Category: Rez Notes

My work here is done. I think.

My work here is done. I think. The sun is up. Finally. The entire publication is up on the wall, ready for the printer. Ready for our reading public. I hope they like it. What can I tell you that you don’t already know. I’ve been away working, playing, thinking of things ... read more ››

Passing the Trash

A surprisingly large number of teachers are sexually abusing students, leaving a trail of devastated young victims, according to an extensive Ontario inquiry. Many, if not most, of the cases are never reported School authorities often don’t handle complaints seriously enough, or let sex offenders quietly move on to another ... read more ››

A friend of mine went to a fortune teller in Chinatown.

A friend of mine went to a fortune teller in Chinatown. I know this to be true because I was right there encouraging her to pay the twenty dollars to have her palms read. Her palms say that she would be wise to start a business with her husband after she’s ... read more ››

Heart Disease Takes Toll on Native Women

Native women in South Dakota have a higher death rate from heart disease than the statewide and national averages, reports the Rapid City Journal. The reasons: lack of proper medical care, higher diabetes rates, limited access to proper nutrition and smoking. From 1991 to 1995, Native women in South Dakota died from ... read more ››

I have no social life to speak of…

I have no social life to speak of but I like the freedom I have to get one should I choose to. Lately, come Friday night, I can be found at home, usually freezing cold, reading a book, watching a video, making a lonely meal, calling people on the phone ... read more ››

It is not the Nation’s standard policy…

It is not the Nation’s standard policy, nor that of most newsmagazines, to reply to letters, whether they are critical or full of praise. But whoever accused The Nation of being your run-of-the-mill newsmagazine. So in this case we decided to make yet another exception and answer the letter’s questions, ... read more ››

Mary Wabano

With the passing of Mary Wabano in Attawapiskat recently, the traditional Cree way of living has also slipped away. Mary, who was 98 years of age, was born in the James Bay lowlands in 1901 when the James Bay Crees were still living a nomadic way of life. Her husband ... read more ››

“Neil, you’re going to write about the things you like, right?”

Someone smiled, with the tiniest tinge of sadness, and asked after reading the last issue, “Neil, you’re going to write about the things you like, right?” I admit my list of things I don’t like was cynical, cold, childish, petty, slightly piggish. You will spy a few inconsistencies from my hate ... read more ››

I am often asked by friends, acquaintances and other interested parties what I like.

I am often asked by friends, acquaintances and other interested parties what I like. To enlighten them more I prefer to tell them, with gusto, of my dislikes. It don’t rhyme well but rap with me anyway. I don’t like cheese. Except in pizza, cheesecake and I forget what else. I don’t ... read more ››

The events of the past two days made Nemaska seem like a genuine capital with a capital C.

The events of the past two days made Nemaska seem like a genuine capital with a capital C. High political drama or comedy, depending on how you look at it. The Gang of Five’s breakup letter is finally brought up at a public chiefs’ roundtable. No locked doors at this ... read more ››

The dark days that have too long hung like thick black smog over Creeland are over.

The dark days that have too long hung like thick black smog over Creeland are over. Everything is hunky friggin’ dory. There is no bad news to report. The Nation’s work here is done. We might have to pack up the tools of our trade and move on. No bad news ... read more ››

Hello. My name is Neil and I am an alcoholic.

Hello. My name is Neil and I am an alcoholic. I took my first drink when I was four years old. My young brain thought it was fruit juice but in truth it was this really sweet sherry that I haven’t been able to find since then. It was after dinner and ... read more ››

se choices you made, oh Cree voters. All 3,123 of you.

Wise choices you made, oh Cree voters. All 3,123 of you. And a strong message you’ve sent to those who would tear our Nation asunder, Cree or otherwise. I have to admit I was a bit worried there for a few days. Even when most of my politically savvy acquaintances predicted ... read more ››

We are witnessing a revolution…

We are witnessing a revolution in Cree politics with this election in more ways than one. Or is your head so far up your butt that you didn’t notice the election styles becoming more and more like the US presidential and the Canadian campaigns. Check out the candidate’s ads in this ... read more ››

Our Rez Notes author is somewhere out in Whapmagoustui, we think…

Well, our Rez Notes author is somewhere out in Whapmagoustui, we think. Search parties have been sent out and we’ll capture him one way or another for the next issue. In the meantime here is some stuff we stole. We would mention what newspaper we stole it from but we ... read more ››

By the time you read this…

By the time you read this, community delegates will be nervously writing their speeches for the 25th Annual General Assembly in Whapmagoostui. The UFO capital of Eeyou Astchee, according to our readers’ poll, by the way. This year’s theme is… drum roll… Cree Government. Or lack of, to be more ... read more ››

We are aboard the Polar Bear Express…

We are aboard the Polar Bear Express, George and I. There are no polar bears to speak of on this line that runs daily between Moosonee and Cochrane every summer. They named this train run so because polar bears were considered more glamorous and exotic than the black bears that ... read more ››

People deserve the politicians they elect.

People deserve the politicians they elect It’s election year for the Cree Nation(s). People who are interested in such things have been wondering who’s in the running this year. Is Matthew Coon Come running again? Does he have the desire? Is Kenny Blacksmith already positioning himself? He’s been extremely vocal of ... read more ››

My father celebrated his birthday a few days ago.

My father celebrated his birthday a few days ago. My sister baked him a cake, decorated it and we lit the tiny candles that covered the entire cake. His lungs are still powerful, considering he’s been a smoker for most of his adult life, and he blew out all 78 ... read more ››

I was sitting here in front of the keyboard…

I was sitting here in front of the keyboard for I don’t know how long wondering which of my email buddies I would write to first. Then in a true eureka moment I thought I would reply to my emails, this one time, through The Nation. It’ll save time and ... read more ››

Too many of my plans never seem to pan out.

“Life is what happens while you’re busy making plans.” John Lennon Too many of my plans never seem to pan out. My life plan when I was younger was that by age 35, maybe even 30 if I was lucky, I would have my own house with the proverbial white picket fence, ... read more ››

What’s the dealio?

Hydro-Quebec is pushing a partnership deal with the Crees on its proposed $2-billion-plus Rupert-Eastmain hydro-electric project. Here’s what the project would look like. The facts of the deal Cost: $2.2 to $2.8 billion (depending on which of the two variants is chosen) How much would be flooded by the proposed EM-1 reservoir: 624 ... read more ››

War games were big when we were small.

War games were big when we were small. I don’t mean those tame cowboys and Indians games with cap guns popping or even today’s fancy computerized versions of W.W.II. Oooh noooo, these were fierce medieval-style battles on recess grounds inspired by those old films they’d screen in St. Philip’s chapel every ... read more ››

Bear with me on this dear readers.

Oooooooookay! Bear with me on this dear readers. Two adventurers from Chicago and Milwaukee paddled their canoe from the Mississippi River towards the muskeg in search of caribou and moose during a raging blizzard in Northern Canada. They didn’t see any life except for a few chipmunks, a raccoon and a skunk. ... read more ››

Aaaaaa. Shpring.

Aaaaaa. Shpring. The time when a young Cree’s fancy turns south to the approaching flock. Hopefully, flocks. There have always been stories, since most people still living now can remember, of the continually dwindling waves of birds come spring. My parents, and probably yours too, remember a time when birds, geese, ... read more ››

I have a friend whose birthday falls on April 1st. April Fool’s day.

I have a friend whose birthday falls on April 1st. April Fool’s day. A few people, in his 38 something years, have called my friend fool to his face for no reason other than he’s made some mistakes in his life, and these people just couldn’t tolerate mistakes cause you ... read more ››