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Ontario Birchbark

Ontario Birchbark

Launched in 2002. A publication specifically designed to serve the Indigenous people of Ontario.

  • April 15, 2002
  • Dan Smoke-Asayenes , Birchbark Writer, London

Page 4

"We chose International Women's Day, March 8, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our shelter, Zhaawanong" said Darlene Ritchie, executive director of Atlohsa Native Family Healing Services Agency.

Zhaawanong means "south" in Ojibway, referring to the direction which signifies warmth, change, nurturing and renewal in Aboriginal culture, qualities that are promoted at the…

  • April 15, 2002
  • Birchbark Staff

Page 3

The Cambrian Native Students' Association hosted its 15th annual Native Awareness Days from March 21 March 24. Opening ceremonies included a welcome song performed by the Waabski-Makwa Singers, followed by a variety of workshops.

Drum groups and dancers from across Ontario participated in the weekend-long powwow. Highlights of the Grand Entry included a special tribute to…

  • April 15, 2002
  • Dan Smoke-Asayenes, Birchbark Writer, Hamilton

Page 3

McMaster University's Indigenous Studies Department played host during Human Rights Awareness Week held March 11 to 15.

Dr. Dawn Hill, the director of the department, Kim Anderson, a Cree/Metis author; and Sylvia Maracle, the Mohawk executive director of the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres addressed the topic of Aboriginal women, painting a bleak picture…

  • April 15, 2002
  • Roberta Avery, Birchbark Contributor, Lion's Head

Page 2

Just 10 days after a Native commercial fishing boat owner said he had concerns about his safety after a judge cleared him of any wrongdoing in the death of a teenager, his boat mysteriously sank while moored in a safe harbor.

Police are still investigating if Myles Jones' 50-foot boat was deliberately sunk, said Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Dan Hillman. It is the…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Dan Smoke-Asayenes, Windspeaker Contributor, Toronto

Page 11

Wednesday, Feb. 6 marked the ninth year the Anishnawbe Health Center (AHC) has held a prayer vigil to honor activist Leonard Peltier, who has served 26 years of two life sentences in prison. He was convicted, many believe wrongly, of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge reservation, South Dakota on June 26, 1975.

"February 6 is a sacred day for us when Leonard was…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Abby Cote, Windspeaker Contributor, North Bay Ontario

Page 11

Twelve drums and as many as 100 dancers attended Canadore College's 12th annual traditional cultural gathering held at Canadore College in North Bay on Feb. 23 and 24.

The powwow is sponsored by the Canadore College Aboriginal Student Association department. The theme for this year's gathering was "unity and peace."

This year's gathering attracted people from the…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Jolene Davis, Windspeaker Contributor, Thunder Bay

Page 10

There was real excitement at the First Nations Connect Conference held Feb. 11 to 14 in Thunder Bay.

"The possibilities online are limitless," said Tom Wasaykeesic, a participant from Osnaburgh. "Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) can offer a lot around the world if it's done right. We can be leaders, trailblazers, for the Aboriginal communities around the world, or we can…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Katherine Walker, Windspeaker Contributor, Toronto

Page 9

Sitting at a pricey, antique wood table on the ground floor of the elegant Nicholas Hoare Bookstore on Front Street in Toronto, Al Hunter is early for his first book launch. Besides a few patrons skimming pages or sticking their noses into their interesting reads, the shop is deserted.

"Maybe I should have been fashionably late," he joked.

Hunter is Anishinaabe and…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Joan Taillon, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Afton Minnessota

Page 8

A new book accompanying a six-hour PBS television series about the Ojibwe people should be in the library of anyone interested in Aboriginal cultures.

The non-fiction narrative, Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa-We Look In All Directions, was penned by a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. It was released with the WDSE-TV program of the same name in Duluth,…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Abby Cote, Windspeaker Contributor, North Bay

Page 6

The big winner at this year's Northern Star Unity Cup charity tournament is the student population that will benefit from the fundraiser's best year yet. The big loser is the tournament itself, with their main organizer stepping down after five years.

The Unity Cup is one of the largest Aboriginal hockey tournaments held annually in Ontario. It was played at Pete Palangio…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Margo Little, Windspeaker Contributor, Manitoulin Island

Page 5

Although they have been closed for some time, the legacy of the church-run residential schools continues to be debated in First Nations communities.

A symposium staged at the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation (OCF) in M'Chigeeng on Feb. 16 illustrated the complexity of the issues surrounding the infamous institutions.

Alan Corbiere, co-ordinator of the school photography…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Joan Taillon, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Moose Cree First Nation

Page 4

Only a few short years ago, the James Bay coast was the last place most people thought of as a tourist destination. But the industry and creativity of the Omushkegowuk, the Cree people of the James and Hudson Bay lowlands, is ensuring they get to capitalize on a spectacular upsurge in interest in their remote communities.

Europeans, especially, want to experience a…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Abby Cote, Windspeaker Contributor, Toronto

Page 3

On Feb. 23 Tomson Highway's children's book Caribou Song was joined with music performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and premiered as a staged theatrical production at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.

Caribou Song was 18 minutes long, and comprised the middle part of the one-hour Toronto Symphony Orchestra performance of Kids Klassics Oh Canada, a production of…

  • March 5, 2002
  • L.M. VanEvery, Windspeaker Contributor, Brantford

Page 2

If the walls of the Woodland Cultural Centre museum could talk, they would relay the conversations of women quilting in a bee, chatting with one another about important issues like family, community and culture.

Fourteen quilts from the University of Michigan's larger collection of 40 quilts hang on the museum walls, each exhibiting artistry and creativity of Indigenous…

  • March 5, 2002
  • Abby Cote , Windspeaker Contributor, North Bay

Page 11

The Fur Harvesters Auction Inc.'s 11th annual convention will be held this year on March 1 to 3 at their fur warehouse in North Bay. The theme of this year's convention is Winter Beaver Trapping. Once again this year there will be live entertainment, fur handling (skinning) demonstrations and seminars, as well as the favorite pelt handling contests. The convention is open to the…