MAY 2016 VOLUME 19 - NUMBER 5 FREE Harvey The Hero arrived ... · Harvey Dorian’s mother, Mary Jane Michel, teaches at Opawikoscikan School and has been han-dling national media

MAY 2016

FREE

VOLUME 19 - NUMBER 5

Sports, Mining & Youth Edition Coming In June - National Aboriginal Day Issue

CPMA #40027204

WELLNESS CENTRELa Ronge stands a healthychance of being able to constuctand new wellness and treatmentcentre before long. - Page 9

ROCK STAR TREATMENTPrime Minister Justin Trudeauwas a big hit with the largecrowd when he made a stop inFort Qu’Appelle - Page 24

WOMEN IN MININGWomen are starting to staketheir claim in an industry thathas been dominated by men .

- Page 14

ARENA EXPANSIONThe busy JRMCC is about to geteven busier once theexpansion is complete.

- Page 26

YOUNG SCIENTISTSStudents love to learn aboutscience and they learned lots atthe Potash Corp science fair.

- Page 6

Harvey Dorian was in the right place at the right timewhen he came across a youngster who had got himselfinto a pickle in a water filled ditch. Without thinking,Harvey did the right thing and entered the water tosave the three-year-old. He has now become a reluctanthero with media interviews from across the country.

(Photo by Joylyn Erb)

Harvey The Hero arrived just in time

By Andréa LeddingFor Eagle Feather News

PELICAN NARROWS – “Oh, you must be lookingfor Harvey the Hero,” said the secretary at Pelican Nar-rows’ Opawikoscikan School, when Eagle FeatherNews phoned to track down Mary Jane Michel.

Harvey Dorian’s mother, Mary Jane Michel,teaches at Opawikoscikan School and has been han-dling national media calls for over a week now. In factshe says it’s been almost overwhelming, the amount ofattention coming his way.

The Pelican Narrows 10-year-old boy, now knownto his community as “Harvey the Hero,” saved a three-year-old from drowning in a ditch in April.

“He’s downplaying everything – for him it’s for-gotten, but I’m very proud and very happy,” said MaryJane.

Harvey is the youngest of six kids and all of hissiblings are in their twenties and thirties, so he waswalking over to an older brother’s house around 5 p.m.when he came upon a car in the ditch.

Not your typical car-in-a-ditch scenario, this was anupside-down plastic red and yellow toddler car driven bya three-year-old who had, reputedly, been off the bottle,but was still a ways away from being a legal driver.

The pre-school driver was in over his head. With-out thinking about it, Harvey waded in, having twonephews of his own who are one and five.

“He was drowning and I had to go save him,”Harvey said, noting the water level was up to his owneyes so the toddler in the car didn’t have much of achance. He grabbed him and pulled him out, managingto get only his shoes wet.

• Continued on Page 20

MAY 2016Eagle Feather News 2

By Glen StrongFor Eagle Feather News

HATCHET LAKE – Tonya Hansen is turning 21 years old this year and will be ex-iting the Hatchet Lake Special Needs Education Program as a graduate. The gradu-ation takes place July 30.

Tonya has Down Syndrome and has been working toward her education formany years. When Tonya was asked what she likes to do, she replied that she likesto sing, dance and make new friends. Tonya is quite the “social bug” as she loves tomeet new people whenever they come to town or when they show up at her school.

I had a chance to talk to Taylor, Tonya’s sister, and I asked her what it was likegrowing up with Tonya. Taylor told me that she remembers, from a young age, help-ing out with bathing and dressing Tonya, getting her ready for school and events.

“It was easier when Tonya was younger because now that she has matured shewants to be independent and this requires added attention,” said Taylor. “Tonya isalways happy and she is a loyal friend.”

Taylor plays guitar and sings and Tonya is very supportive of her sister. “She’s right beside me singing along,” states Taylor. When Taylor was asked about her sister graduating, she replied, “I’m happy for

her but it also means that times are changing and we will both be out of school andinto the world. I want to bring a national awareness to people with Down syndrome.”

When I asked Taylor how she would describe her sister Tonya, she replied,“She’s the best. She’s just awesome!”

I couldn’t agree more. Congratulations Tonya!Tonya Hansen (far right) is graduating from the Hatchet Lake Special NeedsProgram in July. Her family, especially her sister Taylor, have been great sup-port for her during her school years.

Supportive sister proud tosee Tonya Hansen graduatefrom Hatchet Lake program

Eagle Feather News MAY 2016 3

By John LagimodiereOf Eagle Feather News

SASKATOOON –At one time, the his-tory and culture of the Métis people wasnot taught properly in any school inCanada.

As the community evolved andpartnerships emerged, curriculum im-proved and school boards started to do abetter job. Now, with a five-year memo-randum of understanding ending, offi-cials from both the Central Urban MétisFederation Inc. (CUMFI) and GreaterSaskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) be-lieve the time is right to strengthen their10-year partnership in Métis education.

“We have a mutual concern for thewell-being of our Métis students,” saidGSCS Board of Education Chair DianeBoyko.

“The intent of the agreement is tosupport Métis students in their academicpursuits, as well as recognize and supporttheir unique language and cultural her-itage, their identity as Métis people, andthe shared histories and relationshipswith all Canadians.”

The new Educa-tional Alliance agree-ment was signed at St.Michael CommunitySchool on April 18. In2015, St. Michael beganoffering a Métis culturalprogram that focuses onthe educational out-comes and well-being ofall students. It offers ac-ademic and cultural pro-gramming such asdance, drama and art, and introduces stu-dents to Michif, the indigenous languageof the Métis people in Canada.

“When I was growing up, I didn’thave exposure to Michif, the language ofmy people,” said CUMFI PresidentShirley Isbister.

“Culture and language are so impor-tant. I’m so happy with our partnershipand the progress of Métis education at St.Michael’s and throughout the whole schooldivision. This new agreement is an impor-tant step in recognizing and celebrating theheritage of the Métis people in our com-

munities and our country. This is aday filled with pride and I look for-ward to when my grandkids getbussed here and learn the language sothat they can teach me.”Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.

is a community-based, Métis-operated non-profit charitable organization representingthousands of Saskatoon Métis people thatis a local and national leader in the area ofurban Aboriginal issues and challenges.

The agreement establishes a workinggroup and governance committee, infor-mation sharing protocols, and parametersfor consultation and planning to help es-tablish the necessary supports for learning,retention and success of Métis students.

“CUMFI has been very patient andgenerous with us,” added Diane Boyko.

“There is still a lot of hard work aheadbut we are moving forward with the valuesof respect, participation and collaboration.”

(Above) Rory R. and Lexus B placed their class project in the timecapsule to commemorate the agreement. (Left) CUMFI PresidentShirley Isbister and Catholic School Board Chair Diane Boyko signedthe Educational Alliance agreement in front of the staff, students andallies of St Michael Community School. (Photos by John Lagimodiere)

CUMFI signs agreement with Saskatoon Catholic Schools

Eagle Feather News MAY 20164

I always love the May issue thatfocuses on youth, sports and miningbecause all three things have been veryinfluential in my life.

Before I fell into thisnewspaper/consulting gig, I was goingto be a social worker. I had thesociology degree, had volunteer workand coaching in my background and Iwas ready to go out there and startbefriending the troubled and savingyoung lives.

So I did. I had some contractswith social services and did some veryvaluable one-on-one work with somereal troubled kids. Many of these kidswere born into circumstances beyondtheir control and the impact on themby their surroundings was sometimesimmense. But it seemed regardless ofthe challenges, if the kidshad hope, they couldweather the most difficult oftimes.

The social workingwas very difficult and I wasmore than happy to moveonto my next career but Ikeep that contact withyoung people by coachinghockey or ball hockey orthree on three or whateversports the kids are playingwhen no other parentvolunteers (that’s why thekids soccer team I coachedwarmed up by doing thehorseshoe drill fromhockey…we always gotweird stares).

And as often as I try toimpart wisdom on youth, Ifind that they often inspireme … the quiet kid inhockey making the big playor speech. Or performing aselfless act of bravery likeour cover story hero Harveyor that first acting

performance by a young student at theGordon TootoosisNikaniwin Theatre.

Or now thatGrade 8 class fromKing GeorgeCommunitySchool donatingover $1,000 oftheir grad moneyto the evacueesfrom Fort McMurray. Are you kiddingme? Grade 8 kids? Very impressive. Ilove young people.

I also have a fondness for themining industry too. My father was apersonnel manager for PotashCorporation of America so mining hasbeen in my family my entire life. Ihave seen the positive impact mining

has on employees and their familiesand now we seemany miningcompanies inSaskatchewanembracecorporate socialresponsibility.My dad would bespinning in hisgrave if he saw

the largess of the company that nowowns his once humble mine justoutside of Saskatoon.

Community investments frommining companies have madeSaskatchewan a much better place tolive. Sometimes these donations comewith big naming rights and lots ofmedia attention. But lots of what

mining companies do is also just day-to-day good citizen stuff.

It was heartwarming to seeAthabasca Basin Development, acompany that does millions of dollarsin business with major miningcompanies in Saskatchewan, replacethe $1,000 the King George Studentsdonated to Fort McMurray so they getto have a great grad after all.

Or like our friends at PotashCorparranging for one of their suppliers tomake 20 or so high school businessclub students a new suit for businessplan pitching. That’s good stuff.

And lastly sports … I can neverget enough sports. I love to golf(badly). I love to play hockey (deadlysniper with absolutely no desire tobackcheck or work a corner). I swim

like a fish. I play bocceball with an assassin’s eyeand heart. Badminton,wicked. Basketball, Dr Jthey called me. Tennis …OK as long as the kneeshold up. And, of coursepoker, which they showon a sports channel so itmust be a sport.

And besides megiving lots of assists insport, I get lots back too.Young or old, I havelearned leadership andhow to win or lose. And Igot lessons in humilityand patience. And alsolessons in controlling mytemper and what to do if Ilose it. Lots of good thingsfrom sport.

So, we hope you enjoyreading this issue as muchas we enjoyed pullingtogether all these stories toinspire youth, promotesports and celebrate miningin Saskatchewan.

Best lessons found in sporting world

Students from King George Community School in Saskatoon raised over $1000 for their grad butafter hearing about the Fort McMurray fires, they decided to donate the funds to the Red Cross.Accepting on their behalf was Richard Kies, provincial development manager for the CanadianRed Cross. (Photo by Rob Kunz, Saskatoon Public Schools)

Eagle Feather NewsMAY 2016 5

Everything I need to know about life, I havelearned from watching Game of Thrones.

Spoiler alert – if you haven’t watched the seriesyet, I’m about to spoil it worse than the spinach atthe back of my fridge.

For those of you without access to cable or aten-year-old’s downloading skills, GOT is a moviequality show about warring families that mayremind you of some band offices. It features lots ofnudity and sex scenes and has reportedly inspired atleast two porn parodies which seems redundant.

But GOT is not just a movie quality programstarring dragons, buckets of blood and a seeminglyunending source of flawless butts, it’s also anopportunity for life lessons.

In the first season, I learned that even if thingslook hopeless that does not mean you should everlose hope.

Like just when you think your life is ruinedbecause you are being forced to marry a relativestranger, he turns out to the love of your life, in thecase of Daenerys Targaryen – or in the case ofCersei Lannister, a huge disappointment that drivesyou to drink wine by the barrels – also a win, in myopinion.

Another life lesson I’ve gleaned from the seriesis that you can say pretty much anything you wantin life as long as you say it with style. TyrionLannister, aka the Imp, aka Tywin’s least favouritechild, aka my favourite character, has witty lines toburn.

My favourite burn of his: “I’m not questioning

your honour, I’m denying its very existence.” I often wish I had some Tyrion-worthy lines

during the difficult moments in life like whensomeone butts in front of me at Timmy’s instead ofthe rather wane, “Seriously?” Although as satisfying

as a good witticism is, sometimes there’s nothing assatisfying as slapping the crap out of the Jofferys inyour life and Tyrion has certainly proven that true tomy unending glee.

I learned from Ned Stark that even whenyou’re an honourable person with integrity to burnand you do everything right – somebody may stillcut off your head. Which is not to say that youshouldn’t be a good person, just don’t expect theworld to reward you for it –and stay away fromsharp axes.

Here’s some great advice from GOT: when youapologize to someone, you should always look themin the eye. This rather wise piece of counsel camefrom Ramsay Bolton as he was instructing Reek,aka Theon Greyjoy, aka the unluckiest dude in theentire Game of Thrones canon.

It’s ironic that Ramsay was telling anyone how

to make an apology when he’s pretty much theworst character ever invented. He makes HannibalLector look like Mary Poppins. But he’s right,apologies really mean nothing if there’s no eyecontact – which is why I always look in my rearview mirror when I mouth “sorry” to someone I’vecut off in traffic.

Something else I’ve learned is that in a cruelworld, the best survival tactic is being yourself – nomatter how much of an oddball you are. Thenonconformists in the Game of Thrones universe aredoing quite well – well, surviving which is actuallysuccess in that world – Tyrion, Brienne, Varys, Samand Arya – none of them are typical heroes but theymanage to save themselves and others.

This is a balm to the soul of a mom whosecretly worries that I’m destroying my son’schildhood because I suck at crafts whereas everyother mom out there seems to be able to decoratecupcakes.

I’ve also realized from my viewing of thisshow that if you are ever unlucky enough to bedeprived of your lands, rights or freedom, then donot lose faith for at some point a nice white lady willrescue you and declare herself your Queen.

And then you’ll be like, “Uh thanks for theoffer, lady, but we’re a sovereign people.”

Yup, everything I need to learn about life, I’velearned from GOT – which is a lot better than whenI learned all those life skills from The Walking Deadbecause stabbing someone in the head with a spoonalmost never comes in handy.

Life lessons from Game of Thrones

MAY 2016Eagle Feather News6

YOUNG SCIENTISTSThe 5th Annual PotashCorp Mini Science Fair forSaskatoon Tribal Council students from grades K – 4 wasa huge success. Over 60 students participated with over 20in depth science projects on display at the event hosted byE.D. Feehan Collegiate in Saskatoon. The studentsresearched topics including dinosaurs, lava lamps,volcanoes, square bubbles and how to turn a tray of milkinto a multitude of colours. They also spent time studyingphysics and robotics. The day wasn’t all science as therewas a break for pizza and a visit with Journey, the STCRez Dog who came by for a visit later in the afternoon.

Photos by John Lagimodiere

MAY 2016 7Eagle Feather News

By Tiffany HeadFor Eagle Feather News

WHITEBEAR FIRST NATION – Eighteen-year-oldTori Strongeagle, from Whitebear First Nation, hasmade history by receiving athletic scholarships for vol-leyball and softball at Lake Region State College inDevils Lake, North Dakota.

But if it wasn’t her for persistent mom Samantha,she might never have had a chance.

Strongeagle caught the eye of the coaches at aprospects camp at Assiniboia in February when shewas among 200 other girls showcasing their skills forscouts all over Canada and United States. Strongeaglesaid it is nearly impossible to get into these camps andthis year her mom, Samantha Strongeagle, went on thewebsite every single day just to get her on the list.

“I was put on the waiting list and we found out afew days later before the camp that a girl dropped outand I got in there,” said Strongeagle.

Samantha Strongeagle said she knew it was veryimportant her children play sports and she and Tori’s fa-ther did everything they could to get their children intoorganized sports.

“I think the importance of putting my kids throughsports was to be able to experience everything it has tooffer and what can be achieved from it. I have seen somany exceptional athletes that can make it to the nextlevel of organized sports but without support and fam-ily it’s very difficult,” said Strongeagle.

Tori Strongeagle said she and her brothers are al-cohol, drug and tobacco free and have their parents tothank for that.

“Keeping my kids away from influences was notdifficult. Our reserve has the same issues as others do,it’s visible and seen, we knew it was there. We basicallykept our kids very close to us,” said Samantha Strongea-gle who added that extensive travelling to sportingevents allowed her family to get really close to eachother.

Tori said she is the first person from Whitebear toget two scholarships from the states and she proudlyrepresents her community.

“I know next year, I’ll be coming back to speakwith a couple of schools, to talk about the first year ofcollege, experiencing travelling all over the states,”said Tori.

Strongeagle said she wants to be a role model andencourage children to stay away from alcohol, drugsand tobacco and instead go into sports. She said afterwhen she succeeds in reaching her goals in getting anursing degree and a coaching degree she will moveback home to her community.

“I want to put on more camps for my reserve, be-cause usually when you’re from a small community,you have to go off the reserve to play sports. I want tobe able to bring it to Whitebear,” said Tori.

She says that kids in Whitebear don’t get the sameopportunities and she and her brothers want to changethat.

Samantha Strongeagle is very proud of her chil-dren.

“We have tried our best to raise our kids the bestwe know how and I am proud of them all. Tori now hasa new and exciting adventure ahead of her and I will doeverything in my power to help her along the way”.

Tori said after she graduates high school this sum-mer she will be moving to Devils Lake in August.

White Bear athletescores two scholarshipsfrom North Dakota college

Tori Strongeagle hasearned a scholarship forvolleyball and softball toLake Region State Collegein North Dakota.

(Photo by Tiffany Head)


By Andréa LeddingFor Eagle Feather News

The Saskatchewan Library Association featured two Indigenous keynote speakersat its annual conference, Lindsay Knight (aka “Eekwol”) who presented the 2016 MaryDonaldson Memorial Lecture and Joseph Boyden who gave a keynote address on the lastday of the gathering.

Provincial Aboriginal Services Coordinator Amber Boddy noted that theSaskatchewan Public Libraries are actively working to deliver Aboriginal Library Serv-ices which include providing information and promoting the histories, cultures, and tra-ditions of Métis and First Nations peoples of Saskatchewan. Knight and Boyden are twoIndigenous artists at the top of their profession and were inspiring additions to the con-ference.

Knight, who originally hails from Muskoday First Nation, lives in Saskatoonwhere she’s currently working for the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Having completed aMaster’s Degree at the University of Saskatchewan, she continues an award-winning ca-reer in hip hop. She included a performance with her lecture, “Indigenous Conceptual-izations of Creativity,” which was open to the public.

Award-winning author Boyden, who now splits his time between Canada and NewOrleans, gave a lecture entitled “Three Day Paddle: My Journey to Becoming an Artist.”

Welcomed to the stage by drum group “Young Bucks”, Boyden was repeatedly metwith enthusiastic applause, questions, and finally a standing ovation.

Separating the three acts of his lecture with harmonica and mouth harp stylings, heread excerpts from his writing and told stories about himself, his family and wider so-ciety.

“I’m beginning to understand the weight that comeswith a name,” noted Boyden, speaking of the Anish-naabe name Basil Johnston gave him, “He Who Enlight-ens” or “Shining Bridge”. “It’s not something that youpull out of your pocket ... it’s something that you live,”he stressed.

“I became a writer for a reason. This is not a com-fortable place for me as a person to address large crowds,”he observed, adding that it was a way to bring messagesfrom his mixed-blood heritage and his own experiencesand that of others, in order to build those bridges in him-self and between others.

Speaking of an idyllic childhood, Boyden alsoshared some of his struggles with depression and suicideas a young man. His father passed away when he waseight years old.

“As a teen I really got into a lot of trouble. I wish Ihad found more of my traditional ways, but I almost dieda number of times, literally. I attempted suicide on my six-teenth birthday in a very real and traumatic way to myfamily and to me,” shared Boyden.

“I got into a gang, I was going with the wrongcrowd, it was getting pretty bad. I almost ended up inprison a number of times and I’m thankful that I didn’t.And the reason I share this with you all is that I’ve be-come an advocate for mental health issues in this coun-try. I was suffering from depression and I didn’t knowwhat it was.”

He now speaks, especially to Indigenous youth,about these topics because of his own personal under-standing and experience, hoping that even if one life canbe saved it is made worthwhile.

“It’s not easy to show your weaknesses to strangersbut I think it’s vital,” he noted. “I think we need to startlooking at all sorts of mental health issues in this coun-try with a lot more compassion.”

His wife Amanda encouraged him in a more recentdepression to focus on helping others, something whichalso helped him as he began to speak out. He emphasizedthe importance of not reaching “empathy burnout” as asociety, and continuing to reach out to help one another.

He is developing a workshop now that would startin Attawapiskat with movie-making, then Attawapiksatyouth would carry it forward to another community suchas La Loche, who would then pass it on as well.

“It continues to move forward, so that’s one of ourideas. We have to think outside of the box,” noted Boyden.

“We have to recognize, too, where the trauma’scoming from. Suicide was not an issue, pre-contact.”

Boyden shares his own story at Library Association conference

Joseph Boyden reacts with a laugh as Colleen Charlette gifts him with afamily photo of her and her daughter. (Photo by Andrea Ledding)


By Linda MikolayenkoFor Eagle Feather News

LA RONGE – It has been talked aboutfor years, but now, plans for a wellness,healing and recovery centre in La Rongeare gaining momentum.

“Once it’s a reality, I think it’s goingto make a big difference,” says MilesRatt.

Ratt is the Chair of the Lac LaRonge Indian Band (LLRIB) Advisory

Council on Mental Health and Wellness.The council, consisting of representa-tives from the six LLRIB communities,contributed to a mental health strategyand feasibility study completed last sum-mer.

After consulting with hundreds ofstakeholders and visiting similar centresin Western Canada, a 100-page reportwith 20 recommendations was preparedby Dr. Margaret Kress White in July,2015.

“All stakeholders participating wereunanimous in the support of a healingcentre focused on recovery services andoutreach wellness programs, addictionscounselling, cultural services and land-based initiatives,” the report states.

“There’s a high need for mentalhealth services,” says LLRIB ChiefTammy Cook-Searson, noting the pro-posed centre would also provide addic-tions services that would complementnot duplicate, existing detox services.She emphasizes that one of the mainmessages they heard in their communitymeetings was the need to focus on theyounger population.

Two phases of facility developmenthave been proposed. The first would bea wellness and healing centre with an at-tached recovery unit for young adults.The second would include a leisure andrecreation centre with an indoor pool thatcould potentially service the entire com-munity and surrounding area.

Cook-Searson says that $2.3 mil-lion has already been set aside for theproject by the Band’s Health Services.The first phase alone could cost upwardsof $17 million. While the gap may ap-

pear daunting, Cook-Searson is opti-mistic that once a location has been con-firmed and a coordinator is in place, therewill be significantly more progress.

One of the options being consid-ered is to construct the facility on theKiskinwuhumatowin (Urban) Reserveon La Ronge Avenue, where the Angli-can Mission School and the La RongeHospital once stood.

Health Canada has provided fund-ing to hire a project coordinator whoseduties will include working with part-ners to fundraise for the centre. Potentialfunders include governments, corpora-tions and individuals.

“We’ve been really patient,” saysCook-Searson. “But everything takestime. I guess it will be up to the will of

the people and also the will of the deci-sion-makers that will help us support ourproject in moving it forward.”

Cook-Searson has already had theopportunity to present the report to Car-olyn Bennett, Minister of Indigenous andNorthern Affairs, and to Ralph Goodale,Minister of Public Safety. Cook-Searsonsaid that when Prime Minister JustinTrudeau was in Saskatoon on April 27,he expressed interest in the project, ob-serving “he seemed to genuinely care”.

While Cook-Searson recognizesthat there is still more work to be done,working with officials and building part-nerships, she has always maintained herbelief that the centre will be built.

“I know that it’s possible, and wecan do it.”

Chief Tammy Cook-Searson stands on one of the potential sites for the wellness,healing and recovery centre in La Ronge. The site was once home to a residentialschool and a hospital and also has a cemetery on the grounds. But it also is cen-tral in the town of La Ronge, an urban reserve, and has a spectacular view ofthe lake. (Photo by John Lagimodiere)

During his visit to Saskatchewan, PrimeMinister Justin Trudeau expressed toLac La Ronge Indian Band ChiefTammy Cook-Searson his interest in aproposed wellness, healing and recoverycentre. (Photo by Bobby Cameron)

Trudeau’s support adds to La Ronge leadership’sconfidence wellness centre will be constructed

MAY 2016Eagle Feather News 10ORDER OF MERITLieut-Gov. Vaughn Solomon Schofield announced therecipients for the 2016 Saskatchewan Order of Merit,the province’s highest honour. Included in the es-teemed group are former Treaty CommissionerGeorge Lafond (right) and Social Worker and Chil-dren’s advocate Isabelle Impey. “It’s a great privilegefor me to present the Saskatchewan Order of Merit to10 such accomplished individuals,” Schofield said.“They have each made enormous contributions toour province, and are most deserving of this presti-gious honour.” The other 2016 recipients are Jo AnneBannatyne-Cugnet, Valerie Creighton, Steve Dechka,Keith Downey, Eldon McIntyre, Wilf Perreault, Gor-don Rawlinson and Dr. Anne Luke. Established in1985, the Saskatchewan Order of Merit recognizes excellence, achievement andcontributions to the social, cultural and economic well-being of the province andits people. It acknowledges individuals who have made their mark in the arts,agriculture, business, industry, community leadership, occupations, profes-sions, public service, research and volunteer service. The Saskatchewan Orderof Merit takes precedence over all other provincial honours and awards. TheSaskatchewan Order of Merit ceremony will take place on May 24 in Reginawith Solomon Schofield presiding. Look for a feature on inductees George La-fond and Isabelle Impey in our June National Aboriginal Day edition.


By Linda MikolayenkoFor Eagle Feather News

LA RONGE – When the NorthernSaskatchewan Trappers Associationgathered for their 2016 convention andannual general meeting, they began withtheir first-ever Youth Day.

“We want the youth to carry on theorganization and make the industrystrong,” said organizer Robin McLeod.

The Youth Day was held at the LacLa Ronge Indian Band’s Jonas RobertsMemorial Community Centre on April21.

“Youth have always been welcomeand encouraged to come,” said SimonBird, who acted as MC for the day. “Thepurpose of the Youth Day is to make surethey have a place.”

Among the guest speakers for theday was Mylan Tootoosis of the Pound-maker Cree Nation, a PhD student at theUniversity of Saskatchewan doing re-search on climate change.

“My main message was to motivatethe youth,” said Tootoosis, “to encouragethem to maintain who they are and theirvital connections to landscape, and thetraditions involved with that.

“In my research, the climate ischanging very rapidly. Our young peoplereally need to be engaged with the landand the land-based practices, and beaware of what our old people and our tra-ditions tell us.”

When it comes to changes in theenvironment, says McLeod, “Trappers

are the ones that have their ear to theground.”

In addition to listening to presenta-tions, the young people had the opportu-nity to view displays and participate in anumber of hands-on activities includingskinning a beaver, fleshing an otter pelt,and making wooden stretcher boards.

Lyndon Cook is a student in theNorthern Teacher Education Programwho came with his Cree language class.Cook took a turn at helping to skin abeaver, something he had only done oncebefore, and not for a long time.

A few of the tips he picked up, hesaid, included “how to angle the knifeand how to put your hands under the fur,so that you don’t cut through the fur.”

When he finishes his studies, the25-year-old from Southend hopes to re-turn to his home community to teachCree and show his students how to trapand fish.

To obtain a trapper’s licence in

Saskatchewan an individual needs tocomplete a Hunter Education Course andhave a Humane Trapper Certificate, saysMinistry of Environment ConservationOfficer Mark Oliver. The Humane Trap-per Certificate can be obtained by com-pleting a course or by taking aSaskatchewan Trapper Exam, which re-quires a minimum of 70 per cent to pass.

That day, a number of youth suc-cessfully challenged the exam whichconsists of 50 multiple choice questionson traps, fur, wildlife identification and

humane standards. That’s an encouragingsign for the future.

“If trapping is to be sustainable, we

need to bring along the youth,” said Bird.The day concluded with karaoke,

animal calling, and jigging competitions.

Trappers trying to catchthe attention of youth

Caleb Roberts of Stanley Mission stands proudly with his Saskatchewan Trap-per Exam, which he passed. The exam was administered and marked by Con-servation Officers Derek Keast (left) and Mark Oliver at the NSTA Youth Day.

At the NSTA Youth Day, Austin McLeod of Stanley Mission (left) and LyndonCook of Southend take a turn at skinning a beaver, as Ambrose Sandypointlooks on.



BLACK LAKE – The students at FatherPorte Memorial Dene School in BlackLake fidgeted a bit as they stared at thescreen that was going to change their ed-ucational experiences forever.

The students were on hand for thelaunch of the Connected North Programinto Black Lake, an event that included alive, virtual visit to the Royal TyrrellMuseum of Palaeontology inDrumheller, Alberta, followed by an in-teractive literacy exploration betweenthe Father Porte Memorial Dene Schooland West Point Grey Academy in Van-couver.

“It is a priority in our community toensure the children of Black Lake re-ceive a well-rounded education,” saidChief Rick Robillard of Black Lake De-nesuline First Nation.

“Connected North is a powerfulway to help us achieve this goal, by bothintroducing students and teachers to anew world of opportunity, while alsoproviding an outlet to share their pride inour culture, tradition and values.”

Connected North delivers immer-sive and interactive virtual education andmental healthcare services to remote In-digenous communities through Cisco’shigh-definition two-way video commu-nication and collaboration technology.The aim of the program is to offer a fresh

approach to student engagement, allow-ing teachers and administrators to ex-pose their students to people, experiencesand ideas that bring learning to life.

The Connected North program be-gan in Iqaluit in September 2013 with asingle school and has since grown to in-clude 15 schools including the FatherPorte Memorial Dene School in BlackLake – the first in Saskatchewan. Con-nected North is founded on three keyprinciples: Customized content for eachschool, two-way student exchange andhigh quality video experience.

“Travel is limited for the children,so video sessions like this provide aunique opportunity for students to be ex-posed to new people, places and ideas,and also share their culture with others tobuild understanding,” said SteveThatcher, Principal, Father Porte Memo-rial Dene School.

Cisco provided the video collabo-ration technology and overall ecosystemmanagement while SaskTel donated theInternet connection and service requiredto power the video connection. Cameco,AREVA Resources, and Athabasca BasinDevelopment donated the funding tocover the programming costs, and WestWind Aviation supported the air travel re-quired for the installation of technology.

“SaskTel has always maintained astrong commitment to investing in re-mote Northern Saskatchewan communi-

ties,” said Ron Styles, SaskTel Presidentand CEO.

“The enhanced connectivity andaccess to technology this programbrings will enrich the community ofBlack Lake from an educational, eco-nomic and social perspective, while pro-viding much needed services to localyouth.”

“We’re thrilled to bring togetherso many committed partners to deliverhigh-quality content to engage BlakeLake students” said Jennifer Corriero,Executive Director of TakingITGlobal.

“Through professional learningand virtual classroom connections, ed-ucators will also have opportunities tocollaborate nationally and globally tobring the world into their classrooms.”

During the launch event, youth atBlack Lake performed a traditionaldance and drum song. The Royal TyrellMuseum in Drumheller did a sessionon the T-Rex and students in Vancouverdemonstrated origami ... all on oneshared screen connecting three very di-verse and distant parts of Canada in oneunified lesson.

Technology brings world closer to Black Lake

Students from Father Porte Memorial Dene School in Black Lake check out thescreen that had them connected with Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver and theRoyal Tyrell Museum in Drumheller, Alberta. (Photo by John Lagimodiere)

MAY 2016 Eagle Feather News 13


By Angela HillFor Eagle Feather NewsThe reasons are different: looking

for a new challenge, wanting to make adifference, caring for the environment,but one thing is certain, more women aregetting into mining.

And what they find when arriving intheir career is helping to break downstereotypes of an industry.

“Being an Aboriginal woman in theprivate sector, I wasn’t sure what to ex-pect,” said Lisa Mooney.

She went from working in not-for-profit organizations and the public sectorto work as the senior Aboriginal relations

specialist for Potash Corp.“The mining sector is known for hav-

ing a low representation of women.”Mooney said what she found was

impressive.“Everyone I have met has been kind,

genuine, open to learning, and willing tomake the positive changes to have themost impact.”

That’s why Mooney wanted to getinto the mining sector to begin with, tomake a difference at the pace of business.

“I can really see the impact thatour company and our programs aremaking,” whether in increasing Abo-riginal engagement or increasing the

participation of women. The drive to do something different

and have a positive effect with her job iswhat attracted Kristy Jackson to her roleas the director of marketing and commu-nications with Athabasca Basin Develop-ment.

“I really liked this company and Iliked the direction they were going in andI really thought that I could do a lot ofgood here,” she said.

While Jackson doesn’t work directlyin mining, she has found the industry to bea bit of a different world than the jobs shehas had previously,

“The biggest thing I’ve noticed iswhen I attend functions the ratio of men towomen is a lot different than what I’mused to. Sometimes I can count the num-ber of women in the room on one or twohands.”

At the beginning, it was a bit intimi-dating, but it isn’t any more, Jackson said.

“I haven’t had any Mad Men kind ofmoments,” she said and laughs.

“I haven’t had a lot of the challengesI guess that maybe some have gonethrough, others have paved the way forfolks like me, who have entered into it rel-atively recently. Things are pretty goodnow.”

On the mine sites, there are still sig-nificantly more men than women, but with

15 years’ experience there Kathryn De-Bruyne doesn’t really notice it anymore.

DeBruyne is an environmental spe-cialist at Cameco’s Cigar Lake operation.She works an hour flight from her home,and family, in La Ronge.

Women staking their cl

Lisa Mooney and a colleague at PotashCo experiment at the STC science fair.

Kathryn DeBruyne at her office at Cameco’s Cigar lake mine. (Photo supplied)

MAY2016 15Eagle Feather News

“It’s totally male dominated, but I’mused to that,” she said.

“This is basically all I’ve reallyknown, and when I took engineering(that’s) mostly male dominated, so I don’treally even notice.”

She started as a summer student atCigar Lake and then was an environ-mental monitoring technician, beforestarting her environmental engineeringdegree with the support of the Cameco.They gave her 80 per cent of her salaryplus tuition and books, and DeBruynemade the commitment to return as anenvironmental specialist after gradua-tion.

When it comes to her role on themine site, she said she doesn’t think sheis treated any differently because she isa woman.

All three women, DeBruyne, Jack-son and Mooney said that women shouldlook at getting into the mining sectorbecause of the diverse opportunitiesavailable.

But the benefit can go both ways.“I think the mining industry could

benefit with having more women in theindustry. Women provide new perspec-tives,” DeBruyne said.

When it comes to the question thatwomen face about work/life balance, allthree women have found ways to make itwork.

Mooney’s two girls are now 23 and20. She says that Potash Corp makes iteasier to be a single parent because theyare family friendly and there isn’t a lot offly in/fly out work. A parent could work,

be part of the community and still behome in time to coach their child’s soft-ball team, she said.

As a mom living and working inSaskatoon, Jackson said that her job issimilar to many working moms, it’s dif-ficult to achieve a perfect work-life bal-ance.

“I think we all feel like, ‘holy cowthe week’s a whirlwind’ and at the end ofthe day we are quite glad we survived it,but it’s a heck of a lot of fun too,” shesaid.

Flying-in/flying out mining canmake parenting daunting for some, but

DeBruyne relied on family support whenshe started out. Now her 11-year-old isused to their schedule. They facetime onthe nights that she is on-site and whenshe gets home she has a singular focus.Her son gets all of her devotion.

“All of my attention when I amhome, you know what I mean, I’m notdistracted because I’ve had a long, hardday at work and I have to make supper.”

She has one piece of advice forwomen looking towards their future.

“Just set your goals, even if youhave children, you can do it.”

laim in mining industry

Kristy Jackson, left, with Athabasca Basin Development Board Chair Anne Ro-billard at the corporate offices in Saskatoon. (Photo supplied)

orp Milton Greyeyes check out a student’s (Photo by John Lagimodiere)



Eight northerners with drive, determination and great resumes have just graduated froma training program that will enhance their career trajectory.

The Mill Operator Trainees program runs at McLean Lake by Areva where the eightstudents have spent the last 12 weeks learning all about the McClean Lake mill through bothacademic and hands-on work. They developed an abun-dance of skills and knowledge that will serve them wellin their careers.

“Most of the students who we take into the programhave no prior experience and they have absolutely no ideawhat goes on in a mill,” says Gary Winkel, the currentlead instructor of the program.

Winkel has vast experience in the industry, havingworked as a mill operator for 34 years. For the last eightyears he has worked as a mill supervisor and has beenwith AREVA for just over a year.

Rather than focusing on teaching specific skills tothe trainees, the program takes on a more comprehensiveapproach.

“My goal is to give the students a good understand-ing of the mill’s inner workings, what the work entails,and see if it something that they are interested in doing inthe future,” says Winkel.

The program is an orientation where the studentslearn all about radiation protection, safety and how to useequipment such as the skid-steer and fork-lift.

The opportunity offered to the eight students isn’tlost on them. They go through a lot to qualify. This yearthe Mill Operator Training program had over 200 appli-cants. Eighteen of the applicants made it to the inter-viewing stage, which meant coming out and stayingovernight at the camp.

From there, eight were chosen to take part in the pro-gram. Although most trainees do gain employment atAREVA following the program, it is not guaranteed. Stu-dents who are successful in completing the program stillhave to wait for a job opening to get hired at McCleanLake.

Winkel explains that the great thing about the pro-gram is that it is very flexible and becoming a mill oper-ator is not the only choice upon its completion.

Garret Robillard came to the program from StonyRapids where he was born and raised. He found out aboutthe McClean Lake Mill Operator Training Program froma friend who shared it with him on Facebook. Robillardwanted to take the program to gain more real world ex-perience, no matter where it may take him in the future.

He enjoyed the program and has really liked gettingto know many people.

“They are good people,” he says. He likes that the program gives him experience in

each section of the mill, helping to give him perspectiveon its overall operation. Robillard also enjoys that eachtrainee has a distinct experience as the program caters toeach trainee’s strengths and interests.

“It is individualized,” he explains. “The biggestchallenges were the 12 hour days and rememberingeverything they taught us.”

Winkel explains that although working at a remotesite took some getting used to for him and the trainees, theculture at McClean Lake certainly made it easier.

“People are really great to work with in whatever po-sition here,” says Winkel.

“I really value the opportunity that this programpresents to northern students and I would definitely teachit again,” he says.

The eight graduates are Brennan Vancoughnett, Garret Robillard,Shawn Merasty, Carmen Laliberte, Tischa Ballantyne, LeeShinkewski, Wendall Clarke and Vernon Bonelye .

Potential workers given achance to experience mill life


Terry Bird, Onion Lake Cree Economic Development honouredBy John LagimodiereOf Eagle Feather News

The reason why Terry Bird was named EconomicDevelopment Individual of the Year is in the numbers.

In his role as lead advisor, First Nation and MétisInitiatives for K+S Potash Canada, Bird has helped fa-cilitate over $300 million in contracts to Indigenoussuppliers which has also led over 350 Indigenous peo-ple working on the Legacy mine site near Bethune.

The Saskatchewan First Nations Economic De-velopment Network Chair Milton Tootoosis announcedthe recipients for the 2nd Annual SFNEDN Awards forthe 2016 Economic Development Individual and Com-munity of the Year during the ‘Economic Diversifica-tion Forum’ held at the Dakota Dunes Casino in April.

The Onion Lake Cree Economic Development, anextension of the Onion Lake Cree Nation government,received the Economic Development Community of theYear.

“What Terry and the Onion Lake First Nationhave accomplished is worth celebrating,” said MiltonTootoosis.

“You can tell that K+S have bought into the wholeengagement process and Terry has been a strong lead.And for Onion Lake, they saw they were reliant on oiland gas and have now started to diversify and encouragetheir citizens to get into business. That is leadership.”

Terry Bird, a George Gordon First Nation citizen,recognizes that his success is tied to his company’ssuccess.

“I am both humbled and very proud to have re-ceived the award because it recognizes our company’ssolid efforts and accomplishments to include First Na-tion and Métis businesses within our mining supplychain,” said Bird on the honour.

“We understood that there is a list of ingredientsneeded for real First Nation and Métis supplier inclu-sion and we were able to leverage our companies FirstNation & Métis Procurement Policy into action. And itmakes all kinds of sense to do so.

“We think it makes good business sense to walkacross the rural road to shake hands and build mutuallybeneficial relationships with local First Nation and

Métis communities and their suppliers.” K + S also committed over $500,000 in commu-

nity for sport, youth and cultural events in Treaty 4 ter-ritory.

Onion Lake supports its entrepreneurs by provid-ing a long list of support services such as mentorship,business plan development, financial accounting train-ing, credit rebuilding and small business managementworkshops. The Onion Lake Economic Developmentarm has assisted 77 small business owners get startedof which 95 per cent are located on the reserve. Twenty-one of the business owners are fluid haulers and they

own their own semi-trailer units and haul for localtransport companies.

The Onion Lake Cree Nation leadership is a strongbeliever that making one’s own livelihood was prom-ised under treaty and is proud to see the self-employ-ment tradition reignited in the spirit of ‘pimâcihisowin’(making one’s own living).

“Both Onion Lake leadership and Terry Bird andK+S are role models in business and we need more ofthat,” said Tootoosis.

“If you look at the accomplishments of the two, itis impressive what they have done.”

Saskatchewan First Nation Economic Development Network board members Milton Tootoosis on left andRob Woods on right presented Terry Bird of K+S Potash with the award for Individual Economic Devel-oper of the Year. (Photo by April Roberts)



SASKATOON – The second annual De-veloping, Diversifying and Evolving theMining Supply Chain Forum helped kickoff the 8th Annual Saskatchewan MiningSupply Chain Forum at Prairieland Parkin Saskatoon.

The overall forum focuses onoverviews of operations bySaskatchewan mining companies, pro-vides information on opportunities andprocesses to supply equipment and serv-ices to the mining industry and also hostsa trade show with over 200 mining andsupplier companies.

But it is the Developing and Diver-sifying Forum that has been the talk of thegathering for the last two years. The fo-rum has become the go to event for sup-pliers and Aboriginal industry groups toget together and talk about partnershipopportunities and discuss strategies onimproving Aboriginal participation in allaspects of the mining industry.

Last year, the suppliers started tohear the message from the major miningcompanies that Aboriginal employmentand ownership in the supply chain wasimportant to them, so now it has to be-come important to the suppliers.

The second annual forum broughtin speakers who had experienced first-hand what is happening in the industry.

Geoff Gay is the CEO of AthabascaBasin Development and he spoke of howhis company was once heavily reliant onthe mining industry for their revenues.And that can be both a good thing and abad thing.

“We know that the industry can becyclical like we are seeing this year,” said

Gay. “That’s why we have diversified ourgroup of companies in the past few years.”

Now the company owns parts of adozen businesses with percentages ofownership varying from 22 per cent tooutright and their businesses include aPepsi distributorship, an airline, an elec-trical company as well as construction,catering and security.

Jim Nowakowski is the owner ofJNE Welding, one of Saskatchewan’slargest, full-service fabricators servingmining, construction, petrochemical andpower generation clients across NorthAmerica. He has been looking to mentorsomeone into his business as he intends toretire in the next few years.

He gave an in depth presentation andlesson on the process he went throughwhen a majority share of his business was

sold to Des Nedhe Developments and thePeter Ballantyne Cree Nation.

“Be prepared to be patient,” saidNowakowski on the process. “Whatseemed like a simple deal took a fullyear from letter of intent to finish. Thatwas a surprise to me. But the deal madesense for both partners.

“We are now in a situation inCanada where if a business is Aborigi-nal owned, it has better value. I feel likeour business will be in good hands.”

The keynote address was deliv-ered by Darrell Beaulieau, CEO of De-nendeh Development Corporation inthe North West Territories. Beaulieauhas decades of experience in the miningindustry as well as a Skookum JimAward for excellence in mining.

He shared how important resource

development is for his people in his terri-tory.

“The Tlicho government receives 95per cent of all federal income taxes col-lected from residents in Tlicho communi-ties,” said Beaulieau.

“So the more taxpayers living inTlicho, the more taxes we receive. Andthe more high paying Tlicho miningjobs, then the more income tax we re-ceive.”

The involvement of Aboriginalpeople in business and in mining in histerritory is almost overwhelming.

“There are over 500 Aboriginalowned businesses in NWT and at least 60of them serve the mining industry,” addedBeaulieau.

“And every First Nation and regionhas a business arm plus many joint ven-tures. So I ask you this, who says thatAboriginal people are against develop-ment?”

During the forum, networkingbreaks saw people chatting up potentialdeals and exploring areas of mutual con-cern. And it was all good news toSaskatchewan Mining Association Presi-dent Pamela Schwann.

“Our members have been asking forexactly this type of forum where theycould meet potential partners and to learnbest practices. Geoff Gay and JimNowakowski both spoke very well tothat,” said Schwann.

“And to have a Skookum JimAward winner like Darrell Beaulieausummarize it all was outstanding.

“I think our members receivedsome very valuable information and theoverarching theme was that Aboriginalowned helps bring value to a company.”

Jim Nowakowski, CEO of JNE Welding in Saskatoon, Darrell Beaulieau, the CEOof Denendeh Development Corporation in the North West Territories and GeoffGay CEO of Athabasca Basin Development all gave insights into Aboriginalownership of mining and mine supply companies a tthe Saskatchewan Mining As-sociations 2nd Annual Developing, Diversifying and Evolving the Mining SupplyChain Forum. (Photo by John Lagimodiere)

Mining Association members talk shop in Saskatoon


PRINCE ALBERT – Four schools innorthern Saskatchewan will be startingbreakfast programs using ONEXONE’sFirst Nations School Breakfast program.

The national program, which cur-rently runs successful breakfast programsin 35 schools across six provinces, is aprogram that aims to provide daily break-fasts to school age kids for $1 per childper day. Four schools in Saskatchewan’sAthabasca region have been approvedwith everything in place ready to go fortheir program.

Father Gamache School in Fond duLac, Father Porte Memorial DenesulineSchool in Black Lake, Ben McIntyreSchool in Uranium City and StonyRapids School in Stony Rapids have acombined 400 students who will all bereceiving daily breakfasts under the pro-gram.

“On behalf of Stony Rapids stu-dents and staff, I thank ONEXONE andAthabasca Basin Development for sup-porting our nutrition program,” saysKevin O’Brien, Principal of StonyRapids School.

“Through this generous contribu-tion, we are providing nutritious meals toour students on a daily basis.”

“The kids really enjoy the home-made breakfasts every school day,”added Douglas Preikschat, Principal ofBen McIntyre School.

“Eggs and fresh fruit are a welcome

nutritious treat in an isolated northerncommunity like ours.”

In 2015, Athabasca Basin Develop-ment donated $40,000 to kick-start abreakfast program in the Athabasca re-gion, and will be contributing another$40,000 in 2016.

“One of our investments, ArcticBeverages, has provided support forONEXONE through donations andfundraisers for many years,” says GeoffGay, CEO of Athabasca Basin Develop-ment.

“We saw that ONEXONE was do-ing great work in providing an excellentand sustainable breakfast program inFirst Nations across the country. Andsince there was strong interest from theAthabasca communities in having break-fast programs in their schools, we sawthis as a natural fit for our donations pro-gram.

“We are so pleased to support thisprogram, and excited to be seeing theprograms launch in schools in theAthabasca communities so that childrenin the region will have access to good,nutritional breakfasts each day to helpsupport them now and into the future,”Gay said.

“¬¬We are excited to be partneringwith Athabasca Basin Development tolaunch breakfast programs inSaskatchewan’s Athabasca region,” saysJoelle Berdugo Adler, Founder of

ONEXONE Foundation. “First Nations children suffer the

greatest levels of poverty among all chil-dren in Canada. One in three First Na-tions children live in poverty as com-pared to one in nine Canadian childrenon average. In remote communities, thisnumber is often higher.

“Children do not always knowwhere they will find their next meal andthey are unable to consistently accessnutritious and adequate amounts of foodnecessary for a healthy life. We’ve seenpositive outcomes in terms of improvedstudent behavior, better health, and im-

proved concentration leading to betterlearning outcomes, and we’d like tothank Athabasca Basin Development forcoming on board as a sponsor for this im-portant initiative.”

ONEXONE’s First Nations Break-fast School Program is open to anyschool with First Nations students, pend-ing application and acceptance, andfunding availability. The program iscommunity driven, and includes fund-ing for food, as well as planning, trainingand support to run the program.

For more information, please visitwww.onexone.org

Breakfast program kickstarts the day

These students from Uranium City’s Ben McIntyre school are benefitting fromnutritious breakfasts that start the school day. (Photo supplied)


• Continued from Page OneThe boys sat and panted by the wa-

ter-filled ditch, and then another womanarrived on the scene, asking what hadhappened. Harvey told her, and thencalmly went home to change his wetshoes as the woman offered to return thetoddler home. He told his mother whathad happened as well, but she was quitebusy and didn’t fully absorb the tale.

In fact, Mary Jane wasn’t reallyaware until she found a post in a privategroup on Facebook she uses to trackdown what her youngest son might be upto, if he’s out past curfew, describinghim as a typical rough-and-tumble boywho likes biking, playing hockey, andstaying active.

From the post, she learned Harveyhad saved a life and was being com-mended.

She commented on the post, whichwas from the woman who had been sec-ond on the scene and returned the toddlerhome after Harvey’s heroics. The womanquoted Harvey as saying he “almost hada heart attack” at the time, probably fromall the adrenaline!

The story then made its way aroundthe community, and eventually the mediapicked up on it too. The ditch has sincebeen drained, to prevent any further needof heroics.

The whole community is proud ofHeroic Harvey, and his mother MaryJane is happy he took action how andwhen he did.

“I’m just happy and proud of him.You hear a lot of negativity about FirstNations communities and I think this is avery good story,” she said. Kids savingkids – it doesn’t get much better than that.

“I tell him to emulate his olderbrothers, be respectful, and work hard,”noted Mary Jane.

“He’s polite and well-mannered tome because that’s what I’ve taught him.People who don’t even know him aretalking to him on the street, praising himfor saving a life. That little boy is still indiapers, he averted something that couldhave been very tragic if he wasn’t there.”

As for Harvey, he just has a oneword reply about how it felt to save theyounger child’s life.

“Good.”

There we were, touring thebrightly lit avenues and boulevards ofSaskatoon on a hot Saturday afternoon.There was no destination in particularand I desperately wanted to stick myhead out of the driver’s side window.

Why? I like the wind in my face,like a puppy imagining he can run likethe wind without any of the effort. Ormaybe like the Joker in that Batmanmovie, when he busted out of jail. Fromthe back seat of the car, the Munchkincomplains as I roll the window down,“Dad, that’s embarrassing!”

Well, one of us has to be the adulthere. I guess.

Given that the next day is to beMothers Day, I ask, “So, what did youget your mom for tomorrow?”

“I made her a paper flower bou-quet,” she replies, “but I forgot it atschool.”

One of us has to be the adult, in-deed.

A moment of reflection later sheadds, “Dad, could we buy her some-thing?”

My brain making processes kickinto a higher gear and the smell of rub-ber appears from nowhere. A thoughtasserts itself that: While I really don’t

have to buy my ex-wife anything, itwould be a harmless gesture.

“Well, what does she want?” I ask.Besides, when itcomes to putting asmile on theMunchkin’s face, theDirkster cannot sayno, he will not say no,and he cannot say no.

She cheerfullypipes up, “Mom saidshe would like a nail spa.”

Unable to resist making a joke I re-sponded, “I didn’t know your mom hastaken up carpentry. Hey, lets go to Cana-dian Tire. They have a section withbright, shiny nails and we’ll get her anice pail-full.”

I can see her in the rear view mir-ror. The Munchkin’s expression isblank, as she stares intently at the backof my head. It’s as though she’s trying topuzzle out whether her dad is daft ortruly clueless.

She plays is straight.“No, dad, I mean a place where

they paint your nails and stuff,” and asshe rolls her eyes she takes her gaze tothe street outside.

Admittedly, I know nothing about

nail spas, so I issued a plea on Facebookfor recommendations. Some of the sug-gestions were promising. I was ready to

pull the trigger butthe Munchkinchanged her mind.She wanted to gether mom flowers.

Easily done.Cradling the plant-terrarium thingy inher arms the

Munchkin beamed at me, saying, “I’mreally happy with this purchase, daddy.”

With a kind and soothing fatherlyvoice I patted her head and said, “Ahh,I’m just being awesome my girl.”

As I reflected upon this simple ges-ture of my usual thoughtfulness andoverwhelming sincerity for my daugh-ter, a familiar sensation welled up insideme. I call it decency, but I’ve heard oth-ers call it chivalry and heroism.

You may rightly wonder, fromwhence did this enormous and big senseof honour and stand-goodingly-nesscome from?

I owe my adult-like character tomy mother.

That’s right. Contrary to popularbelief, Dirk was not delivered to this

realm by angelic Viking princesses rid-ing white Arabian war horses chargingdown a mythic rainbow of flowers andsunshine.

No, he has a real, human motherwho made sacrifices and raised, dare Isay it, the ever so humble writer thatstands before you. Well, technically, I’mseated at my laptop, but she did in factraise me.

She’s the true hero. Having grownup on the road allowance on the northend of my home reserve, she was wooedby a swarthy Cree athlete who wouldtake her to see the world and help bringinto this world four children … onlyone of which is worth mentioning.

It’s sad, but my siblings are stun-ningly, boringly average. But she atleast got one right.

So when you see her say, “Thankyou so much for the inspiration that isyour son, Dirk’s Mom.” That’s all yougot to do.

Me? I helped buy her a shrubbery.‘Cause I’m an adult. Or something.

Dirk says, I’m pretty sure momwill have mixed feelings about thismonth’s column. Not sure the siblingscan read, so no worries there.

Dirk’s mom deserves a parade or shrubbery

Hero averted what couldhave been a tragic outcome

MAY 2016 21Eagle Feather News – Business/Careers

SASKATOON –A group of 11 young future businessleaders recently spent a day in Saskatoon getting pam-pered.

The girls are all Business Club students from OneArrow, Mistawasis, Muskoday, Yellow Quill, and Kin-istin and they were fortunate enough to get makeoversbefore the Literacy for Life banquet where they wit-nessed keynote speaker author Joseph Boyden speakabout life.

The girls were first taken to Marvel Beauty Schoolwhere they got new dos then they were off to shop fora new outfit (courtesy of the club) for the evening.

The makeover and banquet were made availableby PotashCorp. And PotashCorp has arranged to getthem brand new business suits courtesy of their supplierCintas. As part of the Club, the girls also get to go toWinnipeg for a conference and learn how to pitch theirbusinesses.

Bailie Germs is a Grade 12 student in Tisdale andshe had a great day with the girls.

“I honestly enjoyed getting my haircut. It wasnice to have it done and looking healthy again. Afterthis, we went shopping and I bought four outfits plus apair of shoes and seriously only spent $65.

“I was amazed and can thank the business club forhelping me learn how to budget,” said Germs.

“The highlight for me was getting to express my-self and find what I was comfortable in for business at-tire. First time ever shopping for business attire and Iwas amazed to find things I could actually wear,” sheadded.

“The girls had a great day,” said Lisa Mooney,Senior Aboriginal Relations Specialist at PotashCorp.

“It was hard keeping up with them. We are all re-ally excited for the next step when we get them intotheir business suits and send them out to pitch their busi-ness ideas. Providing suits for the business club girlswas one of the investments Cintas made as part of theirAboriginal strategy.

“It was important the girls have professionalclothes to wear when conducting business and com-peting in business plan competitions.”

The tips that Germs has learned in the businessclub have given her a perspective on her future career.

“I enjoy creating ideas for business and getting tofollow through with them. I am hoping I can start a pi-lot program for business for underprivileged-low in-come inner city schools that don't get the opportunity tobe exposed to business,” said Bailie Germs.

“I didn’t get the chances I had now while living inthe city and I strongly believe that every child shouldget the chance to explore their ideas and hopefully getthem going off the group. I also believe that every childshould get the chance to fly somewhere at least once intheir lives, and the business club is the perfect oppor-tunity for this.”

The hair makeover was followed by a day of shopping and then a group shot before the Literacy for Lifebanquet and speaker Joseph Boyden. (Photo by Joe Taylor)

Business Club students had a blast at Marvel getting their hair done. Tasha Sokwaypnace knew exactly whathairstyle she didn’t want and Bailie Germs, top right, really enjoyed the hair cut. (Photos by John Lagimodiere

Business clubgirls enjoyedall the perksduring city visit

MAY 2016Eagle Feather News – Business/Careers 22


SASKATOON –Don Ross wanted to get into businessbut he didn’t quite know what business to choose. Thena couple of things turned him in the direction of PapaMurphy’s Take and Bake Pizza.

“First we walked into a Papa Murphy’s in Phoenixwhen we were on holidays. I was immediately taken bythe design and menu and then we ate the pizza. It wasfantastic,” said Ross.

“Then I was watching a CFL game and there wasa commercial for Papa Murphy’s franchises acrossCanada. I researched it out and then sat down andtalked to my son and asked if he would be interested inleaving the company he was with, managing severalrestaurants in Regina, and I told him I wouldn’t do itwithout him. He told me to go big.”

And with that, Don and his wife Bonnie set out tomeet with the Papa Murphy people and soon enoughRoss became President of Papa Murphy’sSaskatchewan and in the last year has opened up shopsin Regina and Saskatoon.

“This franchise is perfect for us. It was rated Num-ber 1 in the U.S. for quality and taste and it is the fifthlargest pizza chain. So the management system wasvery appealing.

“And also the cost of getting in was affordablecompared to other franchises. It is simple enough to getinto. Plus we don’t have any cooks. I didn’t want arestaurant. I didn’t want wait staff or servers,” Ross ex-plains.

“I didn’t want to deal with that side of the business.Just like the business, we keep it simple. Good product.Good brand.”

At Papa Murphy’s you order your favourite pizzaand they prepare it right in front of you and wrap it. Youtake it home and cook it fresh in your own oven.

“I used to live in a rural community,” added Ross.“And bringing a pizza home from the city was a treatbut by the time I got home, the pizza was cold. Our piz-zas are as good as it gets.”

If not for the Clarence Campeau DevelopmentFund and the Saskatchewan Métis Economic Develop-ment Corporation, there would only be a store inRegina.

“CCDF and SMEDCO were imperative in startingthis business. You need to have working capital or youwon’t succeed. CCDF and SMEDCO both helped.Without them we wouldn’t be in business. Traditionalbanks, even though we had equity, they would not sup-port us.

“Without SMEDCO and CCDF we wouldn’t beable to do the business we do.”

So far things are ticking along well for the busi-ness. The Regina location is one of the top stores inCanada and the one in Saskatoon is becoming betterknown. And one thing that makes Ross quite proud isso far they have 14 employ-ees with over half beingFirst Nation or Métis.

“Being members ofGeorge Gordon’s First Na-tion and with my wife Bon-nie being Métis, we wantedto ensure our family busi-ness represented the com-munity,” said Don.

“First time jobs forsome of these kids and if wedon’t give them an oppor-tunity then who will. I loveseeing our young kids work-ing wherever I go.

“The most rewardingis getting the feedback from

customers and having them praise our employees forgood service or how great the food is. That is what I liketo hear.

“And they refer us. That’s the best marketing.”

Entrepreneur finds the recipe for success in pizza franchise

Don Ross and his son Derrick show off the fresh pizzas at their Papa Murphy’s Take and Bake locationin Saskatoon at the corner of 8th Street and Louise Avenue. Their Regina store is one of the top franchisesin sales in Canada and celebrates one year in business next month. The Saskatoon location is six monthsold. (Photo by John Lagimodiere)

MAY 2016 23Eagle Feather News – Business/Careers

This model is wearing a trading cloth vest, designed by Tracey George Heese while this model shows offa stunning red dress. (Photos by Tiffany Head)


REGINA – With music blasting, fashion models walkedthe runway and you couldn’t help but dance in your chairas you admired the designs the models wore.

The fifth season of the International Indigenous Fash-ion Week (IIFW) featured 11 established and emerging de-signers in Regina.

There were live performances by singing group PrettyIndian girls, rising First Nations Femcee/Model Kara Jadeand award winning Juno artist Jordon.

Lani Elliott, one of the three organizers of the event,said one of the company’s mandate is to promote the tal-ents and efforts of young Indigenous designers and mod-els so they would be able to showcase their talents on aglobal scale.

“We want to give them that sense of encourage-ment and sense of hope that they do have a place in theworld and they do have a place in the fashion industry,”said Elliot.

Elliot mentions that one of her fellow organizers,Chelsa Reil, is a Canadian ambassador for Indigenousfashion in three of the major fashion venues, New York,Paris and London. She says it is a huge opportunity to“have those connections and to be able to provide thoseconnections to indigenous designers.”

Leia Jody is a menswear fashion designer from Ot-tawa who likes to manipulate fabric. She revealed her firstmenswear collection at the 2015 annual Grand PremiereFashion Show. She also won “Couturier of the Year” forher third year collection.

“I go to the fabric store and see what inspiration ofwhat I want to create, I see it in my head and I create it,I don’t even sketch, it’s all in my head,” she said.

Tracy George-Heese owns her own business, Time-less Shadow Apparel and she’s been her own boss for fouryears creating her own styles.

“I’ve been sewing for the last 30 years, and been inbusiness for 20 years but I’ve always worked for some-body else so this time around now I work for nobody butmyself,” said George-Heese.

She says she keeps doing fashion shows to push her-self to create something different.

“I have participated in fashion shows in the last 20years. It has to do with keeping my name out into the pub-lic and if people are aware that this is what I’m still do-ing, they can approach me. I’ve done a lot of custom andcommission work and I also do sewing classes,” saidGeorge-Heese.

She likes to design traditional and contemporaryclothing, especially for men

“There’s something so attractive about a well-dressed man and a man that’s put together,” said GeorgeHeese.

Elliott said that there has been a lot of designers outthere who appropriate indigenous fashion and cultural ap-propriations unfortunately is a huge thing in the fashionindustry.

“We think it’s important that we offer authentic In-digenous designs,” said Elliott.

Indigenous fashion designerscelebrated atRegina show



FOR QU’APPELLE – Despite the unpleasantly coldday, hundreds of people waited outside the Treaty 4Governance Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle in anticipation

of the arrival of a political rock star. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s arrival was a bit

delayed, but when he arrived the people gatheredaround him and greeted him with respect and applause.

A drum song was sung for him before he waswhisked away to a private meeting with the 11 Chiefsand council of File Hills Qu’Appelle Tribal Council(FHQTC), along with Federation of Saskatchewan In-dian Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron and As-

sembly of First Nations(AFN) Chief Perry Belle-garde.

“The meetings like theone we had today are an im-portant part of rebuilding re-lationships between Canadaand Indigenous peoples andI’m honored to be part ofthis ongoing dialogue,” saidTrudeau.

After the meeting,Trudeau made his way down to the tipi room where hewould make his announcement. Trudeau spoke aboutthe stories of heartbreak and hopelessness from com-munities like Attawapiskat and that the elders, youngpeople, parents, victims and survivors all deserve to beheard before any action is taken and that it is criticallyimportant for politicians to take the time to listen.

“I don’t want to pretend that any of us have the an-swers to the challenges facing Indigenous people inCanada but what I will tell you that as a country we canbuild those answers,” said Trudeau.

Trudeau said his government remains committedto lifting the two per cent funding cap for First Nationsprograms and the investments of the 2016 budget setsit well on the path.

“We will work with First Nations in the comingyear to lay the groundwork for a new fiscal relationship;one that gives First Nations communities funding thatis sufficient, predictable and sustained. As I said, thereis much work still to be done,” said Trudeau.

He announced that over the next five years hisgovernment will invest $8.4 billion in improving thelives of Indigenous people in Canada.

This includes the $2.6 billion towards improvingprimary and secondary education on-reserve and nearly$970 million dollars in repairing, building and main-

taining new schools on-reserve. “Over the next two years we’ll focus on improving

social infrastructure that means more housing and bet-ter health care facilities on reserve,” said Trudeau.

He also said that it would mean greater facilitiesand programs that support early learning and childcare,and more funding for cultural and recreational centres.

“We also know the victims of violence need morehelp and starting this year we are making significant newinvestments to repair, build and support shelters for vic-tims of family violence in First Nations communities”said Trudeau.

FSIN Chief Bobby Cameron said that the chiefswere optimistic about everything that Trudeau’s gov-ernment promised to do during their campaign.

“It’s a down payment, of course we need more, butat least it’s a good start,” Cameron said about the budget.

He is glad that the prime minister is listening andimplementing these recommendations coming from thechiefs. For his part, he said they had invited him totheir FSIN assembly as they are a unified body.

“He has committed to coming to one of our as-semblies so we look forward to that,” said Cameron.

Trudeau has emphasized that his government is fo-cused on building a healthy partnership with Indigenouspeople and building a future.

Trudeau a hit with hugecrowd in Fort Qu’Appelle

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is greeted by seven-year-old Keslee Bear from Muskowpetung as shepresents him with flowers. (Photo by Tiffany Head)

Trudeau with student delegates, Kaliegh Starblanket, Karina Starblanketand Asiah Starr, from Starblanket First Nation. (Photo by Tiffany Head)


SASKATOON – Decisions made behind the wheelcan lead to a lifetime of consequences. That’s the mes-sage SGI and the Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre(GTNT) are demonstrating firsthand this spring with alive performance aimed at youth in high schools acrossthe province.

The performance, titled The Toe Tag Crew, writ-ten by playwright Dawn Dumont, profiles the lives offour young people looking back on how dangerousdriving decisions resulted in dire consequences. Theperformances focus is on key road safety issues im-pacting Saskatchewan teens, including seatbelt use andimpaired, distracted and aggressive driving.

“Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause ofinjury and death for Saskatchewan youth,” SaskatoonStonebridge-Dakota MLA Bronwyn Eyre said on behalfof Minister responsible for SGI Don McMorris.

“Too many drivers – especially teens – think it willnever happen to them, but the truth is collisions on ourroads can and do happen and many of them have a life-time of consequences.”

The performance underlines a key issue in theprovince. In 2014, 15 teens were killed and 748 were in-jured in vehicle crashes on Saskatchewan roads. SGIcommissioned the performance, written and performedby the GTNT, specifically to reach high school youth.It incorporates the use of hashtags and social media toengage students.

“TV shows or movies are one thing, but throughlive performance we can reach and connect with stu-dents in new ways,” said actor Dalton Lightfoot whoplays the role of Liam, one of the teens in the per-formance.

“After the show ends we interact with students andcontinue to share the important message of road safety.”

The travelling performance kicked off May 9 inSaskatoon and wraps up on June 3 in Regina. Over itsmonth-long tour, the performance will visit a total of 22high schools in 21 communities and reach approxi-mately 5,000 youth.

Visit SGI’s website at www.sgi.sk.ca for more in-formation about road safety. Follow SGI on Facebookand Twitter for safety tips to #TakeCareOutThere.

THE TOE TAG CREW(Left to right) Carla Orosz ( Set and Costume De-sign), Dalton Lightfoot (actor), Aaron Shingoose(Stage Manager), Osemis Isbisterbear (GM), Mar-cus Merasty ( Actor), Aaron-Marie Nepoose (Ac-tress) Kate Herriot (Actress) Charlie Peters ( Di-rector) Ingrid Gomez (Actress) and Jeremy Lavalley(SGI REP)

GTNT playpoints out consequences of dangerous driving decisions

MAY 2016Eagle Feather News – Sports26


LA RONGE – If you are looking for ac-tion, pick any day of the week and walkinto the Jonas Roberts Memorial Com-munity Centre on the Lac la Ronge In-dian Band reserve.

On this day to visit Kevin Roberts,the Director of Sports and Youth Recre-ation for the band, the entry way wasjammed with students taking a foodsafety course, supplies were being un-loaded into the gym and a dozen con-struction workers banged and cut andwelded all over the recent expansion.

“We are hoping to be done by Sep-tember,” said Roberts of the $3.6 millionrenovation.

“And we expect the place to stayjust as busy. We have really outgrown it.”

The renovations will increase thecapacity of a building that can only be de-scribed as the hub of the community.Once they are done there will be newarena seating, board room space, a busgarage, walking track and an expandedfitness centre that will accommodatemore equipment and change rooms.

“This arena runs flat out from Sep-tember to the end of April for leagues andtournaments and we have many events inthe gym for the community and our fit-ness centre is overwhelmed right now.

“We actually raise quite a bit of ourbudget for programs by selling member-ships, renting the hall and even by sellingprograms at minor hockey games,” saidRoberts of the challenges and opportuni-ties in running the complex on his $1.4million budget.

“Most importantly we provide op-portunity for kids to be involved and re-ceive the physical, mental and social ben-efits of sports and recreation. We want togive them the option to not even be partof negative things. We want kids to gohome at the end of the day after they didsome exercise or participated in a pro-gram and they feel good about them-selves.”

Another important role for the cen-tre is as a hub of communications andgathering when there are evacuations.

“Ever since we built the communi-plex the hockey talent has gone up. Ourkids are competing locally, regionally,nationally and internationally,” said ChiefTammy Cook-Searson who also com-petes in the King Trapper competitionsheld in the gym.

“But this place also turns into ourmain hub area when we have evacua-tions. It has so many purposes and servesthe community so well the expansion iswelcomed. The building is well used.”

They are also installing a new gen-erator to power the building in the eventof power outages being that the JRMCCserves as the emergency center.

Chief Cook-Searson knows the ben-efit of sport and hopes people take to theindoor walking/running track. She wentfrom an overweight snuff chewingsmoker to a person now running halfmarathons.

“When you exercise it helps youwith your mental health. It helps youdeal with stress,” added Chief Cook-Searson.

“We all win with sport.”And a win it has been for the sports

department at the Lac La Ronge IndianBand. Their teams have been on or nearthe top of many hockey tournamentsacross Saskatchewan and sports pro-grams are expanding.

But to Roberts, it is not just aboutbuilding winning teams.

“I am leaning more towards devel-oping good people over NHL stars. Italso comes to academics too,” saidRoberts.

“A lot of top hockey players don’teven graduate high school. That does adisservice to recreation programs whereyou try to produce NHL players but notgood young people. We need to turnsome of that focus around and get kids totake leadership roles, go to school andgive back to the community.

“That’s what I think sport and recre-ation is all about.”

And they can come learn about allthat every day at the newly expandedJonas Roberts Memorial CommunityCentre.

SPONSORED BY:

HOSTED BY: TITLE SPONSOR:

SaskTel Aboriginal Youth Awards of Excellence

May 27, 20166:00 pm Grand Entry6:15 pm Opening Prayer and Remarks6:30 pm Dinner7:45 pm Gala Show and Celebration

Arena expansion icing on the cake for La Ronge

Kevin Roberts in the overcrowded and soon to be expanded gym at the JonasRoberts Memorial Community Centre. (Photo by John Lagimodiere)



REGINA – Youth between the ages of 13 to 30 yearsold from Regina and surrounding area attended the16th annual Stepping Stones Career Fair (STCF). It’sthe largest fair of its kind in the province offering over80 career and education exhibits.

Mark Gettle, the STCF committee member saysthe career fair grows bigger every year.

“There are 1,650 lunches we have to hand out tostudents, so that’s how many students will be comingin,” says Gettle.

He says they want students, especially First Nationstudents, to be aware of all the opportunities out thereand the goal of the committee is for students to continueon with their education.

“These are all these opportunities that are open toyou if you really take education and grasp it,” saysGettle, in his message to the students who attend theevent.

“Treat education with respect and you work reallyhard, you can be this, this and this.”

Exhibitor Rae-Lynne Carriere, accountant man-ager for Peace Hills Trust, says they give informationto students on the type of jobs they offer and what kindof education is required.

“We are giving them the emphasis to stay in schooland further their education,” says Carriere.

As a bonus this year, the STCF will be hosting atalent show where five young entertainers will performfor the students.

“We’re going to ask the students in the audienceto judge them with a sound meter, with the applause,and we’re going to give a prize out for that,” says Get-tle.

The winning performer will be given a monetaryprize of $1,000. On top of the entertainment the studentsare given an activity to encourage them to approach ex-hibitors. They are given a bingo card that they must getstamped and once they make a blackout they fill out theevaluation form and their name is entered for the doorprizes.

Sheldon Williams Collegiate student, CheyanneBitternose, 15, says there are so many choices she canchoose from when she graduates from high school.

“I was thinking, more like getting into photogra-phy and stuff like that but coming here it’s really nice,it opens my eyes to new jobs,” says Bitternose.

Darcy Desjarlais, 29, says he has been looking forwork this past week and the work preparation programhe attended told him there was this job fair happeningand he figured he would check it out.

“It’s actually been pretty awesome, a lot of infor-mation and I talked to a few booths and they are inter-ested in getting my resume,” said Desjarlais.

On left, students checkout the Service Canadabooth and on rightthree young men get in-formation from Sask-Tel. (Photos by Tiffany Head)

Stepping up to success


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MAY 2016 VOLUME 19 - NUMBER 5 FREE Harvey The Hero arrived ... · Harvey Dorian’s mother, Mary Jane Michel, teaches at Opawikoscikan School and has been han-dling national media