Category: Rez Notes

When The Lights Go Out, We Will Survive

We live in a world where we depend on services such as electricity and natural gas. Everything we do seems to involve turning something on. We keep our food stored cold in coolers, preserve food for future use in freezers then cook our meals with the help of microwaves and ... read more ››

All Smiles in the ‘Skag

What a difference a decade can bring. That’s how long it’s been since the Grand Council/CRA Annual General Assembly was last held in Waskaganish. That was also the year The Nation first covered the event for its inaugural issue. According to the story that appeared in the magazine, Grand Chief Matthew ... read more ››

I often wondered how communities and the people who live in reserves managed without having a bar…

I often wondered how communities and the people who live in reserves managed without having a bar where alcohol is served. I live in a community where there are two bars. When the community of Kuujjuarapik opened the second bar, stories and predictions of the downfall of society rose with ... read more ››

From fights to bingo

My grandfather and his brothers and buddies would sit around in the evening with aniticipation of the next call the radio announcer would make, amidst the intensity of listening through the crackling static and the lazy smoke from hand rolled cigarettes rising from the heat of the small wood stove. ... read more ››

Pollution causes polar bear sex changes

Polar bears, Arctic foxes and Inuit peoples are under threat from man-made toxins such as polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs) that build up in the food chain, reveals new research reported in the Independent newspaper of London, England. Environmental and animal groups are calling for a global ban on the production of the ... read more ››

Just when you thought we were safe…

I happen to live in Whapmagoostui, were the weather is harsh at many times and fair on a few. The community depends on its resources and when those resources are down, times get even tougher. For example, just around Halloween last year, the power generating station caught fire and for ... read more ››

Under The Northern Sky The first day of school

The beginning of a new school year is an event that involves everyone in a small remote First Nation community. Parents and Elders in First Nation communities believe in teaching and exposing children to our people’s traditional and cultural practices. They also understand that youth need a good education in the ... read more ››

Gentlemen, start your engines ’cause the race is on.

Gentlemen, start your engines ’cause the race is on Ladies and gentlemen, sharpen your pencils and get ready to cast your valuable vote and choose your favourite contender for the race that can happen only twice a decade. Yup, candidates for the Grand Council of Eeyou Estchee have now been ... read more ››

Like a rolling stone over Elvis

I thought that I had gone back in time to when people shook to the rocking beat of the Rolling Stones when my good friends the Chisasibi Rockers arrived in Whapmagoostui to perform at the famous Social Club. As young heads turned with a quizzical look on their post-pubescent peach-fuzzed ... read more ››

Happy Aborginal Day…

We were here first. Christopher Columbus never found North America, we did, thousands of years ago. I hear tell that good of Chris was lost on his way to China and was way off course by thousands of nautical miles and suffering from scurvy, no less. Heck, if he hadn’t “found” ... read more ››

Canada’s Most Endangered Rivers

The Rupert and Kipawa Rivers deserves international attention according to Earthwild International Rupert Reverence, the environmental group composed of both Quebecers and Cree, are applauding the news of the nomination of the Rupert (and its neighbour, the Eastmain) and the Kipawa as the most endangered rivers in Canada by Earthwild ... read more ››

Daddy Dearest…

Daddy Dearest… During the bachelorhood days of any man’s life, the issue of being a father was nearly always nine months away from the time of doing the “sweaty tango.” Fatherhood was a concept that was left to someone else, namely good ol’ daddy, who cared for you in most cases ... read more ››

Action Heros Come TO Life

One of things I used to enjoy (and still secretly enjoy) was reading comic books. Superman, Batman, Spiderman, X-Men, Dr. Strange, the Hulk, were all friends to my imagination. In my lifetime, these imagined heroes sprung from paper to the big screen and became modernized to fit the active and instant-to-instant ... read more ››

That B.C. Referendum

Canada’s top pollster called the process “amateurish and one-sided” and one journalist called it “a repugnant, arrogant and demeaning attack on aboriginal people,” but the BC government has pushed ahead with its promise to hold an eight-question referendum on the province’s treaty process. Only 34.5 per cent of the province’s eligible ... read more ››

Nothing but static

I was actually getting used to the sound of Arnold on the air at seven and eight in the morning and even began to like his heavy Moose accent (because his dialect bothered everyone else, it gave me a strange sense of satisfaction knowing that I’m not the only one ... read more ››

The Sweet Sleep Smell of Spring

One of the most revered and most welcome of all seasons is here with the arrival of the first goose brave enough to venture past that suspicious looking plastic decoy. The first goose of spring usually signals the primal instinct in all of us and goes off like an itchy ... read more ››

At a loss for words

I was dumbfounded when I read in the Gazette that two new hydroelectric projects were signed off by our Inuit brothers and sisters to the North. Nunavik is to be exploited for hydro electric power, which is to be sent down to the south. On the recent aftermath of the ... read more ››

Clarence Hester: in a league all his own

The path leading to Clarence Hester was an interesting one, in that it rarely proceeded in a straight line. The first link came in the form of an email from Alex Mapachee who was taking pictures at a minor and old timers hockey tournament in Waskaganish, and had taken a ... read more ››

Easter Fallacies

As Easter approaches, I wonder of how the bunny ever got into the scenario of a usually somber and religious ceremony of the rebirth of Jesus Christ and how the transition to modem day chocolate bunny personification began. As far as I can remember back to my childhood days, Easter ... read more ››

A strong case against bio-piracy: Traditional remedies should not be patentable

A recent wire story reveals what may become the next hot global trade issue. Some 600 Indian tribes in Brazil have asked their government to protect them from “bio-piracy,” that is, attempts by corporations to patent or copyright traditional aboriginal knowledge, from potions and herbal remedies to exotic plant extracts. “We ... read more ››

Taxi Driver Survival Tips

In my long list of occupational hazards, driving a taxi has to be somewhere near the top level dangerous jobs, right next to nuclear bomb testers, action-hero stunt actors, Preparation H guinea pigs and deep-cover journalist operatives in Afghanistan. Many of these jobs come with some form of insurance and ... read more ››

Flying on Snow

Not so long ago, we were introduced to the concept of racing with snowmobiles. I remember my aunt entering a race in the late 60’s with the venerable Bombardier nine-horsepower putt-about across the river and back against the men, while people scoffed at her and doubted her resolution to race ... read more ››

Countdown to 00:00:01 01/01/02

Countdown to 00:00:01 01/01/02 The second after New Years Eve, 2001 will go down in history as the most remembered year in history, when the world held its breathe in disbelief and a sick astonishment came over the world during the following months after the terrorist attacks on New York ... read more ››

All I want for Christmas is my AIP…

Sometimes I come up short for ideas and I call the great Will Nicholls for advice and he usually gives me some sort of theme to deal with. If he isn’t in a good mood, he’ll call me and ask “Where’s my Rez notes? I keep reminding you to send ... read more ››

…As I was saying. It’s better to be paranoid than sorry.

…As I was saying. It’s better to be paranoid than sorry. September 11 had everyone asking, where were you when…? For the Cree(p)s, another event deserved the question: Where were you when the Chiefs signed the Agreement in principle? I was puttering around my apartment when the phone started vibrating like crazy. ... read more ››

What is a tourist?

A tourist is anyone like you or I who goes to a different land. We want to stay in hotels, eat at good restaurant, enjoy some entertainment in town and perhaps, take in a tour or two. It’s the same for people who come to our lands to explore and take ... read more ››