Comedienne was more than just a bunch of laughs

When Jodi Taylynn Belcourt attended a healing group led by
Julie Collette Bull, her life was in shambles and she had a large chip on her
shoulder.

“I wanted to leave, but Julie told me I would smile one day
and be happy,” Belcourt wrote in a Facebook tribute to Julie. “She asked me to
trust her. I went home that night and decided to stay. I stayed for one year
straight. She believed in me when no one else would, and in group she made me
laugh until my belly and cheeks hurt.”

Grandmother Josephine Mandamin is walking again, despite a knee replacement 18 months ago. She continues her sacred Water Walks with a team of people who, this year, are following the great migration route of the Anishinaabe people. The group will be gathering at all seven stopping places
where they will smoke the pipe and drum and share stories with whomever wishes to be a part of the gatherings; anyone healthy enough, free from the influences of drugs and alcohol, to care about the spirit of our water can take part.

Northland School Division website wins award

Northland School Division's new website has won an award. The website design has been awarded the Interactive Media Awards Best in Class Award for the school website category. The award was received by the design company Box Clever, an Edmonton based website design and media agency.

Release: At the 41st Annual General Assembly (AGA), delegates of the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) met in Montreal on July 11th and 12th to elect their new President.
 

Jewelian Blackbird is hoping to continue representing Canada in taekwondo events right up to the highest levels of the sport.

And the 16-year-old, who lives in Walpole Island, Ont., is proving she just might have what it takes to get there.

Blackbird, who has Mohawk/Ojibwe ancestry, has already made one national team. In 2013 she was a member of the Canadian cadet (12-14) squad.

That year she competed at an international event in Mexico and returned home with a bronze medal in the heavyweight (over 59 kilogram) category.

Duane Jacobs has certainly racked up his share of coaching and managerial accolades in the past dozen years. But Jacobs, who is Cayuga and grew up in Ohsweken, Ont., will become a hall of famer later this year for his playing abilities.

Jacobs, 49, is one of six individuals who will be inducted into the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

The class of 2015 was announced on July 3. Induction ceremonies will be held Nov. 7 in Niagara Falls. 

The Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum is located in nearby St. Catharines.

Winnipeg will be hosting this year’s Canadian Native Fastball Championships. The national tournament will be held at the Buhler Recreation Park. Games will begin on July 31 and continue until Aug. 2. Teams will be competing in top honours in five categories. This will include the senior men’s and senior women’s categories, which will offer $13,000 and $10,000, respectively, to the winning clubs.

There will also be a 21-and-under men’s grouping, as well as male and female masters divisions.

A pair of Aboriginal teenagers were among those who were selected at the recent NHL Entry Draft held in Florida.

Ethan Bear, from the Ochapowace First Nation in Saskatchewan, was selected in the fifth round, 124th overall, by the Edmonton Oilers.

And Ryan Pilon, who grew up in Duck Lake, Sask., home to the Beardy’s and Okemasis Willow Cree First Nation, was also chosen in the fifth round, 147th over-all, by the New York Islanders.

After spending the past five seasons coaching in the professional ranks, Rocky Thompson is heading back to the junior level. Thompson, a 37-year-old Cree, was named as the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires, who competed in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), in early July.

Thompson, who was born in Calgary, had spent the past year serving as an assistant coach with the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers. And prior to that he had spent four seasons working as an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Barons in the American Hockey League.

Study shows suicide numbers high in cluster of Ontario First Nations