ARTICLES BY Xavier Kataquapit

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

  It is that time of the year again. With the Christmas and New Year season upon us, a lot of people will be rejoicing in so many ways. Most of this season should be devoted to children having fun, but most of it has ended up being a very stressful ... read more ››

Boris la moufette moves into the cottage

I love my wilderness retreat. It is great to be out on the land in the far north surrounded by tall pine and situated on the side of a pristine esker lake. Much of my time is passed working away at renovations and, of course, watching the wildlife as they ... read more ››

We are all immigrants

  I don’t understand why so many people get upset about immigrants coming to this country. Of course, you have to remember I have a special view considering my people are the original inhabitants of this land so everybody else who came after us I view as immigrants. The Europeans were the ... read more ››

Aboriginal organizations lead fight against diabetes

The fourth annual Timmins Diabetes Expo October 18 and 19 has helped strengthen the fight against diabetes in northern Ontario. Aboriginal organizations and area health-care agencies have been working together for four years in prevention, awareness, education and support concerning diabetes through events targeted to professionals, the public at large ... read more ››

The Colours Of Change

These days I am surrounded by nature’s art. Mother Earth is changing the landscape with incredible colours that she takes from her pallet. The fall colour extravaganza is in full swing up north and vivid yellow, orange, red and green fill the forests. Even though we northerners feel a little ... read more ››

We need a renaissance in education

It is back to school for everyone now that summer has wrapped up. Heading back to the classroom was always something I looked forward to when I was a boy back up north in Attawapiskat. The school was more or less a refuge for me where I could find some ... read more ››

Work ethic has to be learned at young age

  This week a friend of mine stepped on a nail and had to get a tetanus shot. It reminded me of the many times I injured myself as a child growing up back home in Attawapiskat. I was always around the family construction business and by the time I was ... read more ››

Creatures of habitat

I am accustomed to living in towns and cities surrounded by people. However, when I am out on the land for long periods of time everything changes. There is no longer access to all those luxuries that we take for granted like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, theatres, television, radio, ... read more ››

More storms on the horizon

I noticed in the news recently that there seems to be a move away from denying climate change or global warming. It looks like people are finally waking up to the fact that we humans are contributing to a situation that is causing change in the climate and weather patterns. ... read more ››

Dancing on the edge

I am sitting here watching the rain sprinkling down from a grey sky onto the lake. It is a quiet rain. There is very little wind and that adds to the laziness of my morning. I am nestled in the midst of a vast wilderness and kilometres upon kilometres of pine ... read more ››

Wabun Youth Gathering features mini powwow

The sixth annual Wabun Youth Gathering held at the Eco Centre Lodge in Elk Lake July 16-20 featured a mini powwow, traditional teachings and workshops with an Aboriginal focus. Eighty-five Wabun youth attended the event sponsored by Wabun Tribal Council Health Services. The event was divided into two parts. The first ... read more ››

Surviving a forest fire

  It is summer. We are all enjoying those lovely, long, warm summer days. The sun is up early and falls in the sky late at night. Summer birds are back, the chorus of peeping frogs is constant, insects buzz and bite and the fragrance of all kinds of flowers, weeds ... read more ››

We need to stand together

  Recently I have been noticing so much news regarding First Nations and interaction with resource developers. This kind of thing has been going on for more than 100 years but things have changed in the past few decades. As Native people we never had much to do with all the ... read more ››

Bringing shadows to life

Shadows are a strange phenomenon in our world. They are a projection of us but they are not us. They mimic our actions yet they exist in a world all their own. I remember learning how to play shadow hands as taught by my older brothers and sisters when I ... read more ››

Forest fires have something to do with global warming

The past few weeks have been very anxious for so many people in northern Ontario who have had to deal with huge forest fires. These fires are no surprise to Native Elders. Many Elders I speak to have been warning of the climate changing for a few years now. They ... read more ››

Beaverfest promoted by Mattagami First Nation

  I often think about how much my people, the Cree of James Bay, owe our lives to the animals, birds and fish on the land. Without these creatures we would not have survived. My ancestors actually followed a nomadic lifestyle that revolved around following food sources. We moved on the ... read more ››

Living in two realities

I am proud to be a First Nation person. I am about as pure bred as an Aboriginal person can be in Canada as both my mother and father were born on the land in their traditional territories. Visibly, I look like a Native Canadian. I even have long hair ... read more ››

Proud to be a tree hugger

  One of the first signs of spring is the budding of the leaves on trees and bushes. It feels good after a long hard winter to realize that the sun is coming up earlier and setting a little later. Those darker days of winter are lightening up and the sun ... read more ››

We need our northern trains

  If you are a railway enthusiast then you got some sad news recently when the Ontario government announced that it would sell off most of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission (ONTC). That means that our northern Ontario lifeline to the south by train, the Northlander will be cancelled. This cancellation of ... read more ››

Being up front keeps me sober

At first I didn’t know how to react to a question asked of me recently. I had to think about it to provide an answer that made sense. A friend of mine asked me how I could be so public and proud of being an alcoholic. I told him that being ... read more ››

New school in Attawapiskat is a dream come true

In June 2000, I wrote a column on the J.R. Nakogee Elementary School and the fact that it had been closed down due to contamination from an estimated 70,000 litres of diesel fuel over many years of leakage. I pointed out that it was distressing to know that the leakage ... read more ››

On a dark and dangerous road

I sure am a lucky guy. Most of the time I take my life and all that I enjoy for granted but every once in a while I pause to think of so much I have to be grateful for. Stopping to remember to feel gratitude has helped keep me ... read more ››

Aboriginal women breaking the trail

First Nation women I have met over the years in general have always impressed me. My earliest recollections of Native women are positive. My mom and my two sisters always seemed to be strong people who could pitch in and help when they were needed. In my professional life as a ... read more ››

Keeping the northern skies safe

Travelling 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 everyday traveller no matter what their ... read more ››

Back to the future

  Winter ice roads could be fading away and airships might be taking over. A report by the Conference Board of Canada is suggesting that hot-air blimps like the ones that dominated the skies in the 1920s and 1930s could serve remote First Nation communities. Experts and researchers are worried that warming ... read more ››

The dream catcher

I had a dream the other night. I was a little boy again. There I was, on the land back up on the James Bay coast. I could see the clear water of the Attawapiskat River below and the deep blue sky above with the burning yellow sun as white ... read more ››