Category: Under the Northern Sky

Job hunting can be an adventure

Employment in one form or another is something all of us strive for. Working at something we enjoy doing to make a living is a goal that we all want to achieve. However, most of us see the prospect of looking for work as a huge challenge. I was fortunate that ... read more ››

Why Should Anyone Go Hungry?

Most North American cities and towns are connected by road, rail and air. Food comes into these communities easily. We have produce from all over the world and lots of it. I, like everyone else these days, think nothing of being able to visit any given city or town and ... read more ››

Google like an eagle

I am flying high above the trees, looking down on the white-washed pebble beach of the southern coast of Akamiski Island. I can see every indention of the coast, the thin ribbon of beach, the green forests, swamps, the dark blue oblong lakes and the thin lines of rivers and ... read more ››

Shelter from the storm

It is the winter of 1992 and we are getting ready to make a trip in our half-ton truck to Moosonee on the winter road. Few people are using the road at this time. There is not much development happening in the north at this point and the winter road ... read more ››

Don’t spread the flu

I have been dealing with a bad flu for the past week and a half. It started with a slight cough that later turned into a continuous one, along with congestion, a runny nose, headaches and weakness. It is a real setback for me. Although I am feeling somewhat better, I ... read more ››

Icy roads in the North

Driving a vehicle is a luxury I have enjoyed for many years. I learned how to drive on my dad’s old John Deere tractor when I was 13. It was great fun and once I learned how to operate a tractor, it was only a matter of time before I ... read more ››

Firing Up The Beast

It is a cold January morning in 1995 and I am getting up for another day of work. I am not an early riser but it feels like five in the morning when it is only actually nine. I look through the layers of frosted ice on my window. There ... read more ››

What Is Christmas?

You know Christmas is just around the corner when you start seeing the red, green and white lights strung out around the windows and roof ledges. As a young boy I remember my parents and older siblings preparing the Christmas tree. One of the first things to be put on ... read more ››

The paths of our ancestors

My people on the James Bay coast have only been using motorized transportation for a few decades. A generation before mine, people had to use their own energy to get around on the land. It was luxury to own a team of dogs to pull a sled over the snow ... read more ››

First Nations finally sharing the power

When it comes to having the power to claim, develop and benefit from natural resources, First Nation people have never really been in control of the development that happens on traditional territories. However, the way resource development is handled by private industry and government is changing. Increasingly, First Nations are ... read more ››

A Star Is Born

There has been a new addition to the Kataquapit family. The baby (Cheecheesh) Orion Marcus Jeremy Kataquapit was born October 27, weighing eight pounds and two ounces to my younger brother Joseph and his wife Lynda. The whole family was excited to hear the news and the baby has become ... read more ››

Memories Are Timeless

It feels good to remember things from the past during day-to-day chores or activities. Our minds seem to work in mysterious and random ways to create flashbacks and memories when we least expect them. Recently, I was working with a friend of mine on a woodworking project. Woodworking and construction is ... read more ››

Thanksgiving Means So Much

Thanksgiving was just another holiday for my family up north. When you live in a small, remote First Nation community, every day is an occasion to meet family. It is comforting to know that family is close by and that there is never a great need to bring people together. ... read more ››

The Bear Facts

There has been a lot of news about problem bears lately in Northern Ontario. Specifically, these are problems with black bears or “Muskwa”, as they are known in the Cree language. People I talk to say that many bears are hungry this time of year as they are preparing to ... read more ››

A Walk Through Time

I took a walk through my old elementary school in Attawapiskat recently. The J.R. Nakogee Elementary School is a hard place to miss in a small community. The large, grey-coloured, one-story building sits right in the heart of town. It is a sprawling structure extending from east to west in ... read more ››

A Sense of Movement

The sun is reflecting off clear, rippling lake water in the afternoon. I dip my paddle into the water and pull the canoe forward with every stroke. A loon cries out from across the lake and gulls lazily hover in the breeze blowing over the treetops. I recall lessons from ... read more ››

Trouble in Paradise

I have always had a hard time shopping. Most of my people from up the coast are like me when it comes to going to the mall or to large department stores to make a purchase. There is always a certain amount of fear when I walk into a modern ... read more ››

Mikisew, the Eagle

There are many symbolic animals and birds that are part of Native culture. On the James Bay coast, there is the goose. This bird is highly respected as it has allowed my people to survive for centuries. Since early time my people have been able to count on the arrival ... read more ››

A Traditional Barbecue

I got out the barbecue the other day to cook supper outdoors. I enjoy having a barbecued meal. The food seems to taste better when cooked like this and in some ways it is healthier than pan-frying a meal on the stove. Cooking over a barbecue is a great way ... read more ››

Nokoom and The Moose Head

I visited some friends in Timmins recently and we talked about what kind of food was available to people in the north. I admit that our Cree diet in the north is not as fine or flavorful as those in exotic Asian cultures. My people subsisted on the land based ... read more ››

Home Sweet Home

There was less snow this year as compared to others and this was an obvious fact to many hunters on the James Bay coast. Normally, goose-hunting season starts in early April and lasts until the middle of May. This year many hunters were disappointed to find out that the hunting ... read more ››

A Shot In The Dark

I was shocked and saddened at the report of the school shooting at Red Lake First Nation in Minnesota. I read the news reports of the event and I was surprised at the number of people killed in what seemed like a random act of violence. It was sad to ... read more ››

Living With the Cold

Recently, I woke up early in the morning to shovel out the driveway after a long, drawn-out winter storm that had dropped over a foot of snow on the ground. As soon as I stepped out I could feel the cold seep through my layers of clothes. The frigid air ... read more ››

Weathering the Storm

A winter storm, or Kashtin in Cree, is blowing through town and snow is continually falling and covering up the already frozen landscape in a layer of fresh white powder. Gusts of wind flare up every now and again. These powerful bursts flow around the houses and obstacles in our ... read more ››

Imagine all the People

I spent the better part of the holiday season with a shovel in hand moving large piles of snow from the driveway. Whenever I thought my work was done, the municipal plow piled more snow at the end of the driveway for me to clear. The first day or two ... read more ››

A Moving Experience

The fall of 1989 was a period of great change for my family. In 1988 we moved from our original home in the community to a new building my dad had purchased. We were excited to be moving into our new home. It was good in many ways to leave ... read more ››