Category: Under the Northern Sky

First Nation Roots

Hundreds of years of settlement by Europeans still has not managed to make people set aside or forget who the original inhabitants were here. It is impossible to forget who the inhabitants were here simply due to the historical reminders or evidence in the names of many Canadian and American ... read more ››

Sa-ka-eh-woon

Sa-ka-eh-woon, love, has been the theme of my weekend, here on my visit to the Six Nations area to attend the wedding of my friends Rob Vokes and Brooke Bradley. Just about everywhere I looked this weekend I ran into that word, “love.” It really feels good to see people ... read more ››

Prairie Days

Tonight I am writing this from my room in the historic St. Regis Hotel in downtown Winnipeg. For the last couple of hours I have been entertained by the awesome light show of a passing thunderstorm. I am happy that we were smart enough to make the decision to stop ... read more ››

Best Kept Secrets

Another one of my life dreams has come true. I have just crossed the country from Ontario to British Columbia by motorcycle. I am happy to say I completed the first half of this trip on my Yamaha 650 Maxim accompanied by my friend Mike on his old Honda Goldwing. Tonight, ... read more ››

Nemaska Career Fair

The call came in from Martine, “So are you coming for the Career Fair in Nemaska?” she asked. I said I’d get back to her. After some thought, Neil and I decided to go. We packed up and gathered our career fair supplies. Business Cards… Check… Portfolio… Check-Posters… Check… Calendars… ... read more ››

For Linda

Most of the time I feel like the luckiest guy in the world. I have a great family who are very supportive of the road I have chosen. I have wonderful friends who guide me and care a lot for me, and everyday is a gift. One of the most ... read more ››

Snow Cruising

A week ago, while on my walk in the wilderness nearby, I was surprised there were no fresh tracks from snowmobiles. To people up the coast the early spring is the best time of the year for snowmobile riding. The days are a little longer in March and early April, and ... read more ››

Mistissini Elder Goes Missing

Over 100 volunteers from Mistissini and nearby communities spent all last week searching for Elder Francois Mianscum, who has gone missing in the bush. Mianscum, 68, left his camp at Perch River on his Tundra II on Saturday, Feb. 26, in the early afternoon. Fie was last seen at 1:30 p.m. ... read more ››

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I have been noticing a lot of coverage lately about the mistreatment of First Nation people at the hands of some police forces. This issue really came to a head with the deaths of two First Nation men in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Apparently these men were taken by the police in ... read more ››

Frozen Freedom

Winter months in remote communities, like Attawapiskat, are hard on people in terms of severe weather, but they are also a time of freedom. Temperatures of minus-40 and minus-50 Celsius are common in powerful blizzards that often hit the community. This can be a dreary time of year for many ... read more ››

Weather Reports

I had the opportunity to spend a few days with my parents lately. They ventured down from Attawapiskat to do some shopping and a little visiting. While they were here we got into a conversation about the weather. It seemed to be an appropriate subject considering that the temperature in ... read more ››

Flu Season

What you don’t know about the flu could seriously harm yourself or someone you love. The flu virus is a real epidemic this winter and has been affecting many people I know from up the James Bay coast and around my circle of friends in northern Ontario. People are getting ... read more ››

Getting Online

Just imagine what it would be like if you couldn’t make a telephone call to anyone outside your local block. What would it be like if your community only had one telephone line to the outside world. Of course, this all seems silly in a modern age of incredible telecommunications ... read more ››

We will remember

This is dedicated to my great-grandfather John Chookomolin who, with 23 other young Crees from Attawapiskat, went off to war in the summer of 1917. He never returned and until only a few years ago his family had never known his fate. I am giving him a voice with these ... read more ››

Quebec slammed on diabetes “timebomb”

Calling the diabetes epidemic a ticking “timebomb,” Cree officials slammed the Quebec government for ignoring warnings about the health crisis for years. They were responding to a new study that found Crees have one of the world’s highest diabetes rates. “It’s quite shocking to me,” said Bill Namagoose, executive director of ... read more ››

Journey through the North Land

For a gift recently, I offered to take my Mom and Dad on a trip anywhere in Ontario. To my surprise they did not choose Toronto or Niagara Falls but were set on going to Thunder Bay. My dad Marius and my mom Susan and my friend Mike and I ... read more ››

I remember years and years and years ago…

I remember years and years and years ago when I was about nine or 10 calculating how old I’d be when the year 2000 would finally come around. I remember thinking how far off it was and how old I’d be. In case you’ve only just finished your New Year’s ... read more ››

We Cree of the far North are surrounded by water

We Cree of the far North are surrounded by water. If you’ve ever traveled over any part of northern Ontario, you have seen a landscape that is made up of water to a great degree. There are multitudes of rivers and lakes. My people on the James Bay coast look out ... read more ››

The Cree people of the James Bay coast have always been very sociable.

The Cree people of the James Bay coast have always been very sociable. My people who live in remote communities like Attawapiskat, Kashechewan, Fort Albany and Peawanuck have a history that centres around Powwows or gatherings. My ancestors were a nomadic people, who lived in different places at different times ... read more ››

I recently got some bad news from home.

I recently got some bad news from home. Reg Louttit, or Mr. Bingo as he was affectionately known, has passed away. When death comes to take someone from a small, remote community like Attawapiskat, the impact is great. In Reg’s case, he was such a prominent personality and integral to the fabric ... read more ››