How hard is it to be a Chief of a First Nation? Well, it is not an easy trail. Anyone who decides to become the leader of his or her First Nation community or run for leadership positions nationally, provincially […]

As I write, today is one of those really dangerous times to travel on the road in northern Ontario. The weather is causing great problems all along Highway 11 from North Bay to Thunder Bay with freezing rain being reported […]

I can fluently speak my Cree language and I know how to survive on the land. I owe these skills to the fact that I grew up surrounded by my parents and Elders in my home community of Attawapiskat. How […]

I don’t get the chance to visit with my family often these days. We are all live far apart and lead busy lives. We talk on the phone but it is not the same as being able to sit with […]

I enjoy carpentry, woodworking and construction. I like building things, renovating my home and learning how to use new tools. I like to think that I have a knack for figuring out building or construction problems on my own. It […]

Christmas is right around the corner and I am reminded of that fact every time I go shopping. The shops in all the local northern Ontario communities I call home, like Kirkland Lake, Iroquois Falls, Timmins, Cochrane, North Bay and […]

Somehow we have lost our way when it comes to health care and prescription drugs. Many of us know someone addicted to prescription opiate drugs like fentanyl or hydromorphone. A survey done in 2012 indicated that 410,000 Canadians abused prescription […]

We need more people like Chief Walter Naveau of Mattagami First Nation and Fire Chief Mike Benson of Gogama, Ontario. They have proven themselves as powerful advocates for local people and the environment. These two men, among many others, have […]

A lot was happening for Native creativity during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The decade started off with music from the Innu Nation in Quebec when Kashtin burst onto the music scene with their debut album of the same […]

With winter on the way I see a lot of people out and about in town wanting to connect with others. Northerners are resilient folk but we also follow hard lifestyles. We tend to pride ourselves as big party types. […]