In our Weenabaykoo Ininew Peemahteeseewin, our James Bay Cree way of life, Elders play a pivotal role in the lives of everyone in a community. Our language, stories and history are all passed down in an oral tradition. We learn by listening to the stories our parents share with us and the teachings we hear from our Elders.
We thought spring was here, but as I write these notes, there is a blizzard blowing to remind us that winter is a tough beast to kill. The winds howl incessantly, and visibility is so bad that June seems to be a distant promise of the possibility to venture outdoors sans long johns and big fur mittens.
Covid-19 has changed many of the things we take for granted. But it hasn’t changed the federal government’s lack of urgency to provide safe water for far too many First Nations communities in Canada. Justin Trudeau’s Liberals pledged, hands on hearts, that this basic necessity could be taken for granted in every community by the end of March this year.
Goose Break is over, and the kids are back at school for yet another Covid-restricted term. But it’s hard to shake off Goose Break fever – the daily dose of outdoor activities, good old hunting and grumblings over an early spring.
Huge flocks of geese are flying above the community. I’m fond of Goose Break. I love seeing people enjoying quality time with their relatives in the bush.
Covid-19 and its variants are hitting the youth harder these days. Is it a concern parents should have? After all, only 2% of youth infected by the coronavirus are hospitalized across Canada. However, kids under 18 now account for 20% of new infections and that should be cause to worry.
Attiwapiskat’s towering, historic St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church was destroyed in a spectacular fire April 21. There is a lot of emotion to this tragic event and most people, including myself, don’t really know how to express it.
I’d like to recount an isolation session during which I survived with only a landline to the outside world. It was comforting knowing that the earth still turned, even without my help, as I slipped into a time zone that could be controlled by a remote.
Montreal’s return to an 8 pm-to-5 am curfew April 11 was greeted by a large protest in the city’s Old Port, culminating in a small minority setting fires and breaking shop windows. Most of the 1,000 or so protesters defying the curfew had dispersed when police forces closed in.
One of few benefits of social media is the sharing of old photographs from the past. Recently, I’ve come across several black-and-white photos that highlight my home community of Attawapiskat from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.
