We celebrate Valentine’s Day with wishes for those we are romantically interested in or in general for good greetings to family and friends. However, the history of this day that is celebrated on February 14 is very different.
Now that the world’s attention seems to be more focussed on global warming, let’s see how that theory works in the North. Here warmth is something that happens once or twice during the summer and not in the middle of winter like this year.
The expression, “when Hell freezes over,” means something will never happen. While this doesn’t apply to a recent Supreme Court of Canada decision, Hell must have gotten a little chilly.
It was good to see recent developments by northern Indigenous political leadership to deal with the epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse and the dire situation of suicide primarily by young Native people in northern Ontario. I know we are all fed up with watching so many of our family members and friends becoming helpless with addictions and the resulting violence in our Northern First Nations. We are also feeling helpless with so many of our people dealing with mental health issues.
I liked the mist of hoar frost air as it touched my windshield and immediately turned into a beautiful mosaic of ice crystals, making me smile instead of frown on this cold winter morning. The icy windshield made me think of times when this type of weather didn’t bother anyone. But today, the cold is either an enemy or a friend depending on if you must stay home from work or not. I like to call days like this the domino effect times.
Jordan’s Principle came about after people became outraged by the inequality of public services afforded Indigenous children compared to all other children in Canada. As a result, programs were created to address the inequities and to try to ensure that they are not the norm anymore. Perhaps the system created is not perfect, but it was a step in the right direction.
Youth everywhere in the country are in the trenches and will most likely continue to struggle in 2024. Canada is currently facing a housing crisis marked by soaring prices, limited affordability and growing homelessness. The situation is most pronounced in major cities where many of our youth have to relocate and where housing demand has outstripped supply, creating a substantial affordability gap. Younger generations find it challenging to become homeowners due to high down payment requirements and escalating mortgage costs and interest rates.
The men all gathered in the evenings. The smoke from pipes lit after a fine supper filled the tiny room. No one had much to say. The black hard tobacco was satisfying to the palate after a lengthy meal of beow bangeek, or ptarmigan pancakes. The night before, smashed stomach and heart soup with smoked ptarmigan breasts dipped in bear grease came a close second for that belly ache, after a long day outdoors tending to the ptarmigan nets that scattered the willows surrounding Great Whale River.
Late night calls are something we expect here at the Nation, and recently, we received one about home businesses in social housing not being allowed. Besides being surprised by the news, we felt there was something wrong about this decision.
I recall being at home as a boy in our small three-bedroom house in Attawapiskat in the 1980s. We were a huge family of nine children and two parents and at one point we lived with our Mooshoom James Kataquapit.
