When I was a teenager attending high school in Timmins in the early 1990s, people from the James Bay coast were just starting to get accustomed to the modern way of life in the south. There were not many people who had drivers’ licenses and even fewer who owned vehicles. It was a special thing to see someone from the James Bay coast driving a vehicle and even more so if they owned the car or truck they were in.
I’m dedicating this column to my late brother Philip Kataquapit, who passed away on Christmas Day in 1990 at the age of 16.
Through rain, sleet or snow, the mail must be delivered. That’s certainly not true right now and it hasn’t been for a while. The timing of the 2024 Canada Post strike is disheartening and very Grinchy.
I was raised knowing many people in my circle of family and friends who dealt with troubles that they had no control over. Tragedy and trauma seemed be a normal part of life as I grew up in Attawapiskat.
If there is one thing that we can say about social media is that it connects us all. While social media can be seen as something lacking objectivity, it can kickstart looking for the truth. It can raise awareness of what’s happening in your backyard as well as halfway around the world.
Every year at this time my partner Mike and I recall the devastating losses our families have suffered from war. Remembrance Day is always a sad day when we honour the veterans of both world wars and other conflicts. Those memories have been compounded with more sad truths through the research we have been doing over the past few years. We are working on media projects concerning the two world wars and some of our discoveries have been shocking.
I didn’t watch all the hoopla about the US elections as I knew that the American public, no matter how much it shows to be a grand circus, can elect someone worthy enough to be their chief honcho. As the masses collided and a fairly transparent voting system showed the world that, hey, democracy does work when it needs to.
We at the Nation didn’t expect to become a controversial topic during the Cree Health Board election. In our last issue, we published interviews with two candidates, the current chair Bertie Wapachee and challenger George L. Diamond.
My family and my home community of Attawapiskat takes great joy in celebrating Halloween. The traditions of scary stories, spirits, otherworldly beings and monsters work well with the legends that our parents and Elders taught us. The whole idea of Halloween celebrations being just a holiday for children and to have fun was also something that my parents and many of our Elders thoroughly enjoyed.
I’ve noticed that everyone seems to be in a good mood with high spirits at work lately. Was it because a snowflake showed its crystalline face for the first time this fall, or have we slipped into winter already? Was it perhaps the notion of turning on a furnace for the first time just to feel some warm air blowing around the house? Was it perhaps because the sun and the moon were just spectacular? Whatever the reason, it just felt good.
