Traditional healer offered help when doctors said ‘no’

“You’ve brought me to heaven.”

That’s all the late Sophie Thomas could say when her daughter Minnie Thomas drove her to Tamarack Lake near Skookumchuk, B.C. years ago.

“She looked around and she saw the plants,” recalled Minnie. “All the medicines she needed were growing there. It didn’t take much to make her happy. She was just in her glory.”

Joe Talirunili was born in northern Quebec near Kuujjuaraapik on the shores of the Hudson Bay. There are differing accounts as to the year of his birth. Government records show he was born in January 1899, but he claimed to have been born in 1906. In either case, he was present to experience the traditional life lived by the Inuit in the area, and to witness firsthand the changes that would come as his people became more and more influenced by the outside world.

Any writer should be eager to get published in any publication. Being published accomplishes two things. First, it earns the writer a bit of money, and I'm being literal when I say "a bit of money". Second, it exposes the writer's style and talent to a wider audience, which is important to any serious writer. On the other hand, writing can have its share of misadventures.

Dear Tuma:

Our chief just resigned from council. We do not know what to do and wonder, can a chief really resign? Can council reject the resignation? Do we need to have a by-election, as regular elections are not until the fall?

Chiefless in Seattle

It's not often I have brainstorms about topics not usually in my realm of expertise-in this case such as tourism-but if anybody is interested, I do believe I have a wining idea for the city of Saskatoon. It's a unique way to capitalize on some free publicity and for a service that already exists.

There's a chance one of the largest teams of athletes set to compete at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) could be pulling out of the event. Officials with Team Ontario, a squad comprised of about 500 athletes and an additional 100 coaches, sport leaders or chaperones, are upset with NAIG organizers and the housing arrangements they've made for them.
The Games are scheduled for July 2 to 9 in Denver, Colorado.

A car accident ended Bob Rice's elite running career and prevented him from becoming an Olympian. Yet Rice is on the verge of becoming a hall of famer.

The 40-year-old, who lives in Owen Sound, Ont., will be one of this year's inductees into the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame in Parry Sound.

Rice, an Ojibway, is from the Wasauksing First Nation, located near Parry Sound.

Induction ceremonies will be held on June 10. Rice said news of his upcoming induction has forced him to retell various stories about his running days.

Erin Seymour has won yet another national hockey title, but this time for her work as a coach.
Seymour was an assistant coach for the Ontario South entry that captured the gold medal at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC). This year's NAHC was staged April 30 through May 6 at Kahnawake First Nation in Quebec.

Ontario South blanked the Ontario North squad 5-0 in the girls' championship final.

Saskatchewan defeated Ontario South 4-2 in the boys' gold-medal contest.

This marked the fifth year the national tournament has been staged.

The occupation of Douglas Creek Estates in Caledonia, Ont. put Six Nations' land claims in the international spotlight in May.

In Geneva, Switzerland, the Lubicon Cree Nation gave up a couple of their precious minutes before the United Nations committee on economic, social and cultural rights to Six Nations' delegate Doreen Silversmith, who spoke about the unresolved land issues behind the occupation.
The report of the committee, which was examining Canada's performance under international conventions, was to be released on May 19 (after publication deadline).

For now, the people of Six Nations are solidly behind the Douglas Creek Estates occupation in Caledonia.

That was made clear during a series of public meetings in late April and early May. The citizens see the blockade as a way of getting the government to finally address their land issues.