Category: Under the Northern Sky

I Don’t Miss The Bugs

For the past few days I have been enjoying the beginning of summer and its long days of sunshine and warm weather. It feels good to be outside and to be able to sit in the sun and enjoy the outdoors. Unfortunately, I have also been reminded that insects like ... read more ››

Ex-Mohawk Cop Guilty of Fraud

Barry Commando, former chief of the aboriginal police force in Kanesatake, has been found guilty on two charges of fraud and theft. Commando, who was chief of the first all-aboriginal police force in Kanesatake from it’s inception in 1997 until his firing in January 1999, had been charged with multiple ... read more ››

A Hard Game

There are a lot of First Nation elections for Chief and Council happening this summer. In Attawapiskat and other small remote communities people are getting excited as election time draws near. I remember wondering what all the fuss was about. Just before election time, people started to talk. The big discussion ... read more ››

Coming Out Of The Smoke

Cigarette smoking has been in the headlines lately with a focus on young people who are starting the habit. I met up with a few friends of mine recently who still smoke. I was really shocked when they showed me their cigarette packages with gross pictures of the results of ... read more ››

History Notes

As a Cree person from Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast I have often wondered how my community came to be. I learned from my elders and my parents that Attawapiskat was once a place where my people came to live for only a few months to camp and fish ... read more ››

A Mothers Job Is Never Done

I have a friend who doesn’t celebrate holidays, for the simple reason that he sees them as commercially motivated opportunities for high-pressured sales. He makes a good point. Christmas shopping can be stressful and financially draining at the best of times. At the worst of times it can lead to ... read more ››

Take One Batteries Included

It’s hard for me to believe that my younger brother Joe has grown up so quickly. Recently he showed up in a fancy rental car during a visit to Timmins where he was filing claims that he had prospected up the coast near Attawapiskat this winter. I’ve never seen him ... read more ››

The Art of Survival

Depending on the weather, goose hunting season usually occurs during the months of April and May up on the James Bay coast. The spring goose hunt is the biggest one. Almost everybody in my home community of Attawapiskat heads out on the land for this hunt. They take this opportunity ... read more ››

Feeling left Out

I had the opportunity to visit Ottawa recently. I am always happy to spend a little time in the nation’s capital. It is a beautiful city and our Parliament Buildings are an awesome sight to say the least. During this visit I took a tour through the Parliament buildings. I was ... read more ››

Goose Fever

The coming of spring breathes new life into the frozen James Bay coast. Winters are long and hard for my people, the James Bay Crees. After months of up to minus-40 and even 50 below zero, everyone welcomes the change in the season with longer days, with more light and ... read more ››

O.J. Soccer Team Shines

The Waapihtiiwewan Elementary Boys’ Soccer Team from Ouje-Bougoumou won second place in the mini-soccer tournament in Whapmagoostui, held Feb. 15 to 17. An assembly was held at the school upon their return, to recognize the students’ achievement and encourage them to continue striving to succeed. At the assembly, the players were introduced, ... read more ››

Going to the Dogs

My father Marius and many of the Elders in Attawapiskat have stories about the days when they used dog teams. I recall one story my dad told me. He awoke in the night to the sounds of his dogs barking. As he pushed back his heavy blanket he felt the cold ... read more ››

The Perfect Hamburger

One year my dad decided to open up a restaurant. The place went through a few changes and suddenly I, along with a couple of my younger brothers, ended up running the operation. Considering I was 17 and my two brothers were younger, the restaurant business was not exactly a natural ... read more ››

Little Wheel, Spin and Spin

I grew up using and working on all kinds of vehicles from an early age. The first vehicle I ever drove was a Skidoo Elan when I was only 12 years old. In the remote community of Attawapiskat where I was born and raised it was normal to see young ... read more ››

Great Whale Dead in the Water Again

Like some monster in a bad horror movie, the Great Whale project has been killed for the third time. The Grand Council of the Crees issued a press release on Jan. 22 rejecting the latest proposal to revive the hard-to-kill hydro-electric project. This time. Crees were promised that they would eventually be ... read more ››

Traveling on

Most people I meet who are non-Native have a false perception of who my people are. I find this is even more so with European or Asian people as I travel through Spain. For those of us who were born and raised in a First Nations community, life has not been ... read more ››

Dicovering the Old World

As a First Nation person visiting Europe, I have run into many situations where people are surprised to find someone like me in their city or town. Much of the time I am asked if I am Indian or often it comes up in conversation with people I meet on ... read more ››

Cree Spoken Here

I recently had the opportunity to view “Cree Spoken Here,” a film about the Crees of James Bay and made by the Crees of James Bay. This film is one that every First Nation person should see. It documents the history dealing with the disintegration of the Cree language and ... read more ››

Inuit Say Warming Affects Hunting, Animals

While governments and scientists still debate climate change, the Inuit people on Banks Island in northern Canada are pointing to signs that the world is getting warmer. The evidence is in the land and ice that surrounds them, they said in a recent report in the Associated Press. The permafrost is thawing, ... read more ››

In the Spirit of Good Will

There is a lot of attention being paid these days to our First Nations communities and nearby traditional hunting and trapping areas. The fact is that most of the big mining and forestry companies are looking at these lands to make a profit. Many of our First Nations communities are ... read more ››

Let the Music Lift our Hearts

Not long ago I discovered a fantastic initiative in Nibinamik First Nation, north of Thunder Bay, Ontario. A music program has been running that is making a difference in the lives of young people in the community. This program is basically set up with instruction by two professional musicians to ... read more ››

Once I was a Pirate

I see the signs of Halloween just about everywhere I go these days. I mages of ghosts and goblins are stalking the neighbourhoods. Many front yards are miniature stage settings that feature spooky characters in the familiar orange and black colours of this ancient and festive time. All this reminds me ... read more ››

Far From Home

Many people from First Nations communities along the James Bay coast spend a lot of time out on the land at their traditional hunting and trapping grounds. These trips vary in time and can last for a few hours or for several weeks or months. The traditional areas that are ... read more ››

You’ve Heard of ‘Where’s Waldo”? Well it’s Time to Play: Where’s Nauldo?

Since his appointment a year ago, the Minister of Indian Affairs, Robert Nault, has been conspicuously absent from places one would expect to see a man of his position: Saskatoon (where police dump Natives outside town in winter), Caldwell First Nation, Burnt Church, the Ipperwash Vigil on September 6th, the ... read more ››

Tah-Kwah-Kah-N Eh-Ah-Shi-Eh-Kah-Noh-K – Fall Hunt

I have been driving all day long and, although it is September, today was warm and the sun followed me north. In southern Ontario the trees were just beginning to turn with shades of red, yellow and orange here and there. By the time I reached North Bay the roadside ... read more ››

Using the Internet

Well, I finally got hooked up to the World Wide Web, or the internet. The experience has been incredible and although I am happy to be plugged in and on-line there are pros and cons to this technology. I notice that much more of my life is centered around the ... read more ››