822-2109 e-mail: tarini@onlink.net

During the planning process there is an opportunity to make a written request to seek resolution of issues with the plan author, the MNR District Manager or the Regional Director using a process described in the Forest Management Planning Manual (2009). The operations for the first five-year term (Phase I) of the 10-year FMP 2008–2018 are nearing completion, and detailed planning for the second five-year term (Phase II) operations are commencing. This first stage (Stage 1) notice is to invite you to review and comment on proposed operations and to contribute to the background information to be used in planning. Stay Involved There will be two more formal opportunities for you to be involved. These stages are tentatively scheduled as follows: Stage 2 – Review of Draft Planned Operations Stage 3 – Inspection of MNR-Approved Planned Operations

June 8 – July 7, 2012 September 8 – October 7, 2012

The tentative scheduled date for submission of the draft-planned operations is April 23, 2012. If you would like to be added to a mailing list to be notified of public involvement opportunities, please contact Tyler Straight at 705-856-4720. The Ministry of Natural Resources is collecting your personal information and comments under the authority of the Crown Forest Sustainability Act. Any personal information you provide (address, name, telephone, etc.) will be protected in accordance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act IPXFWFS ZPVS DPNNFOUT XJMM CFDPNF QBSU PG the public consultation process and may be shared with the general public. Your personal information may be used by the Ministry of Natural Resources to send you further information related to this forest management planning exercise. If you have questions about the use of your personal information, please contact Paul Gamble at 705-856-4701. Renseignements en français : Zachary White au 705-856-4715

“The First Nation Land Management Act is a serious exercise for First Nation communities to get out from underneath almost one-quarter of the provisions in the Indian Act, with respect to self governance, land use planning, full authority over use of their land and any resources it represents,� Rickford said. Wilfred King, director of operations for BNA, said the next step for the First Nation is creating an operational regime of how lands are to be controlled on the reserve. That regime could include things like where residential, commercial and industrial activity will be allowed,

and the process by which the community will allow outside companies to use reserve lands. King said members of the First Nation will be asked to vote on the operational regime after it is finished. Once that happens, BNA will be officially independent from the federal government in terms of land use designations. According to both King and Gladue, that is a huge step in the First Nation’s self-governance. “This opens the door for the First Nation to benefit itself economically,� Gladue said. “It’s a very exciting time for the First Nation.�

ᓇᑕá? á?§á?Łá‘•á‘˛á?§á?Ł á’‹á?Šá”­á? á?ƒá?Ąá‘Żá“‚ᑲᓂá? á?łá“‚á?ƒá?§á‘˛á’Ľá‘Żá? á?ąá’Ľá“­á?ƒá?§á‘˛á’Ľá‘Żá? á?Šá?¸á’‹á’‹á‘˛á?Ł ᑲá?ƒá?§á?Łá’‹á‘Ťá’Şá‘˛á? ᑲá?ąá?łá“‚ᒪᑲá? á?ƒá’Ş á?…á’‹ á?¸á‘­á‘­á“‚ᑲᓂá? 1 á‘•á?§á‘Śá“´á?Ł á? ᑲá?§ ᒼᓇ á’Łá’Łá‘Ťá?§á”‘á?ƒá?§á“´á‘˛á?ƒá‘˛á“‚ á?…ᑭᒪᑲᓂᔑá?Ą ᑲᑌᕑá?Šá?Ł á•‘á? á?…ᑕᓇᑭá?ƒá”‘ á?ƒá?§á?Łá‘•á“‡á?Šá?§á?¸á?Ł á?ąá“‡á’Ş á’‹á?ąá“‚ᑲᓂ á‘­á‘?á?Šá?§á?¨ á? á’Şá?§á”Ś á?ąá’Şá’?á?Šá?§á?¨ á?Šá“‚á?Ł á? ᔑᑭᔑᑲᓂá? . á?Šá?§á? á?§ á‘•á?Ą ᑲᑌá?¸á“‚ ᑲá?¸á‘­á‘Žá“‡á? á?ąá’Ľá“­á?ƒá?§á‘˛á’Ľá‘Ż á?Šá?¸á’‹á’‹á‘˛á“‡á?Ł ᑲá?…á’‹ á?ƒá?§á?Łá’‹á‘Ťá’Şá‘˛á? ᑲá?ąá?łá“‚ᒪᑲᑭá?Ł á?ąá’Ľá“­á?ƒá?§á“‡á?Ł á?Šá”• á?…á‘­á?ąá?ƒá?§á?Łá‘•á?Ł á’‹á?ąá?¸á‘­á‘Žá“‡á‘­á?Ł á?ƒá’Ş á’Łá’Łá‘Ťá?§á”‘á?ƒá?§á“´á‘˛á?ƒá‘˛á“‚á? ᒼᓇ á‘­á? á?§á?ƒá?§á?Ł á? á’Şá?§á”Ś á“‚á‘­á‘Żá?ąá“Żá‘Ś 2012. á? ᑲá?§ ᒼᓇ á? ᑲ ᑲᑭᑎᒪᑭᓇᑲá?§á‘­á?Ł á?Šá?§á‘˛á?ƒá‘˛á“‡á?Ł, á? ᑲ ᑲá?§á”­á? ᑲá?ƒá”‘ᓇᑲá?§á‘­á?Ł á’§á?Šá?§á?ł ᑲá?ƒá“‡á”‘ᑲá?ƒá?§á’‹á‘˛á‘Œá‘­á?Ł ᒼᓇ á‘˛á“„á‘Œá“­á?ƒá?§á“‡á‘˛á?§á? á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá‘Ťá?ƒá?§á?Ł á’Ľá?…á“„ á?Šá‘Žá?&#x; ᑍᑯᓇá?Ł ᑲᑭá?ƒá?§á?Łá’‹á‘˛á‘Œá‘­á?Ł á? ᔑᓇᓄᓭᑭá?Ł á?ƒá?Ąá‘Żá“‚ᑲᓇá?Ł ᒣᑲá?§á?¨ á’‰á?Łá? á?§á•‘á?ƒ á?ąá“Żá‘Ś 17 ᒼᓇ 18 ᑲᑭá?Šá”­á‘­á“€ á‘­á?…á‘Ťá?Šá?§á?¸á?Ł á?…á‘Žá?¸á’‹á’§á? , á? ᑲá?§ á?Šá?§á? á?§ ᑲᑭᓂᑲᓂá?Ąá‘˛á? á‘­á?…á‘Ťá?ƒá?§á“‚á? á?Šá“‚ᔑᓇá?Ż á?Šá?˘á‘­ á‘­á’‹á?…ᑭᒪᑲá?Ł á?˘á‘•á?Ł á?Żá•‘á‘Ž á? ᑲá?§ ᒼᓇ á‘­á’‹ á?…ᑭᒪᑲᓂᔑá?Ą á“Ťá? á?˘ á“Ťá?…á‘Žá?&#x; á?Šá?§á‘˛á?Śá?ƒ á?…á?Łá‘Œá•‘á?ƒá”Ş á‘˛á‘­á?Šá”­á‘­á“€á?Ąá‘˛á?Šá?§á?¨ á? á?§á‘Ž á“‚á?ąá“‡á’Ľá? , á?Šá?¸á’Şá‘?á? , á’Łá?Ąá‘­á‘˛á?§á‘˛á’Şá? , á?Šá“´á?¸á“‡á‘˛á? á? ᑲá?§ á’Łá’Łá‘Ťá?§á”‘á?ƒá?§á“´á‘˛á?ƒá‘˛á“‚á? . á•‘á?ƒá?Żá‘˛ á?&#x;á•‘á? á? , á?…á?Ąá‘­á“‚á‘­á‘Ťá?§ á“‚á”­á“„á?Šá?§á?Ł á?…á‘•á?Šá?§á”‘ᔑᒪá?Ł á?Šá?¸á’Şá‘?á? á? á?…á’‹á?¨ á? ᑲá?§ á?ƒá”‘ᑲá?Żá”‘á?Šá?§á? á?…á“‚á‘­á?Śá?ƒá‘Żá? á? á?ƒá?§á’‹á‘˛á?Żá”‘á’Şá?Šá?§á?¨ á?Šá?§á‘˛á?ƒá‘˛á“€á“Żá? ᓂᔑá?Ł á?ƒá’Ş á? á?Šá”­á“‚á? á“‚á?Żá?ƒá?§á‘˛á’Ľá‘Żá?Ł, á‘­á?ƒá‘­á‘? á? á?ƒá?§á?ƒá”‘á‘Żá“Żá?¨ á‘•á?Łá‘?á•‘ á?Ż ᒼᓇá?Šá?§ á?ąá“Żá’§á?Ł á? á?ƒá?§á“‡á“‡á‘?á“‚á‘Ťá‘•á’Şá?Šá?§á?¨ á?…á‘•á?Šá?§á”‘ᔑᒪá?Ł á’‹á’Ľá“„á“­á“‚á?¨ á?…ᑌᓇá? . “á?Łá?¸á‘Żá“­á‘•á?Ł ᓇá?Šá?§á?¨ á’‹á’Ľá“„á“­á”­á? á?Šá?ąá?¨ á?ƒá?§á?Ł á?…á’Ş ᑲá?Šá”­á”­á? ,â€? á‘­á?ƒá‘­á‘?. “ᓂᓇᑕá? á?§á“‚á’Şá? ᒋᑭᔑá‘?á?Šá?§á?¨ á?…á‘­á‘­á“„á?Šá’Şá‘Żá?ƒá?§á“‚á?Šá?§. ᒼᓇ á’‹á’Ľá“€á?§á?Łá‘•á’§á?Šá?§á?¨.â€? á?Šá”• á“‚á“´á?§á“ąá”­á‘­ á?…á‘?á’‹ á?ƒá?§á’‹á‘˛á?Żá”‘á’Şá?Ł á?…á“‚á‘­á?Śá?ƒá‘Żá?Ł á?&#x;á•‘á? á? á? ᑲá?§ ᒼᓇ á?Šá”‘á?¨ á?…á‘•á?Šá?§á”‘ᔑᒪá?Ł. â€œá‘˛á?ƒá?§á?Ł á?Šá?Šá?§á”‘á’Ł á?…á’Ş á“‚á?ƒá?§á?Šá”­á“Żá?Ł,â€? á‘­á?ƒá‘­á‘?. “ᓂᓂᑭá?ƒá‘Żá? á?ƒá‘Ż á? á‘• á?…á’Ş ᑲá?…á’‹ á?Šá?§á?ƒá?§á’‹á?Śá?ƒá”‘á?Šá?§á?¨. á“‚á“‚á‘Ż á“‚á?Żá”‘á‘Żá?…á?ąá‘­á?Śá?Šá? á?Łá‘•á?Šá?§á”‘ᔑᒪá? , á? ᑯᑲá?Ąá‘­á‘?á”­á?Ł ᓂᑲᑍá?§á‘?á‘•á?Ł.â€? ᓇá?ąá?¨ á?ƒá‘Ż á?Šá‘˛á“Żá“‚ á?ƒá’Ş á‘˛á?ƒá”‘ᑲá?Żá”‘á?¨ á?ƒá“€á‘•á‘˛á?§á“‚ á?Šá?§á? á?§ á?&#x;á•‘á? á? , ᔕᑯá?¨ á’Şá?Šá?§á?¨ ᒼᔕᓂ ᑲá?ƒá”‘á‘•á?¨ á?Šá?ąá?¨ á?ƒá?§á?Ł á‘Żá‘•á‘­á”­á? ᑲá?ƒá”‘ᑲá?Żá”‘á?Šá?§á?¨ á? ᑲ ᑲá?¸á?¸á‘Ťá“´á‘˛á“‚á? ᒼᓇ ᑲᒧᒋᓇá?¸á‘­á“´á‘Żá?Šá?§á‘­á?Ł ᒼᔑá?Ł á?ƒá?Ąá‘Żá“‚ᑲᓇá?Ł ᑲá?ƒá”‘ᑲá?Żá”‘á?Šá?§á?¨. â€œá“‚á“‚á‘Ż ᓂᒧᒋá?Żá”‘ᑯᑲá?Żá?Ą,â€? á?ƒá‘­á‘? á’Łá?Ąá‘­á‘˛á?§á‘˛á’Şá? á? á?…á’‹á?¨ á‘•á?§á’Ľ á?˘á?Żá?&#x;. â€œá‘˛á?ƒá?§á?Ł ᓇá?Łá‘• á?Łá‘Žá“€á‘•á“Żá?Ł á?…á’Ş á? ᑲá?Żá”‘á”­á?Ł á?Šá?§á‘˛á?Śá?ƒá‘˛á“‚ᔑá? . á’Ľá?Šá‘Ż á? ᔑᓇᑲá?§á‘­á?¸á?Ł á?…á? á?§ ᑲᑭᑕᔑ á?…á?ąá‘­á?Śá?Šá‘˛á?§ á?Łá‘•á?Šá?§á”‘ᔑᒪá? á? ᑲá?§ á‘Ťá“‚á?Ł á?Šá’Ľ ᑲá?ƒá”‘ᓇᑲá?§á? ᑲá?ąá?…á?ąá‘­á”­á?Ł.â€? á?Šá?§á? á?§ á?Šá“‚ᔑᓂᓂ á?Šá”• á? á?§á?Ąá‘˛á?¨ á?…á?Łá’‹á?ąá’Ľá?ąá“ąá‘•á’Şá‘Ť á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá?Šá?§á‘˛á“‡á? ᑲá?ƒá”‘á?ąá’Ľá‘•á?¸á“‚á‘•á?§ á? ᑲá?§ á?ƒá’Ş

á‘­á?ƒá”‘á?Šá?Łá’‹á‘Żá“Żá?¸á?Ł 12 ᒼᓇ 14 á‘•á“ąá’Ľá“Żá?&#x; á? á?Šá?ąá’?á“‚á? á?Šá?§á‘˛á?ƒá‘˛á“‚ ᓇá?Šá?§á?¨ á’‹á?…á’‹ á‘Œá?¸á?Ąá‘­á“€á“‚á?¨ á?…á‘•á?Šá?§á”‘ᔑᒪá?Ł ᒼᓇ á?…á“Żá“´á?Ł, á?ƒá’Ş á?ƒá?§á?Ł á?ƒá”‘ᑲá?Żá”‘á?Šá?§á?Ł á?…á‘Ťá‘Œá?Šá?§á‘˛á?Śá?ƒá‘˛á“‚á? . “á?Šá”• 30 á‘•á“ąá”­á‘­ á?Łá‘?á’‹á?ąá’Ľá?ąá“ąá‘•á’Şá‘Ť á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá?Šá?§á‘˛á“‡á? ᑲá?ąá’Ľá‘•á?¸á“‡á‘˛á?§,â€? á?ƒá‘­á‘? á?˘á?Żá?&#x;. á‘Żá‘•á‘­á”­á?Ł ᑭᒋᑍᑯᓇá?Ł ᑲᑭá?Šá?§á?¸á‘•á?Śá?ƒá‘•á?§ ᑲᑭá?¸á?¸á’Ľá”­á?Šá?§á?¨ á? á?§á‘Ž á?Šá“´á?¸á“‡á‘˛á? á’Şá?Šá?§á?¨ á?ƒá‘Ż á? ᓇᓂᓴᓂᓯá?Šá?§á?¨ á?Šá?ƒá?§á”­á? á’‹á”­á“„á’‹ ᓴᑲá?ąá“€á?Šá?§á?¨. á?ƒá’Ş á‘•á?Ą á?Šá“´á?¸á“‡á‘˛á? á’§á?Šá?§á?ł ᑲá?ƒá“‡á”‘ᑲá?ƒá?§á’‹á‘˛á‘Œá? á?…á‘?á?¸á“‚á? á?Šá”• á?Šá?Šá?§á”‘á’Ł á’Ľá‘•á“ąá”­á‘­ á?…á?Łá’‹ á?ąá’Ľ á?ąá’‹á?łá?Šá?§á‘˛á’Ľá’‹á‘Ťá’Şá‘˛á?Ł ᓴᑲá?Śá?ƒá‘˛á“‚á? á’Şá”­á‘Ś á?ƒá’Ş á‘•á”‘á‘Ťá?ƒá?§á“‚á? ᓇᓯá?ąá? , á? ᑲá?§ á? á?§á‘Ž á‘Ťá?§á‘˛á‘˛á‘Ś á?…á‘?á?Łá‘•á?Śá?ƒá?¸á‘•á“‡á?Šá?§ á“‚á?ąá“‚ ᑲᒼᓂᑲá?§á‘•á’§á?Šá?§á?¨. “ᓇá?Łá‘• á?ąá‘Ż á“‚á”­á“„á”­á‘­ ᑲᑭá?ƒá?Ąá‘˛á?§ á?…á”‘á’‹á‘˛á‘Œá‘­á?¸á?Ł ᒣᑲá?§á?¨ 1992 á?Šá?ąá?Ł ᑲᑭᔭᓂᔕá?łá?ąá? ,â€? á?ƒá‘­á‘? á’Ľá’? á‘Žá”­á?ł, á? ᑲá?§ á?ƒá“‡á“„á‘­ á? á?…á?Łá’‹ á‘­á‘­á“„á?Ąá‘˛á’Şá‘Ťá?¨ ᒼᓇ á?Šá“ąá?Ąá‘˛á’Şá‘Ťá?¨ á?Šá?Śá‘­á?ƒá?§ á?Šá?¸á’‹á’‹á‘Ťá?ƒá?§ á?…ᓇᒋᑍá?ƒá?§á“‚ á?ƒá’Ş á‘•á”‘á‘Ťá?ƒá?§á“‚á? . â€œá’Ľá‘•á?Ą á?ƒá‘Ż ᑲá?Żá?Śá?ƒ á?Šá”• á?…á? á?§ á? á?…á’‹á?ąá’Ľá?ƒá‘­á? . á?Šá“‚ᔑᓂᓂá?Šá?§á? á‘•á?Ą á?…á‘•á“€á?Łá‘•á’Ľá?Śá?ƒá‘Żá?Šá?§ á‘­á?Ąá?ąá?Ł ᒼᓇá?§á‘˛á’Ľá“„á‘Ťá?§á?Ł ᒋᑭᒼᓂᑲá?§á‘Œá‘Ťá?§á?Ł á“‚á?ą á?ƒá’Ş á‘Œá‘Žá?¸á?Śá?ƒ ᓴᑲá?Śá?ƒá‘˛á“‚á? .â€? á‘Žá”­á?ł á?ƒá‘­á‘? á?ƒá’Ş á‘•á”‘á‘Ťá?ƒá?§á“‚á? ᑭᑲᑍá?§á‘Œá?§á?¸á“‚á? á’‹á‘­á?ą ᓇᓇᑲᒋá‘?á?Šá?§á?¸á?Ł á?…ᓇᓇᑲᒋᒋᑍá? á? á?§á‘Ž á?Šá‘?á?Šá?§ á‘­á?Ąá?ąá?Ł á‘Œá?Żá?§ á?ƒá?§á“‡á‘˛á’Ľá’‹á‘Ťá’Şá‘˛á“„á‘Ťá?§á?Ł á’§á?Šá?§á?ł ᑲᔕá?¸á?§á”‘ᑲá?ƒá?§á? , á? ᑲá?§ á‘•á?Ą ᑲá?ƒá?§á?Ł á’‹á‘­á?…á’‹ á‘Œá?ąá“‡á?Šá?§á?¨ ᔓᓂᔭá?Ł $50,000 ᑲᓇᑕá? á?§á?Łá‘•á‘Żá“Żá?¨ á’Ľá“‚á‘Żá? á“‚á?˘á‘•á‘Ś ᑲá?ƒá“‡á‘­á‘Œá? á’‹á’Şá‘•á“„á‘˛á‘Œá? ᓇᓇᑲᒋᒋᑍá?ƒá?§á?Ł. “á?…á‘­á‘Ťá?Łá‘•á“‡á?Šá?§ á? ᑲ á?ƒá’Ş á“´á‘˛á?Śá?ƒá‘˛á“‚á? á’‹á?…á?Łá‘Žá“‡á?Šá?§á?¨ á‘­á“„á”?á?Ł,â€? á‘­á?ƒá‘­á‘?. á? ᑲá?§ ᒼᓇ á?ƒá’Ş á?Šá“´á?¸á“‡á‘˛ á?ƒá?Ąá‘Żá“„ᑲᒼᑯá? á?Šá”• á’Ľá‘?á“‚ ᓄᓇá?Ąá‘˛á‘­á“€á?Šá?§á? á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá?Šá?§á‘˛á“‡á? , ᒼᓇ á“„á?Łá‘Œá“­á?Šá?§á? á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá‘Ť á?Šá?¸á’‹á’‹á‘˛á“‡á?Ł ᒼᓇ á?¸á?¸á‘Żá“€á“´á‘˛á“‚ á?…á’Łá‘•á? á?§á?ƒá?§á‘˛á’Ľá‘Żá?Šá?§. á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá‘Ťá?ƒá?§á‘­á’Ş á‘­á?ƒá‘­á‘? á’Şá?Šá?§á?¨ á?ƒá‘Ż á?…á? á?§ ᑲᑭᑎᒪᑭᓇᑲá? á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá‘Ťá?ƒá?§á?Ł á?…á’Ş ᑕᔑᑍá?ƒá?§á“‚á? á’Ľá?Šá?ąá?Ł á?ƒá’Ş á?…á?Ąá‘˛á‘Žá“´á? ᑲᔭᓄᒋ á?łá“‚á‘?á?Šá?§á?¨ á?…á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá‘Żá?ƒá?§á“‚á?Šá?§. “á?Šá‘Žá‘˛ ᒣᑲá?§á?¨ ᑲᔭᓂ á’Şá?Śá’‹ á‘­á‘­á“„á?Śá?Šá’Şá‘Żá“Żá?Šá?§á?¨ á?Šá?§á‘Œá?¸á‘˛á?ƒá?§á?ąá“Żá‘Ś ᓂᒼᑕᓇ á“‚á‘­á?Šá”­á?Šá?§á’Ľá?Ł á?…á‘Žá?Ąá‘Żá“‚á? á?ƒá’Ş á?Żá”‘á? ᑲá?ƒá”‘ á?…ᑲá?§á?ąá?Śá?ƒá‘•á?§ á? ᑲá?§ á‘•á?Ą ᑲá?ƒá?§á?Ł á’‹á‘­á?…á?Łá’‹ á‘Œá?ąá“­á‘­á?Ł á?Šá’‹á‘˛á“‡á‘Žá‘Żá?Ł ᒼᓇ ᑌᓴá?łá?ƒá?§á“‡á?Ł, á?ƒá’Ş á? á‘­á?ƒá”‘ ᓇᓂá?ąá‘Œá”­á‘˛á?§á?ąá?Šá?§á?¨ á?Šá?§á‘­á’‹á‘Œá“´á‘Žá? ,â€? á?ƒá‘­á‘? á? ᓇá?Ł á?&#x;á•‘á?Šá?łá•‘, ᑲá?ƒá?Ąá‘Żá“„á‘­á’Şá?ƒá?§á?¨ á?ƒá’Ş á?ƒá?Ąá‘Żá“„ᑲᒼᑯá? . “á?…á‘Žá?Ąá‘Żá“‚á? á‘•á?Ą á?…á?Šá?§á?¸á‘•á“‡á?Šá?§ ᒼᓇ á?…á’Ľá‘Ťá?§á?Łá‘•á“‡á?Šá?§ á?…á? á?§á“‚, á’Ľá‘•á?Ą á?Šá?ąá?Ł ᑲᑭᔭᓄᒋ á?łá“‚á’‹á‘Ťá?Šá?§á?¨ á?Šá“‚á?Ą á? á?Šá?§á?¸á?Łá‘•á’§á?Šá?§á?¨ á? ᑲ á? á?ƒá?§á’‹á?Śá?ƒá‘Żá?Šá?§á?¨ á?…á‘Žá?Ąá‘Żá“„ᑲᒼᑯá?Šá?§.â€?

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

7

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Drug epidemic needs support: medical director Funding needed for community treatment programs, intergenerational healing Shawn Bell Wawatay News

The prescription drug abuse epidemic ravaging northern Ontario First Nations has placed an additional burden on health care providers in the North. Claudette Chase, medical director at the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA), says prescription drug addiction has become an “ever increasing” part of practicing medicine. “There’s no question it’s an epidemic,” Chase says. “It’s added a new layer of sadness watching people struggle with these addictions.” She notes it is now common for a health care practitioner to ask a patient how many oxys has been taken that day. Cat Lake First Nation’s declaration of a state of emergency on Jan. 23, due to an estimated 70 per cent

of residents being addicted to prescription drugs, is only the latest hot spot in an increasingly pan-northern problem. In 2010 Eabametoong called on the federal government for help to deal with a spate of drug-fueled violence. Estimates at the time said 80 per cent of adults in the community were addicted to prescription drugs. Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) also issued a NANwide state of emergency over prescription drug addiction in 2009. NAN Deputy Grand Chief Mike Matawabin says the result has been little to no action by either the federal or provincial governments. “The response from government has been slow, or not at all,” Metawabin says. Chase agrees that the governments must do more. She sees the issue as a pub-

epidemic.” Adding to her frustration is the lack of resources being provided to communities that have plans to deal with the issue on a local level.

“If it was an epidemic of influenza or Tuberculosis, there would be huge resources pouring in from a public health perspective.” - Claudette Chase, medical director of Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority

The epidemic of oxycodone and percoset addictions is straining health care provision across northern Ontario. lic health epidemic, at least on the level of the H1N1 pandemic of 2009. But the response has not been at an “epidemic-level,” Chase says. “If it was an epidemic

of inf luenza or Tuberculosis, there would be huge resources pouring in from a public health perspective,” she says. “I don’t see a response on the level of an

She cites Eabametoong, where leaders are calling for funds to implement a 21-day on-the-land treatment program. Not a lot of money is required, Chase says, but at the end of the day someone has to pay for gas to get clients to the site and food

while they are there. Cat Lake has stated it wants to establish a similar land-based treatment program. It too is waiting for funding. “I’d love to see communities listened to when they say ‘this is what we need’,” Chase says. She also points to the issues of intergenerational trauma, and the fact that most drug users in the community are using drugs to self-medicate. In the long run, Chase says, there needs to be funding and support for healing those kinds of trauma if the cycle of substance abuse and addiction is ever to be broken. “Most of the people using drugs are trying to get away from painful memories,” Chase says. “I don’t see the support for communities to heal from intergenerational trauma.”

Needles a concern in Cat Lake drug problem From page 1 Use of needles is also raising concerns of a potential HIV outbreak in the communities. “HIV is obviously on our minds,” Chase said. “Numbers of HIV have been steadily rising in First Nations communities across Canada, moving from west to east. Saskatchewan is starting to have huge struggles with HIV, and cases are starting to show up in Manitoba.” Chase said that so far neither the government of Ontario nor the federal government is working to address the issue of prescription drug abuse as the epidemic it has become. “If this was an epidemic of influenza or Tuberculosis, there would be huge resources pouring in from a public health per-

spective,” Chase said. “I don’t see a response on the level of an epidemic.” Meanwhile Cat Lake has called for a number of actions to help address its immediate needs. In a position paper sent to the federal and provincial governments, Keewaykapow said a regional drug search and seizure program is essential. This chief would like regional airports in Sioux Lookout and Thunder Bay to be much more vigilant when it comes to checking passengers. He also wants a checkpoint set up on the winter road connecting the community to Pickle Lake, where all vehicles coming into the community could be searched. Keewaykapow also pointed

to the growing list of people in Cat Lake asking for help in dealing with addiction. Thirty community members have signed up for a suboxone treatment program, should one ever come to Cat Lake. An additional 47 people have signed up for drug addiction counciling, although the community has no such program available. He said a community-run land-based treatment program may be one solution. “Cat Lake First Nation has effectively used land-based treatment in the solvent abuse sector,” Keewaykapow wrote. “We feel that a program for oxycodone abuse would be extremely effective; what is required is funding for program development.”

Feds promise more money to fight prescription drugs Shawn Bell Wawatay News

Health Canada has announced funding of $700,000 for northern Ontario to help the fight against prescription drug abuse. The money was pledged during a meeting in Thunder Bay on Jan. 12, where 11 First Nations that have community-based prescription drug abuse projects joined Health Canada reps to compare strategies. It is expected that the money

will be given out by March 31. Health Canada spokesperson Stephane Shank said the government is currently developing a plan for more funding in the next fiscal year. “Given that responding to the issue of prescription drug abuse is a priority for the region, we have identified one-time funding totaling $700,000 to help support community-based initiatives,” Shank wrote in an email. Prior to the meeting in Thunder Bay, Health Canada represen-

tatives visited Kasabonika Lake, where community-based treatment programs are ongoing. A week after the pledge, Cat Lake First Nation declared a state of emergency over prescription drug abuse in the community. Cat Lake is calling on both the federal and provincial governments to take action on the issue, including providing more funding for community suboxone programs, in-community councilling and support for a land-based treatment program.

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Lawyer petitions against Conservative crime bill Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

A group of lawyers in the Kenora District is petitioning against the Conservative government’s new tough-on-crime legislation, saying it will cause more Aboriginal people to enter the prison system. Kenora lawyer Peter Kirby is part of the Kenora Lawyers Sentencing Group and hopes to bring at least 500 signatures to Ottawa where he has a provisional invitation to speak to the Senate on Feb. 8 about Bill C-100. While the bill incorporates nine different pieces of legislation, most of it pertains to criminal law and the Youth Criminal Justice Act, which Kirby said will eliminate the ability of judges to impose conditional sentences for different offences such as fraud over $5000, theft of a vehicle and crimes of violence. As result, Kirby said, more Aboriginal people will end up serving time in prison and have longer sentences. Although Aboriginals represent only four per cent of the Canadian population, Kirby said they represent 20 per cent of the prison population. The Kenora District contains

about 30 First Nations, and Kirby often represents people from those communities. He said a head count at the Kenora District Jail last September revealed that First Nations inmates accounted for 85 per cent of the male and 100 per cent of the female inmates. By enacting Bill C-100, Kirby said it undermines the Gladue decision, where the Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that the Canadian justice system needed to find ways to reduce the amount of Aboriginal people in prison. Kirby said restorative justice is a method of reducing that number, which includes conditional sentences. “It could allow defendants to continue to live at home, to continue to work, maybe go to treatment programs,” Kirby said. “Usually conditional sentences involve house arrests.” It could also involve probation and community hours. For youth, some restorative justice programs allow them to issue an apology or gift to the victim. The Kenora Lawyers Sentencing Group will be collecting as many signatures as it can before Feb. 8 and hopes for more before the bill is passed.

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FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Kasabonika students dropping out Holes in gymnasium floors, lack of materials pushing kids from school Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Chief Simeon McKay Education Centre principal Helena Trapper shows how deep one of the holes in the her school’s gymnasium floor during a Jan. 17-18 Nishnawbe Aski Nation media tour to Kasabonika and four other NAN communities. She said the holes cannot be repaired; the whole floor has to be replaced.

Kasabonika’s Chief Simeon McKay Education Centre has holes in the gymnasium floor big enough for the principal to stick her arm into. “You can actually just see gravel,” said Helena Trapper, principal of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 school. “The holes can’t be repaired — it has to be a whole new floor.” Due to the condition of the floor and a limited amount of sports equipment, Trapper said students usually get exercise by playing hockey in the community arena. “It’s a safety issue,” Trapper said, noting the gymnasium also has exposed wiring by the electrical plug-ins. “I always get my staff to ensure no kids are playing with these.” In addition to being a sports facility, the gymnasium functions as a community hall and a provincial courtroom. “This is a multipurpose facility,” Trapper said. “This is where the community feasts — everything happens in here.” Trapper said the school also faces shortages in classroom

space and needs more updated education resources. “In September we had 40 students in one class and we didn’t have enough tables and chairs — they had to sit on the

“We had 40 students in one class and we didn’t have enough tables and chairs.” - Helena Trapper, principal

counter,” Trapper said. “The students see that and feel that, so now they’ve ended up dropping out of school because they see the school cannot support a proper education.” Trapper said the school had 290 students at the beginning of the school year, but due to the dropout rate among high school students, the number of students has since dropped to 214 as of Jan. 10. “A lot of the materials we have here are outdated or not really relevant to our First Nations issues,” Trapper said. “So most of the information we get is off the Internet, but how good is that?”

High school classes back in Pikangikum Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Pikangikum’s high school students are back in class as of Jan. 27. “The high school teachers are staying in the newer trailers that were brought in last year,” said Kyle Peters, Pikangikum’s director of education. “A couple of (elementary teachers) had to move out of there to accommodate them so the high school can keep going.” Peters said the elementary school teachers who had been staying in the newer trailers left the community to make room for the high school teachers. “Some of (the high school students) have plans to go to college this fall,” Peters said. New housing trailers for the community’s teachers are currently parked across the lake from Pikangikum, awaiting thicker ice conditions for safe passage to the community. “There are already semis driving across,” Peters said about the winter road across the lake. “It was opened on Jan. 19.” Most classes in the elementary school are still on hold until the new trailers are available for teachers. Peters said some of the

Wawatay News file photo

High school students in Pikangikum are back in class, after teachers were fitted into existing homes. Elementary classes are still on hold while the community waits for trailers to be shipped across the lake, once the ice is thick enough to support them. community’s teacherages have been cleaned up by workers. “Now they are renovating the living areas,” Peters said. “It was mostly the basements that were mouldy.” Most classes at Pikangikum’s Eenchokay Birchstick School, including all the high school classes, were closed Jan. 9 due to mould in the teacher’s living quarters. Twenty-five of the school’s 31 teachers left the community or were in the process

of leaving as of Jan. 11 after mould was found in their accommodations during an air quality assessment conducted by an independent consultant. The assessment was called for after a teacher became ill. More than 600 students were left without classes due to the class closures. As the teachers left the community, concerns were raised about whether the high school students would finish their school year.

“They are three to four weeks away from finishing up the first semester,” Peters said in early January. “We were anticipating our highest graduation number ever — 17 possible graduates. I don’t know what is going to happen.” But after meeting with federal government officials in Winnipeg during the week of Jan. 9-12, Pikangikum Chief Jonah Strang said considerable progress had been made regarding the teachers’ accommodations.

Sioux Lookout Area Aboriginal Management Board (SLAAMB) wants to thank the following businesses and organizations for their donations for our Open House and 20 Year Celebration on December 2, 2011: Bargain Shop Confederation College Johnny’s Food Market Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority Sunset Inn & Suites Valhalla Inn Wilson’s Business Solutions

BMO – Sioux Lookout Forest Inn Sioux Lookout Municipal Office Sioux Travel/Carlson Wagonlit Travelodge/Airlane, Thunder Bay Wasaya Airways

And of course the general public You all helped make our Open House and 20 Year Celebration a success. — Meegwetch. Y

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

9

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Chapleau Cree raise concerns over illegal hunting charges

Cliffs to spend $3 billion in Ring of Fire Chris Kornacki

Rick Garrick

Wawatay News

Wawatay News

Chapleau Cree World War II vet Donald White has stopped hunting since his rifle was seized by a Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) conservation officer on Sept. 29, 2010. While the rifle has been returned and the final charges in the case were dropped late last year, the seizure of the Elder’s rifle has opened a rift between the Chapleau Cree community and the MNR. “(White) only received the rifle back from the MNR after we threatened to bring a lawsuit to force them to return it to him,” said Paul Quick, a lawyer with Klippensteins Barristers and Solicitors in Toronto. “The official line that was given as to why they did not return the rifle before that was that forensic tests were being conducted on the rifle.” The 97-year-old Elder, along with his brother Ian White, also a World War II veteran, and his nephew Steven Caldwell were pulled over and questioned by a conservation officer about a moose Caldwell shot in the Crown Game Preserve. After being kept by the side of the road for about 45 minutes, Donald White’s rifle was seized. Caldwell was charged with illegally hunting on a roadway and making a false statement to a conservation officer on Nov. 24, 2010. Two weeks later Caldwell was also charged with careless hunting. The charges were finally

photo by Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Chapleau Cree World War II veterans Donald and Ian White helped unveil the NAN Veterans Flag along with Grand Chief Stan Beardy during a ceremonial parade with Canadian Rangers, Junior Canadian Rangers and Canadian Forces personnel at the 2009 Keewaywin Chiefs Conference. Donald White’s rifle was seized for two months in 2010 by a Ministry of Natural Resources conservation officer after he, his brother Ian and their nephew Steven Caldwell were pulled over and questioned about a moose Caldwell shot in the Crown Game Preserve. dropped in the autumn of 2011. Jolanta Kowalski, MNR senior media relations officer, said evidence collected by the conservation officer suggested that the moose was shot from the road. “This is an offence whether someone has Aboriginal rights or not,” Kowalski said. “However, prior to trial the defendant’s counsel disclosed new evidence suggesting the individual did not shoot from the road. Crown withdrew the charge as he did not believe he had a reasonable prospect of conviction.” However Quick pointed out that potential witnesses

were not interviewed, including a non-native passerby who helped Caldwell recover the moose from the bush and a group of MNR employees who drove along the road where the moose was alleged to have laid dead for several hours. “They had a record of their own MNR truck driving by that area and they didn’t bother to interview their own MNR officers about whether or not there was a dead moose by the side of the road,” Quick said. The case has led Chapleau Cree Chief Keith Corston to question the relationship the

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band has with the MNR. Corston wants the government to look into to how conservation officers are charging community members with safety infractions. “We should be looking at that Interim Enforcement Policy we have with the MNR,” Corston said. The Interim Enforcement Policy was developed by Ontario to minimize the number of instances where Aboriginal people are in conflict with the government over the Game and Fish Act, the Fisheries Act and the Migratory Birds Convention Act. The Interim Enforcement

Policy states that an Aboriginal person who identifies themselves as such shall not be subject to enforcement procedures when harvesting or transporting wildlife or game as food for personal consumption and for social and ceremonial purposes, except for when hunting in an unsafe manner, where wildlife or fish are taken for commercial purposes, where wildlife or fish are taken in a manner that puts conservation objectives at risk or where hunting or fishing occurs on privately owned or occupied land without express permission of the owner or occupier.

Cliffs Natural Resources announced their budget plans for 2012 and is looking to spend close to $3 billion to get its chromite project in the Ring of Fire into production, with $1.8 billion of that going to build a ferrochrome processing plant. Cliffs said it will also spend $150 million to develop the Black Thor mine site, one of three sites it controls in the Ring of Fire, and $800 million to construct a near-mine concentrating plant. Not included in those estimates is $600 million to build an all-weather road Cliffs said would benefit remote northern communities and other Ring of Fire mining projects. Because of that, Cliffs says it will be looking to private and government entities to share the cost of building the road. Cliffs also said they have not made a decision about the location of the ferrochrome processing facility, according to Cliffs spokeswoman Patricia Persico. Cliffs controls three large chromite deposits in northern Ontario’s Ring of Fire and has a timeline to begin production in 2015. Their initial prediction in 2009 called for production of an annual outcome of 600,000 tons of ferrochrome. But Cliffs also announced that after significant additional pre-feasibility work, Cliffs now anticipates annually producing 1 million tons of chromite in addition to the original 600,000 tons of ferrochrome.

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10

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Crowded houses, shacks frame life in North Community tour highlights difficult living conditions on Ontario reserves Rick Garrick Wawatay News

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper met with First Nation leaders Jan. 24 in an awardwinning building in Ottawa, Elders in communities across northern Ontario were making do with tiny plywood, chipboard and log shacks for homes. “I live here on my own,” said Mishkeegogamang’s Tommy Spade about his 12 by 14-foot chipboard and plywood home. “I don’t mind living in this kind of shack. I used to raise my family in this kind of house and I was born like that.” The long-time community school bus driver moved into the shack to provide more space for his children and grandchildren, who are living nearby in his old house. “We’ve got two families living there,” Spade said. “When I was sleeping at night time, I couldn’t go to sleep early; my grandkids were running around and making too much noise.” Spade built the shack with about $1,100 worth of lumber supplies and insulation. “I burn about four cords a year, maybe,” Spade said, estimating the cost to heat his small home. “It isn’t very much.” A family in Kasabonika also made a similar decision to provide more living space for their children and grandchildren by building first a smaller home next to their original home, and then later an even smaller home. “They’ve been living here for quite a while now,” said

photos byRick Garrick and Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

ABOVE: Mishkeegogamang’s Tommy Spade built his 12 by 14-foot chipboard and plywood home to provide more room for his children and grandchildren, who are living nearby in his old house. LEFT ABOVE: Eabametoong’s Rebecca Drake is planning to leave her community within the next month to find a better life for herself and her five children in Thunder Bay. She and her children have been living with her parents for seven to eight years. LEFT BELOW: Inside a house in Mishkeegogamang.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Stan Beardy, who translated for the two Elders during a Jan. 17-18 NAN media tour to five communities. “They built these two structures on their own efforts with no help from the band. And they use extension cords from next door for power.” Beardy pointed out there wasn’t any running water in the 12 by 16-foot home, which has some insulation in the walls but no insulation in the bare split-

log rafter and roof sheathing ceiling. “They get the water truck to haul in some drinking water for them,” Beardy said. “When they put enough wood in (the wood stove) it’s nice and warm. But you have to keep the fire going all the time.” The Elders’ grandson wishes there were better wiring and running water in his home, the first smaller home built. “We can’t use too much electronics,” Waylon McKay said. “If

we do, the power could go out.” The Crown-First Nation Gathering took place in the recently named John G. Diefenbaker Building, which was opened in August 1958 by Princess Margaret and won the Massey Medal for design in 1959. Although Harper spoke during the gathering about former prime minister Diefenbaker’s efforts to extend the right to vote to First Nation band members living on reserve in 1960,

Eabametoong’s Rebecca Drake plans to leave her reserve within the next month to find a better life for herself and her five children, aged seven and under, in Thunder Bay. “I’m hoping for a better life than what they got here,” Drake said. “I want them to finish school. I want them to be happy.” An only child, Drake and her children have been living in a small two-bedroom home with her parents for seven to eight

years. “I want to get out of here,” Drake said. “My parents are the only ones there for me. I’m a single parent — I try to do my best.” Drake is planning to go back to school and work towards becoming a Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service officer. “I’ve been wanting to do that for so long already,” Drake said. “I know it’s going to take time but it’s something I look forward to.”

sgdn “Ask the NWMO” is a question-and-answer feature that will be appearing on a regular basis in this spot. This is your opportunity to pose questions directly to NWMO staff about Canada’s plan for managing used nuclear fuel over the long term. Communities are in the early stages of learning more about that plan, which requires that the used fuel be safely and securely contained and isolated in a deep geological repository in a suitable rock formation. Do you have questions about how used nuclear fuel is safely transported? Do you want to know more about how the storage site would be built and how it would operate? Are you unclear about environmental safeguards or the impact on the local economy? Ask! The NWMO wants you to have the facts. We look forward to hearing from you.

Canada’s plan for managing used nuclear fuel is a long-term infrastructure project that will cost from $16 billion to $24 billion to implement. You have a right to accurate information from qualified people. The NWMO has those people, and they want to answer your questions. Ask whatever is on your mind—there is no such thing as a bad question. Space is limited, so we can only take on one or two questions in each edition. When a lot of questions are asking the same thing, we will group them together under a topic or theme. To forward questions: Email the NWMO at learnmore@nwmo.ca.

www.nwmo.ca

Background In May 2010, the NWMO published a process for identifying an informed and willing community to host a deep geological repository for storing Canada’s used nuclear fuel. The NWMO anticipates that it will take between seven and 10 years to decide on where to locate the repository and associated facilities. Learning about the project does not commit a community to anything. Learning enables the community and surrounding areas, including Aboriginal people, to understand the project and to have informed discussions. “Ask the NWMO” is an advertising feature published regularly in community newspapers to respond to readers’ questions about Canada’s plan for managing used nuclear fuel over the long term. The NWMO welcomes your queries.

« Demandez-le à la SGDN » est un encadré publicitaire de type question-réponse qui paraîtra régulièrement à cet endroit pour vous permettre de poser vos questions directement au personnel de la SGDN au sujet du plan canadien de gestion à long terme du combustible nucléaire irradié. Des collectivités en sont aux premiers stades d’apprentissage sur ce plan, qui exige que le combustible irradié soit confiné et isolé de manière sûre et sécuritaire dans un dépôt géologique en profondeur construit au sein d’une formation rocheuse appropriée. Avez-vous des questions concernant le transport sûr du combustible nucléaire irradié? Voulez-vous en savoir plus sur la façon dont le site de stockage sera construit et exploité? Avez-vous des doutes par rapport aux garanties environnementales ou les incidences sur l’économie locale? Demandez-le! La SGDN souhaite vous renseigner et a hâte de vous entendre.

Le plan canadien de gestion du combustible nucléaire irradié est un projet d’infrastructure à long terme dont la mise en œuvre coûtera 16 à 24 milliards $. Vous avez le droit d’obtenir des renseignements précis de personnes compétents. La SGDN emploie de ces personnes, et elles sont prêtes à répondre à vos questions. Demandez tout ce qui vous vient à l’esprit — les mauvaises questions n’existent pas. Comme l’espace est limité, nous ne pouvons accepter qu’une ou deux questions par édition. Lorsque plusieurs questions concernent la même chose, nous les regrouperons sous un même sujet ou thème. Pour transmettre vos questions : Faites parvenir un courriel à la SGDN à ensavoirplus@nwmo.ca.

Contexte En mai 2010, la SGDN a publié un processus qui vise à identifier une collectivité qui acceptera en toute connaissance de cause d’accueillir un dépôt géologique en profondeur où sera stocké le combustible nucléaire irradié canadien. La SGDN prévoit qu’il faudra sept à 10 ans pour décider où seront construits le dépôt et les installations associées. Le fait de se renseigner sur le projet n’engage en rien une collectivité. L’apprentissage permet à la collectivité et aux régions voisines, ainsi qu’aux peuples autochtones, à comprendre le projet et à avoir des discussions éclairées. « Demandez-le à la SGDN » est un encadré publicitaire qui paraîtra régulièrement dans les journaux de la collectivité pour répondre aux questions que se posent les lecteurs sur le plan canadien de gestion à long terme du combustible nucléaire irradié. La SGDN attend vos questions.

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

11

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Private home ownership building pride in Whitefish River, says chief Shawn Bell

bomgai repeatedly emphasizes, band members started taking more pride in their homes. “You can see the difference between our old subdivisions and the new subdivision,” Paibomgai says. “The care of the units is completely different.

Wawatay News

Chief Franklin Paibomgai of Whitefish River First Nation is happy to talk housing. Despite the prevalence of housing woes all across northern Ontario First Nations, the days of housing concerns in Whitefish River – just north of Manitoulin Island – are a thing of the past. Paibomgai laughs when asked about the last time housing has come up at a band meeting. Housing has not been on the agenda for years, he says. It used to be a constant thing – someone wanting a new home, or needing renovations on a current house. But now, thanks to a dramatic shift in how the community looks at housing, there are subdivisions going up and a community-owned construction company doing the work. In 2003 Whitefish River’s housing situation was similar to many First Nations across northern Ontario. Existing houses were in poor condition. There was a long list of people wanting new homes. And the housing money provided by the federal government was barely enough to complete upkeep on existing houses, never mind build anything new. Paibomgai and his council knew something drastic had to change. Jobs were scarce, houses were few and far between and members were leaving the reserve, looking for

“No band council plans to fail. We simply fail to plan.” - Chief Franklin Paibomgai

photo courtesy of Whitefish River First Nation

50 homes like this one have been built by First Nation owned construction companies on Whitefish River First Nation. In 2005 the First Nation started backstopping individuals who wanted to take out a mortgage to build their own home. Whitefish River’s chief says the change has been incredible. “These are no longer just places we survive in,” he says of the community’s homes. “These are places we put our spirit into.” a better life elsewhere. But as Paibomgai describes it, his council was moving ahead without knowing where it was going. “No band council plans to fail,” he says. “We simply fail to plan.” So the band council of the day changed course. For the next two years the community of Whitefish River got together to make a plan. Over 100 people showed up regularly for the meetings, out of a community that numbered 300 at the time. And in the end the people of

Whitefish River decided that despite all of the challenges facing the community – including health care, social issues and education – their first priority had to be housing. The approach Whitefish River took to solve its housing problem was novel. The community knew that increased federal money was not going to happen, and that the annual funding they received from the government would never be enough to meet their needs. So instead of using federal money to build homes, the First Nation revamped its bylaws to

allow it to co-sign mortgages for band members, who would basically be paying to build their own home. According to Paibomgai, the benefits were threefold. First, having members getting loans from banks or credit agencies, backstopped by the band, substantially increased the amount of housing money the community had to spend. Second, members were suddenly able to customize the design, look and feel of their home, which made for a more attractive community. And third, a point Pai-

Before there was no ownership, no investment, so windows would break and there would be no repairs. Now people are invested, and it is building pride into the community.” The new system involves a financial officer from the band creating a payback plan for a member who wants to build a new home. Monthly payments are worked out based on what the individual can afford, and the size of the house is designed to meet that amount. And at the end of the payback period, whether it is 10 or 20 years, the band member takes ownership of the home and the property it is on. Meanwhile the community has created its own construction company. Now band members get a loan for a house from a bank, and then the bank pays a Whitefish River construction company to build the house – which gives jobs back

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to the community and further increases the community’s pride over the houses. Since 2005 the First Nation has built 50 homes without touching its federal housing money. New land has been set aside for a second subdivision, and the emergency housing that previously existed is completely gone. Plus nearly every able-bodied person who wants to work has a job in construction. Paibomgai admits the process has not been easy. The First Nation has had to evict band members from their homes when they failed to meet the agreements that were signed. It has been hard for some members to meet the mortgage payment each month, although the chief says they are careful to budget for a payment plan that is feasible. But overall Paibomgai says the move has reaped dividends for his community. “These are no longer just places we survive in,” he says. “These are places we put our spirit into. We’re building pride in our community. And it’s given us the added dimension of employment, but that wasn’t a driver. It just built its own inertia.” “Housing is not on the council’s agenda now,” Paibomgai adds. “We’ve moved on to health, economy and education. And the best part is that people are moving back home.”

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Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Contemporary folk from Sioux Lookout musician Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Nick Sherman is about to take the stage at the Black Pirates Pub in Thunder Bay, Ont. The 27-year-old self-taught musician from Sioux Lookout, Ont., appears calm and cool despite his busy day on Jan. 20. He drove four hours from Sioux Lookout, did a CBC Radio interview at 4 p.m., and bought pots and pans from a thrift store for “a percussion thing” he planned for his set. And all evening he helped unload equipment, set up the stage, coordinated the performers, sold CD’s, and schmoozed with friends, family and fans who came out to support him in the release of his new album, Drag Your Words Through. As the band wraps up its set, a polite and charming Sherman excuses himself to prepare for his performance. Sherman was born in Sioux Lookout and spent his childhood living in Weagamow Lake First Nation (also called North Caribou Lake), out on the trapline, and Sioux Lookout. He said he became interested in music as far back as he can remember.

“My first interest in actually playing music was seeing my grandpa playing the guitar,” he said. “Just seeing the guitar and him playing it, I just always wanted to do that.” He’d strum the guitar that was lying around in his home and didn’t learn to play until he was about 13-years-old. “I had an old book with gospel songs in it – it was my mom’s – and at the back it had a chart with all these chords, and I learned every single chord,” he recalls, laughing. His early influences were gospel music and older country songs. “But the really inspiring stuff was seeing friends learning how to play the guitar and playing their own stuff, and being exposed to the music they played or wrote.” Sherman wrote his first song when he was about 15. “But it wouldn’t have been in the style of a singer-songwriter,” he said. “It was more punk-rock music at the time.” He laughs in trying to recall what that first song was about. “It was probably about a girl in high school,” he said between chuckles. “In high school, that was your biggest worry.”

His current style didn’t begin to evolve until he was about 18, which is when he began to take songwriting more seriously. He lumps his musical style into two categories. “When I play by myself, it’s more of a contemporary folk singer-songwriter style, and when I’m with a full band, it’s more folk-rock.” He said he uses the word “folk” because it’s more of a storytelling genre. “A lot of my songs have that, not literally a story, but there’s a story that influences the song.” And he uses contemporary to differentiate it from “traditional” folk. “Traditional folk I think is more message-driven. It’s more literal with the lyrics,” he said. “So I use contemporary because my lyrics aren’t so literal, there’s more meaning to what I’m actually saying.” Sherman said the early songs he wrote were relationship-based songs and “kinda nomadic.” “I moved around a lot at the time, and lived in different cities,” he said. The later chunk of his songs, like Winterdark, were about ‘looking through other people’s windows.’

NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY FOR REVIEW DRAFT CLASS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT A Class Environmental Assessment for the Activities of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines under the Mining Act that are subject to the Environmental Assessment Act The Ministry of Northern Development and Mines is developing a Class Environmental Assessment (Class EA) under the Environmental Assessment Act for its activities under the Mining Act. These activities include discretionary tenure decisions related to surface rights, mining rights and chattels, and Ministry-administered mine rehabilitation activities. As part of the planning process, a draft Class EA is being made available for public review and comment. The draft Class EA may be amended in consideration of any issues or new information before a final version is formally submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, as required under the Environmental Assessment Act. A copy of the draft Class EA is available at www.ontario.ca/MDLB and at:

“Not literally,” he’s quick to clarify with a laugh. “But in that I began to hear and see experiences from people other than myself, and that’s what’s inspiring.” In composing songs, inspiration comes in a variety of ways, and it could be lyrical or musical. “They run parallel to each other,” he said. “I’ll come up with a melody and make up words for that, or suddenly a stream of lyrics will come out, and I write music to that.” The 10 tracks in Drag Your Words Through were written between 2005 and last summer, and were prepared for recording over the last two years. Sherman received a grant from the Ontario Arts Council that allowed him to take two months off from work last summer to focus on recording. He previously had earned a certificate in audio engineering at Recording Arts Canada in Toronto in 2009 and enjoyed the recording process for his new album in Thunder Bay. “Aside from playing music, I’ve always enjoyed recording music and mixing it,” he said. “It was very interesting because we really had to look at each song microscopically. “It was hard to see the big picture of how it was going to sound like, and once we started the project, we were dissecting the songs and making them sound how we wanted them to sound.” Sherman said the songs took different shapes in the recording process and he didn’t get a feel for how the album would sound until it was complete. “I am very happy with it,” he said. “The process was fun. I was working with friends, and my friend Jean Paul (De Roover) produced it. It was amazing.” Sherman takes the stage in Thunder Bay and starts off

photo by Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Nick Sherman released his new album, Drag your words through, at a CD release concert in Thunder Bay Ontario. with a solo set with his acoustic guitar and later, a harmonica. He plays tracks from his new album along with some covers, and later, his band joins him to finish his set to the eclectic and dancing crowd. “It was a great turnout and a lot of fun,” he said. The show is the first in a planned series of concerts to promote his album. The next night, he opened for a band at

the Apollo and the following weekend, he played in Sioux Lookout on Jan. 28. Sherman plans on playing more shows in northwestern Ontario in the upcoming months and then hopes to play in southern Ontario and Western Canada venues in the summer. Drag Your Words Through is available on iTunes or through his website nicksherman.ca.

Using art to take on war

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Written comments about the draft Class EA must be received by February 21, 2012. All comments should be submitted to: Jennifer Lillie-Paetz, Environmental Assessment Coordinator Strategic Support Unit, Mineral Development and Lands Branch Ministry of Northern Development and Mines 933 Ramsey Lake Road, 6th Floor, Sudbury, ON P3E 6B5 tel: 705-670-5918 or 1-888-415-9845 ext. 5918 fax: 705-670-5803 e-mail: Jennifer.Lillie-Paetz@ontario.ca Please note that personal information provided in a submission (such as name, address, and telephone number) and your views and opinions are being collected by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines under the authority of the Environmental Assessment Act, for the purpose of engaging in public consultation as required by section 13.1 of that Act. The personal information may also be shared with the Environmental Approvals Branch of the Ministry of the Environment as part of the approval process for the class environmental assessment. The collection, use, and disclosure of this information are governed by the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Questions about this collection should be directed to Amanda Mizerski at 416-327-0690 or Amanda.Mizerski@ontario.ca.

photo by Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Lac Seul artist Rebecca Belmore (centre right) recently visited students at Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School in Thunder Bay prior to an appearance at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, where she spoke about two of her performance art pieces during a special evening event for the gallery’s Sense of Place exhibition.

Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Rebecca Belmore’s performance piece — Making Always War — was featured during her Jan. 27 discussion at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. “At that time (2008) I believe the dead soldiers count in Afghanistan was climbing close to the 100 mark,” said the Lac Seul artist who represented Canada at the Venice Biennale in 2005. “That was kind of what I was thinking about, the idea of how we ... are continually making war.” The performance piece featured Belmore nailing six Desert Storm shirts from an army surplus store onto a piece of salvaged West Coast timber while powwow music played

from her pickup truck’s speakers at an outdoor plaza at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “Here I was, an Anishinabe outside my own territory and in Coast Salish territory, hammering nails into a piece of Douglas Fir and creating my own version of a totem pole,” Belmore said. Belmore did the performance piece as part of a twoweek residence on campus with graduate students at UBC. “Instead of a giving a lecture to the student body, I created a performance piece on campus because I was trying to show to them that you can make an artwork anywhere, anytime, any place,” Belmore said. Belmore spoke about her performance work as part of

a special evening at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery, which also featured well-known Canadian authors Alistair MacLeod and Nino Ricci. The three were involved in Sense of Place, a cross-border show on exhibit at the Thunder Bay Art Gallery from Jan. 13 to Feb. 26. Belmore also described Victorious, another performance piece she performed in 2008, during her talk. Victorious involved the construction of a throne and period dress of Queen Victoria around a seated Aboriginal model using strips of newspaper and honey while music played in the background, including the British national anthem, God Save the Queen.

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

13

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North Spirit Lake family remembers woman killed in plane crash Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

Charlotte Rae of North Spirit Lake First Nation sits in her living room, surrounded by family and community members. It’s Jan. 18, more than a week after a Keystone Airways flight crashed about one kilometer from the North Spirit Lake airport. Four people died in the crash, including Charlotte’s daughter, Martha Campbell. On the morning of Jan. 10, Martha was scheduled to fly in to work within the community. She planned to stay a week. “She phoned me at 6:30 that morning before she left,â€? Charlotte recalls. “She said‌â€? Her voice trails off, thinking of the last words her daughter said to her. Her youngest daughter Kassie holds her hand, while Eva, her sister-in-law, rubs her arm. Charlotte whispers to Kassie, and she hands her some tissues. After wiping her tears and collecting herself, Charlotte continues. “She said, ‘Mom, I’m coming home.’â€? Charlotte had woken up Kassie that morning to tell her that her sister was on the phone. “She sounded so happy on the phone,â€? Kassie says of her sister. “She’s never usually that happy when she calls so early in the morning.â€? Charlotte went to work as usual that morning at the Victo-

ria Linklater Memorial School. She noted the blizzard and wondered why the plane had to fly in such weather. Around 10 a.m. she recalls hearing the plane circling around the community. Later, she received a call from one of her daughters, informing her of the crash. She was taken home and awaited news of any survivors. “Then my sister came by and said, she’s gone,� Charlotte recalls. Martha lived in North Spirit Lake all her life until her family moved to Winnipeg, Man., because her husband was on dialysis, which wasn’t readily available on the reserve. Charlotte says Martha was a good daughter. “She helps me a lot, even when she’s in Winnipeg, she would do grocery shopping for me,� she says. “When I say something to her, she never talks back. She’s a good student.� Charlotte says her fondest memories are of taking Martha camping and fishing in the summertime when she was a child. Kassie says Martha took her in when she needed a place to live. “We were that close,� she says. “She helped me a lot, with anything and everything.� Charlotte is asked what hobbies or passions Martha had, and she pauses for a moment to think. Kassie chimes in. “Bingo,� she says, and the room erupts in laughter. “She likes to go to the bingo,�

Charlotte recalls with a laugh. “And she would call me on the phone and say, ‘Mom, can you send me bingo money?’� After moving to Winnipeg, Martha would make frequent trips to the community, working in various capacities. North Spirit Lake Chief Rita Thompson called Martha a tireless worker. “She did a lot of things. We called her a floater because she worked in almost every department in the band office,� Thompson says. A week after the crash, still devastated by the loss, Charlotte has come to terms with her daughter’s fate. “I thought, well, it’s time for her to go,� she says. “I was thinking, before we’re even born, God has made a plan for us, how we’re gonna die, how long we’re gonna be living. Our days are numbered.� Charlotte previously lost her husband, but she was prepared for it because he had an illness. “It hurts, and everybody knows that, everybody has the same feeling if they lost family, especially when it’s sudden,� she says. Charlotte doesn’t blame anyone for the crash and the loss of her daughter. “The thing that hurts me is that I’m a mother, and I have a motherly love for her,� she says. “But I know the Lord had a plan for her.� The family and community held funeral services for Martha on Jan. 27.

photo by Lenny Carpenter/Wawatay News

Charlotte and Kassie Rae of North Spirit Lake hold a photo of Martha Campbell, a community member who was among four who died in the plane crash on Jan. 10. Charlotte called Campbell a “good daughter� while Kassie said her sister “helped me a lot, with anything and everything.�

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14

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Marten Falls youth ‘Scared Straight’ Lenny Carpenter Wawatay News

James Lathlin knows the street life all too well and he has the scars to prove it. After moving from the Opaskwayak Cree Nation reserve in The Pas to Winnipeg when he was a young child, Lathlin became involved with gang culture, from drug dealing to armed robberies. At one point he was affiliated with the infamous Hell’s Angels gang. Then one day, outside his family’s house, he was shot by a rival gang. He was sent to the Stony Mountain Penitentiary hospital, where he spent two years for his gang activities. While serving time, Lathlin had a revelation about his life. “I realized that education was gonna be the way I can make it out,” he said. He earned his high school diploma, wrote a book, and upon being released from prison, took a public speaking course at Red River Community College and began taking his message to the community. He was inspired by a video he watched while in prison. “I watched this video in the 70s called Scared Straight, and the guys in it were criminals, young kids,” he said. The youth were shown the harsh realities of prison and gang life, and by the time they were adults, nine out of 10 were living a happy life.

“It made sense to me. I always kept that in the back of my head,” Lathlin said. Scared Straight is the name of Lathlin’s program, in which he presents the realities of gang life in schools, using his life story to scare kids away from gangs. He does so through his stories and his scars from being shot and stabbed. Lathlin has taken Scared Straight across Canada and parts of the U.S., and has the endorsement of notable rappers such as Snoop Dogg. Lathlin also gained the support of actors Adam Beach and Dakota House, who both had experiences with crime, drugs or gangs in their youth. Lathlin and House took the Scared Straight program to Marten Falls First Nation on Jan. 25. Norma Jean Achneepineskum, director of education for Marten Falls, said Eabametoong First Nation recommended Lathlin after they hosted Scared Straight in November 2011. Achneepineskum said the community was immediately interested in the program “because our school had noticed there was a lot of issues that had to be addressed in regards to bullying with the kids that are getting ready for high school, and so they can be prepared for when they leave home.” Leaving the reserve to pursue education is often a neces-

Photo courtesy of James Lathlin

Former gang member James Lathin poses with Marten Falls First Nation youth on Jan. 26 after giving a presentation as part of his Scared Straight program. The Opaskwayak Cree Nation member uses his life story of being a gang member that led him to be shot and stabbed as a way to discourage youth from joining gangs. sity for many First Nations people, including Lathlin. His family had moved to Winnipeg because his mother wanted to pursue an education as a nurse’s aid. Because she was often out studying, Lathlin had to take on the parenting role for his younger sister. “I had to become a father figure to her,” he said. This directed Lathlin’s focus away from school, and he began dealing marijuana to

help make ends meet. As his drug dealing reputation grew larger, gangs took interest. “It was basically like ‘OK, you’re gonna work for this guy now.’” Lathlin said. In addition to drug dealing, car theft, and armed robbery, Lathlin became a runner for Hell’s Angels. Over the course of his affiliation with gangs, he has been shot and stabbed numerous times. He has scars on his calves from when a

machete was thrown at him, and another from being cut on the arm and torso. He has a scar on his abdomen from being shot. He was also shot in the face, though it’s difficult to tell that he had his jaw reconstructed. “I’m lucky to have my nose and jaw,” he said. When he makes his presentations, he asks the audience if they want to see his scars. “And they’re like ‘yeah,

yeah!’” Lathlin said. “And when I ask, ‘Are you ready?’ – dead silence.” Lathlin typically begins his presentations with jokes, demonstrating breathing techniques, and trust exercises. Then he shows a video telling his story. “Then I talk, and then we all talk. They tell me their story,” he said. In Marten Falls, he did a morning presentation to youth at the school and then a presentation to teachers, parents, frontline workers and any community members in the evening. Achneepineskum said the presentations were well received by the community. “They told him it was a very informative and interesting workshop and presentation,” she said. “Hopefully we can learn from this and use the knowledge as a tool for the kids when it comes to issues they have to face in regards to bullying and gangs.” Lathlin’s main message to the youth is about education. “No one can take it from you,” he said. “Life is an obstacle, but your education will always be there and it will provide you with food, shelter, and clothing.” Anyone interested in Lathlin’s story or program can look him up on Facebook or Youtube.

First Nations unity walk halted, then helped, by Thunder Bay police Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Mishkeegogamang’s Erin Bottle completed a unity walk to a Jan. 24 Canada-First Nation Gathering with the help of some friends and two Thunder Bay Police Aboriginal Liaison Unit officers.

Erin Bottle’s unity walk to the Jan. 24 Canada-First Nation Gathering got five-and-a-half blocks before she was halted by Thunder Bay Police. “They were trying to get us to walk on the sidewalk to complete the walk,” said the Mishkeegogamang band member and first-year Lakehead University political science student. “I said these treaties we signed are the reasons why these roads

and these building and everything exist here within the city. What’s 40 minutes of us inconveniencing traffic to make a political treaty statement for our people and our young people within the city.” Bottle and another woman had been walking down Arthur Street to the Valhalla Inn, where space had been set aside for chiefs and other interested people to watch the gathering in Ottawa by a video link. “We ended up meeting two other northern ladies who were

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walking west to east, so we completed the circle,” Bottle said. “They joined us right at the Arthur Street corner where the Mac store lights are.” Bottle told the Aboriginal Liaison Unit police officers who stopped her that she had attempted to get a permit from Thunder Bay Police, but was unsuccessful. “So we compromised with them,” Bottle said. “The compromise we reached with them (was) that they would escort us in the back seat of the cruiser all the way down to the Valhalla Inn. And they threw in coffees.” Thunder Bay Police Const. John Walmark said the permit process for marches requires about a month’s notice. “The issue that the permits address is safety, both for the walkers and for the community at large because without that proper police presence, both those partners, the community and the participants, put themselves at risk,” Walmark said.

Walmark said the situation is a good example of how the Thunder Bay Police Aboriginal Liaison Unit can help community partners resolve issues in a satisfactory manner without creating an environment of conflict. Bottle walked to raise awareness that treaty people exist in the city. “As a young person, I feel that the state of our nations and how the Anishinabek are doing right across the country, isn’t something they had envisioned when they signed these treaties with our people, the government and Crown of Canada,” Bottle said. “I am doing this unity walk to also remind Canadians that they too also hold a responsibility in upholding these sacred agreements because their governments exist within our lands and they must also be a part of this discussion and dialogue.”

Become a Foster Parent for Tikinagan Child & Family Services

Tikinagan Child and Family Services is looking for foster parents to provide stable foster homes. Open your heart and home to a child during a time of crisis and change. As a foster parent, you will guide and support your foster child every day. By your actions, you can help children and their families cope with the challenges that life brings. You will receive training and payment based on the child’s needs. You can meet and get to know other foster parents, and agency staff will give you support. You can make a difference in a child’s life! Qualifications: We are looking for people who are patient, loving and able to provide a safe, nurturing home. You must be willing to learn about the needs of the child and receive training. Most important is being able to open your heart and home to a child who may need special attention and guidance. For additional information please contact: Tikinagan Child and Family Services 1-800-465-3624 or (807)737-3466

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

15

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

NAPS joins Facebook, twitter for connection thru social media Chris Kornacki Wawatay News

Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (NAPS) announced the launch of two social media sites Jan. 27 that were created to enhance communication between the public and NAPS police service. NAPS has created accounts at Facebook and Twitter which will be used to connect with the citizens and leadership of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) along with other agencies and public groups to help broaden their services to social media networks. Other benefits include information being relayed on an instant and constant basis and the ability to reach out to the youth and to persons who are interested in a policing career. In a press release NAPS said they look forward to continuing to exchange information and relay messages with the public on safety, announcements, media releases, community service and alerts. NAPS is inviting the public to visit on them on Facebook at Nishnawbe-Aski Police Service (Official) and also on Twitter @NAPS_Police. They are reminding the public that Facebook or Twitter is not the format for public complaints, requesting police assistance, or for relaying confidential information such as drug or alcohol smuggling tips. Complaints can be reported online at naps.ca. Police assistance can be reported to your local detachment, and confidential information with regard to drug or alcohol smuggling tips can be reported anonymously by telephone to your local detachment.

photo by Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Seven Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School students learned leadership skills Jan. 26-27 during a RespectED Beyond the Hurt anti-violence, anti-abuse education workshop at the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council school.

Bullying workshop held at DFC Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Working together as a team and other leadership skills were the focus Jan. 26-27 for a group of Dennis Franklin Cromarty First Nations High School students. “It was pretty awesome,” said Marsha Kennedy, a Grade 11 student from Sandy Lake. “I learned how to prevent bullying and learned that bullying behavior from the ages of 12

and older is actually harassment and you can be charged for it. There are ways to stop it.” Kennedy said the RespectED Beyond the Hurt anti-violence, anti-abuse education workshop gave her the knowledge to recognize bullying and stop it in her community. “I’m not a quiet person — I’ll be able to say ‘ hey, stop that,’” Kennedy said. “I want people to respect each other and just be OK with each other. I don’t

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Wawatay News

Peer lending circle for Lac Seul

photo by Rick Garrick/Wawatay News

Lac Seul Chief Clifford Bull accepted a $10,000 contribution from Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund to provide aspiring entrepreneurs in Lac Seul with access to micro loans though a peer-lending circle administered by the Treaty #3 community’s Obishikokaang Development Fund.

Rick Garrick Wawatay News

Aspiring entrepreneurs in Lac Seul now have access to micro loans though a peer lending circle administered by the Treaty #3 community’s Obishikokaang Development Fund (ODF). “I see it being very successful,” said Lac Seul Chief Clifford Bull. “There is a lot of need for a lot of businesses to open, for example a tire repair shop, a small engine repair shop, maybe a hair salon, maybe even a laundry mat.” Bull said community members are currently travelling to other communities to access these type of services. “A lot of people have been

going into town, Dryden and Sioux Lookout,” Bull said. “Why not have it done right here? A lot of people do not have access to vehicles to go into town.” Lac Seul received a $10,000 contribution from Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund, which was matched by another $10,000 from the ODF to establish the peer lending circle with $20,000 in start up funds. “Access to capital is one of the main challenges Aboriginal business owners face, and it’s up to us as a leading Aboriginal financial institution to come up with creative ways to ensure these dynamic entrepreneurs get access to the financing they need,” said Colleen Martin, NADF’s general manager.

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

THE REVEREND TOMMY BEARDY MEMORIAL WEE CHE HE WAYO-GAMIK FAMILY TREATMENT CENTRE Job Opportunity for Youth Counsellor

Job Opportunity for Day Care Worker

Reporting to the Treatment Director, the Youth Counsellor ensures that family members participate in all aspects of the Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He WayoGamik’s program. He/She makes develops and carries out relevant treatment services and program with children, adolescents, families, and groups: and assists families in the planning of social, recreational and cultural activities.

General: Reporting to the Treatment Director, the Day Care Worker is responsible for all aspects of the operation of the Toddler’s Learning Centre. He/ she will provide care for the infants and pre -scholars while their parents participate in program sessions; plan and carry out activities with the pre-scholars attending the day care program; and; provide education to parents on the care of children.

Qualifications: 1. Demonstrates educational qualifications in the field of social services, preferable at the diploma or degree level. 2. Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. 3. Awareness of the cultural environment and native language of the northern First Nation communities. Ability to speak Ojibway, Oji-Cree or Cree is a definite asset. 4. Be creative in problem solving and empathetic toward the needs of the children, families and communities of the area served by the Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik. 5. Demonstrates experience in the provision of the counselling and case management services. Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Provide individual,family and group counseling services to families participating the residential treatment program. 2. Assist family members with the development of treatment goals,an after care plan and participation in program activities. 3. Must perform any other duties as assigned by the Executive Director and the Treatment Director. 4. Must Provide a Criminal Reference Check. Deadline: February 17, 2012 Salary: NON-NEGOTIABLE

The Community Health Services of the Red Cross has openings for Personal Support Workers in the Moosonee area If interested, please call 1-866-261-1787 for more information

THE REVEREND TOMMY BEARDY MEMORIAL WEE CHE HE WAYO-GAMIK FAMILY TREATMENT CENTRE Job Opportunity for Family Counsellor

THE REVEREND TOMMY BEARDY MEMORIAL WEE CHE HE WAYO-GAMIK FAMILY TREATMENT CENTRE

Please send/deliver your resume and cover letter to: Reception or Treatment/Executive Director The Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik Treatment Centre Muskrat Dam, Ontario POV 3B0 Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviewee’s must be willing to provide 3 references upon request

Qualifications: 1. Demonstrated educational qualifications in the field of Early Childhood Education, preferably at the diploma level. A minimum of three (3) years work experience in a licensed Day Care Centre may be considered. 2. Awareness of the cultured environment and Native language of the northern First nation communities. Ability to speak Ojibway, Oji-cree or Cree is definite asset. 3. Possess excellent written and verbal communication skills. 4. Demonstrated experience in dealing with children who have behavioural problems. 5. Knowledge of and experience in life skills training and substance abuse intervention. Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Ensure that quality care is provided to infants and preschool age children while their parents participate in program session. 2. Provide individual and group counseling services to parents on parenting skills. 3. Identify and supervise all volunteer and/or staff assistance required to implement activities in the Toddler’s Learning Centre. 4. Provide written assessments on the children upon request. 5. Attend and actively participate in regularly scheduled staff meetings and treatment conferences in order to facilitate and effective, integrated delivery of clinical services. 6. Ensure accuracy, confidentiality and safekeeping of all agencies and client records. 7. As directed by the Treatment Director, actively participate in training programs held within the agency and/or sponsored by external organizations. 8. Must Provide a Criminal Reference. Deadline: Salary:

Please send/deliver your resume and cover letter to: Reception or Treatment/Executive Director The Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik Treatment Centre Muskrat Dam, Ontario POV 3B0 Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviewee’s must be willing to provide 3 references upon request

THE REVEREND TOMMY BEARDY MEMORIAL WEE CHE HE WAYO-GAMIK FAMILY TREATMENT CENTRE Job Opportunity for Night Attendant

February 17, 2012 NON-NEGOTIABLE

THE REVEREND TOMMY BEARDY MEMORIAL WEE CHE HE WAYO-GAMIK FAMILY TREATMENT CENTRE Job Opportunity for Family CHR Counsellor

General: Reporting to the Treatment Director, the Family Counsellor ensures that family members participate in all aspects of the Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik’s program. He/She makes clinical assessments, develops and carries out relevant treatment services and programs with children, adolescents, families and groups; and assist families in the planning of social, recreational and cultural activities.

General: Reporting to the Treatment Director, the Attendant is responsible for the well being of clients and security of The Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo Gamik’s property after working hours.

General: Reporting to the Treatment Director, the Family Counselor ensures that family members participate in all aspects of the Reverend Tommy Bcardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik’s program. He/She makes clinical assessments, develops and carries out relevant treatment services and programs with children, adolescents, families and groups; and assist families in the planning of social, recreational and cultural activities.

Qualifications: 1. Demonstrated educational qualifications in the field of social services, preferably at the diploma or degree level. 2. Possess excellent written and verbal communications skills. 3. Awareness of the cultural environment and Native language of the northern communities. Ability to speak Ojibway, Ojicree, or Cree is a definite asset. 4. Be creative problem solving and empathetic towards the needs of the children, families and communities of the area served by the Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che Wayo-Gamik. 5. Demonstrated experience in the provision of counseling and case management services. 6. Knowledge of and experience in life skills training and substance abuse intervention.

Qualifications: 1. Emotional stability and a good character. A strong sense of responsibility and commitment. 2. Excellent oral and written communications skills. 3. Awareness of the cultural environment and Native language of the Native First Nation communities. Ability to speak Ojibway, Oji-cree, or Cree is a definite asset.

Qualifications: 1. Demonstrated educational qualifications in the field of social services, preferably at the diploma or degree level. 2. Possess excellent written and verbal communications skills. 3. Awareness of the cultural environment and Native language of the northern communities. Ability to speak Ojibway, Ojicree, or Cree is a definite asset. 4. Be creative problem solving and empathetic towards the needs of the children, families and communities of the area served by the Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che Wayo-Gamik. 5. Demonstrated experience in the provision of counseling and case management services. 6. Knowledge of and experience in life skills training and substance abuse intervention.

Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Works with families on his/her caseload, as well as individuals, in setting treatment goals 2. Provides family and individual counseling sessions to help resolve problems on issues and to assist in achieving the treatment goals. 3. Facilitates morning circle sessions as scheduled by the Treatment Director; 4. Organizes and conducts life skills sessions in areas of parenting skills and other areas as requested. 5. Organizes and conducts sessions on family mapping and family reconstruction and assists other counselors during the session presentations. 6. Organizes and conducts group sessions on communication skills. 7. Must perform any other duties as required. 8. Must provide a criminal reference check. Deadline: Salary:

February 17, 2012 NON-NEGOTIABLE

Please send/deliver your resume and cover letter to: Reception or Treatment/Executive Director The Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik Treatment Centre Muskrat Dam, Ontario POV 3B0 Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviewee’s must be willing to provide 3 references upon request

Duties and Responsibilities: 1. To be available to work as needed during the evening, night and weekends. 2. To provide security during the evening, night and weekends by making regular rounds in an around the facilities and outside the grounds. 3. To contact the on-call staff member when their assistance is required. 4. Must perform any other duties as assigned by the Executive Director and the Treatment Director. 5. Must Provide a Criminal Reference Check. Deadline: February 17, 2012 Salary: NON-NEGOTIABLE

Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Ensure the immediate health needs of family members are taken care of in a timely & appropriate manner. 2. Administer all medications as directed by the physician. 3. Responsible for the safekeeping of all medications and supplies, maintaining a record of client medical needs. 4. Provides individual and family counseling on health related matter to families participating in the residential program. 5. Organizes and conducts life skills sessions related to self-care, nutrition, grocery shopping, budgeting and other topics as requested by the Treatment Director. 6. Must perform any other duties as required. 7. Must Provide a Criminal Reference Check.

Please send/deliver your resume and cover letter to:

Deadline: Salary:

Reception or Treatment/Executive Director The Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik Treatment Centre Muskrat Dam, Ontario POV 3B0 Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviewee’s must be willing to provide 3 references upon request

February 17, 2012 NON-NEGOTIABLE

Please send/deliver your resume and cover letter to: Reception or Treatment/Executive Director The Reverend Tommy Beardy Memorial Wee Che He Wayo-Gamik Treatment Centre Muskrat Dam, Ontario POV 3B0 Only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviewee’s must be willing to provide 3 references upon request

Wawatay News SIOUX LOOKOUT FIRST NATIONS HEALTH AUTHORITY

QUALIFICATIONS • Minimum Grade 12 or equivalent; • Diploma in Developmental Services or demonstrated equivalency through experience; • A solid grasp of community development principles, personcentered planning, life skills development; • A solid understanding of the community and the systems operating within the community in the area of business, education, social services, employment services, and volunteers; • A demonstrated aptitude for broad exploration of new and unique means of attaining goals; • A demonstrated ability in conflict resolution; • A self starter and goal driven; • Excellent interpersonal skills; • Valid Driver’s License, use of vehicle and appropriate insurance coverage. KNOWLEDGE & ABILITY • Knowledge of the people, culture and health priorities of the First Nations communities in the Sioux Lookout Zone; • Knowledge of social supportive services; • Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Professional Pro Plus 2007; • Ability to communicate in one of the First Nation dialects of the Sioux Lookout Zone an must; • Ability to work with confidential client and organization information in a responsible manner; • Ability and willing to work flexible work hours as required; • Ability and willing to travel extensively to First Nations Communities; • Must be willing to relocate and live in Sioux Lookout. Please send cover letter, resume, three most recent employment references and an up-to-date Criminal Reference Check & Vulnerable Person’s Sector Check: Human Resources Department Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority 61 Queen Street, P.O. Box 1300 Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B8 Phone: (807) 737-1802 Fax: (807) 737-1076 Email: Human.Resources@slfnha.com Closing Date: February 3, 2012 The Health Authority wishes to thank all applicants in advance. However, only those granted an interview will be contacted. For additional information regarding the Health Authority, please visit our Web-site at www.slfnha.com

Founded by our Chiefs and Elders, Tikinagan continues to focus services and staff positions in the First Nations we serve. We believe our role is to be there in the communities, mentoring young parents, supporting families and protecting children. Our work is guided by the Tikinagan service model – Mamow Obikiahwahsoowin (Everyone working together to raise our children). Tikinagan invites applications for the following jobs, which are open until filled unless a closing date is indicated: Casual Relief Workers Deer Lake, Fort Hope, Pikangikum, Sioux Lookout, Sandy Lake, Mishkeegogamang, Lac Seul, Cat Lake Child Care Workers Kasabonika, Sandy Lake, Mishkeegogamang, Big Trout Lake, Red Lake (serving Poplar Hill; term to Jan./13), North Spirit Lake, Keewaywin, Wapekeka, Fort Severn Direct Services Supervisors Fort Hope (child care), Muskrat Dam, Wapekeka Family Services Workers Fort Hope (closing Feb. 8), Sioux Lookout (Kasabonika unit), Kingfisher Lake, Pikangikum, Kasabonika, Sandy Lake (serving Deer Lake), Lac Seul, Cat Lake (term to Aug. 30/12), Webequie, Deer Lake Intake / Investigation Workers Sioux Lookout, Pikangikum Kitchen Cook Big Trout Lake (part-time) Traditional Life Skills Educator Big Trout Lake (male) Maintenance Workers Big Trout Lake, Sandy Lake, Muskrat Dam (part-time) Network Support Technician Sioux Lookout (6-month term) Prevention Services Co-ordinators North Spirit Lake, Big Trout Lake, Slate Falls, Fort Hope, Marten Falls, Poplar Hill, Bearskin Lake, Neskantaga, Mishkeegogamang (term to April 12/12), Summer Beaver, Cat Lake, Deer Lake Residential Care Workers Sachigo Lake (closing Feb.10), Sioux Lookout (term to July/12), Big Trout Lake, Big Trout Lake/Wapekeka Residential Counsellors Big Trout Lake (male & female), Cat Lake (male) Secretary/Receptionists Weagamow (term to Jan./13; closing Feb. 8/12), Slate Falls, Kasabonika, Cat Lake, Kingfisher Lake, Bearskin Lake For more information about these jobs, you can: • Visit our website, www.tikinagan .org, and click on “New Jobs” • E-mail hr@tikinagan.org to request details • Call Christina Davis, human resources secretary, at: (807) 737-3466 ext. 2249 or toll-free 1-800-465-3624

www.tikinagan.org

Exciting Health Care Opportunities HOSPITAL SOCIAL WORKER Full Time - Non Union Requirements: • A degree from an accredited undergraduate social work program preferably a Masters degree • Active registration with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers • Demonstrated knowledge and practical experience in working with community organizations and resources • Demonstrated knowledge and practical experience in working with an Interdisciplinary team • Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills • Excellent communication skills both written and verbal • Ability to work well independently • Knowledge and sensitivity to First Nations language and culture an asset. • Experience working in a case management model of care an asset Responsibilities: • Work with and provide relief for the Discharge Planner • Works cooperatively and collaboratively with other members of the team to provides services that are individualized and tailored to address consumer’s current needs and preferences through referral and collaborative strategies • Deliver case management services to patients in a hospital setting. • Work with families and community agencies to navigate and improve transition between services for all patients. • Lead the development and implementation of processes which improve access to care and support the Senior Friendly Hospital Strategy • Working with community agencies to improve outcomes for young families • Develop supportive programming to meet the needs of the patients and families serviced. (Palliative Care, Cognitive supports) • Facilitate professional development for providers in the areas of social support, quality of life and end of life care. Salary: Competitive Salary and Benefits

17

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Tikinagan Child & Family Services

TRANSITION FACILITATOR Internal/External Posting (2) Full Time Position(s) Location: Sioux Lookout, ON These positions are responsible for providing support and assistance to young adults with developmental disabilities and to increase/strengthen their involvement with community.

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

Exciting Health Care Opportunities INTERPRETER COORDINATOR Qualifications: • Grade 12 education or GED required • Certificate/diploma in secretarial business administration or combination of education and experience • 2 years experience as an Interpreter and/or working in a health care environment preferred • Proficient in computer skills; Microsoft Office (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and data processing software • Excellent communication skills (oral and written in English) • Proficient and Fluent in one or more Sioux Lookout area First Nation languages (Ojibway, Oji-Cree, Swampy Cree) • Demonstrated proficiency in the “interpretive process” • Excellent interpersonal skills with a positive caring approach • Good understanding of cross-cultural issues • Excellent time management skills • Ability to work flexible hours Responsibilities: • Provide interpretative service coordination to the Traditional Healing, Medicine, Foods and Support Program (THMFS) of Meno Ya Win Health Centre including Extended Care Unit. • Ensure that ‘Patient Centered, Service Oriented and Performance Focused’ interpretative service is implemented throughout the Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre. • To ensure interpretative team is providing the optimal patient care and care planning for all patients / clients within Meno Ya Win Health Centre. • Supervise the Interpreter staff by performing such duties as scheduling and coordinating work assignments, conducting performance evaluations, documenting disciplinary issues, and providing input to budgets. • This position is responsible for the development, operation, coordination and quality assurance/ improvement of this function. • This position will also be responsible for coordinating events such as Bimmadiziwin, Elders Council, Cross Cultural Awareness or other as required. • Report to the Manager of the THMFS. Salary:

Commensurate with experience and education.

Closing Date: Resume with cover letter must be received in Human Resources by 4:00pm, February 8, 2012

Closing Date: Resume with cover letter must be received in Human Resources by 4:00pm, February 10, 2012

Submit Resume To: Human Resources Competition # NADM 02/12 (please quote on application) P.O. Box 909, Sioux Lookout, On. P8T 1B4 Fax: (807) 737-6263 Email: humanresources@slmhc.on.ca

Submit Resume to: Human Resources Competition # TRP 01/12 Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre Box 909, Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B4 Fax (807)737-6263 Email: humanresources@slmhc.on.ca

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted, we thank all others for their interest. The successful candidate will be required to provide a criminal records check.

Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted, we thank all others for their interest. The successful candidate will be required to provide a criminal records check.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY SALES ASSISTANT Wawatay Native Communications Society (WNCS) serves the communications needs of the people and communities in Northern Ontario. WNCS does this through the provision of a variety of multimedia services, including but not limited to: a biweekly newspaper, daily native language radio programs, audio streaming and regularly updated website. These services help to preserve and enhance the languages and culture of the Aboriginal people in Northern Ontario. Duties and Responsibilities: • Perform sales administration duties: update and maintain client files and work with finance department staff to complete billing procedures. • Handle incoming sales calls, faxes and emails. • Prepare quotes and insertion agreements for WNCS products and services. • Produce run sheets and follow through production with assistance of sales representatives for Wawatay News, Sagatay, SEVEN and wawataynews.ca. • Track translation services jobs and liaise with customers. • Assist with the planning of annual sales and marketing strategies for WNCS products and services (print, radio, online, TV, translation, design and print). • Assist with the development and implementation of sales strategies that contribute to the profit and viability of Wawatay media services. • Assist with the development of new initiatives – such as special Wawatay News sections, radio and online specials, and other special projects • Write related funding and training proposals. • Perform market research, client prospecting and other information gathering to assist in the sales team and management. • Other related duties as required. Qualifications: • Education in business administration or related fields and/or previous experience in sales are considered assets. • Must have excellent verbal and written communications skills. • Must be comfortable working in a highly computerized environment • Must be proficient in Word, Excel and other applications (email, web browsing). Knowledge of design software is an asset but not essential. • A high degree of initiative, motivation and the ability to observe strict confidentiality is essential. • Excellent time management skills, including multi-tasking. • The ability to communicate in Ojibway, Oji-Cree or Cree considered an asset. • The candidate must be willing to work overtime and travel as required. • A valid Ontario driver’s license and access to a vehicle required. Location: Salary: Apply Before:

Sioux Lookout, Ontario Commensurate with experience. February 10, 2012 – 4:00 PM CST.

Please send resume and three references to: Tabatha Jourdain, Finance/HR Manager Wawatay Native Communications Society Box 1130, Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B7 Fax: (807) 737-3224 WNCS thanks those who apply. However, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Exciting Health Care Opportunities MATERNAL/CHILD TRAINER COORDINATOR Full time (Non-Union) Qualifications: • Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing or a Health Service field • Extensive working experience and knowledge in Maternal/Child Nursing • Knowledge and experience with adult principles of education • Knowledge and experience working with academic, healthcare, and community-based institutions and programs • Understanding of applied health services research • Excellent communication, facilitation, and organizational skills • Previous experience in constructing curriculum, reports and documents • Ability to work independently with direction when necessary • Advanced skills in project management • Ability to use Microsoft Office and the internet/email • Ability to use all basic office equipment Responsibilities: • Assist in the creation of a learning centre at Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre in Maternal/Child care • Provide hands-on education to nurses who attend the Centre • Oversee the day-to-day running of the program • Assist in the development of curriculum for the Centre • Upgrade current material to support Best Practice Changes • Liaise with various stakeholders regarding the project and their involvement • Establish connections both internal and external for the project • Participate in the Collaborative Management Committee • Periodic travel required Closing Date: Resume with cover letter must be received in Human Resources by 4:00pm, February 10, 2012 Submit Resume to: Human Resources Competition # NF03/12 Sioux Lookout Meno Ya Win Health Centre Box 909, Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B4 Fax (807)737-6263 Email: humanresources@slmhc.on.ca Only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted, we thank all others for their interest. The successful candidate will be required to provide a criminal records check.

18

Wawatay News

FEBRUARY 2, 2012

ᐧᐊᐧᐊᑌ ᐊᒋᒧᐧᐃᓇᐣ

Canadian Ranger Patrol Opens in North Caribou Lake Peter Moon Special to Wawatay News

A graduation parade in North Caribou Lake on Jan. 26, marking the completion of basic training and the opening of northern Ontario’s newest Canadian Ranger patrol, was a first for the Far North. Ten of the initial 17 new Canadian Rangers were female, making it the first time there have been more women than men in a Ranger patrol in the province.

“It’s great to see the female gender so well represented within the Canadian Rangers...” – Lieutenant-Colonel Morley Armstrong

photo submitted by Peter Moon/Special to Wawatay News

ABOVE: Lieutenant-Colonel Morley Armstrong presents Ranger Ivan Wapenisk with his basic training graduation certificate. LEFT: Northern Ontario’s newest Canadian Ranger patrol graduates in a parade in North Caribou Lake. The patrol features 10 women and seven men, the first time in Ontario that a Rangers unit has more women than men.

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“I think it’s excellent,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Morley Armstrong, commanding officer of 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, which now commands 550 Rangers in 20 patrols in northern Ontario. “I can’t say I’m surprised because in northern Ontario we have probably just under 50 per cent of our Rangers who are female. So the fact they outnumbered the men at today’s graduation parade is not a huge surprise. “It’s great to see the female gender so well represented within the Canadian Rangers,” Armstrong added. “They have played leading roles in many emergencies where Rangers have been involved and I am sure these

new Rangers will do the same.” The parade, held in a school gym decorated with studentdrawn posters with the Rangers names on them, was watched by a large number of spectators from the community. Grand Chief Stan Beardy of Nishnawbe Aski Nation and band councillor Swanson Kenequanash joined Armstrong when he inspected the parade and congratulated the new Rangers. “This patrol will be very beneficial to our community, big time,” said Kenequanash. “Looking at these graduates I think they will definitely be role models for our people. I felt very proud seeing them today. We have a real need for help with search and rescue. I think the Rangers are going to be a great help.” Kenequanash said the Rangers’ military training will help to bring back and retain many of the community’s traditional on-the-land skills. “I can’t wait for the Junior Canadian Ranger program coming to our community as well,” he said. “I am looking forward to that.” “I am proud to be a Canadian Ranger,” said newly promoted Master Corporal Jason Roundhead, a bookkeeper with the band, who became the new patrol’s temporary leader. “The training was terrific. I thought the first aid was the most interesting. I see it being very useful and I’m glad I took it.” (Sergeant Peter Moon is the public affairs ranger for 3rd Canadian Ranger Patrol Group at Canadian Forces Base Borden.)

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20

THE LITTLE BANDS

IT’S BACK! HOCKEY TOURNAMENT

SIOUX LOOKOUT MEMORIAL ARENA

CATCH ALL THE ACTION! LIVE ON WAWATAY RADIO F E B R U A R Y 1 4 t h - 1 9 t h 2 0 11

YOUR SPONSORSHIPS MAKE THIS HAPPEN! LETS SUPPORT THESE YOUNG HOCKEY STARS 7R VSRQVRU D OLYH EURDGFDVW RU IRU PRUH LQIRUPDWLRQ SOHDVH ÂżOO RXW WKH IRUP RQ WKH ULJKW DQG ID[ HPDLO RU SKRQH /DQFH DW :DZDWD\ 1DWLYH &RPPXQLFDWLRQV 6RFLHW\

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Wawatay Native Communications Society P.O. Box 1180 Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1B7 Phone: (807) 737-2951 Fax: (807) 737-2263 Toll Free: 1-800-243-9059 www.wawataynews.ca

Sponsorship Agreement 2012 Little Bands Hockey Tournament on WRN

The 2012 Little Bands Hockey Tournament is set for February 14-19 in Sioux Lookout. Wawatay Radio Network is pleased, once again, to be broadcasting live play-by-play coverage of this exciting sporting event. However, we are only able to broadcast the tournament because of your generous support. Please support your favorite team or teams.

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Sponsor Information Sponsor: Contact: Address: Phone: Fax/Email:

Team/Game Sponsorship Community/Team: Division # of Games:

Account #:

Purchase Order #:

Reciept #:

XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX mm/yy

mm/dd/yy

Card #/Expiry Date:

Payment Information Invoice Me* Credit Card

Transaction Date:

Cash/Cheque/Debit

* Must have an existing account. Full payment is due 30 days after tournament, 2% interest per month will be applied to any outstanding balance

Sponsorships are $150.00 per team per game. Sponsorships are available for all games broadcast on WRN.

For more information or to book your sponsorship call Lance at 737-2951 or email sponsorship@wawatay.on.ca. You can complete this form and fax it back to (807) 737-3224.

Make cheques payable to: Wawatay Native Communications Society PO Box 1180 Sioux Lookout, ON P8T 1A5

Date:

By signing below, I agree to sponsor the 2012 Little Bands Hockey Tournament broadcasts on WRN. I have :*6.>*) that the information contained in this agreement is correct to the best of my knowledge. I have the authority to enter into this agreement on behalf of the Sponsor.

Signature:

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