Latest Column

This page is dedicated to providing my readers who would like to follow my latest column which I produce on a regular basis every second week.

  • Wawatay News :: I’m Dreaming Of A Safe And Happy Christmas

    Holiday Season is here and you can see everyone is excited in the annual high of getting ready for Christmas. Different religions and cultures celebrate this period and some don’t at all. I grew up in the remote Indigenous community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast and through colonization and the invasion by Christian missionaries my people for many years ended up becoming swept up in either the Catholic or Protestant religions depending on who was doing the the invading. We all became part of this religion and managed also to incorporate some of our own original traditions and culture. However, most of our traditions and cultural practices were banned and considered evil by these new religions.

    …. to read more, please click on the link below

    https://wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/i%E2%80%99m-dreaming-safe-and-happy-christmas

  • Wawatay News :: Protecting Our Elders Should Be A Priority

    I think most of us feel like we have been through several very weird years with the Covid19 pandemic, climate change events like the recent forest fire summer and of course the terrible wars raging in Ukraine and Gaza. I wish I could be more optimistic in looking towards the future but it is not easy.

    …. to read more, please click on the link below

    https://wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/protecting-our-elders-should-be-priority

  • Timmins Daily Press :: We Will Remember Why

    November 11, or what we refer to as Remembrance Day, is a very sad time for myself and my partner Mike. I have been doing a lot of research on my great-grandfather John Chookomolin and my grandfather James Kataquapit who along with 22 other young men from Attawapiskat were literally kidnapped by an army recruiter back in 1917 and taken to Europe to participate in the Great War.

    The column has now appeared in print in today’s issue of the Timmins Daily Press on page 3 with a photo of John Chookomolin and James McGrath.

    …. to read more, please click on the link below

    https://www.timminspress.com/opinion/we-will-remember-why

  • Wawatay News :: We Will Remember Why

    November 11 or what we refer to as Remembrance Day is a very sad time for myself and my partner Mike. I have been doing a lot of research on my great-grandfather John Chookomolin and my grandfather James Kataquapit who along with 22 other young men from Attawapiskat were literally kidnapped by an army recruiter back in 1917 and taken to Europe to participate in the Great War. My great-grandfather John did not return however grandfather James did make it back after the war.

    …. to read more, please click on the link below

    https://www.wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/we-will-remember-why

  • Wawatay News :: Take Care On Winter Roads

    Winter is fast approaching and I worry about all my family members and friends from up the James Bay coast and in Northern Ontario that have to deal with the treacherous conditions on our highways during the snowy and icy season.

    …. to read more, please click on the link below

    https://wawataynews.ca/blogs-columns/take-care-winter-roads