Sandy Lake celebrates the arrival of power and light

SANDY LAKE – Another First Nation celebrated Wataynikaneyap Power “bringing the light” on Friday, National Indigenous Peoples Day. “The Wataynikaneyap Power transmission system means more than reliable electricity for the community,” Sandy Lake Chief Delores Kakegamic said. “It means we can build new homes and buildings, such as our new health centre, and connect them to power. It means we will no longer need to react, almost daily, to power outages.” The fly-in community of more than 3,000 northeast of Red Lake began getting power via the Wataynikaneyap line on April 18, but June 21 was chosen for the celebration. Wataynikaneyap means “line that brings light” in Anishiniiniimowin (Oji-Cree), and the company’s transmission line brings light by connecting remote First Nations to the Ontario power grid. Wataynikaneyap Power’s website describes…

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