Meet the Chief: Chief Marcus Hardy says Red Rock First Nation battling to keep COVID-19 out
By Victoria Gray Writer Red Rock First Nation has spent most of the pandemic trying to mitigate the social impacts of the pandemic and health directives had on their membership. The community of 330 is located near Nipigon, about 100 km east of Thunder Bay and the territory includes two reserves, Parmachene Reserve 53 and Lake Helen Reserve 53A, which sit on 950 acres. Elected Chief Marcus Hardy says the community only had five cases of COVID-19 make it into the community and the virus stayed contained despite high COVID-19 rates in surrounding communities. The first case infiltrated the community in February 2021 when three members of the same family testes positive. Then in April 2021 two more members tested positive, but all of them lived and the virus did...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: Happy New Year 2022
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com We are getting ready to wish each other a happy new year 2022. We have been through and are still going through an historic pandemic with Covid19. As a matter of fact right now, the Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire. So far, most of us have done well with following the rules from public health in getting vaccinated, wearing masks, socially distancing and washing hands often. Nobody knows exactly how bad things can get with this new highly contagious Omicron variant. It could result in having to shut down things considerably again and place more restrictions on gatherings, retails stores and schools. Hopefully, this pandemic will wane to a great degree and we might simply have to get annual vaccinations to deal with it. In...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY: Christmas Past
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com Christmas was always a season of chaos and confusion for me as a child. It was a strange mix of excitement and joy mixed also with feelings of anxiety and worry. On one hand, our parents did everything they could to follow the strange modern commercial Christmas that we saw happening everywhere else in the country and on TV. On the other hand we had to take part in the religious history of the birth of a saviour named Jesus and the ceremonies of ancient Middle Eastern, European traditions. My mom Susan was born and raised in the northern remote wilderness and my dad Marius had lived his whole life in our home community of Attawapiskat. Both of them had been raised in a traditional life...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Curve Lake First Nation Chief Emily Whetung
By Victoria Gray Writer The community in Curve Lake First Nation rallied around each other at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and have continued to support each other in a way that amazes Chief Emily Whetung. “We just generally worked to support each other,” she said. “I think that’s what sets First Nations apart, is that we have that collective identity and we still care for each other and the community. We still mean something to each other and you can see that” she said. Whetung is excited about her community. “I’m so proud of how my council came together, how our community came together and did really hard things to keep everybody safe and to be in the position of having such an incredible team.” The Anishnaabeg Nation...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Fort Williams First Nation elected Chief Peter Collins “I hope to never see a pandemic like this again”
By Victoria Gray Writer The safety of community members weighed heavily on Fort Williams First Nation elected Chief Peter Collins throughout the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “As the leader of the community you rally, you need to be level headed. You want to go into panic mode sometimes, but you can’t. If you do, you create chaos. I think I try to be as level headed as possible,” he said. “I really got involved to make sure our community was looked after and the work that needed to be done to protect the community was in place.” Fort William is adjacent to Thunder Bay, the proximity to the northern urban centre was a concern because cases could have gotten out of hand quickly, but the community of about 1,400...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation Chief Wendy Jocko says it took the community to keep COVID-19 out
By Victoria Gray Writer The Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation stayed busy during the pandemic, but managed to keep band members safe throughout. The first nation has about 3,000 members with 450 living on the reserve, did not have any cases COVID-19. From the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 to November 2021, COVID-19 has not touched the community that sits about 40 kilometres southwest of Pembroke. Elected Chief Wendy Jocko credits her team and their ability to come together and work efficiently, to listen to the Chiefs of Ontario instructions and to follow through quickly despite staffing issues. “We have wonderful leadership here,” she said. When COVID-19 hit the First Nation was in the middle of an election and when it was over the community had chosen Jocko...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Alderville First Nation Chief David Mowat says quick action kept COVID-19 numbers low
By Victoria Gray Writer Alderville First Nation Chief David Mowat credits his council’s quick actions and advocacy to the community’s low COVID-19 cases and high vaccine uptakes. The Mississauga Anishinabeg of the Ojibway Nation community, about 50 kilometres from Peterborough, has only has two local cases since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to the larger city that has had just under 1,900 cases. “We’ve been very fortunate,” Mowat said. “When all this sort of blew up in March 2020, we really found ourselves learning as we moved along here. Who had experience with this, right? So, we were pretty alarmed at how this all came down.” Luckily the two people who tested positive for the virus stuck to quarantine protocols and were in contact with Alderville staff and...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Grand Chief Victor Akwirente Bonspille wants to bring transparency and improve communication to the Kanesatake community
By Victoria Gray Writer KANESATAKE-The Kanesatake community spent the majority of the COVID-19 pandemic with very little communication and were kept in the dark about pandemic protocols and what was done to help keep them safe. The current elected Grand Chief Victor Akwirente Bonspille was elected in August 2021 and although he has spent eight years on council he and others were shut out of council’s decision making process throughout the pandemic he says. He says information was withheld because of opposing views on council. “There was friction between council members and the pandemic team,” he said. “We weren’t all seeing eye to eye there.” There are about 800 people living on the territory and about 2,700 registered band members. Bonspille believes there may have been about 60 COVID-19 cases...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory Chief R. Donald Maracle has been at the helm for 28 years
By Victoria Gray Writer R. Donald Maracle found his focus split between a number of issues that arose during the pandemic but still managed to make progress in many areas. The Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory Elected Chief has lead the community for 28 years and when the COVID-19 pandemic hit he called a team together to help community members financially, mentally, and physically while continuing to advance infrastructure projects and land claims. “All the chiefs were faced with many, many challenges. There wasn’t really a lot known about the virus in the beginning. It was a huge learning cure for everybody, including scientists and there was a lot of fear. There no vaccine and it was spreading quickly,” he said. Unlike a lot of First Nation communities they did not close...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Kahnawà:ke Grand Chief Kahsennehawe Sky-Deer
By Victoria Gray Writer Kahnawà:ke’s journey through the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the strength of the community, but it has also shown a stark division when it comes to safety measures. Grand Chief Kahsennehawe Sky-Deer has worked hard to ensure community members had what they needed to thrive throughout lockdowns, but despite a large number of infections during the fourth wave there are many who oppose new safety measures. “People are angry with the new measures in place, like QR codes (to prove vaccination status). For some kinds of employment vaccination is a requirement.” Sky-deer was elected in July and is the first woman and first member of the LGBT2Q+ community to hold the position. That fresh perspective hasn’t slowed her down through the pandemic because she was already on...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Akwesasne Grand Chief Abram Benedict, says border issues present difficulty for community during COVID
By Victoria Gray Writer The border between US and Canada that runs through the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne has posed some challenges to the elected council throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Grand Chief Abram Benedict and his council administer the Canadian side of the community the border closure has had a negative economic impact on the community. “We continuously struggle with the challenges of the border,” he said. “With COVID-19 and the border being closed, it hasn’t had a direct impact socially, but more so economically.” The border closure has also annoyed about two thirds of the community, who are landlocked by the U.S.A. on one side and St. Lawrence Seaway on the other side. The only way out, is going into the U.S.A. Indigenous people continued passaged between Canada...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY – Hope, Justice And Healing
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com Finally Indigenous people all across Canada can feel some hope that Canadians and our governments are taking reconciliation seriously. The history and the proof of what colonization has done to my people all across this country has come to light and there can be no more ignoring the facts of so many horrific acts aimed at getting rid of the original inhabitants of this land. The time has come to deal with it all: the recent discoveries of hundreds of unmarked graves on former residential school sites, the realities of missing and murdered indigenous women and girls, the 60s scoop, residential school abuse history, ongoing systematic racism, failure to honour treaties and the deliberate impoverishment economically and spiritually of Native peoples. The National Day For Truth...
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MEET THE CHIEF: Munsee-Delaware Nation is a passion for Chief Mark Peters
By Victoria Gray Writer Learning and spreading the long history of the Munsee-Delaware Nation has become a passion for Elected Chief Mark Peters. “That’s the sort of things I like to do as chief,” he said. “I see it as part of my job. I have no job description. I don’t think there’s a job description for a chief. I guess it’s what you think is important for people and the larger public. I think really concentrating on these things that we’re all moving toward understanding our histories and reclaiming our culture and traditions and ceremonies. That’s what I see as my job, and trying to impress that upon our people here.” In addition to history, he has also worked to secure the future of the nation by keeping it...
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Meet the Chiefs: Delaware Nation/EELÜNAAPÉEWI LAHKÉEWIIT Chief Denise Stonefish: 90% of community vaccinated
By Victoria Gray Writer The Delaware Nation at Moraviantown has fared pretty well through the COVID-19 pandemic and Chief Denise Stonefish believes some of that fortune came from a piece of advice her mother imparted many times. “My mother always says, ‘don’t stress over things you can’t change. It’s probably one of the reasons I took COVID-19 so well,” she said. Stonefish is in the first year of her third term as chief of the community and she served as the deputy chief and in other capacities at the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, while also serving as a councillor since 1998. She said the knowledge she gained advocating for her home nations and with the AIAI gave her the know how to kick COVID-19 safety measures into gear...
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Meet the Chiefs: Onyota’a:ka/Oneida First Nation Chief takes office in a pandemic
By Victoria Gray Writer He started in a pandemic. Virtual meetings, no physical contact or meetings, online elections, operating in the middle of a world wide health crisis is all he knows. Onyota’a:ka/Oneida Nation of the Thames Chief Adrian Chrisjohn first term in office has been challenging but he likes to stay positive and look on the bright side. “We’ve done a lot with what we have and with the abilities we had during COVID-19. We’ve maintained a fairly regular presence in the community,” he said. Chrisjohn officially stated his term as chief on July, 8, 2020, just over three months into the pandemic. He went to work trying to help the community navigate and follow public health guidelines. Chrisjohn was only able to meet other councillors and staff for...
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Survivors’ Secretariat: Dr. Beverly Jacobs takes on role of Indigenous Human Rights Monitor
SIX NATIONS OF THE GRAND – The Mohawk Institute Survivors’ Secretariat has brought on noted Six Nations lawyer Dr. Beverly Jacobs to take on the role of Indigenous Human Rights Monitor for the secretariat. Jacobs, a, citizen of the Mohawk Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, is Bear Clan member and holds a series of , CM, LLB, LLM, PhD. Jacobs said she is “honoured” to take on the role. “I am truly honoured to accept this role and that the Survivors’ Group has confidence in me to do this work,” said Dr. Jacobs. “The Secretariat’s model of Survivor-led, trauma-informed investigation and community reporting is an essential step towards recovery, reclamation and healing for Survivors and families of the Mohawk Institute as well as for all Indigenous peoples in Canada. This...
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SPECIAL: Six Nations Elected Council adviser says not to worry
By Victoria Gray Writer Six Nations Elected Council’s (SNEC) Political Advisor doesn’t think Bill C-15 has any immediate impacts for Six Nations. Christopher Mahon, gave a an update on Bill C-15 to SNEC at a general council meeting in August telling councillors he doesn’t anticipate much happening in the next two years aside from the federal government drafting a plan to align it’s policies with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). “There are a number of questions about what this means, and a number of misconceptions. The new law does not change anything immediately with Six Nations or their relationship with the federal or provincial governments,” he said. The UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007, with...
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UNDER THE NORTHERN SKY – To Celebrate And Pause To Remember
By Xavier Kataquapit www.underthenorthernsky.com Life is strange and very weird these days during the pandemic. We have had to deal with so much difficult news recently, yet happily wonderful happenings still occur here and there that raise our spirits and give us hope for the future. My good news comes with the birth of Nabayshish Emmette Wesley who arrived in this world July 21. He arrived with gifts of a tiny pair of moccasins made by his grandmother Janie Wesley who is my sister. This is one lucky little boy as he will be cared for and guided through his life by his mother, my niece Brianna Wesley, my sister Janie and her husband Brian. Indeed he will have a very large family backing him and supporting him throughout his...
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1492 Land Back Lane marks one year
By Victoria Gray Writer A full year has passed since Six Nations Land Defenders walked onto the McKenzie Meadows housing development site in Caledonia and renamed it 1492 Land Back Lane. The community was invited this past weekend with a concert, lacrosse game, pot luck and social to celebrate the first anniversary of the reclamation of land Monday, July 19. “At Land Back Lane the plan going forward is to make that sure the lands are there for the people that are going to be utilizing those lands and to be able to stay there, sustainable, for a long time,” spokesperson Skylar Williams said. Meanwhile, the development companies, Foxgate and Losani Homes wait for the Ontario Provincial Police to enforce court ordered injunctions. “We expect the court’s order to be...
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Black Walnuts Foraged Food Security
By Terrylynn Brant Mohawk Seedkeeper Gardens Black Walnuts have been a traditional foraged food source among the Haudenosaunee for centuries. Today, with food security on everyone’s mind we are seeing a renewed interest in these majestic nut trees across our territories. Store bought walnuts are English or California Walnuts. They are grown in managed orchards and have a milder taste. They originated in Persia, growing in the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and later developed by the Greeks. Franciscan Monks brought them to California in the 18th century. The bolder, earthier tasting indigenous Black Walnut grows in the wild. On Six Nations they are often found around old homesteads. They are valued as food and medicine but also as a source of wood, dye and shade in the summer. Walnuts are...
