Accolades keep pouring in for Jeff Shattler.

Yet the 26-year-old Ojibwe, who stars in the National Lacrosse League with the Calgary Roughnecks, is not entirely satisfied with his latest feat.

Shattler was a member of the Iroquois Nationals squad that won the silver medal at the world indoor (box) lacrosse tournament, which concluded on May 28 in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

Shattler and his teammates were downed 13-6 by Canada in the gold-medal contest.

From ancient teachings to contemporary modes, story in a variety of artistic expressions was the theme of the second annual New Sun Gathering on May 26, at Blue Quills First Nations College.

“Story is dance, image, word, voice,” said Sherri Chisan, coordinator of the Indigenous Artists Program. Ancient stories inscribed on the landscape, fables told in the oral tradition, story as written word, story discovered in image and story expressed through the body spanned the breadth of Aboriginal storytelling.

Thousands of people will gather on the shores of Lac Ste. Anne this July, continuing a tradition that dates back over 120 years. The annual Lac Ste. Anne Pilgrimage is the largest of its kind in Western Canada.

Father Jacques Johnson has been involved with the pilgrimage to Lac Ste. Anne for over 20 years. Many who visit the lake experience miracles and leave behind baggage that slow them down, he said.

“It’s not always a wooden crutch, sometimes it is a mental crutch. (They) let go of being a prisoner of anger,” said Johnson in an earlier interview with Sweetgrass.

NUNAVUMMIUT SIMON AWA AND AAJU PETER

FIRST NATIONS IN SASKATCHEWAN WANT TO

YELLOW QUILL FIRST NATION IN SASK.

TASEKO MINES LTD. CALLED ON FIRST

Shattler wins MVP
Jeff Shattler, a 26-year-old Ojibwe who grew up in Toronto, has been awarded the National Lacrosse League’s most valuable player award. Shattler starred with the Calgary Roughnecks this season, averaging five points per game. He racked up 75 points (29 goals, 46 assists) in 15 regular season contests.

The Iroquois Nationals once again proved they are among the world’s best lacrosse players.

The club won the silver medal at the world indoor (box) lacrosse championships, which concluded on May 28.
Canada defeated the Iroquois Nationals 13-6 in the gold-medal contest at the tournament, which was staged in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

The world indoor tournament has been held three times. Each time the Iroquois Nationals have placed second, behind only Canada.

“I will be here in the West doorway, that is where I am today.

I am that Thunder in the sky, I am the cleansing when you cry.”

Before her death on Jan. 4, 2011, Lillian Pitawanakwat, Thunderbird Eagle Woman (Ninkii BinessMijissi Kwe) of the Thunderbird clan, wrote out comforting words for those left behind.

Cyndy Vanier, who delivered Lillian’s eulogy, said the Elder gave her notes before she passed away, and “these are probably the things she’d want you to know if she were able to speak them to us today.”