ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ - the Cree Nation of Chisasibi
Transcription
ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ - the Cree Nation of Chisasibi
ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ “… more importantly is what happens in the classroom … the quality of learning and teaching that matters the most …” Kathleen Wooten CSB Chairperson Per Issue 1$ Subscription 20$/year MARCH 2012 CHISASIBI, QUEBEC OPEN LETTER TO THE COMMUNITY CONTENTS ● Letters to Editor…….. ● Justice comm. training……. ● Gr 6 Story ● Zoo Guts Project….. ● Book review …… ● Margaret’s Story ● Chief’s debate…. ● Action Program…. ● Elementary school opening ….. ● Honouring our Chiefs……. ● Minor Hockey & Broomball….. ● 2012 La Dictee …. ● TTOT …. …3,4 …. 5,6 ….. 7,8 …. 11,12 ….. 12 …. 13 ….14 ….. 15 …..22-25 …..19,20 …. 22,23 …. 24 ….. 26 There is so much negativity -we waste a lot of time and energy on the negative aspect of everything that goes on in our community. We always fail to see the good side. Just like at general meetings, there isn't a lot of attendance BUT when we know that there will be bashing, insults and anger, we pack the place. We infect each other with all this negativity. It is like an infection, if not treated, spreads just like a fire which starts out small, grows and grows bigger as more wood is added and at some point goes out of control. We are always talking about healing. How can we, as individuals, heal when we use, misuse and abuse each other with useless gossip and all the excuses we find to insult and bash each other. It is so sad to see this happening in our community and it is making us and our town sick. Why can't we show respect and love for one another? A very concerned community member Spirit Month Launch WA AS K IM AA SH T AA U Is published monthly by the Building Healthy Communities Program at the CNC Brighter Futures Department, located at the Mitchuap Center. Our mailing address: Waaskimaashtaau Newsmagazine Cree Nation of Chisasibi P.O. Box 150 J0M 1E0 Editor: Terry Gates Proofing: Annie, Leigh-Ann Telephone: (819) 855-2878 (ext. 343) Fax: (819) 855– 2161 E-mail: [email protected] The Waaskimaashtaau is distributed at the beginning of every month. Submissions deadline is the end of each month. The newsletter’s mission is to inform, teach and entertain community members on a variety of subjects. 2 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 Correction (addition): in the February issue in the Chisasibi New Elementary School Opens story on page 27, center column, 3rd paragraph - should have read “ … a concerned irate parent ….” Please add concerned. Letters to the Editor Power Outage experience in Chisasibi. I was not in town when it happened but the minute it happened I knew about it because people were phoning us during our meeting. At the beginning, we were told that it would last for 3 hours only, then a few more hours and after when those hours ran out, they became days. By this time we were already in our second day. I immediately called home because I was worried about my children (adults shash but they remain my children) and my grandchildren. But, to my surprise, they had a generator running to plug the lamps; they had the wood stove going. I was so proud of them. I told them where to get more wood if they ran out because there was plenty in my mitchuap. They also found our propane stove top which they used to cook something fast but they used the wood stove which one of my sisters helped with providing her cooking skills. Thanks to my sister, who decided to stay with my children at my house because they didn’t have a wood stove at their place and camped out in my living room, I think… not sure where she and her family slept. What they told us about their experience was overall very good and enjoyed the peace and quiet within the house because there was no TV, no noise coming from the fans from anywhere like the heater, fridge, air exchanger, etc… By the time we got home, the power was back in our house but limited. On that note, it was a wonderful experience for them to give them a taste of how we lived back on Fort George Island before we had electricity. They had more time to talk. When we came back to Chisasibi, of course we had to stop at the Fire Hall first before our home. We went to our house later for a few minutes and headed to the CNC office to get an update of the situation and what we could do to help. Unloading our vehicle was not the priority at that time but came later. We found out that there were a lot of people doing what they were suppose to do, the coordination was going and the action was non-stop. I was amazed on the calmness of the people who were there. They had things under control. There were complaints coming in but nothing major. This is where I learnt that there were people who were willing to go get whatever they needed in order to get through the ordeal, like getting wood for their woodstoves. One of my sisters told me that she borrowed some firewood from my mitchuap and she put it in a plastic bag so people would not see it. I found this very funny and I could picture her running from the back of my house with a plastic bag of firewood. She also cut up a bed frame which was no longer being used and threw her wooden bowls in her wood stove. Also, went to the garbage dump a few times and bought scraps of wood for firewood. She was very resourceful in try- ing to keep her house warm for her children and grandchildren. I believe there are other stories like this which should be shared. Overall, I was really proud of those people who were coordinating the events that were being put in place to provide services for people who needed shelter, food and heat which were the most important things to provide. This was in order for other people to provide assistance to other people who were unable to provide or fetch for themselves. During the debriefing sessions is where we heard stories which were funny and I hope these are shared. These stories kept the motivation going for the people who had to work to keep people warm, supplied and fed. I was shocked at some (just a few) people, how helpless they were even though they were in good physical shape and in good health. Complaining of how poor the services were but, if they had known how long some people went without sleep; how many people put other people first before themselves and even their own families, is what the rest of us didn’t know. By the end of the power outage, is when these people started to feel the fatigue. I just hope they had a nice long rest. There is a picture out there, of a person, who fell asleep on a chair where she was sitting. This is because of the long days and nights that people had spent making sure things were done. I just wish people would learn to appreciate what we have. The big question is: What did we learn from all this? I want to congratulate the Emergency Coordination Team on a job well done and you should be proud of yourselves. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if it wasn’t for you and the effort you had put in keeping people safe, warm and fed. Thank you to all the organizations and entities that assisted. Sure, there are things that can be improved but I would not complain about anything. It was a learning experience like everything in life. Again, thanks to all the people who helped during this crisis. A thankful Chisasibian Hi Terry: Our first issue of "Waaskimaashtaau" arrived here yesterday - a gift subscription of Livy and Robert Spencer - and after that,... well let's just say that I didn't get very much work done. Indeed, I spend the rest of the day reading and re-reading the magazine cover-to-cover several times over. It's a great publication,... well written, beautifully illustrated and brilliantly produced (and its name fits!) Congratulations to you and to your whole crew. I saw stories involving many old friends from my Fort George days when I was a young ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 3 Anglican Priest there back in 1970-72. (It all started to make me feel quite homesick for those elusive good old days that come no more.) I really had known nothing of the upsetting issues that were facing St. Phillip's Church - but do have some idea of what the Church, the Community and Bishop Tom Corston are trying to accomplish. This concept of "Indigenous Clergy" is not new. Indeed it goes right back to the very earliest days of the Christian Church, at its very beginning almost 2000 years ago - and what better way to go now. The idea of ordaining devout, dedicated, competent local elders as priests and pastors is not new to the Anglican Church of Canada either. It is a pattern that has been implemented with varying degrees of success throughout the whole Church - especially in the North - but also on Reserves and other communities in the south as well. I just hope and pray that the wrinkles do get ironed out and the problems encountered at St. Phillip's are ultimately smoothed over to the satisfaction of all - and I continue to pray that St. Phillip's, its Ministry and its Congregation will continue to be a vehicle of God's Blessing to the whole community. Anyway, many thanks for a great publication. We will continue to thoroughly enjoy "Waaskimaashtaau". Donovan Browne (The Reverend) Please STOP At many intersections in Chisasibi, many drivers forget details of a proper, safe and cooperative complete stop. Too many people are checking one side when they do their stop. In a residential sector, you must look on both sides and check if any vehicle is coming out from driveway, if most vulnerable users (pedestrians, cyclists, animals, etc) are about to go accross. A stop is not only about the vehicles on the road, it’s all about your environment. At an intersection controlled by a STOP SIGN on one roadway Drivers and cyclists arerequired to stop at an intersection… At the stop, you must yield the right of way to any vehicle on the other roadway already in the intersection or near enough to the intersection that entering it would be dangerous. At a four–way stop : Drivers or cyclists are required to stop at the intersection and must yield the right of way to any vehicle that reaches the intersection before them. In both of the cases, the driver or cyclist must also yield the right of way to pedestrians, or cyclists crossing the road or cyclists crossing the road that the driver or cyclist is about to cross or enter. You also must yield the right of way to vehicles that are coming out of a driveway. (Driver’s handbook) REMEMBER courtesy behind the wheel always feels good! Marie-Josée Parent-Menarick Spring cleaning just got a little bit easier with Bounty Paper towels and Chistapitin TRUVALU Bounty the Quicker Picker Upper Purchase any 2 Bounty Paper Towel 6 or 8 roll packages and receive a 3rd package of Bounty Paper Towel 6 or 8 roll of equal or lesser value Chistapitin Reg’d 108 Fort George Road 819-855-2078 4 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 FREE Offer valid while supplies last or up to and including March 17th 2012. We reserve the right to limit quantities and or cancel this offer at any time. Justice Committee (Chiiushawaash) members get training - Jail time not necessarily the only way to go .... From February 20th to February 23rd 2012, some Chiiushawaash members had a training on the justice system functioning and how and when, each, the Chiiushawaash, the Community Justice Officer (CJO), the Community Reintegration Officer (CRO) and the CAVAC worker ( Victim Assistance Worker) could intervene in that system to work with people being accused of crimes and to work with victims and families in a way which would be helpful for all and beneficial for the community. The trainer, Lyne St-Louis, reminded us that the justice system has a clear role and has its own vision and procedures. The main objectives are to ensure communities are safe by preventing crimes from happening, discipline people that commit crimes, to discourage them from repeating similar actions and hopefully to rehabilitate them. When a person is found guilty of a crime, the court imposes a sentence (punishment) which is proportional to the crime committed and which also takes into consideration the past history of that individual with the law. Sometimes, we see people receiving sentences varying from probation with conditions such as: not to drink or use drugs, to do community hours, or curfew. Sometimes they are incarcerated for a period of time, and sometimes, they get a conditional sentence which also is known as house arrest, so they are detained in their home, only free to go out at certain hours to accomplish necessary things. Sometimes people get a fine or have to do a donation. In all these cases, what we realized this week is that a punishment is given for the wrongdoing, and conditions are imposed on offenders, but no guidance or help is offered and no one searches really for the underlying causes that led to the crime. Our trainer said repetitively, “If you just rely on the justice system to resolve criminal problems in your community, you might notice that things won’t improve that quickly. If you don’t look at what caused the crime and look at what are the issues that are troubling these offenders, you will not reduce crime much and there is a big chance that you will see them again in court.” She reminded us as well, that it is not necessarily the responsibility of the justice system to make sure people receive guidance and support in dealing with the underlying issues that may have led to the crime. She encouraged us to deal with those cases using a global vision which looks at the whole situation from - where did it start to how did it end, who is involved and has been affected and why it happened; rather than to focus only on the criminal action. A lot of crimes happening in our community are a result of unresolved issues or conflicts which eventually end to them, so they can deal with their issues and get the help needed; as well recommend to the court better options and alternatives for sentencing, based on the needs of each individual. Alternatives such as traditional activities, counselling, treatment, elder’s mentorships, participating in programs ... Recently the Chiiushawaash has signed a protocol agreement with the Ministry of Justice in order for minor ‘criminal’ cases such as simple asIf you don’t look sault, vandalism, mischief under at what caused the crime 5000$, theft under 5000$ and othand look at what are the issues ers, to be diverted to the Chiiushathat are troubling these offenders, waash rather than being heard in the you will not reduce crime much ... court. This way, the offender could take responsibility and if possible, Lyne St-Louis could sit down with the victim in a peacemaking circle facilitated by two up with violence. Therefore, it would be Chiiushawaash members and could talk better to address the problems and about what happened and find solucauses while working with all affected tions together based on a common unpeople; the offender, the victim, the derstanding and agreement. This would families, and to help clarify what hapfinally give a voice to victims, families pened and why it happened and to find and offenders; create a better underappropriate solutions. standing; prevent division and prevent We were reminded as well that, we other conflicts from arising. If the can help people at different stages of offender collaborates and respects the the judicial process and that we don’t agreement and does what has been have to wait for the court to refer us to decided upon to repair the harm a client. If we care about our communi- caused (within the delay agreed on) ty members, we can offer our help as with the victim and the Chiiushawaash, early as when we notice a need (as long then, the CJO would return the file to as we respect that they may not want the Crown attorney so the accused can our help), rather than to wait until peo- be discharged in the following court ple come to us. session (which means in fact that his By working with people at an early case would be closed and he wouldn’t stage, we will be able to offer support get a criminal record). Cont’d on page 6 ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 5 Cont’d from page 5 Some may think: “Wow! This is an easy way out!” Well in fact, it takes courage to face the people you have hurt, to recognize your responsibility, work on your issues and come up with solutions that are good for all. Our trainer would say: “It is much easier to go to court, to plead guilty, to get your sentence from a judge that you don’t know, than it is to sit down in a peacemaking circle and face the people from your community, to talk about yourself and what you have done, to hear the victim and the family tell you how they were hurt and affected by your actions, and to work actively at finding solutions. All the offenders that I know which have been in a peacemak- ing circle will tell you that they have felt respected, cared for, understood and not judged, and that at the end, they felt satisfied because they repaired the harm they had caused; they worked things out and received guidance and support to work on their problems even at times getting help from the victim.” The Chiiushawaash is not there to work for the court but to work for a more peaceful community and therefore to help anyone involved or affected by conflicts or crimes. At times it will collaborate with the court, mainly to” shed light on the situation” so the sentences that judges will render will be more culturally appropriate and based on the needs of the offenders, victims and families. But Chiiushawaash’s main role is to empower the community in dealing with conflicts and crimes using constructive dialogue and coming together to work out issues in a meaningful way. If you are in a situation like this and need information or support, you can contact Charlie Louttit (CJO) who works with the Chiiushawaash or you can ask the Chiiushawaash members directly. The members are Edith Sam, Robby Matthew, Larry House, Abraham Bearskin, William Bearskin, Christina Kitty and Patricia Menarick. Chiiushawaash Chisasibi to Have Referendum?? A special meeting of the electors of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi was held at the JBES Agora Thursday March 1st. The meeting was called by petition with the signing of ten community members to answer the following question … “Do you agree that a general election for Council should be held?” To have a general election, other than at the end of Council’s mandate, requires that 50% of the voting population be present (approximately 1450 people) and of those a majority must vote yes – that was one interpretation. Another was that at least 950 must vote yes. The notice said …. Requires the affirmative vote of the majority of at least 1/3 total number of electors …. Many people were not sure of the actual number who needed to vote yes to the question. The meeting was scheduled to start at 7pm and got under way at 8pm with about 60 people present (by the end of the meeting approximately 120 people had showed up). Jimmy Neacappo was the presiding officer and was assisted by Simeon Pachano and Gloria Kitty. Cita Bugden, speaking on behalf of the ten people who signed the petition, was the first speaker. Cita outlined the reasons why the petitioners wanted to hold ‘a general election for Council’. "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody ". by Bill Cosby 6 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 Briefly some of them are …. - Oath of office of Chief and Council has been broken by past behaviors - People shouldn’t be allowed to run if they have a business (conflict of interest) - Previous matters brought to General Meetings not implemented - Minutes of General Meetings not being taken or adopted (law says they must be on Paper) - Legal council not giving good advice - Policies and procedures are being ignored Jimmy Neacappo asked if these grievances had been brought before council. Cita answered, “No ….”. Jimmy noted that there was not a quorum at this meeting and suggested a referendum – member’s resolution to have a referendum which as far as he knew only required a majority vote of the people present. A motion to that effect was proposed by Cita and seconded by Shadrock Trapper. A vote was taken and the majority present voted to have a referendum. A few people abstained. Nobody voted against the motion. Jimmy will write a report on the meeting with recommendations. "Due to the recession, to save on energy costs, the light at the end of the tunnel will be turned off. Signed, God." “A Visit to the Island” The following short story is an account of a visit by several youngsters who paid a visit to Ft. George Island one summer week-end. All names are not the real names of the youngsters. If any name appears in the story of a real person, it is by accident. All real names have been changed to protect the innocent. It all started when Tommy, Siibii, and Patrick had this great idea about going to Fort George Island. Everyone told them not to go, but they would not listen to what their friends said. Some even begged them not to go. They just refused to believe the things that the people warned them of. The three of them packed everything they thought they needed – food, sleeping bags, flashlights, matches, blankets, bug spray, and fishing rods. But they forgot one important thing that had been a problem in their lives. They left Chisasibi around 8:00 A.M thinking they were the bravest nerds in Quebec. Nerds! That is what some of their friends called them. But, they knew they were just smart kids who worked really hard, listened well, and were in school every day. They got to the island around 12:00 noon and set up camp in an old vacant building. Soon they went exploring throughout the island and were having a great time. They were so excited that they lost all track of time and soon it started to get dark. “Imagine,” said Siibii, “if all those strange things really were true that the people told us. What would we do?” “Don’t be crazy, chicken. Only little kids believe those crazy stories,” said Tommy. “Nothing like that ever happens. They were just trying to scare us.” They visited every place they were told not to go. They went to the forbidden lake, the old abandoned church, the old store, the hospital, and last of all the old school. On the way back it started to get dark. And even though it was dark, they thought they saw foot prints coming out of the bushes. “What’s that?” asked Patrick, “Big Foot? “Yeah, it’s probably Big Foot. Maybe he’ll come by tonight and pay us a visit. He may even eat us,” said Tommy, who was trying to scare the two other kids. None of them said a word even though they were thinking, “What if those things the people said were true after all. What would we do? And what if those are the foot prints of Big Foot?” Each of them tried not to show what they were thinking. They each tried to be brave. After all, this was their weekend. “Oh, oh,” said Siibii. “I can see it’s going to rain. Just look at those big dark clouds in the sky off in the distance!” Siibii knew he was a hero and that he knew everything about nature. And the others knew that he was smart when it came to the outdoors. By the time they got back to the old building where they had set up camp, it was almost dark. They had their supper and sat down sipping on a nice mug of tea. “Ah, this is the life,” said Tommy. “A man has got to enjoy the simple things in live. There’s nothing like a nice mug of tea after a hard day’s work. It makes you feel like a man” Each of them wanted to laugh, but they didn’t dare. They just wanted to “enjoy the moment” and pretend that they were a real man. After all, this was their week-end! They heard thunder off in the distance and then it started to rain. They settled down in their sleeping bags and after telling a few ghost stories, they soon fell asleep. But, soon things were about to change About 3:00 in the morning, Siibii was awakened by something. He didn’t know what it was, but he felt he heard footsteps walking close to them. He just froze and was so afraid that he could hardly say a word. He could even hear his heart beating. He didn’t dare move. He was thinking, “Was it the distant thunder or was it something else? Was there someone in the room? Was it the footsteps that they saw coming out of the woods?” He had to speak to someone. He nudged Patrick, but Patrick was sounded asleep. He nudged him again. “Hey, Patrick, wake up. Patrick, wake up” he whispered. He was terrified that he whispered too loudly, but he had to speak to someone. Patrick rolled over and asked, “Hey, do you know where bacon comes from?” “Shut up about the bacon. I don’t care where bacon comes from. I care about the noise that just woke me up,” he whispered. ”There’s someone in this room.” And then they heard a voice from behind them. Cont’d on page 8 ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 7 Cont’d from page 7 “Hey S-i-i-b-i-i, Hey, S-i-i-b-i-i,” whispered a voice. “Why did you go into that old haunted church?” “Who’s that?” asked Siibii. “Is there someone there?” “It’s your great, great, great grandma, and I’m here to tip over your boat. Remember, you never ever went to a real church when they wanted you to go. But, you would go to an old abandoned church, wouldn’t you.” Patrick and Tommy were absolutely terrified. Then they heard their names called by someone who seemed to be loading a shot gun. “Chk,chk,” went a sound – right behind them. “You were told not to go down by the lake and disturb my hunting blind, weren’t you,” said a voice. “Why did you go?” When all of this was going on, Tommy was lying awake and he was terrified. He was hoping they would not call his name. He was hoping no one saw what he had done. “Oh, why did I ever go into the old northern store and the hospital? Why did I pretend to operate on Patrick, and why did I take those things from the store?” He thought to himself. And those were the very questions he heard in the room that night. Somehow the time passed without any more noises and by now it was almost day break. The three boys wanted to go home and they wished they had listened to their friends. Just then they heard singing down by the river next to their canoes. “Listen,” said Patrick, “I hear singing. Listen.” “Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream, Throw the nerdies overboard, And listen to them scream. “Row, row, row your boat, Gently down the stream, Throw the nerdies overboard, And listen to them scream.” 8 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 It kept repeating over and over. Then the singing stopped. They listened in complete silence. “Guys, it’s time to get out of this weird place,” they all said at once. They quickly packed their things and started out. On their way down the hill they saw the bullies (the ones who told them not to go to the island) standing by the river right behind their canoe. “Oh, Oh, were going to die! Look it’s Leila, Holly, Terri-Ann, Russell, Bryan, Isaac and Clayton. We’re in big trouble!” said the nerds. “What are we going to do? Run, swim, hide?” said Tommy.” “Put on a brave face and fight like a man!” said Patrick. They made their way to the shore hoping the bullies wouldn’t fight them. Leila, the leader, said, “We have something here that you forgot. It’s been the reason we have been fighting all this time. The hatchet!” “Yeah, we have something to bury,” said Holly. On their way up the hill Tommy and Patrick were thinking, “Oh, Oh, the operation! Do we have to do it?” They were told to stop under a huge tree and it was there they heard those words again. “We have to bury something,” said all of the bullies at the same time. And at that, four of them dug a hole and asked Clayton to come forward with the hatchet and they all had a hand in placing it in the hole. Their fears were wrong. They buried the hatchet and finally they became friends. It all started when one of the nerds found the hatchet that the bullies had lost. Each claimed it as their own. Just before they left, Holly and TerriAnn saw something carved on an old tree. “Friends are forever.” It was signed, Lucy and friends. It was carved in the tree just above the place where they had buried the hatchet! As to what happened in that old house that night, and the singing – well, we’re not sure. We are just telling the story as it was told to us. Some folks think they can still hear strange things going in that old house on a dark and rainy night. May-be you will have to check it out sometime for yourself some summer night. Composed by: This was a group story writing activity of the Gr. 6 English Class of Blair Thomson. We reserve all copyrights. Please, contact us at the school for any information regarding photocopies. Maxine, Please spell the word …. Parents and grandparents gathered at the Youth Center Gymnasium to watch and listen to their children compete in a “Spelling Bee” on Wednesday February 8. The children aged 10-13 (Grade 4-Sec 1) are enrolled in the Tutoring Program (a Youth Center initiative) with teacher Carl Lewis. Before the actual competition the students put on a bit of a show. A robot (Desmond Pepabano) was tuned up and activated by lab Technicians. The robot then proceeded to do the ‘shuffle’. After that Maxine Matoush gave an endearing performance of the song ‘The Climb’ (Maxine has a very good voice and I’m sure we’ll hear more from her in the future.) And now the serious stuff …. Co-hosts Joanne Duff and Carl Lewis (along with Alison Langdon) introduced the contestants - Maxine Matoush, Ewan Zephyrine, Collin Snowboy, Kate House, Desmond Pepabano and Kelly Pepabano (there were about 15 to start with but many backed out for various reasons). Contestants had to spell a word given by one of the judges (Eric Grimstead, Rhonda Spencer, Chris Bell-Chambers and Kevin Dacey) and then use the word in a sentence within 1015 seconds for two points. Maxine and Ewan were able to spell most of the words given them and use them correctly in a sentence. Other contestants usually spelled words correctly but sometimes were unable to use the word in a sentence (word comprehension). After the spelling part, came the math where the children had to calculate (using pencil and paper) a ‘two operation’ math problem. Example: 6x6 + 1964; 19x15-175. Maxine aced this category. Last was the science questions … What are the gases we breathe in? Name the four elements. At the end of the competition and the scores were added up …. It was Maxine Matoush who walked away with top honours while Kelly Pepabano and Collin Snowboy took 2nd and 3rd respectively. Congratulations to all the students and a big thank you to Carl Lewis and Gerti Stephens for organizing this competition. Thanks also goes to the Katimavik gang for helping with this activity. It would be nice to see it happen twice a year … every year! Contest results 1st – Maxine Matoush 2nd – Kelly Pepabano rd 3 – Collin Snowboy 4th – Ewan Zephyrine th 5 – Desmond Pepabano 6th – Kate House Gordon Warman has started a site on Facebook Titled Sand Park School. People are telling stories and generally reminiscing about the good ole days. Check it out. ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 9 Dancing to new beats: The modern face of Indigenous music By Jason Plouffe To all observers of youth culture, it should be plainly obvious that the rock n’ roll, country and folk songs enjoyed by older generations of music lovers has been largely replaced by newer musical styles, such as hip-hop, techno and heavy metal. Walking past a car with a booming stereo, attending a community dance or just watching MuchMusic at home makes it clear that the times-they-are a’changing, and they have been for quite some time now. Indigenous youth, like youth all around the world, closely follow these new musical trends. However, unlike the generations of their parents and grandparents before them, they have access to high-tech devices, such as Iphones and MP3 players, that give them access to their music at all times. As a supply teacher in Chisasibi, I often bring my portable speakers to class with me, to use as a reward for a wellbehaved and productive class. If we get our work done, we can listen to music for the last bit of class time. It didn’t take me long to realize that most students, even those as young as grade five, are carrying their own music with them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard LMFAO’s ‘I’m sexy and I know it’ in my various classrooms, including the grade fives. It is a normal thing for young people to enjoy popular music. However, it is important to point out that there are many examples of these musical styles being created by Indigenous artists, and that the work of these artists often reflects the distinct identities, histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples. A simple google search using keywords like ‘Indigenous hip-hop’, ‘Indigenous heavy metal’ or ‘Indigenous punk’ will quickly reveal the great variety of videos, songs and websites dedicated to modern music by and about Indigenous peoples from across Canada and around the world. Just as Buffy St. Marie and Kashtin did in years past, new generations of Indigenous performers are embrac- ing modern styles of music as a way to express their identities and to give voice to their struggles in societies that have too often ignored the rights of Indigenous Peoples. A favorite find of mine is Blackfire, a Navajo band that is actually a family, the members being two brothers and a sister. Describing themselves as ‘alternative’, the group incorporates traditional drums and singing with punk rock to create powerful songs and videos that call out for justice, such as ‘It’s Not Over (‘Till It’s Over)’. They are definitely worth checking out (www.blackfire.net). Indigenous hip-hop in particular is emerging at the forefront of contemporary Indigenous musical expression. Indeed, most people would have no idea that Indigenous people have been involved with hip-hop since its beginnings. The first rapper to ever use the title MC, Melle Mel, is Cherokee, and Ernie Paniccioli, a famous hip-hop photographer who began his career taking pictures of graffiti in the ‘70’s, is a Cree who grew up in Brooklyn, New York. More recent artists of note include Funkdoobiest, Sole, Litefoot, King Just, War Party, Tru Rez Crew, Slangblossom, Winnipeg’s Most and Reddnation. A handy resource for those interested in learning about this music is www.nativehiphop.net , a portal that showcases videos by Indigenous rappers from around the world, as well as providing access to artist biographies, news and beats. So whether you are a fan of modern music, or the parent or grandparent of young fans, spread the word and encourage the youth of our community to explore music that is being created by Indigenous peoples today, or even better yet, to begin forming their own groups and expressing their experiences and identities through the wonderful gift of music. Do a google search for different styles of music by Indigenous artists. You may be surprised and inspired by what you find. In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board.' 10 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 Zoo Guts Project … One of a Kind Even if you tramped the four corners of the Earth, you would not find a scene as that below …. Children placing (hanging) the guts inside a giant inflatable animal. But such was the case at Chisasibi as both Secondary and that each animal was picked for a specific reason. Each is either on an endangered list or may be in the near future. They represent most of the ‘vertebrates’ – fish, mammal, reptile, and fish (only amphibian missing) and as such children are able to compare anatomies, organs. Each animal is at risk for different reasons – overhunting, loss of habitat, pollution etc. The idea is to get the students thinking/talking/discussing about what is harmful to living things and perhaps to change actions in their lifestyle that harm animals. The “Zoo Guts” project is the creation of Jeremy. Working with a company in California, Jeremy picked five Canadian Elementary students took part in an Elephant Thoughts project called ‘Zoo Guts” during the second half of February. Five giant inflatable animals –Polar Bear, Coho Salmon, Banff Springs Snail, Harlequin Duck and the Leatherback Turtle … looking quite realistic, along with an inflatable ‘Hut’ containing all the guts (internal organs) of the animals. In this activity groups of students were assigned an animal. They were given a stack of cards showing the organs of the animal. They had to go into the ‘Gut Hut’ and find the organs which are mixed in with the organs of the other animals. After finding the organs they took them to their animal, went underneath it and attached them in the proper place …. Not an easy task when you consider that some of the organs were quite similar in looks and besides the ‘Gut Hut’ was rather dark inside. After the ‘hanging of the guts’, students were given a large puzzle of their animal along with a fact sheet with two questions. ‘What threatens the well being of the animal?’ ‘What can we do to help the animal?’ There were other assignments given to the students all with purpose of having the students more aware of life around them. Jeremy Rhodes, President of Elephant Thoughts, explained animals (only the Banff Springs Snail though is found exclusively in Canada) designed the inflatables and the activities to go with them. The whole project cost around 120 000$ and was funded by two people from Ontario. Jeremy decided to debut/introduce this project in the CSB schools. It was ten years ago that Olivia Spencer persuaded Elephant Thoughts to come to James Bay Eeyou School and involve children in the wonders of science. (See October 2010 issue). It was a first for Elephant Thoughts. Up to that point they had been giving science summer camps. Since then Elephant Thoughts has visited all the CSB schools plus numerous other northern and rural schools with different projects many times. This project, sponsored by Niskamoon will visit all the schools of the CSB. Because of the amount of equipment involved, it will be barged to Whapmagoostui. The cost to fly it Cont’d on page 12 ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 11 Cont’d from page 11 up is considerable – which is probably why it will not be seen north of 60. Besides this new project ‘Zoo Guts’, Elephant thoughts is also involved in two other projects with the CSB One is the Mentorship program at the Elementary level. Three or four secondary students are trained in some aspect of science. They then teach it to interested Elementary students after school. The other program, started more than a year ago is called ‘Graduation Support” aimed at Secondary 4 & 5 students who have to write (and pass) provincial exams in Science, History English/French and Math in order to graduate from Secondary school. As Jeremy explained “ to provide any service to help them (students do that (graduate …)” ADVENTURES IN READING There are 30 Elephant Thoughts personnel spread out in all the CSB schools. Some are in the school only for a few weeks leading up to the exams in June while others are in a school all year long … as is the case with Chisasibi and Mistissini. It’s a comprehensive program which might involve one on one tutoring, whole class tutoring, substituting if there is no teacher for some reason. They create practice exams, teach study skills, confidence building and even will feed the students. They also offer to help other teachers. Their ultimate goal – to help students graduate. (The two students who recently graduated in Mistissini – the first in seven years – were a product of the ‘Graduation Support’ program. This year 5-10 Mistissini students are expected to graduate. Jeremy added, “My goal is to piece together support for the whole year …” (in all the schools). they may also be pretty amusing. That’s why it was so refreshing to read FUNNY IN FARSI by Firoozeh Dumas. One day, I went to do some shopping at The Bay in MonWhen she was seven years old, treal. An older Inuit man was standing on the sidewalk in Dumas’s family moved from Iran to front of the revolving doors, rocking back and forth with con- California. Her father, who claimed to centration and bewilderment as the panels rotated past him. speak excellent English (having previIt was apparent that he wanted to go inside, so I put my arm ously attended university in the around him and swept him though with me. He smiled grate- States for two years) had certainly fully at the time, but I have often thought of him since, hop- mastered his engineering textbooks ing that some kind soul helped him get back out of there once and was thoroughly conversant with his shopping was done! such terms as fluid mechanics and vectors, but when asked Everyone who lives in this village has experienced some to explain items from a menu that included such bizarre form of cultural dissonance, ranging from a few mild misun- choices as hot dogs, catfish, sloppy Joes and mud pie, he was derstandings between people trying to communicate in a se- totally lost. Also, his spoken accent was so thick that when he cond (or third) language to the extreme culture shock of be- tried to ask questions, no one understood him. As Dumas ing torn from one’s family and sent off to residential school puts it, “one step outside the scintillating world of petroleum where everything is unfamiliar and incomprehensible. engineering, he had two left tongues.” Here in Chisasibi, we have elderly people who cannot get Much of what her family experienced must have been basic medical care without going through a translator and difficult and daunting, but Dumas looks back on their adjustimmigrants from distant countries who may not only be en- ment period with far more good feelings than bad, and her countering new languages, customs and religions for the first humorous observations often caused me to laugh out loud. time, but also weather conditions that they never imagined. There are Quebeckers who come to work up north in their This is a slim book of under two hundred pages. I read it in own province and realize that they need to master English in just one day. Yet it contains a wealth of food for thought. order to communicate with people who speak Cree. There FUNNY IN FARSI touches on issues of cultural ignorance and are high school graduates who go south to attend college and prejudice, the disparity between expectations and reality, the discover that they must learn so much more than their new influence of advertising, the importance of kindness - and course of studies: how to rent and furnish an apartment, how clean bathrooms - and many other topics that could provide to budget their limited funding, how to take public transpor- a starting point for a stimulating discussion. She also addresstation, how to wash their clothes at a Laundromat… The list es coping strategies when faced with a change in attitude by goes on and on. Americans toward Iranian immigrants before and after 9/11. We all know that the adaptations, which must be made This book is not “great literature” that will be quoted when one is thrust into a new cultural context, can be uncom- through the ages like Shakespeare, but it’s an entertaining fortable, unsettling and even frightening, but in retrospect read that also stimulates some worthwhile reflection about our common experiences. 12 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 by Felicity Fanjoy Family Memories By; Margaret Sealhunter One winter, my family and some of our relatives left to spend some time on our ancestral hunting territory. Two of my uncles were already there. They had left a week before we did and they had their camp on the south side of the small river where our usual camp was situated. Like many times before, we set up our lodge on the north side of the river, known as Muskrat River. My uncles set up their traps east of their camp and they would leave early each morning to check their traps and snares. Before we came, they took turns to leave early because they didn’t want to leave my cousins alone at camp. My aunts stayed behind at the village because they were working at the mission. I used to walk to their camp for a visit and would return to our camp when one of my uncles came home. One day, my uncle Tommy told me that my cousins, Louisa and Billy would go and spend the day at our camp the following day. I was very happy to hear this. I told my mom and she said she was happy to have visitors. Sure enough, they arrived just before noon. Louisa said they would have come earlier but Billy was sleeping late. We had a snack of bannock which mom had baked. Dad was back and he informed us that he saw some rabbit tracks north of our camp just over the hill. He gave us each some snares and told us to go and set them up. We had to take our snowshoes because there was no trail where we were going. When we got there, the sun was already low in the horizon and we had to work fast before it set. We set up two snares each. Just as we were making our way back, we saw a rabbit and we got really excited. “Let’s go and try to catch it.” I said. Billy said, “There’s no way you’re going to catch it.” I replied, “We can always try. Come let’s go.” Louisa and I followed the rabbit, it was hopping away fast. “Come; let’s hurry before it reaches the woods.” I said. We started running with our snow-shoes on and it was kind of difficult. We could hear Billy laughing behind us. Louisa shouted back, “Stop laughing and help us.” The rabbit was really fast and it ran into a bunch of trees that were close together. “I’ll look on the other side and see if it went towards the other trees.” I went on the other side of the trees, no, there were no tracks there. “I think it’s still in the trees.” By this time, Billy had arrived and he was still laughing away, “You guys look so funny running with your snow-shoes on.” We went around the trees, throwing branches and shaking the trees to scare the rabbit so it might come out from there. Billy was sitting down, laughing and I said, “Hey! Mr. Rabbit come on out with your hands up… Billy was laughing even harder, Louisa repeated what I said and we both laughed too. Billy still laughing, “You guys are crazy…” That rabbit was stubborn; it didn’t want to come out and we had to go back to camp. The sun was setting and my cousins had to go back to their camp. I told my mom what we did and she said the rabbit must have been hiding deep in the branches. My brothers teased us about that rabbit story and they said you’ll never get a rabbit in your snares because you scared it too much. Like right now it must be telling the other rabbits not to go near snares… lol! Guess what? We never did get any rabbits in our snares. Later when we talked about it, I said to Louisa, ‘I wonder what we would have done if that rabbit did came out with its hands up? That could have been hilarious.’’ Lol! I think we were thinking of a Western movie we saw at the Mission a week or so before. Like the boys, we were always trying to imitate the movies we used to go to. Especially the westerns….. I still laugh when I think about that rabbit story, my late cousin and I did a lot of funny stuff together. Agoda, Take care until next time. Another note regarding the lack of fat in rabbits/hares. There is something called "rabbit starvation" or "fat hunger." The theory is supposed to be that eating just protein is bad for you. One element seems to be that the human liver is unable to convert protein to glucose at rate sufficient to keep you alive over the long term. Another element is that this protein to glucose process produces ammonia as a by-product. Ammonia isn't good for you. It seems that most of the references for rabbit starvation point to accounts written by early explorers. I don't know how real any of this is, so search for something a little more modern if you are considering rabbit/hare (or very lean meat) as a significant component of your diet. ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 13 Chief candidates Debate … On Wednesday February 29th at the JBES Agora a ‘debate’ was held for the nominees of Chief of Chisasibi. Five of the seven candidates (Robbie Tapiatic, Roy Neacappo, Charlie Louttit, Davey Bobbish and Roderick Pachano) took part. Gerti Neacappo and Edward Nine O’Clock did not attend. The debate was facilitated by Stella Bearskin. (Just in Mar 2 … Edward Nine O’Clock has declined to run) There were four ‘rounds’ to the debate. In the first round the candidates had seven minutes to talk about their experience, aspirations, visions etc. Here is some of what they had to say …. Roderick Pachano outlined his extensive experience as a previous Chief, councilor, sitting on negotiating committees. Robbie Tapiatic mentioned that he wanted to have more people involved in meetings and to sit down with committees to listen to their concerns. Roy Neacappo pointed out that he had learned a lot from his grandfather and that we should focus on the well being of families – listening and talking to children and youth. Davey Bobbish also noted the importance of our future generation and added that education is very important. He stressed he would focus on making people understand the importance of listening to one another. Charlie Louttit talked about building strength and learning from past experiences, that people should be put first and to promote Cree language and culture. In the next round each and every candidate was given three minutes to respond to four broadly phrased questions. What is your view/idea as the role of Chief? Most of the candidates emphasized – listening to people, making decisions to benefit everyone, the well being of the community. The second question was on Eeyou governance. Again candidates were pretty much of one mind when they stressed 14 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 that we must make our own decisions and to use/hold/strengthen Cree language and culture. Third question asked their views on social and mental issues. Candidates said there must be more collaboration between entities. Two candidates mentioned ‘stop the bullying’ Third round entailed two randomly picked candidates to answer the same question (questions by the way were submitted by the general public). What recommendations would you make to those who hunt? … More careful inspection on non-native hunting/ hunters; closer look on the funds available for the CTA Your opinion on the mining industry? … building on eco-tourism, job creations that don’t destroy the land .. Your opinion on MBJ (Municipality of Baie James) … shouldn’t exist. Diabetes is rising. How do you see the role of Chief in this? Encourage people to continue living off of the land. Building better trails; encouraging all aspects of sports activities. (Editor: I have refrained from attributing remarks to individual candidates. They all had very good ideas and I didn’t want to bias anyone) Finally the floor/mic was opened to the audience …. But only five people were given the chance to ask one question for two candidates to answer. Thomas Shem asked Davey and Roderick if they would back-up not paying Hydro … both indicated if that's what the people want then … okay. Shadrock Trapper brought up an incident of a Youth Council project that was denied funding. Both Roy and Robbie said the Band Council should support youth initiatives as much as possible So …. No promises were made … “if I’m elected I will ….” But all declared what they would like to see happen and perhaps we can hold them to that when they are elected. Voting begins Monday with the Advance polls. Election Day is Thursday March 8th. Do exercise your right to vote and vote! Action Programs I decided to take a walk on the wild side and go to every activity of the Action Program to be nosey … take a picture or two and just maybe get to sample some of the cooking. (Alas only one looked at my under-nourished body and took pity on me and gave me a piece of Cactus! - and ginger juice) A common trait I found at the activities –smiles and laughter … the participants were having fun! Mind you, some of the laughter was on the nervous side when they saw my camera. The ‘teachers’ in these activities are to be given a big hug and kiss for what they are doing. They are very talented! Also a major thanks to Celina Chakapash and Rhonda Spencer for the organizing of the Action Program. It does take a lot of extra time and effort. This is the 8th year. Below are the Monday activities. More pictures to follow in the April issue. Music—writing lyrics with Jason Plouffe Cake decorating with Dinah Cookish Sewing backpacks with Ruby Beading bracelets with Paula Knitting slippers and socks with Margaret Pachano French lessons with Denis Bouchard ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 15 In loving Memory Abraham Benjamin June 20,1924 - February 13,2012 Abraham Benjamin, born June 20, 1924, was 87 years old at the time of his death on February 13, 2012. He leaves behind his daughter Marjorie Benjamin, his granddaughter Winnie Benjamin and two (2) greatgrandchildren, Ethan and Logan. He was the eldest of two (2) children born to Annie Chewanish and Joseph Benjamin. He was later adopted by Matthew Fort Chimo who married Annie Chewanish after the death of their father Joseph when Abraham was only about six (6) years old. With this marriage Abraham then became the older brother of all the children born from this marriage; Elizabeth married to Roderick Herodier; Helen to Sam Kitty (both deceased); Phyllis married to Reggie Chiskamish (deceased); and Sydney Fort Chimo (deceased) married to Edith Morin. He married Louisa Shauk on September 11, 1947 and was happily married until Louisa's untimely death at the age of69. Abraham was a devoted father and grandfather. He was a hunter and trapper by trade and when he was in the community he did what was necessary as all fathers did to support their families. He also became a member of the clergy of the St-Philip's Anglican Church at a very young age. He was quite proficient in the English language and was called upon to provide translations for the various Anglican ministers that located to Fort George and then later those that located to Chisasibi. He was devoted to this work up to the time when he had a stroke. This was a life altering experience that greatly limited his capacities to care for himself and was then necessary to allow care to be provided by the Chisasibi hospital and this up to the time of his death this past Monday, February 13, 2012. He spent the last ten (10) years of his life in the care of hospital doctors, nurses and personnel in their loving care. As was for all ancestral peoples of Chisasibi Eeyouch, Abraham had endured many life challenging experiences. This one experience we wanted to share with family and community. The story is that Abraham's father did not return after having gone to get supplies from Kaniapiscau. When his mother Annie and his paternal grandmother were sure 16 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 that something had happened to him they set out to try to reach relatives wintering near the coast of James Bay at the mouth of the Roggan River. Abraham was around six (6) years old and his younger brother around four (4) years of age. We believe that through the sheer courage and perseverance of his mother, grandmother and young uncle, Abraham and his brother were able to endure this very difficult and trying journey with already very little in terms of supplies to survive on. This was a journey of many hundreds of kilometers along a river that needed to be portaged many times to reach the mouth of the river. These kinds of stories of courage and endurance are the legacy of most of our relatives who have already passed on. We thank them for having helped shape the benefits of life we enjoy today. We would not be able to finish telling his life's journey without mentioning the many doctors, nurses and hospital personnel that did the necessary acts to make the last ten (10) years of his life as comfortable as possible. Dr. Michael Lefson and the late Dr. Jimmy Deschenes provided the most of the doctoring he needed during those years. The many nurses and then there is Daisy Kitty, Winnie Sam, Martha Sam, Lucy Matches, Ellen Pepabano, Sarah Sealhunter, Mary House and Edward Pachano who provided the constant attention and care that he needed. We thank you all for your commitment and dedication to his medical and daily care. Then there are the cousins, Mary, Lorna and Wendy that took care of Marjorie in her hours of need. They are truly family in every sense of the meaning of family. Lastly we thank all of you who are in attendance here today not just to partake in the carrying out of the last rites for the father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, brother-in-law, relative and friend, all of which is Abraham but to also celebrate his life and all that he leaves behind which will continue to be fostered in the generations to come. We love you, we will miss you. We truly believe that you are now home with the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ to remain forever safe in their loving care. Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy-laden and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28 Honouring Her Spirit Doris Shelley Sheshamush May 28, 1969 - February 18, 2012 Doris was born on May 28, 1969 in Timmins, Ontario the daughter of Elijah Sheshamush and the Late Caroline (Lameboy) Sheshamush. After the passing of Elijah's first wife he married Sarah Masty and Doris lived with them. Doris is survived by her common-law husband Pierre Dufresne, Children: Caroline (George), Daniel, Emily, Jocelyne and Ashely-Grace Parents: Elijah and Sarah Grandchildren: Cherish-Joy, Trenton Gabriel and Elijah-Ron Siblings: Valerie (Joe), Ron, Brenda, Elijah Jr and Cynthia Grandparents: Emily and the Late Ronnie Sheshamush and Maggie and the Late Daniel Lameboy Doris was a loving and caring wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt and friend. She will be remembered for her laughter, humour and silliness. Even though she faced many hardships while growing up she still showed a lot of love, affection and compassion towards her family and others too. She was also very strong in mind, heart and spirit a person that went out of her way to provide for her children and didn't ask for much from anybody. Some messages from the family …. Doris, You were a beautiful wife and mother. Thank you for giving me 2 beautiful daughters and for sharing your life with me. You were not only my wife but my best friend and I will always love you. My daughter Doris, Your Mom left us when you were less than two years old and your sister Valerie was less than one; that was over forty years ago and it taught us that life is short. When I found out I had prostate cancer you always asked me how I was doing. After I came home from my treatments and follow-ups you wanted to know what the doctors had told me and when I told you that the doctors said it would be ok you would say that's very good and stay that way. Doris my daughter 41 years is a short time with you, but I accept that God has plans for each of us. God never does us wrong; he always cares and loves us. I believe we will meet again in our Father’s heavenly kingdom and we will be reunited with all our relatives and friends. I also know that you will be happy to see your mom and grandfathers. We will miss you and I will always remember hearing you say "I love you Dad". I love you too and Rest In Peace my child, Dad My Dear Daughter Doris, When your mother left you to be with our Savior you were less than two years old. It was then that I took care of you for almost twenty years. When you called me you would always say "Mom, you are never angry with me or say mean things to me, you are always kind to me". My daughter I will always miss you and hearing you call me "Mom". Rest In Peace Daughter, -Mom Sarah Dear Mommy Doris You have always been there for me, you never left me alone. You were the best mother, sister, grandma anyone could ever have and you always showed a lot of love to everyone. I know you left us and I accept that. l remember when you told me to never be scared. You always said I'll never leave you no matter what will happen to us. I love you always and my love will last forever and I will pray for you every night. You will always be in my heart. I love you Mommy, Emily Mom, Because I've already met you in my dreams, I know you'll always be there. Love your only son, Daniel It’s very hard to lose my Beautiful mother. It was hard to believe at first that you have gone to a beautiful place called Heaven. I am grateful that you were my mother. I am going to miss our talks and all the silly talks we had. I'll cherish them forever Mom. We thank God for giving us a mother like you. Thank you Mom for teaching me all the things and for helping me and for helping my kids. We will miss you dearly and I will love you so much that words cannot explain. Rest In Peace till we meet again Mommy, Caroline ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 17 Chisasibi’s Elementary School Officially Opened I have a dream, a song to sing To help me cope with anything If you see the wonder of a fairy tale You can take the future even if you fail I believe in angels Something good in everything I see I believe in angels When I know the time is right for me I'll cross the stream, I have a dream Jammed packed, standing room only … that was the scene at Chisasibi’s new Elementary School’s foyer on Friday afternoon February 17. VIPs from all levels of government, along with ‘Head office’ Cree School Board (CSB) personnel were on hand to watch the ribbon cutting and make speeches. The new school has enough classrooms for 700+ PreK to Grade 6 students plus rooms to accommodate the children in the ‘Afterschool Program, a music room, Cree Culture room, a two-sectioned gym, library, computer room offices, staffroom, etc. (There is a worry though that starting as early as next year, administration will have to be ‘creative’ in order to accommodate all the expected students) To begin with people were asked to go outside where Rev Clifford Bearskin said a prayer. That was followed by the raising of the flags of Canada, Quebec and the CSB and then the actual cutting of the embroidered moose hide banner by Annie Herodier, long time guidance councilor at James Bay Eeyou School. While we were outside, the students of the 1st Cycle sang “Little Sparrow” (They were inside and their voices were broadcast outside.) Everyone trooped back into the foyer to listen to the Chisasibi Youth Drummers sing an Honour song. This was followed by about 45 2nd Cycle students singing our national anthem in Cree, English and French. More singing followed. The school choir, 2nd and 3rd cycle students, almost a hundred altogether sang ‘ I have a Dream’ (Abba) 18 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 Sing they did … loud, clear –beautiful. Everyone listening had a Wow-smile on their face. Applause was deafening. Thank you! students and Sylvain Naut ( the music teacher). The VIPs stepped up to the microphone to offer their insight into the new school. Chisasibi Deputy Chief Daisy HouseLameboy said that “very few school boards can boast teaching in three languages … having three languages can open many doors for our children.” Daisy also pointed out that students here can have the best of both worlds –native and non-native. She quoted a past chief “There’s nothing wrong in being an educated hunter.” Quebec Minister Geoffrey Kelley emphasized that “our responsibility is to make sure our children achieve their dreams.” Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come acknowledged the young leaders of the 70’s who also had a dream “to build their own schools …. to teach your own language as a language of instruction … to introduce their own culture into the school curriculum …” (JBNQA) Abraham Jolly paid tribute to some of the people who were instrumental in getting the school built -former Commissioners Margret Fireman and Mabel Herodier and our present commissioner Mabel Bearskin. Gordon Blackned and Matthew Mukash were also mentioned. Abraham ended with the following “I have a vision … to see a Cree Nation …. successful well educated Cree Nation …. Through inspired learning that happens here …. Inspired teaching and valued learning … happen sooner than later …” Kathleen Wooten CSB Chairperson also addressed the gathering. Kathleen pointed out that although it’s a real benefit to Chisasibi to have a new elementary school … “more importantly is what happens in the classroom … the quality of learning and teaching that matters the most …” It was also acknowledged by Kathleen that “… this new school belongs to the community of Chisasibi and the members can have a say in what happens in the school. Education is as much a community concern and responsibility as it is (a) Cree School Board concern and responsibility. CSB must work in partnership with the community …” It finally came time for what a lot of us had been waiting for – the name of the new school. Everyone was quite curious. It had been talked about (argued?) for a couple of Samuel Tapiatic (1979-1982) weeks. Should it be named after someone who had devoted a lot of their time to the students and if so who … The votes were in … Runner up – Sakashtuwau (sunrise, start of day) submitted by Dawn Pashagumskum. The name picked by the majority of voters?? Drum roll please … WAAPINICHIKUSH (morning star) put forward by Carmen Napash-Shem, a grade 3 teacher. Congratulations to both Carmen and Dawn! At this point gifts were exchanged between the CSB and the Federal and Provincial gov’ts. A very beautiful picture showing flying geese was given to the principal France Ferland by the CSB. With that people lined up to get a piece(s) of three artistically decorated cakes. Following the ceremony at the school guests retired to the Mitchuap for a ‘traditional’ meal Waapinichikush Elementary School – there’s a new star in the sky! Honouring Our Past Chiefs Samuel Tapiatic was our Chief during the most dramatic period of our modern history: the relocation of this community from Fort George Island to the present site of Chisasibi. He was also the first Chief to be voted in by secret ballot through official electoral practice. In fact, Samuel insisted upon this as a condition of running. Prior to his time, chiefs had either been chosen by a small group of Elders (and, sometimes, the Hudson Bay Company manager) or had been elected at a community meeting through a show of hands where only the people who happened to be present were able to vote. Samuel believed that it was important that all eligible community members be given an equal opportunity to select their leaders. Also, in previous times, there had been no set term of office for chiefs, who often retained the position for many years. However, Samuel studied the election by-laws and discovered that the official term was supposed to be for just three years. After that new elections must be held. As a result, he agreed to take office for three years only. Samuel had worked with the Cree Regional Authority and the Grand Council of the Crees from when they were first established in 1974. His job involved travelling from community to community to gather information for the government and the Cree organizations. And since he had been there from the beginning of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, he had become familiar with the policies and procedures of government. Through this experience, he learned what it meant to be a leader, and he understood the duties and obligations. In 1979, when the people of Fort George elected Samuel as their Chief, he was chosen because of his knowledge of government and his overview of what had happened before and after the signing of the James Bay Agreement. He was pleased and honoured to be chosen, but was concerned about the challenges ahead, so the first thing he did was to consult with some former Chiefs of Fort George: John Napash, Robert Kanatewat and Josie Sam. They gave him good advice and Chief Napash told him a lot about the history of our people. These three former Chiefs provided him with much support, guidance and encouragement. During his term of office many transitions occurred. Samuel was faced with Cont’d on page 20 ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 19 Cont’d from page19 transforming the traditional style of community leadership into a modern system of government. It was a huge responsibility for him and difficult for some people to adapt to. With hard work and dedication, he was able to help our people become accustomed to more progressive ways of developing and managing our community. Certainly Samuel’s biggest challenge was the Fort George Relocation. When Hydro Quebec asked the people of Fort George to move to the mainland because increased water flow from upstream river diversions would erode the island, not everyone wanted to relocate and there was a lot of friction in the community, so upon wise advice, Samuel decided to hold a referendum. Once the results were in, a clear majority had voted in favour of the move. Then Samuel felt confident to go ahead with the relocation project. However, when moving began, the then-current Band Manager resigned. At that time, the Chief was given no salary. He merely received an honorarium of 300 dollars per month which was not enough to live on and support a family. Consequently, Samuel was asked to take on the task of Band Manager, a paid position, in addition to being chief. It was an enormous commitment, but to his great credit, he succeeded in doing both. With the various transitions that were taking place, new by -laws had to be enacted. Samuel recalls that it was a hard task to create and implement them and a major challenge to have people understand, accept, and follow these by-laws. In some cases he was disappointed. The disruption of relocation had triggered a spate of social problems that caused Samuel to be concerned about community security. His aim was to ensure a safe environment, especially for our children. As a result, a drug-and-alcohol by-law and a curfew by-law were adopted in order to control public intoxication and to 20 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 help parents prevent their children from wandering around late at night. However, it proved impossible to get these particular by-laws into practice. In spite of this, he feels it was an accomplishment to have people realize that we need by-laws in order to manage and develop our community. When his term was over, people asked him to run for chief again, but he said no for family reasons. After having a family meeting, it was decided that it was best to have both parents available for the children. His children had difficulty with their father being away so much of the time. They did not want to go through that again and he respected their wishes. Samuel believes that, to be a chief, you really need an education in political science and you must know and understand the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. Also, you need to have direct knowledge of Cree culture, traditions and values. Therefore, he encourages young people who would like to become community leaders to study the rules and procedures of government and to practice their culture so that they can better understand the needs of our people. Samuel had to learn on his own about how government functions, and he is aware of how difficult this can be, so he wants young people to be prepared and to build good leadership skills before taking on the duties of governing our community. As difficult as it was for Samuel to be chief during the transformation, he did his best to help our people and to keep them informed about what was happening with the government. Although he declined to run again, Samuel is still active with the Chief and Council and he is always willing to assist with the development of our community. He is also enjoying his retirement and spending a lot of time on his trap line. It is good to be back on the land. Community Resource Evaluation A diverse set of services for the Justice department coupled with the great services in place could mean better plans of care that meet individual needs. Help repair the harm. Sometimes a band aid works, but many times it’s not that easy. That’s how it is in justice; sometimes it’s as easy as putting a band aid on a wound, but many times it’s not. So if it’s not easy most of the time, what can we do to repair the harm? Harm could be as ordinary as scrapping a wall with a piece of furniture; or as low-key as making a friend wait. But do not let me convince you of the sense of the word harm because each of us experiences harm differently than the other person and so on. In justice, crime is considered to be an act that causes harm. Unfortunately the harm that comes about as a result of a crime can be felt for years such as distrust or fear. There is another part of the story; there is also the harm that caused the crime, such as personal and socio-economic influences of the offender, and an out of date correctional process that created hardened criminals. Justice departments have or have started to realize that relying 100% percent on the court system to deal with crime has been a failure. Today, the focus has shifted to bring the victim into the healing process and rehabilitating the offender, rather than 50 years ago when justice departments almost left no options .... just jails. So, very little consideration was made to reintegrate people into society. People who came out of jails were hardened criminals because previously the apparatus of justice made it unlikely that they could become honest citizens again, and that would make them more likely to reoffend. Which brings us back to the original question, what can we do to repair the harm? The harm re-integration considers is the harm the apparatus of justice can have on people by turning them into hardened criminals. Re-integration considers socio-economic influences such as mental health and social drawbacks. Why? Real simple…society doesn’t want people to re-offend. There are a few ways to accomplish re-integration goals such as therapy, programs and studying different ways to solve disputes; and if we think creatively there are likely many more approaches; and that brings us to the purpose of this article, Community Resource Evaluation. The re-integration office in Chisasibi is in its beginning stages, and as a result is evaluating the community for resources that could assist in re-integration objectives. The objectives of the re-integration office are to rehabilitate, restore and prevent; it involves working closely with offenders and for people re-integrating into the community after being released from incarceration by developing plans of care that should take into account their individual needs. Plans of care could involve therapy, personal assessments and counselling. However, the objectives cannot happen without resources. No elders -no counselling; no therapists no therapy. Furthermore, since prevention is an objective of re-integration, better prevention could come from a more unified process through better connected services and a diverse set of services. All that could mean better plans of care could be developed that reflect the needs of people; if the resources are available. It’s next to impossible to have a wound caused by harm completely restored to perfection, but with better options a satisfying result is a good goal. So, the re-integration office wants to find out if there are additional resources in the community to accomplish its objectives. The purpose of the evaluation is to find out if there are people in the community of Chisasibi that does not presently work with the justice department that could be a resource. You could have skills in social work, mediation and performing arts, people as in if you are a shop teacher with a law degree or a dishwasher with a psychology degree or a history teacher with a performing arts degree. If you are please contact the re-integration officer in Chisasibi. More options could be developing better programs, workshops and better plans of care and then hopefully empty jails. Please contact: Thomas Gower – Re-Integration Officer Work: 819-855-2120 ext. 1801 Fax: 819-855-1888 [email protected] Department of Justice and Correctional Services PO Box 849 Chisasibi, Quebec J0M 1E0 ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 21 Chisasibi Annual Hockey & Broomball Tournament (Feb 2-5) Probably the most enjoyable part of this particular tournament was the Pre-Novice hockey. Four teams competed, two from Chisasibi and one each from Eastmain and Waskaganish. Pre-Novice players are supposed to be 5 to 6 years of age but some look like they are only a few months out of their mother’s womb. For most getting the puck and scoring is not their first priority; rather looking up into the stands to wave at their parents, or just laying around enjoying the feel of the ice or perhaps getting all together somewhere on the ice cause it is a big area and maybe they feel a little lonely. While I was watching them on the ice, two activities came to mind –dominoes … when one fell half a dozen others would go with them. Their ‘play’ on the ice also reminded me of ‘Demolition Derby’ – more than a few times there would be a ‘pile-up’ of half a dozen of them …. But miraculously nobody gets injured. (I’ve always maintained children that young have the constituency of rubber.) Parents, grandparents, family etc shouted screamed and laughed until throats’ hurt and had a few funny stories to tell the family back home. After the ‘finals’ on Sunday each PreNovice player received a participation medal. Thank you PreNovice players! And now back to the serious competition …. In the Novice Broomball, Waskaganish had little trouble in defeating the Chisasibi team 3-0. In fact the score might Novice Broomball Waskaganish 3 Chisasibi 0 Champions Finalist Best Defense - Holly Rupert (Chis) Best Forward – Myra Blackned (Wask) Best Goalie – Joyce Petagumskum (Chis) Top Scorer – Kristyann Mark (Wask) 7G MVP – Kristyann Mark (Wask) 22 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 have been much higher had it not been for the scintillating saves of Joyce Petagumskum. In the Cadet girls Hockey, two Chisasibi teams, the Wildcats and the Icehawks faced off. Although the score ended up 5-0 for the Wildcats, it was not a ‘lopsided’ game. The Icehawks had their chances but the Wildcat goalie shut the door on them. Equally impressive was the play of Cadet Girl’s Hockey Chisasibi Wild Cats 5 Chisasibi IceHawks 0 Champions Finalist Best Defense - Celina Wapachee (IH) Best Forward – Holly Visitor (WC) Best Goalie – Amy-Lynn Chakapash (WC) Top Scorer – Lenore Bearskin (WC) 2G/1A MVP – Holly Visitor (WC) Hannah Swallow, goalie for the Icehawks. At times Hannah reminded me of Carey Price sliding back and forth across the goal mouth! Many of the girls are excellent skaters but it’s the puck handling (and passing) that can be improved upon. In the Atom division, the fact that Amelia Bearskin and Angel Kitty of the Chisasibi Beavers played with the Cadet Wildcats in the game before didn’t seem to make a difference in the outcome of the Atom final between Chisasibi and Eastmain. Atom Hockey Chisasibi 5 Champions Eastmain 3 Finalist Best Defense - Angel Kitty (Chis) Best Forward – Marcus Gilpin (Chis) Best Goalie – Leroy Weapenicappo (East) Top Scorer – Marcus Whiskeychan (East) 6G/7A MVP –Marcus Gilpin (Chis) It was a close game though. At the end of the 2nd period the score was tied 3-3 but with the inspired play of Marcus Gilpin the Chisasibi Beavers came away with a 5-3 win. They outshot Eastmain 21-12 and that is why Leroy Weapenicappo was awarded the ‘Best Goalie’ trophy. I have always believed that destiny plays a major role in life and so it was with the Girls Midget Broomball final which saw Waskaganish and Wemindji clash. The Waskaganish girls dominated the game from start to finish BUT Wemindji did get a shot (I think their only shot) in Midget Broomball Wemindji 1 Champions Waskaganish 0 Finalist Best Defense - Cassie Pepabano (Chis) Best Forward – Myra Blackned (Wask) Best Goalie – Shania Georgekish Wem) Top Scorer – Jasmine Namagoose MVP – Cheryl Danyluk the 2nd period which escaped the clutches of the goalie. Imagine how the Waskaganish girls felt. (In the round robin game between these two, they fought to a 1-1 tie.) Bantam Hockey Waskaganish 4 Chisasibi Blackhawks 1 Champions Finalist Best Defense - Jesse-James Scipio (Chis) Best Forward – Norm Blacksmith (Wask) Best Goalie – Daylon Salt (Wask) Top Scorer – Trent Georgekish (Wask) 6G/3A MVP – Donavan Hestor (Wask) The game started off with both teams skating hard but with few shots on net. There was no scoring in the first period. Waskaganish scored the first goal of the game 30 sec into the 2nd period on a tip-in from a shot from the point. Chisasibi came back with a goal of their own at the three min. mark of the 2nd in a goal mouth scramble. Halfway through the 2nd Waskaganish scored …. again with a lot of infighting around the net. So after 2, the score was 2-1 Waskaganish. Shots were 8-6 for Waskaganish. In the 3rd period Waskaganish ‘iced’ the game as they say with a PP goal. Chisasibi was guilty of three infractions in the third period which led to two goals for Waskaganish. Final score 4-1 Waskaganish. Why aren’t the Blackhawks winning? Two reasons perhaps …. They do not have a PP. In this game I think they had one shot in four PP. There was no set-up or pressure at all. The other is passing. Far, far too often offence consisted of individual rushes. Passing only happened when the ‘rusher’ ran out of ice or steam. Blackhawks have some very talented players but they don’t play as a team. In the Bantam game between Waskaganish and the Chisasibi Blackhawks showed that it’s not the number of shots on net but the quality of shot …. According to the scorekeeper there were only 21 shots total in this game – 10 by Waskaganish, 11 by Chisasibi. Congratulations to the Atom Beavers, Waskaganish Novice BB, Wemindji Midget BB, Chisasibi Wildcats and the Waskaganish Bantam team! ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 23 2012 La dictée PGL Competition Waapinichikush Elementary School’s annual La dictée PGL (local) competition was held February 8th. Eleven Grade 5 & 6 1st and 2nd language students took part in this fund raising activity. The students who are participating are sponsored by family and friends who pay a certain amount for the number of words the participants are able to write. The school (class) is able to keep half the money raised while the other half is donated to the Paul Gerin Lajoie Foundation which uses the money to build schools and give school supplies to the poorer countries. Taking part in this year’s competition were Haylee Petawabano, Amelia Rupert-Bearskin, ElyAnn St-Cyr*, Charles Arseneault*, Bailey McKee, April Sam, Angie Spencer-Otter, Norma Snowboy, Donovan Papatie, Zaïnad Souit* and Mayson Kitty. There were two categories (or dictations) – one for 2nd language students and another for 1st language students. In this case –French. (First language students have an asterisk beside their name) For the actual dictation the teacher, Judith Buteau, read the paragraph slowly repeating it several times until the students had finished copying what they had heard. 1st language students copied both paragraphs while 2nd language students just copied the first paragraph. Below are the paragraphs that were dictated to the students Dans mon pays, comme dans plusieurs autres pays africains, plus des trois quarts des adultes sont analphabetes. Cela ne veut pas dire qu'aucune de ces personnes ne sait Lire, ecrire ou compter. Certaines dente elles ont eu La chance de frequenter recole et ont quelques connaissances de base en lecture, en ecriture et en calcul. Cependant, ces connaissances ne sont pas suffisantes. (Fin de la dictee — classes de francais langue seconde) L'analphabetisme est un probleme serieux qui affecte la population entiere de maintes fawns. Le gouvernement local a sollicite l'aide de La communaute internationale pour repauler dans sa lute contre ce fleau aux consequences pernicieuses. Ensemble, ils ont concu et instaure des programmes pour scolariser toes Les enfants et alphabetiser Les adultes afin d'assurer un avenir meilleur a la population burkinaise. (Fin de la dictee) After a lot of erasing, hunh?, and pencil chewing students handed in their papers and then were treated to a pizza (pepperoni & cheese and vegetarian) lunch. Here are the winners Second language: 1st – Haylee Petawabano; 2nd – April Sam; 3rd – Amelia Rupert-Bearskin First language: 1st – ElyAnn St-Cyr; 2nd – Zainab Souit; 3rd – Charles Arsenault. Congratulations to all the students who took part and major applause to Haylee and ElyAnn who will represent Wabinjuksh Elementary School at the regional La Dictée PGL competition to be held in Chisasibi on March 20. The provincial/international competition is May 20 – location not known yet. A major thank you to Lise Lacaille, Judith Buteau, Mohammed Rhdaïfi et Violaine Lyrette for organizing this event. Why I like to live in Chisasibi I've been gone from Chisasibi for 3 months now and not a day goes by that I don't miss being there. I pine for it. There are many things I miss about living in Chisasibi: the northern lights, the bay, the river, the island, the fresh air. But what I miss the most is the sense of community. Stepping outside the house and taking a short walk to the store, I was guaranteed to see at least a dozen people that I knew and often meet new ones. Smiling faces, a little chit chat here and there, a little teasing, a little practice with the Eeyou language, some encouragement to keep practicing. There are outsiders who see it as a depressing place, but that's because they don't scratch beneath the surface and feel the spirit of the place and of the people. That spirit is what makes me determined to get my teaching certification and come back and live in Chisasibi in a few years. Agda, shash. … Jacky 24 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 Wishing you a Happy …... Happy 7th Birthday to Daisy (Eeshgosh) salt on March 22 From Sharon, Alice & Boys Happy Birthday to Napash’s Adele – March 2; Katie & Nancy March 22; Sharon – March 31; George & Leslie – March 8. From 107 Watchia Happy Birthday to Winnie Sealhunter on March 2 From Jaylen, Jaysen, Thomas & Calvin Happy 72nd Birthday to Sarah Potts House on March 10 & many more to come We love you very much P.S Don't do anything just relax on your special day Love always everyone at A6-19 & Sheldon Happy 3rd Birthday to Della Rednose on March 13 & many more to come. Have a blast at your birthday party! From everyone at A6-19 & Sheldon Happy 1st Birthday to Bobby House on March 17 & Many more to come We Love very much From Everyone at A6-19 & Sheldon Also Happy Birthday to James Napash on March 9; Georgie Pash on March 22 Gary Duff & Gary Jolly on March 23 Kimberly House on March 27 From everyone at A6-19 Happy Birthday to Gordon Cookish on March 7th, Louise Scipio – March 11th, Robin Matthew & Crystal-Lynn Cromarty – March 21st, my God mother Dorothy Mataham – March 25 and to Maya Benjamin on March 26. Once again Happy Birthday to all with many more to come. With love – Caroline After months of waiting, on March 24,our first baby girl came into this world. As first time parents we were in awe with our baby...who was to teach us the importance of love, understanding and patience. Wishing you a very happy birthday on your special day Leigh-Ann. Much love from Mom & Dad Happy 72nd Birthday To My Grandmother/Great-grandmother Sarah Potts House on March 10 2012 & Many more to come We love you always .I just want to let you know You mean the world to me Only a heart as dear as yours Would give so unselfishly The many things you've done; All the time that you were there Help me know deep inside How much you really care Even though I might not say I appreciate all you do - Richly blessed is how I feel Having a Grandmother/Greatgrandmother, just like you Happy 1st Birthday to my first nephew Bobby House on March 17 & many more to come. You’re a very special boy and Watching you grow up is so much fun You're just as sweet as apple pie. Have a great Birthday little guy! Happy 3rd birthday To Miss Della Rednose on March 13 & Many more to come. Birthday cheer and big hugs too. It's time to celebrate A beautiful little girl who is turning three on this day Love, Lydia, Marcus & Daniella-Nancy Happy Birthday to our Grandmaman Sheila Louttit on March 1st. Love Always, Jayden, Trinity & Cecilia. Birthday wishes to Sheila Louttit on March 1st, Ethany Cox on March 12th, Trinity Sealhunter on March 20th, Tiffany Bearskin on March 24th and Leah Louttit on March 31st. May you all be blessed with many more birthdays ahead. Love from: dad/grandpa/great grandpa Reggie, Queenie & everyone @ Fl-16. Wishing a Happy 6th Birthday and many more to come... to a special little girl, Trinity Lucy Sealhunter on march 20. Your sweet smile and the innocent look in your eyes is what life is all about. With love always, mom Julianna, Dad Eddie, big bro Jayden &- Lil sis Cecilia. Happy Birthday to Casey on March 19. I still remember the day you were born. Me, late Anshkooshoo Agnes, Linda and Ida were anxiously waiting at the hospital for you to be born. We were so happy when we knew you were a boy...even late Anshkooshoo Isaiah was so happy when we told him the wonderful news. We are so blessed to have you in our lives. Xoxoxo Googoom Elaine Wishing Happy Birthday to my sisters who celebrated their birthdays in the month of February; Maggie-Feb 9, Lillybelle -Feb 19, Mary Feb 24 and Alice -Feb 26. From Elaine Happy belated birthday to a beautiful girl who celebrated her birthday on February 14 … Clarissa Cookish...hope you had a wonderful day!! Love, Googoom Elaine Happy belated birthday to Jacqueline Napash on February 9, From Elaine Happy 42nd Anniversary to our parents Nellie & Billy Pepabano on March 4th. We wanted to thank you for all the things that you have done to help us out over the years. May you be blessed with many more anniversaries. With our love – Valerie, Jim, Ryan, Eric, Cody & Lil’ Bobbish Birthday wishes to the following celebrating their birthdays in the month of March. Mark Sam – March 4th, DarrianRiver (Bigwa) – March 15th, daisy Georgekish – March 17th, Nellie Pepabano & Crystal-Lynn Cromarty – March 21st, Christine Sam – March 22nd, Judy House – March 29th. Happy Birthday and many more to come. From Valerie, Jim & Boys ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 25 Hallelujah … finally! After many delays Chisasibi has High Speed Internet. The wires are just a-buzzing with music and movie downloads. New rates will come into effect in April or May. Thank you ENC and Kinwapt ! Yellowknife (January 16, 2012) — Wild fur pelt prices in the Northwest Territories have surged up to 135% at the first wild fur sale of the season hosted by Fur Harvester’s Auction Inc. in North Bay, Ontario on January 7, 2012. Notable pelt increases this year include cross fox, with an increase of 135%; red fox, with an increase of 120%; and beaver, with an increase of 105%. Increases were also seen in grizzly bear, muskrat, wolf and Arctic fox. Charlie and I were with our three year old grandson, Julius and it was lunch time so we were talking about what we going to have for lunch. We asked Julius What he loves.."do you love hamburgers?" he said no and asked him again what he loves...."do you love chicken nuggets" he said no. We asked him, "what do you love then Julius?" He answered...."mommy". This was a good one for us the way we asked the question of what he likes to eat!!! At the way we were in Montreal driving around to buy take-out. CSB Education Services finally have a home. After being moved out of the ‘Old Arena’ because of mold, staff were crammed into any available space at JBES or told to work from home. Result? Worker dissatisfaction and a major decrease in work done. That’s in the past now. Movers finished moving the last of their offices to the old Elementary class rooms at JBES last week. Most of the staff have unpacked and are back to CSB work. They are quite happy with their new abode (There is even a bonus—they are situated on the second floor …great for the leg muscles & abs. We have been treated to an awesome sight for the last couple of weeks in the evening sky. Slivers of the moon mixed in with Venus and Jupiter. Then turn your head 180 degrees and see the red planet Mars It will happen all over again at the end of March. Venus and Jupiter will be even closer together. We would like to wish Happy Birthday to these following: Rihanna Sam on March 11 Angel Ratt on March 14 Brendon Ratt on March 29 Nadine Sam on March 30 Hope you all Have fun & Enjoy! From: Beatrice, Michael & Family We would like to wish Happy 2nd Birthday to our Baby Girl Rihanna Sam on March 11 Love always; Mommy & Daddy (Amanda & John-John) Brothers Marcus & Emerson & Big sister Nadine xoxo We would like to wish Happy 5th Birthday to our daughter Nadine Sam on March 30 Love always; Mommy & daddy (Amanda& John-John) Brothers Marcus & Emerson & baby sister Rihanna. xoxo 26 Waaskimaashtaau March 2012 Saturday February 11th -a day that a certain Sealhunter family will never forget. That was the day that George and Gloria took a couple of their children to a Hockey game in Ottawa where the Oilers were playing. (Everyone knows that all Sealhunters are avid Oiler fans). It was the end of the game and by some miracle the Oilers had won. Taylor Hall (star forward for Edmonton) was the third star of the game. By good fortune George and his son Isaac were by the exit. Isaac was dressed Oiler style which Taylor noticed. Taylor went over and gave a signed puck to Isaac … and … it was all recorded on Television. People were texting George and Gloria who were more excited than Isaac. On TV … Wow!!! Anyways there is one very happy little boy now who will forever cherish that puck! Gordon Warman has started a site on Facebook Titled Sand Park School. People are telling stories and generally reminiscing about the good ole days. Check it out. Found recently on Facebook Whatever you give a woman, she’s going to multiply. If you give her sperm, she’ll give you a baby If you give her a house, she’ll give you a home If you give her groceries, she’ll give you a meal If you give her a smile, she’ll give you her heart She multiplies and enlarges what is given to her Sooo … if you give her any crap, you will receive a ton of $#@& . We would like to wish a very happy birthday to these following: Sharon Ratt on Feb 2 , Cynthia Voyageur on Feb 12, Terrence G. Bobbish on Feb.16, Jessica Voyageur, Joey & Crystal-Joy Gilpin on Feb.17 , Tyler Sam on Feb.25 & last but not least finally Danny Gilpin on Feb.29 Happy 5th birthday to him LOL! He's lucky gets to be forever young! He was born on Feb 29 1992 would've been 20 by now! Happy Birthday to all & God bless from Beatrice, Michael & family Spirit Month Themes 1st: 3rd: 4th: 5th: 6th 8th: 9th: 10th: 12th: 14th: 15th: 19th: 20th: 24th: 27th: 28th: 29th: 30th: 31st: Eeyou Chiisshikaau - Speak Cree all day, wear traditional clothing from head to toe, and pick a Cree name. Elders’ Day - Visit an elder, invite an elder for a visit, help an elder, etc. Snow Sculpture Day – make a family activity out of it and build a snow sculpture on your front yard Adopt-a-Family - Invite another family (related or not) for a meal at your place. Vintage Day - Wear something from the past. Hugs Day - Give someone a hug. Proud to be ME Day! Wear a name tag ex:”Hi my name is …” For International Womens’ Day both men and women should dress up in a dress, high heels, etc. Watchyia Day - Greet our out of town guests. Send a Song Day - Call into radio and request a song. Sorry no anonymous senders. Ultimate Fan Day - dress up (head to toe) with your favorite hockey team apparel. Dance Day Arena - During floods get up and dance. Radio – The radio will play dance music from 11:00am-12:00pm. and 4:00-5:00pm so dance at home with the family No Speaking Day - Communicate other ways (instead of speaking) ex: writing, sign language, texting, etc. Black-Out Day – No calls and no texting for 24 hours, no TV, no playing on xbox, wii, playstation, no Facebooking, no IPods or IPads. It can be done! Spend time with the family. Have fun! Funny Stories Day - Share funny stories with coworkers and if you want to share it with the community, call the radio. Grandparents’ Day- Spoil your grandparent(s); cook a meal, clean the house, shovel a driveway, etc. Hair Day - You can either have - Crazy Hair, flat, greasy, (brill cream), teased, colored, etc. Eh! Day - Use the word eh at the end of each sentence. Multi-Colour Day - Dress up in as many different colors. Jobs Swap Day – (With the employer’s permission) Swap jobs with another coworker. Love Thy Neighbor Day - Bake a dish/meal for a Neighbour. Do something nice, wave, Help, etc Breakfast in Bed Day – Prepare breakfast for your loved one (spouse, bf, gf, sister, brother, mom, dad, friend, etc.) and you will get your chance to be served on the second Breakfast in Bed Day on the 31st. Footwear Day - Wear different shoes or socks. Two left shoes or two right shoes, mismatched pair, etc. Share A Snack Day - Bring a snack to work or to a friend’s home, or family members, etc Favorite Holiday Day - Dress up in your favorite holiday Valentine’s Day- Wear red or make hearts. New Years – Wear party hats. Christmas – Wear a Santa hat, Christmas Canada Day – Wear Canada logos. sweater, shirts, etc. Aboriginal Day – Traditional clothing. Easter – Wear pastel colours. Chisasibi’s Birthday – Wear Chisasibi logo Halloween – Dress up in a costume. clothing. Thanksgiving – Wear brown, orange and yellow. Goose break – Camo Clothing Remembrance – Make your own poppies. Convoy - Decorate your Vehicle (Car, Truck, Ski-doo’s, Four Wheelers) with signs, lights, etc. Out On The Land Day – Take this day and celebrate our culture, nature, and community. ᐧᐋᔅᑭᒫᔥᑖᐤ 27
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