Waskaganish !!

I am so happy that I was able to be in Waskaganish during the celebration of its 350th. I was able to see the vibrant happenings at the Gathering Place. There was such richness displayed in artistry and artisan skill. I was struck by the work of an 8 year old artist who draws with such confidence, creating his works without need for eraser and using permanent marker and pen ink. The fact that Aiden’s work is valued in the same venue, at the same important occasion, as internationally renowned artist, Tim Whiskeychan, shows how the community of Waskaganish supports and values the talents of its young people. This young man has much to share and beautiful talents for all of us to learn from!

I was happy to introduce myself to people and discuss my beliefs about our school board and to hear people’s concerns about, and hope for, our schools and board.

Some of the things I heard from people while there:

We have to find a way to value community voice and vision for our education system;

We need to empower our students, parents and teachers to make sure that they are a part of the development of our schools and our school board;

Cree language and Cree culture are central to who we are, and we need to ensure a viable place for them in our school system;

We need to uphold high standards to ensure the success of

our youth;

We must find a way to support post secondary students and those in the technical/vocational sector;

It is essential that we work to meet the needs of special needs students within our schools and to give them and their families the supports they need.

The Kashtin concert was fun of course. They are a group I had not seen in concert since they had come to Chisasibi, when I was still a teenager. I took to heart the words of local musicians who spoke about the importance of writing songs in our language. We need to ensure that this is supported. Above all, the message of celebrating the fact that we remain, that we are still here, is one that I was so happy to hear. We are resilient and we need to ensure that our school system works to support this!

The family time by the river was wonderful to see the next day, and I was so priviledged to be able to visit the Weistche sisters as they worked on their dad’s caribou hide. The importance of what they are doing is a powerful message to us all about our heritage and ensuring that we honour the legacy of our elders and our ancestors.