Posts By: First Nations Drum

About APTN Indigenous Day Live 2021

Posted by on . -- ARTS

APTN Indigenous Day Live 2021 | APTN

In celebration of the 25th National Indigenous Peoples Day, APTN invites you to welcome the summer solstice with a unique adaption of APTN Indigenous Day Live (IDL). On June 20, APTN will broadcast the IDL festivities from coast-to-coast-to coast.

APTN Indigenous Day Live 2021 pairs Indigenous artists with Canadian music icons for a refreshing line-up of collaborations in English, French and Indigenous languages. The multi-platform broadcast takes audiences across the country to stages in Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Dartmouth, N.S., to showcase and celebrate First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultures and milestones.

Join hosts Earl Wood and Janelle Wookey for IDL 2021, featuring performances by Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Tom Wilson, iskwē, Neon Dreams, Julian Taylor, Charlotte Cardin and more!

Broadcast Details:

Sunday, June 20, 2021
8:00 p.m. – 11:30 p.m. ET
Monday, June 21, 2021 (encore)
aptn e/hd  2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. ET
aptn w  2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. MT
aptn n  2:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT

IDL 2021 will be available for free on APTN lumi from June 20 at 8 p.m. ET until June 22 at 8 p.m. ET. The broadcast will then be available with an APTN lumi membership.

Finding Our Way Home

Posted by on . -- EDITORIAL

The Annual Mattagami First Nation Pow Wow in northern Ontario was established by local people to encourage culture and traditions in their community. Pictured during Mattagami’s Pow Wow are some of the leaders, organizers and youth who make this event possible every year. From L-R are: Dana McKenzie, Pow Wow Coordinator; Mattagami FN Chief Chad Boissoneau, past Regional Chief Isadore Day, Chiefs Of Ontario; former Chief Walter Naveau, Mattagami FN and Mattagami FN Youth Dancer Tessa Thomas. In front are Mattagami FN member Nathan Naveau, Thunder Creek Drum Group and Max Worme, Lead Youth Male Dancer.
(photo by Xavier Kataquapit) The Annual Mattagami First Nation Pow Wow in northern Ontario was established by local people to encourage culture and traditions in their community. Pictured during Mattagami’s Pow Wow are some of the leaders, organizers and youth who make this event possible every year. From L-R are: Dana McKenzie, Pow Wow Coordinator; Mattagami FN Chief Chad Boissoneau, past Regional Chief Isadore Day, Chiefs Of Ontario; former Chief Walter Naveau, Mattagami FN and Mattagami FN Youth Dancer Tessa Thomas. In front are Mattagami FN member Nathan Naveau, Thunder Creek Drum Group and Max Worme, Lead Youth Male Dancer.

As we celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day it is important to realize that our gathering together as a people is not something new as we have been coming together to celebrate our traditions and culture for centuries. I grew up in Attawapiskat First Nation, a small remote community on the James Bay coast in northern Ontario. As children we were always aware of our cultural and traditional past but it was never celebrated or acknowledged. Our parents and Elders had a strong connection to our traditional past but they were negatively affected by their experiences in the Residential School era and the long march of colonialism that sought to diminish and destroy our cultural identity.

It wasn’t until the 1980s and 90s that many people on the James Bay coast felt strong enough to really start celebrating and promoting our heritage. They started hosting regular Pow Wows or ‘Indian Days’ celebrations as a way to show our youth that we should be happy to say that we are Indigenous people and that we should be proud of that heritage.
Over the past few decades, I’m happy to say that Aboriginal culture and traditions have been returning to my people up the James Bay coast, throughout Ontario and across Canada. These gatherings are a time to gather in the summer, renew friendships, share memories, food and honour our ancestors. These events introduced me to our traditional drumming and singing and the teachings of our elders.

In my home community, as a teenager in the early 90s, I was impacted by my Elders like the late James Carpenter, late John Mattinas and late Fred Wesley. At the time, much of our traditional past was suppressed because most people were attached to worshipping and following western Christian religions. The most devout Christian followers questioned and resisted allowing anyone to acknowledge our traditional past. It took many years and many attempts and now there are many people who are proud of their heritage and even those who have found a compromise between the two belief systems. Over the years and through the efforts of many of our traditional people and teachers, Indigenous culture has returned to a great degree to our First Nations.

In my home community, many of my relatives now follow and openly celebrate their cultural practices such as laying offerings, sweat lodges, drumming and singing. Those teachings had always been there but had been hidden because our Elders were threatened and made to feel ashamed for having this knowledge. As children, we had learned this shame as well. The healing journey is helping us to break from this feeling of shame and negative self worth.
Many people do not have a good understanding of what Indigenous leadership and Elders mean when they talk about traditions and culture. This is a huge topic that covers spirituality, hunting and gathering pursuits, survival instruction, language, crafts, art, music, historical knowledge, teachings and legends. These days much emphasis is placed on gatherings which feature sweat lodges and healing circles that connect back to our ancestral ways to maintain emotional, physical and spiritual balance and health.

Indigenous youth now have the opportunity to learn the cultural ways of their ancestors through our Elders, leaders and traditional people. There are Pow Wows that celebrate our ancestral past all over this country and at all times of the year. Schools in many provinces are providing more education that represents First Nations, more Indigenous people are becoming educators and traditional events are being developed everywhere. A healing journey from centuries of oppression is underway.

It makes my heart feel good to see so many young people figuring out who they are through learning experiences involving traditional and cultural events. I have seen first hand the change in youngsters when they are introduced to singing, drumming, healing circles and teachings. That heavy burden of generational pain and hopelessness that was produced by colonialism, the residential school system, the creation of the reserve system and the controlling government departments has been replaced by a sense of connection and pride.

It is not always Pow Wows or traditional gatherings. Many Indigenous organizations are promoting culture through well organized workshops, conferences and teaching events that bring together youth with trained Indigenous instructors, educators and academics. One such event like this that I’ve had the honour of attending for many years is the Wabun Youth Gathering. It is an annual summer event held in northeastern Ontario by the Wabun Tribal Council for youth from its territory to give them an opportunity to connect with their heritage and be proud of who they are. After watching the event grow for 14 years, it’s been amazing to see Indigenous youth being taught to not be ashamed of who they are and to grow to become more confident individuals with a strong sense of identity.

I want to personally thank those I have met over the years who are spiritual cultural leaders. What I have come to realize over the years is that it takes people, individuals like these who step forward to dedicate their time, energy and passion to help us find our way back home, to ground us and lift us up to deal with our wounds and weaknesses so that we can walk with more strength and balance on a good trail.

For so many of us our days are often still a struggle but we have survived to this point. Over the past couple of decades, life has taken a turn for the better and there are more opportunities for education and employment. Our youth have access to all of those wonderful traditional people that are clearing a path for us and marking it well with beneficial teachings, knowledge and a connection to our ancestors and Mother Earth. There is no turning back and things will keep on improving and I see a healing taking place. I see that healing in the faces of my nephews, nieces and all the young people I meet these days.

We all have to realize that the more we do to provide the opportunities for our young people to learn their ancestral traditions and culture the better we can help them to be grounded. They have to know and understand our history since the coming of the Europeans in order to really figure out why and how we have arrived at this place in time. We have been poor, hopeless, helpless and caught up in chaos and dysfunction for well documented historical reasons. Figuring all that out and returning to our roots won’t make everything perfect but it will make things better. We have a lot to remember and much to celebrate as we honour our ancestors during National Indigenous Peoples Day.

We all deserve a Home

Posted by on . -- Danny Beaton

In Memory of Alicja Rozanska

Many of our people are homeless in our own country now, our people are walking the streets jobless, hungry, depressed, looked at by many as a burdens in one of the richest places in the world. Our old elders know the facts and truth how the Niña, Pinta, Santa Maria and Mayflower arrived here on our shores 500 years ago, lost and starving until our ancestors gave them our healing ways and the indigenous people shared what was bountiful from Mother Earth in our once rich clean rivers, forests and farmland. There was plenty of work in the old days building our communities, scouting for wild game, fishing, farming, gathering natural medicines; herbs, wild rice were clean and the Maple Tree provided fresh healing Maple Syrup. Corn, beans and squash were full of vitamins, so tribes and nations were healthy. Those ocean-going ships that arrived had never known such cultures and peoples ready to share medicine and food and sustenance because it was their way of life. But it is that way of life that could be used to stop poverty and homelessness in Canada and the world. Our elders and healers have been using our culture in the prison system now for the past 30 or 40 years, trying to stop the trauma that was brought here on those first boats, which has turned into addictions, drugs, alcohol, family abuse and violence in all its forms. The residential school system has contributed to homeless crisis. It created culture shock because it killed the Indian in the Indian, but because of our ancestors, we have never buried our way of life. Now we are in a transition period because the world epidemic covid virus has given the conqueror a sacred wake up call, but because he cannot see this wake up call we have to continue to nurse him and ourselves back to good health along with our Sacred Mother Earth. One thing is for certain in Canada we all deserve a home and a place we can call home!

Born on June 7th, 1949 in Saskatchewan to Metis parents, Kenn Richards served as executive director for Native Child and Family Services from 1988 to 2018. Kenn says “Many Canadians want natives/indigenous people to have homes, but homelessness is about Canada sharing and it’s not happening, so homelessness will never stop.”

In Canada everything has to have a price tag on it, so the Canadian fabric is the same all over, homelessness is the Canadian fabric. It’s shocking what I have seen in my own country. It’s a nightmare, it’s a reality and I can’t stop thinking about what I know and can’t stop it from happening: people living on the streets, people living in trash, sleeping in trash, in parks, parking lots, alleys, laneways and hot air ventilators during winter months. It’s a Canadian disgrace and I dream about it. Homelessness is a symptom of capitalistic colonialism with multiple relationships. Capitalism is the ones who are privileged and significant numbers of indigenous people suffer from it. Indian people are suffering from one problem on top of another from the failed attempt to assimilate them all into this capitalistic nightmare. No housing for our people is a trauma, so that means getting housing is healing for our people and alcohol is only a symptom of the Indian problem. Nothing is easy for our people, our women, our children. We are under a police state, we are policed. We never had a police force before first contact, we never had insane asylums or hospitals, we never needed them. We never had the brutality that is everywhere from a society that cannot heal the trauma they created on top of past trauma.

Finland has become the first country to adopt a national housing first approach to homelessness. Finland calls it a principle, a service model or a philosophy. The main thing is treating homeless people like everybody else, people who have the same rights and see housing as a human right. So the housing first principle means that you give a homeless person a home, a flat, or a rental flat contract, without preconditions: you are not required to solve your problems or get sober, for example, to get a permanent home. And then when you have this home, you can get support to solve your issues. This is a simple basic principle of housing first in Finland. Affordability is a key issue for Finland’s homeless people, the government’s priority to create space for the needy and create programs and treatment for healing. Keeping people homeless all their life is more expensive for governments than creating homes. What is so successful in Finland is all parties agree homelessness is a national problem on the scale of a national disaster and immediate crisis on the scale of being an epidemic. In 2008 Finland recognized homelessness was such a serious problem it had to be solved by all levels of government. Action had to be taken immediately and the political parties began working together for human rights of their citizens.

Mohawk Elder David Beaver of Six Nations believes Canada can do more. He is asking the interfaith groups of Toronto to speak to Mayor Tory about the needs of homeless people who cannot find food programs at night after dark. There is nothing open for hungry people and we need something in downtown Toronto. There are no available shelters for those who miss curfews set up by shelters. There is no urgent place with beds and a place to get cleaned up. Then the worst thing now is Covid 19 and people need a place to wash and disinfect themselves because all libraries and restaurants are closed. Maybe the city has to put hand sanitizers on the street with portable toilets in every neighborhood till this virus is gone. Most of all, there needs to be a will or spirit of action by politicians and political parties like in Finland to take action now to give homeless people dignity, finally, and human rights. Elder Beaver says “If Canada does not act now or take the necessary steps to avoid a catastrophe, homeless people will be the ones to die first from Covid-19 on a possible large scale, but we who have homes will suffer grave consequences too. We need to act fast and we need politicians to create low income housing now.”

We need to get informed about Canada Prime Minister’s interest or the military’s interest to build billions of dollars on jet fighter planes while we are in a world pandemic virus. We need to spend resources on homelessness and affordable houses now. I urge you to contact your local MP and MPP, thanks. Our Sacred Thinking is our most important tool for creating justice and harmony.

Simon Wiesenthal Center Highlights Unique Story of Two Native American Soldiers in Honor of 76th Anniversary of Liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp

Posted by on . -- NEWS

April 27, 2021  –  In commemoration of the 76th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp by American soldiers, the Simon Wiesenthal Center Archives is highlighting the amazing story of two Native American soldiers – twin brothers – and how one brother helped liberate hundreds of prisoners.

Pictured above in 1942: Native Americans Bennett Freeny (L) and his identical twin brother Benjamin (R) were born on January 21, 1922 in Caddo, Oklahoma. The Freeny family is of Chickasaw and Choctaw descent.

The Freeny brothers entered the US Army in 1940 as combat medics with the 45th Infantry Division. Organized in 1923 as the National Guard for Oklahoma, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, the Division was activated for federal service in September of 1940. By 1943, when they set sail for the European Theater, the 45th, also known as the Thunderbird Division, consisted of 14,500 troops, including over 1,500 Native Americans. Between 1943 and 1944, the Thunderbirds fought battles in North Africa, Italy, and France.

In 1945, the Division entered Germany, where they captured the cities of Nuremberg and Munich. Bennett Freeney was part of one of the first units to enter Dachau Concentration Camp on April 29, 1945, where they helped liberate tens of thousands of prisoners.

Bennett Freeny stripped a German officer of this Iron Cross* (pictured right) shortly after the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp. Fellow soldier Ace Caldwell, who witnessed the incident, sent this account to Bennett’s daughter:

“… Bennett and I were both medics with the 45th and we encountered a great many prisoners who had contracted Typhoid and other ailments, and even more who had been starved … We were very disheartened by the condition of these poor souls and still enraged by the evil and carnage we had encountered liberating the camp.

A German SS officer walked through as though still in command and eyed us arrogantly and with a sort of sneer. Your dad stood, walked up to him and pulled out his knife. A couple of our boys stood by and prevented the officer from moving. Your father, one at a time, cut his medals and insignias off his uniform – Death Head, Edelweiss insignia, various patches and came to the Iron Cross hanging around his neck. Bennett grabbed it, cut the ribbon, and said ‘this is the sign of a hero – there are no heroes here’ and stuffed all the medals and patches in his pocket. A few of the prisoners who were able, clapped.

We were young men who had a lifetime of horror and violence visited upon us by age 23. None of us would ever be the same, but that day your father was bigger than life…”

* This Iron Cross and photograph are part of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s archival holdings.

 For further information, please email Shawn Rodgers, Media Relations/ Communications at srodgers@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed.

 The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization numbering over 400.000 members. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).

Margo Kane celebrates 20 years of the Talking Stick Festival and a career full of accomplishments in 2021

Posted by on . -- ARTS, NEWS

Margo Kane, acclaimed cultural visionary and leader, marks a distinguished multi-decade career in 2021 with new accolades and achievements – and a month-long 20th anniversary Talking Stick Festival in June.

For over 40 years, Cree-Saulteaux performing artist, artistic director, writer and cultural worker, Margo Kane, has been a galvanizing force on the arts and culture scene in Canada and internationally. She’s been a major advocate and leader in the advancement of Indigenous arts in Canada and beyond, dedicating her life to mentoring Indigenous artists and creating opportunities to showcase their work and culture.

2021 marks a high point in this remarkable woman’s career. The event she founded and runs, the Talking Stick Festival, commemorates its 20th anniversary with four festivals, one in each season, celebrating Indigenous performance and art. This year also sees Ms. Kane receive a number of prestigious honours acknowledging her life’s work, her contributions, and her important role in the cultural life of this country. 

Earlier this year, the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) named Ms. Kane a 2021 International Citation of Merit Recipient. Presented for “unique lifetime achievement which has enriched the international performing arts”, she was recognized for her distinguished service working within the profession. The ISPA said, “Margo has been and continues to be a mentor, leader, and inspiration to both Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists from across Canada and around the world.”

Moonlodge, Ms. Kane’s internationally acclaimed one-woman show – an Indigenous Canadian classic and a catalyst in Indigenous theatre – is currently being streamed as part of Soulpepper Theatre’s Around the World in 80 Plays audio drama series (to June 30). 

She is also nominated for a YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the Reconciliation in Action Category. Ms. Kane is being lauded for, among other accomplishments, having “created countless and diverse opportunities for Indigenous artists and community to gather, activate and galvanize around their artistic sovereignty and self-determination.” Award winners will be announced in June. 

At their October, 2021 ceremonies, Simon Fraser University will present Margo with an Honorary Degree. She will be in the good company of 13 other distinguished individuals making a positive difference in the world. 

These are all recent acknowledgements in a long career full of accomplishments. In addition to having founded and served as the artistic managing director of Full Circle: First Nations, Ms. Kane has developed an Aboriginal Ensemble Performing Arts Program and founded and continues to run the annual Talking Stick Festival. She was also the artistic director of the Canada 150+ summer festival, The Drum is Calling. Margo has also received a City of Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award in Theatre; a Career Achievement Jessie Award; an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of the Fraser Valley, and; the Order of Canada from the Governor General. 

And the work continues! In June, the Talking Stick Festival presents the Summer Sojourn online festival as part of its 20th Anniversary celebrations. In store is a month-long series of Indigenous performance and art featuring concerts, dance performances, exhibitions, readings, theatrical presentations, film and eclectic co-presentations – as well as some unique and unexpected experiences. A fall festival is planned for September. Full info is at talkingstickfest.ca 

How to ‘Go Green’: Tips from a PLT Canada Green Leader

Posted by on . -- EDITORIAL, Environment

A young person looks over the water

 

Benedict Langille showed it can be easy being green with his “Tips for Going Green” webinar on March 25.

Langille, a member of Seine River First Nation, planned the webinar as part of Project Learning Tree Canada’s (PLT Canada) Green Leaders Program.

“Going green is more important than ever,” he told his viewers. “We want to make sure we’re taking care of the land.”

In January, PLT Canada launched the Green Leaders Program, which involves mentorship, skill development, and community action. The green leaders, Indigenous youth aged 15-25, plan and implement a green community-based project which could be an event, campaign, or another initiative of their choice. Participants receive up to $1,500 from PLT Canada to deliver their project along with training and development workshops to help support their success. The green leaders are also matched with mentors from the forest and conservation sector to help them complete their project and plan their green career pathway.

Langille decided to host his going green webinar because he thinks it’s important to educate as many people as possible about green issues.

“Education is power,” said the Thunder Bay local. “I think we need to be looking ahead for future generations and start tackling these issues now! I thought the webinar was the perfect way to compile all the information in a presentable form.”

Green tips

Going green can protect the earth’s ecological balance, reduce pollution, conserve resources, and more, said Langille. It can also save you money, improve your health, and guarantee the future for your children. 

“You get a healthier you out of it,” he said.

Langille started off his webinar with the three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. He said, first, you reduce your consumption; then, you try to reuse objects; and last, you recycle if it can’t be reused. Some of his other tips to help save energy and money were turning off and unplugging electronics like power bars when you leave home for extended periods, installing low pressure faucets and shower heads, seeking the most energy-efficient appliances and lighting, and carpooling or walking.

“It’s the small things that make a difference in the long run,” he said.

Gardening

Langille also gave attendees some gardening tips and tricks.

“I think now is the time to be reconnecting with the land! It creates independence for people, while also keeping them busy and in touch with being a green community,” he said.

He shared how to create a plastic bottle greenhouse, which reuses old plastic water bottles and helps your plants grow. This project can also be done on a smaller scale, with a single plant inside a bottle. Langille sent out low maintenance seeds like chives, spring onions, and radishes to participants so they could get their gardens started as well.

Green Jobs

Langille currently works as a tree planter for Outland. The 24-year-old also has plans to go back to school to help him land another green job. PLT Canada offers a Green Jobs Quiz that matches your personality to the rewarding green career paths best suited for you and a 50% wage match for employers hiring youth aged 15–30 into jobs that contribute to a more sustainable planet. The Green Leaders Program is one of the organization’s newer initiatives helping youth pursue and advance their green career pathways.

“During my time in the Green Leaders Program, I developed and worked on my confidence and networking—while also developing skills to help me in the workplace and the real world,” said Langille. “I have to thank PLT Canada for not only supporting me during my journey, but also giving me the knowledge, resources, and confidence to pave my own pathway!”

Langille is also featured on PLT Canada’s Voices of Indigenous Youth web map with other young Indigenous people who have worked in green jobs.

Under the Northern Sky: Pictures Of The Past

Posted by on . -- EDITORIAL

 

Over the past decade, one of few benefits of social media has been the sharing of old photographs from the past. Recently, I’ve come across several black and white photos that highlight my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast from the 30s, 40s and 50s. I remember seeing some hard copies of these old photos being shared back home when I was a boy. I recall my parents and my aunts and uncles commenting on these old images in our family gatherings and doing their best to remember the names of the people pictured.

I’ve always had an interest in Mee-see-naw-pees-kee-eh-kan, the Cree word for camera. I enjoy the way a photograph preserves a moment of the past as a means to show future generations what life looked like back then. 

My parents Marius and Susan did their best to preserve a record of our family history through the years and my family still has a collection of photos of our past. They did their best to keep some sort of camera around the house so we could snap photos but the difficulty was in getting those images in print. There were several steps involved. The camera had to be in good working order, you needed to have a roll of film handy and even after taking pictures, someone had to send them to be processed in the south and then mailed back to our remote community. All those steps meant that getting any images at all was a big deal. 

It got a little easier in the 80s when disposable cameras became available but even then, in the north, there was no where to process a roll of film. Even though we took many pictures most of them never came to be because they were never sent out to be developed. 

When I travelled south on my grade eight school trip to Toronto in 1988, mom and dad gave me extra money to purchase disposable cameras. As a naive boy of 13, I bought a dozen cameras and snapped pictures of everything. Then I brought the used cameras back north without realizing I could have developed them while I was away. Mom had to randomly select some film rolls for development as the cost was too great to do them all.  

In the 1990s, photography got a little easier as more and more people were moving back and forth between the city and Attawapiskat, so there was always someone we could count on to drop off films and then bring them back. In the 1980s and 90s a lot of us discovered Polaroid cameras. It was like magic for us to take a photo and instantly have it appear in our hands.  

When I started working in media and writing in the late 90s, I purchased a 35mm film camera. I had to learn a lot including lighting, ISO, aperture and shutter speeds. Once I shot photos I still had to visit Royal Studio in Timmins to have my film developed. Every picture was precious to me because of the amount of work and care put into each one. 

When it came to media printing this was a science that I left to the professionals who had to take my best pictures, manually crop them, process them, treat them, scan them and then embed them onto a layout for a magazine, newsletter or newspaper. 

I felt like I had entered into the space age when I got my first digital camera, a two megapixel Fujifilm. I still had to limit my photography as I could only store my images on an eight megabyte memory card or transfer it onto my 20 gigabyte hard drive on my computer. Soon after, I graduated to a three megapixel camera and then a ground breaking 10 megapixel Olympus Digital SLR camera in 2006. 

Today much has changed in terms of memory capture and storage.  My more modern Nikon camera and my latest Android smart phone camera dwarfs anything I used in the past.  My digital library has grown to thousands of images stored on multiple hard drives over several terabytes. 

I now snap as many pictures as I desire. The problem these days is in taking the time to review and observe the images I’ve captured which all sit hidden behind a digital world rather than in a physical way in print on a wall or in a photo album. Sometimes I miss the old days when a visit to someone’s home usually ended up in sitting around looking at family albums. 

As much as I enjoy new technology, I am still amazed when I discover an old and faded image online in black and white of my home community and the life and people it captured from so long ago. 

www.underthenorthernsky.com

Promoting Fire and Life Safety through Prevention and Public Education

Posted by on . -- Education, Environment

Photo credits: Leon Smallboy

 

Fire Safety in First Nations communities is a challenge. Overcrowding and housing repair remain a concern and are just a few of the many factors that contribute to this tragic situation*1. 

In the early 2000’s, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) reported that members of First Nation communities across Canada were 10.4 times more likely to die in a fire than the rest of Canadians, per capita. Since then, we have continued to experience fatalities throughout other Nations such as the Inuit and Metis Nations. 

A recent report released by Statistics Canada, commissioned by the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council Project (NIFSC) and funded by Indigenous Services Canada, examined the mortality and morbidity related to fire, burns and carbon monoxide poisoning among First Nations people, Métis and Inuit. This study indicated that Indigenous People are over five times more likely to die in a fire. That number increases to over 10 times for First Nations people living on reserves. Inuit are over 17 times more likely to die in a fire than non-Indigenous people. Rates among Métis were higher than non-Indigenous estimates (2.1), but these rates were not significantly different. The study further stated that “The mortality and morbidity rates provided by the new Statistics Canada report are grim but underscore the vision for the National Indigenous Fire Safety Council.” The NIFSC Project has launched programs that include education and training in the areas of community fire safety, community governance support, community infrastructure and engineering support, fire department management, fire investigation services, and fire department operations; all of which are offered to First Nations populations living on reserve. You can see the full report on the NIFSC website: www.indigenousfiresafety.ca/mortality-and-morbidity-report-2021.

A sad reflection of my own thoughts as I connected the dots through my recollection of fire investigations that I have conducted in my Treaty Areas of 6, 7, and 8. I have found that there was limited fire prevention or public education available to the Nations. I would like to see nations placing more importance on fire and life safety prevention and public education so that we can stop fires from happening. Of course, communities must balance the needs of housing programs, water, sewer etc. but fire prevention must be a priority. It is much better to stop a fire from happening than to respond in the hopes of putting it out.

It is important that First Nations develop fire and life safety public education programs and try to reduce property damage, injury and fatalities, while still preserving our traditional land stewardship. 60% of First Nations across Canada live in the vastly forested areas and many may not be participating in FireSmart programs focused on reducing fire loads in their communities. FireSmart Canada has an initiative where they highlight stories of fire stewardship in Indigenous Communities. Blazing the Trail: Celebrating Indigenous Fire Stewardship is an inspirational for all Indigenous peoples. Forest dwellers, women, and local communities Joji Cariño is another recommended read on this subject: http://www.nafaforestry.org/ff/download/volume_5_topic_29_.pdf.

To add more fuel to the fire, we also need to look at other fire prevention measures in fire risk. First Nation communities that evaluate fire risk in their backyard will determine the types of programs needed to reduce risks facing their specific communities. Data on everything – from testing smoke alarms to cigarette smoking to cooking safely can be compiled and measured. With this information, the Indigenous Fire Marshal Service (IFMS) can assist First Nation communities in their Community Risk Reduction Plans. Data-based decision making will support better outcomes. 

COVID-19 has made it harder to reduce the number of incidents, as more of our families are spending longer hours at home. This extra pressure on fragile infrastructure is why it is so important to focus on fire prevention and safety in the home right now. Talking with other First Nation fire departments across Canada, I have heard some great ideas like creating an app through the Band Office Facebook account where the home occupant can conduct their own fire safety assessment and setting up video calls between the fire officer and the home occupant for a virtual search of hidden hazards.  

I also see this as a great opportunity for our youth to share their ideas for how we might use technology to overcome the physical limits that the pandemic has put on us while also sharing safety messaging to everyone.

I encourage our First Nations, Metis, and Inuit to support the efforts of the IFMS.  In turn, the IFMS can support your fire departments, community champions, and our future generations in fire and life safety. It is imperative that we reduce these numbers and look to each other, and help each other, as Turtle Island and Mother Earth need us to do.

Akimaymok (Keep On Going – Cree)

*1 – More information on the 2016 census portrait can be found here: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/abpopprof/infogrph/select.cfm?Lang=E

Leon Smallboy is from the Ermineskin Cree Nation in Maskwacis, AB. In his role as Deputy Regional Fire Marshal with the Indigenous Fire Marshal Service he works with communities and their fire departments to conduct fire department assessments, home safety assessments, and community fire safety assessments. Leon started in the fire service over 25 years ago with Maskwacis Fire Rescue service before joining the Technical Services Advisory Group, working with all levels of governments and First Nations in Alberta. Leon serves as the Indigenous Director on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Volunteer Fire Services Association and was the past Board President of the Aboriginal Firefighters Association of Canada.

The CODE Burt Award for First Nations, Inuit, and, Métis Young Adult Literature — 2019-2020 Winning Titles

Posted by on . -- ARTS

Winner: Indigenous Language Category
Inconvenient Skin
by Shane L. Koyczan
Translation into Cree by Soloman Ratt
Published by Theytus Books
Artwork:
Joseph M. Sanchez (Illustrations),
Jim Logan (Illustrations),
Kent Monkman (Contributor),
Nadya Kwandibens (Photographs)

Inconvenient Skin is a collection of poetry written in English and translated into Cree. The poems aim to unpack the challenges of the dark side of Canada’s history and to clean the wounds so the nation can finally heal. Powerful and thought-provoking, this collection will draw you in and make you reconsider Canada’s colonial legacy. The cover features the art of Kent Monkman, and the interior features work by Joseph Sanchez, a member of the Indian Group of Seven. 

The author, Shane Koyczan is a writer, poet, and spoken word artist. He has performed around the globe at universities and at music and literary festivals. His writing and performance are vital, witty, and sincere: he reaches the hearts of his audiences with his powerful verses and has brought the Canadian spoken word movement to the international stage. Koyczan was born in Yellowknife, NWT, and he grew up in Penticton, British Columbia where is currently lives and works.  He has published several books, including poetry collection Visiting Hours, Stickboy, a novel in verse, Our Deathbeds will be Thirsty, To This Day: For the Bullied and Beautiful, A Bruise on Light and Visiting Hours.

The translator, Soloman Ratt was born on the banks of the Churchill River in a trapper’s cabin just north of Stanley Mission, SK. He went to the Prince Albert Indian Residential School and graduated from Riverside Collegiate in Prince Albert. He attended the University of Regina and graduated with a BA in English and a BA in Linguistics as well as a MA in English. He has been teaching Cree language and Cree literature at First Nations University in Regina since 1986. He teaches all levels of Cree and Cree literature. Ratt is also a writer and a poet, including Woods Cree Stories, and Beginning Cree written as an introduction for Cree language learners both published by University of Regina Press.

Winner: English Language Category:
MOCCASIN SQUARE GARDENS
Short Stories
By Richard Van Camp
Published by Douglas & McIntyre

Award acceptance quote from Richard Van Camp “I wanted to thank my publisher, Anna Comfort O’Keeffe, and I wanted to thank my editors, Barbara Pulling and Cheryl Cohen. Thank you!!

I would like to share with you what this award means to me.

To know that 2,500 copies of our book are being given away for free, to know that almost 300 copies are being sent to my hometown of Fort Smith, NWT, to know that all of our hard work and editing–and let’s be honest: it is our editors who make us the best writers we can ever dream to be–to know that we have been honoured in such a good way, a profound way, astonishes and inspires me.

I am so grateful to all of you for this award and I share this award with you and with my family, my community, and I have always felt that when we publish something, it becomes an arrow of fire and hope and inspiration that can land anywhere and anytime. To know that there are 2,500 new arrows of fire, light and hope soaring into communities that we’ll never visit, inspiring lives that we will hopefully hear about years from now, to reach new readers and writers, well, this is the ultimate accomplishment and I thank you all for helping me.”  Masi Cho

Master Tłı̨chǫ storyteller and bestselling author Richard Van Camp captures the shifting and magical nature of the North in this stunning collection of short stories.

The characters of Moccasin Square Gardens inhabit Denendeh, the land of the people north of the sixtieth parallel. These stories are filled with in-laws, outlaws and common-laws. Get ready for illegal wrestling moves (“The Camel Clutch”), pinky promises, a doctored casino, extraterrestrials or “Sky People,” love, lust and prayers for peace.

While this is Van Camp’s most hilarious short story collection, it’s also haunted by the lurking presence of the Wheetago, human-devouring monsters of legend that have returned due to global warming and the greed of humanity. The stories in Moccasin Square Gardens show that medicine power always comes with a price. Drawing from oral history techniques to perfectly capture the character and texture of everyday small-town life, the collection of stories functions as a meeting place for an assortment of characters, from shamans and time-travelling goddess warriors to pop-culture-obsessed pencil pushers, to con artists, archivists and men who just need to grow up, all seeking some form of connection.

Richard Van Camp is an internationally renowned storyteller and best-selling author. He has written and published more than twenty books in twenty years of writing, from baby board books to young adult fiction, to novellas and novels. He was born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, and is a member of the Tłı̨chǫ Dene Nation. He acted as a cultural consultant for CBC Television’s North of 60. A graduate of the En’owkin School of Writing in Penticton, he completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Writing at the University of Victoria and completed his Master’s of Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. Richard was awarded Storyteller of the Year for both Canada and the US by the Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers.

Honour Book:
The Case of Windy Lake
By Michael Hutchinson
Published by Second Story Press

The Case of Windy Lake Book 1 in The Mighty Muskrats Mystery Series 

The Mighty Muskrats won’t let a mystery go unsolved!

Sam, Otter, Atim, and Chickadee are four inseparable cousins growing up on the Windy Lake First Nation. Nicknamed the Mighty Muskrats for their habit of laughing, fighting, and exploring together, the cousins find that each new adventure adds to their reputation. 

When a visiting archeologist goes missing, the cousins decide to solve the mystery of his disappearance. In the midst of community conflict, family concerns, and environmental protests, the four get busy following every lead. From their base of operations in a fort made out of an old school bus, the Mighty Muskrats won’t let anything stop them from solving their case! 

The Case of Windy Lake was the co-winner in Second Story Press’ 2018 Indigenous Writing Contest!

Michael Hutchinson is a citizen of the Misipawistik Cree Nation in the Treaty 5 territory, north of Winnipeg. He has worked as the Director of Communications for the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, and as a project manager for the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, where he helped create the “We are all treaty people” campaign. Over seven years ago, he jumped at the chance to make mini-documentaries for the first season of APTN Investigates. Michael then became host of APTN National News and produced APTN’s sit-down interview show, Face to Face, and APTN’s version of Politically Incorrect, The Laughing Drum. Michael has worked in communications for the Assembly of First Nations and the Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak, an advocacy organization for First Nations in northern Manitoba. He currently lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His greatest accomplishments are his two lovely daughters.

Teaming up to tackle diabetes with positive change

Posted by on . -- NEWS

 

Working with a diabetes educator means being in a partnership that can change your life for the better. Just ask Jennine Buffalo.

After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes five years ago, Jennine Buffalo broke down and cried during her first appointment with Joanne Siemens, a dietitian and diabetes educator. Jennine was aware of the disease because she had both an aunt and a cousin with type 1 diabetes; each had a leg amputation and died due to diabetes-related complications. 

Joanne offered Jennine a tissue from the box that’s always on her desk. She knows how devastating a diabetes diagnosis can be. Joanne then immediately offered Jennine some peace of mind.

“When people walk into my office after being diagnosed, they look like they’ve been hit by a train. And when a train like diabetes hits your life, you experience every emotion—from feeling like ‘I can beat this’ to ‘This is a death sentence,’ ” says Joanne, who works on the Maskwacis reserve, a First Nations community of 16,000 in Alberta. “Many people think they caused their diabetes because they gained weight, drank alcohol, or did something wrong. My job is to help them get rid of the guilt and shame, because the depression and self-blame that go with diabetes can be worse than the actual diabetes. I tell them the reason people end up with problems is because their diabetes wasn’t well managed. And I tell them they did the right thing by coming to see me.”

The two began to meet monthly—and communicate regularly by text—to help Jennine, who was then 35, improve how she monitors her blood glucose (sugar) and to make the lifestyle changes necessary to ensure her good health. 

As a result of their partnership, Jennine eats less red meat and more chicken and fish. Thanks to personalized cooking classes offered by Joanne, she began experimenting in the kitchen, preparing dishes such as brown rice pilaf and beef barley soup. She also stopped buying pop and chips, and prepares big bowls of salad instead. And when she was unsure about how nutritious certain foods were, she’d send Joanne a text. “For example, I would ask her advice on whether pistachios are better than sunflower seeds and if I should choose salted or roasted,” says Jennine, who lost 30 pounds.

With Joanne’s encouragement, Jennine also become more active. She sings and dances at cultural Aboriginal hand games tournaments, and she and her partner and their four children regularly get out for family walks, swims in the lake and bike rides. “Our family is a lot happier now. My hope is that this [change] will help my kids grow up to be healthy adults,” says Jennine. An added bonus: Jennine recently was able to stop taking the metformin initially prescribed to manage her diabetes. 

After a year, Jennine had a much more positive outlook on the future. “In the beginning when I was first diagnosed, I didn’t want anyone to know I had diabetes. But I’m not embarrassed anymore. I’m alive and I’m healthy. And working with Joanne helped save my life.”

Fast forward to today: Jennine has reached and maintained her weight goal. She walks a lot, and has an A1C of 6.6. She has a burger once in awhile, but otherwise she avoids fast foods and red meats. She eats a lot of vegetables, and has switched from white bread to multigrain and rye bread. She loves having fruit, berries, and nuts for snacks. She drinks mostly water and makes homemade smoothies. She loves to cook, and her latest passion is the air fryer. Her next culinary adventure will be the dehydrator. 

Jennine’s increased skills and confidence means she has become more independent (though she still keeps in touch with Joanne) and maintains regular appointments with the medical staff at Maskwacis Health Services. “Joanne helped me see that there was a lot I could do to prevent the stuff I was so scared of. With her support and guidance, all my fears and worries were gone,” says Jennine.

Did you know?

2021 marks the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin. Today, more Canadians have diabetes than ever before. Diabetes or prediabetes affects 1 in 3 Canadians. One in 2 young adults will develop diabetes in their remaining lifetime. We can’t wait another 100 years to End Diabetes.  #LetsEndDiabetes Visit 100 Years of Insulin to learn more.

(This article appeared in Diabetes Dialogue, Autumn 2016. Photos (Jennine Buffalo, Joanne Siemens) by Mustafa Eric. Reprinted with permission of Diabetes Canada ©2021.)