Latest news with #Cree
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Richard Preston was a pioneer researcher in cultural anthropology
Richard Preston was a researcher, chronicler, collaborator and friend of the James Bay Cree. As an anthropologist, Preston — who died Jan. 7 at age 93 — spent six decades, starting in 1963, researching the cultural ways of the Cree people, meeting with Cree elderly, community leaders and youth. A member of the McMaster anthropology department, he wrote more than 100 articles on the Cree and came out with a book in 2002 called 'Cree Narrative.' He was honoured with the Cree name Preston 'She'yuu (Preston Elder). The Ancaster resident was recognized as a pioneer in cultural anthropology by the courts, and his research helped the Cree in negotiations culminating in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) in 1975. The agreement, considered the first modern Indigenous treaty in Canada, permitted Quebec to develop the James Bay region with hydroelectric dams but protected the traditional way of life of the Indigenous people. Preston participated in the Cree Way Project that introduced Cree language and cultural traditions into the school curriculum. From 1974-76, he headed up a McMaster project to record history, lore and skills from Cree hunters, develop it into a teaching plan and then co-ordinate it with the standard course of study. There are now more than 500 textbooks printed in Cree syllabics. Preston also advised the Cree during the community consultation in 1977 to relocate the village of Nemaska in northern Quebec, due to flooding from a hydroelectric project. His research wasn't all serious. In 1977, he was the keynote speaker at a Victoria conference on monsters and talked about Witigo, the Sasquatch-like creature that supposedly tramped around the eastern subarctic. 'He's very large, very strong, dirty, hairy and ugly,' he told The Spectator. 'He lives a solitary kind of life in the bush surviving on a diet of warm-blooded creatures, preferably humans.' He got into his vocation by chance. Richard Preston in 1974 when it was announced he would lead a three-year McMaster research project to compile Cree history, folklore and skills and incorporate it all into the Cree school curriculum. 'As an adult, after several brief careers and adventures, I wound up making about 30 trips to James Bay in northwestern Quebec and northeastern Ontario,' he said on his website. 'There, I and (often) my family sojourned in Cree coastal communities where it became my vocation to try and understand what it had been like living the traditional seasonal round in the bush — how life looked like from inside of other people's homes.' Richard Joseph Preston was born May 5, 1931, in the United States to Richard and Alice Preston. His father was a forester who became dean of the School of Forestry at North Carolina State University. He studied at the University of Chicago and the University of North Carolina. He obtained a PhD in cultural anthropology from the latter. He was assistant professor of anthropology at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., between 1965 and 1971. Preston came to McMaster in 1971 to work in its new department of anthropology. He retired in 1996 and served as a professor emeritus. He got his Canadian citizenship in the 1970s. Between 1982 and 1996, Preston headed up a McMaster research project to study the impact of northern Ontario resource development on the subarctic. It focused on hydroelectric projects on five major rivers, which drain into the James and Hudson bays. It also included mining activity and gas pipelines. Preston was active in the local peace community. A Quaker, he was chair of the local Canadian Department of Peace Initiative and a member of Culture of Peace Hamilton. He spoke at the 2012 Hiroshima-Nagasaki Never Again event. He received numerous awards. In 2006, he received the Weaver-Tremblay Award for his contribution to applied anthropology from the Canadian Anthropology Society. He received a World Citizenship Award in 2011 from the city's mundialization committee. Preston is survived by his wife Betty, children Sarah, Alice, Susan, David and Richard, two stepchildren, Dan and Tim, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Sarah, in 1991. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
A Cree Sesame Street – John and Friends use puppets to teach Cree culture on JBCCS show
John and Friends, recently launched by the James Bay Cree Communications Society, teaches Cree language, culture and traditions through songs, stories and laughter. The children's program is an entertaining and educational puppet show starring an elderly couple and their animal friends in Mistissini. Since debuting April 11, the half-hour pilot episode has amassed over 30,000 views on the JBCCS Facebook page. Founded in 1981 and broadcasting Cree news since 1986, the non-profit regional radio network is increasingly publishing video content to reach wider audiences. 'We're losing our language and trying to compete with iPhones and iPads,' said show creator Patrick Forward. 'What better way than create our own Cree Sesame Street with a little English, a little Cree and a whole lot of fun and learning for the kids?' With the support of JBCCS executive director Scott Forward, the team worked with US-based Axtell Expressions to adapt puppets to Cree culture. A reindeer was converted to a moose, a white goose transformed into a Canada goose and the facial features and skin-tone of the old man and woman resemble Cree people. Patrick Forward worked primarily with Jason Swallow and Noah William Jolly behind the scenes to bring the idea to life. The show revolves around Cree Elder John and his wife Mary Anne at their bush camp. They are joined by Morley the Moose, Ghaline the Goose, and the mischievous crow twins, Ka and Kachoo. As in Sesame Street, the puppet characters interact with real people. The first episode features a discussion with former Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty about what she eats for breakfast and how her friends help her in her role. Gull-Masty also reads from the children's book she wrote about her dogs, called Minnie and Monica Make New Friends. Besides playing Ghaline, Kitty Mary Neeposh hosts a segment making bead earrings while Phoebe Blacksmith leads an exercise routine. Production was a learning process, particularly in using green screens that enable visually complex digital backgrounds without the need for costly sets. Currently working on episodes two and three, JBCCS is aiming to release six more this year. Thy plan another 12 for the second season next year. 'We were thinking if we should get an actual set, houses, locations,' said Swallow, the show's co-director and co-writer. 'The easiest way was using green screen. The first episode was learning how we can produce in a certain timeline. Wapikoni has been teaching me camera work.' Samuel Macleod drew inspiration from the classic animated squirrel and moose duo Rocky and Bullwinkle for his voicing of Morley the Moose. With a longstanding interest in the iconic Muppet creations of Jim Henson, he's been excited to learn puppeteering alongside his Morley stand-in, Justin Ryan Swallow. 'We've both been into that since we were children,' Macleod shared. 'It's cool learning how to give puppets life. My son didn't realize I was voicing the moose but told me it was his favourite character. I told him it was me and his mind was blown.' In the second episode, Morley the Moose will be teaching kids the colours in Cree and Macleod hopes to eventually pass on skills like making fishnets, which he has fond memories of doing with his grandfather. Future segments focus on people and places in the community, cooking and singing. 'We eventually want to put together an interactive website so kids can pick a puppet to learn to count to 20, colours, weather, trees,' Forward explained. 'The younger ones absorb it like sponges. Making the Cree language fun means they're going to learn and want to continue to do it.' Forward remembers when his mother Georgina, a teacher for 40 years, used puppets during English lessons as 'the best times ever.' Now she's a major part of John and Friends, teaching the Cree language in the role of Mary Anne. Georgina Forward asserted that learning begins with a strong foundation in hearing and speaking Cree. John and Friends helps accomplish this goal, as the characters alternate between English and Cree (with English subtitles). 'We make mistakes and don't know certain words, but we help one another,' she said. 'We have lots of laughs. Children will see it's okay to make a mistake and laugh about it because someone will help you.' Working alongside Clarence Snowboy (who plays John), Georgina Forward noted the many opportunities to learn, from the puppeteering adventures to expanding their Cree vocabularies. She was challenged to recall ingredients in Cree during a non-puppet segment demonstrating how to make bread. 'One person told me you encouraged me to make bread for Easter,' she said. 'You'll see me making cookies and probably see me sing. I would love to get a group of kindergarten children who can sit with the puppets and sing with us – that would be a hit.' Swallow said they're trying to get singers involved as John and Friends becomes a bigger focus at JBCCS. The organization's team and programming continue to grow, from the Speak Cree to Me series to an upcoming project investigating local paranormal stories. There are already discussions with the Cree Health Board and Cree School Board about developing special programming that can be screened in classrooms, such as a bus safety campaign. 'We have lots of people interested in contributing,' said Patrick Forward. 'As they start to teach Cree in Grade 1, we could maybe help with curriculum. Same thing with daycares. We can help them have materials to teach our kids Cree and make our language good and strong again.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
20 hours ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Digging for Opportunity – Crees take greater role in mining industry
With Eeyou Istchee recognized as a top-tier global mining destination, Cree leaders are now more visible at influential industry events. A pragmatic approach to government-industry collaboration has enabled extensive Cree participation in the region's exploration and extraction projects. At the Resourcing Tomorrow conference in London last December, former Grand Chief Mandy Gull-Masty emphasized that as sustainability is central to project development, collaboration must focus on mitigating long-lasting impacts while promoting development opportunities and knowledge sharing with community members. 'Engaging early with the Indigenous community allows for the protection of your investment,' Gull-Masty asserted. 'It removes barriers to communication and surprises in the project management chain. Social acceptability begins with the point of contact.' Most companies operating in Eeyou Istchee today appear to have learned that lesson, partnering with communities to overcome resistance and engage local workforces. Ahead of a copper-gold exploration drilling campaign near Chibougamau this year, Cygnus Metals sponsored events and identified community priorities in Ouje-Bougoumou. 'Working with the community for a project that benefits them as well is important,' said Nick Kwong, the company's chief operating officer. 'It's producing well-paying, long-term jobs, building that training so the next generations can be part of the workforce. What's really nice in Ouje, there's a new training centre that was just built last year.' At the CIM Connect conference in Montreal May 4-7, Kwong worked with Jarris Gull, director of mining services at Waswanipi's Asinii Consulting. Waswanipi Development Corporation president Marcel Happyjack delivered a presentation about a transmission line the community built to connect the Windfall mine to the Hydro-Québec grid. Working relationships with mining companies have changed immensely since the Cree Mineral Exploration Board (CMEB) was created out of the Paix des Braves agreement in 2002. Its efforts at bridging companies with communities were acknowledged with a sustainable development award at the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association's gala in November. 'I've made conferences and presentations in Alberta, BC, Australia about how the Crees are doing,' said Youcef Larbi, CMEB chief geologist and director general. 'The Crees are doing very well because they thought about good strategy from the beginning, benefiting from this development that's going to happen anyways.' Noting violent confrontations worldwide between mining companies and Indigenous communities, Larbi suggested that Billy Diamond wisely negotiated a compromise with developers in the 1970s while the more resistant neighbouring Algonquins have remained relatively impoverished. With about 630 active projects in Eeyou Istchee, CMEB's mandate is to highlight the region's mineral potential while guiding exploration companies in respecting the people, culture and land. While mining claims are filed across nearly the whole territory, there are currently only about 30 significant projects. 'There are a thousand projects before you get one off the ground,' Larbi explained. 'We have seven Cree exploration companies and 30 Cree prospectors on the land, all of them independent. The Australians can't be here, so they deal with our companies.' After new provincial regulations introduced last year, exploration companies must apply for authorization to carry out work like excavation or rock stripping that impacts the land. The CMEB communicates extensively with the Cree Trappers' Association about activities on the land while promoting the hiring of Crees to increase social acceptability. Although gold was CMEB's initial focus, lithium is increasingly important and, despite Stornoway's bankruptcy, a huge diamond deposit remains. Altogether, Larbi estimated that less than 200 Crees work directly in mining, which he suggested wasn't necessarily bad because 'mines are not a way of life' and rarely active more than 15 years. He believes their geology program at Centre d'études collégiales à Chibougamau in partnership with Apatisiiwin Skills Development (ASD) offers more empowering career opportunities. Although the challenging program's success rate is less than half, graduates are in high demand. ASD provides training funds and salary subsidies to promote Cree employment in the industry, working with companies to support Cree capacity building and developing courses to meet specific needs through the Cree School Board. At the Éléonore goldmine on Wemindji territory, the Opinagow Collaboration Agreement signed in 2011 states a goal of employing as many Crees as possible. Although Newmont sold the mine to Dhilmar in November, regular on-site training programs should continue. At the end of 2024, 53 of its 807 employees were Cree. 'They're predominantly heavy equipment operators,' said ASD program manager Stephane Petawabano. 'Unfortunately, the current workforce isn't too happy regarding their promotional opportunities. They see their peers climb the ladder faster, which is concerning.' With Cree turnover at the mine three times higher than average, a recent employee retention report revealed allegations of stereotypical attitudes and favouritism affecting promotions. The report addressed cultural communication differences and the challenges of being far from family. 'Some guys don't like working with women,' said Mary-Jane Rabbitskin. 'Some guys talked in French on the radio [thinking she couldn't understand] and I responded back. That's when they got quiet. I think for some Crees they put down their confidence – they can't get me.' Rabbitskin was one of only four Crees selected from 200 applicants for Éléonore's semi-annual training program. She thinks the other woman in her cohort quit after some explosives blasting underground were too close for comfort. With experience driving 12-wheelers in Chisasibi, Rabbitskin enjoyed driving all types of trucks in the mine. 'I got to drive 45-ton and 60-ton trucks underground,' Rabbitskin said. 'At first it was scary because it was so dark – it was really deep. But I was confident and good at it and I'm going back again.' She'll initially be working above-ground with Tawich Construction when returning to the site next month. Saying that there's demand for drivers at the Galaxy lithium mine near Km381 of the Billy Diamond Highway, Rabbitskin appealed for more women to join the profession. 'In Chisasibi, people are so proud to see a woman be a truck driver and I'd like to see that in the mining industry,' said Rabbitskin. 'I've always been all alone. I see little girls wanting me to use the biggest horn and I get so proud. A woman told me her girl saw me and wants to be a truck driver too.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
20 hours ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Catching Babies at Home – Cree midwifery celebrates historic milestone
An amendment to provincial regulations governing midwifery that took effect May 22 enables Indigenous trainees in community-based programs to provide full perinatal care throughout pregnancy, birth and new life. The change follows a campaign by the Cree Health Board, the Inuulitsivik Health Centre, the Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec and other organizations. 'We changed the law,' said Jasmine Chatelain, managing director of the CHB midwifery education program. 'Now our students are no longer limited and can learn all requirements for becoming a licensed midwife. The by-product is that Indigenous people can become midwives.' The health board's groundbreaking midwifery training program, Eeyou Istchee Pimâtîsuwin Chiskutimâchuwin (EIPC), launched last July with four learners in Chisasibi and one in Waskaganish. But they were legally restricted from delivering a baby and other procedures, such as injections and vaginal exams. The CHB hired students as Primary Care Community Representatives to provide counselling, take blood pressure, weigh babies, and check an unborn baby's position in the womb. Learning side-by-side with practicing midwives, they supported childbirth with what Chatelain calls 'four-handed catches'. 'Our program is focused on learning by doing so every single client has a student who follows them,' Chatelain explained. 'They do all the pre-natal and post-natal visits, a lot of the counselling and education, partly because they speak Cree. Our students can go on medevacs when women are transferred in labour or for something urgent.' However, before the regulatory change, only students in a Trois-Rivières university program and immigrating midwives in approved bridging programs were allowed to perform many professional acts. Despite Nunavik's longstanding community education program, Indigenous trainees were completely omitted from the law. The Ordre des sages-femmes du Québec regulates midwifery acts in the province, and were instrumental partners in lobbying the government to change the law. The OSFQ also collaborated with the EIPC program to ensure Cree graduates have equivalent competencies to university programs. 'We could not have done this without them,' Chatelain asserted. 'They've been very outspoken about being in this tricky position, responsible for public safety and wanting to be part of reconciliation, supporting Indigenous self-determination.' Several individuals and organizations issued letters of support for the regulatory change, including the National Council of Indigenous Midwives. It currently applies to four Indigenous midwifery programs running in Quebec's Cree, Inuit, Akwesasne and Innu communities. While expectant mothers from Nunavik were sent to Moose Factory starting in the 1970s, women began refusing to leave and communities mobilized to create the Inuulitsivik Midwifery Service in 1986. The EIPC program worked extensively with Inuulitisivik education coordinator Kimberly Moorhouse and her team to develop its curriculum. As the self-paced program requires trainees to attend 60 births, they will have access to clinical learning opportunities outside of the region to increase their birth volume, such as the Inuulitsivik Health Centre or Val-d'Or hospital. Expanding their exposure to different skill sets and environments will better prepare trainees to expect the unexpected. 'In Chisasibi now, we're doing 85% or 90% of pregnancies,' said Chatelain. 'Once a month, students lead a breastfeeding drop-in and it will be up to 30 people showing up. Every time the students do something public, we have an amazing turnout, so the community is really responding to it.' By the end of March, the Chisasibi trainees had accompanied 22 births, 300 pre-natal visits, 177 post-natal visits and 45 school workshops and community health education activities. Pre-natal and post-natal midwifery services expanded to Waskaganish last September, with births expected to begin towards the end of this year. Midwives are already doing 80% of follow-ups. One student began in Waskaganish in March with another to be added when capacity is available. A third birthing hub will eventually be developed in Mistissini. 'In labour, mothers are going right into their maternal language so having people there who can speak with them is incredible,' said Chatelain. 'There's a level of empathy. These students know what it's like to have their baby in Val-d'Or so can connect with these women in a way no other midwife can.' The EIPC program began with a week on the land, making a teepee, gathering medicines and learning traditional ceremonies. Elder Jane Matthew has shared her wealth of lifetime experience, from catching her first baby at about age 7 to her last one three years ago at age 91. 'We did a demonstration of how it was done a long time ago when women gave birth in the teepee,' recalled student Linda Gray. 'There was a placenta ceremony and naming ceremony. That helped me connect with my roots. It was awesome how the course started off.' Gray embodies the commitment of Cree midwives to reclaim the traditional practice, moving from Mistissini last summer to join this first cohort. Coming from a lineage of midwives, Gray has experienced the joy of witnessing babies being born surrounded by their families without having to leave their community. Although there are challenges participating in a program that continues to evolve and being on call all week to meet mothers, Gray wouldn't have it any other way. She believes bringing births back to the territory makes family bonds stronger with young fathers becoming more involved. 'When you catch that baby you're overjoyed,' Gray said. 'My first baby I attended to, I was crying with the little girl there at the birth of her sister. It's magical. We have a planned teepee birth this summer, so I'm excited for that. It will be my first time.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Montreal Gazette
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Montreal Gazette
Dunlevy: Montreal documentary hunts for stolen indigenous masks that inspired surrealists
The repatriation and restitution of art and cultural materials is a hot topic these days. A prime example is estates trying to reclaim objects taken by the Nazis or sold by Jews under duress as they fled Germany. But there's another example closer to home. Montrealer Joanna Robertson and Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond's absorbing new documentary So Surreal: Behind the Masks explores what happened to Yup'ik and Kwakwaka'wakw ceremonial masks taken from these indigenous tribes in Alaska and British Columbia's northwest coast more than a century ago by traders, government officials and collectors. The masks were brought as far as New York, where they inspired some of the great European surrealist artists, who were living in exile mid-century, and eventually made their way to auction houses, world-famous museums and private collections. Leading us on an investigative journey to learn the significance of these masks, the circumstances of their removal and where they ended up is Diamond. He appears on camera throughout the film as an unassuming, intrepid protagonist, pushing the narrative forward with playful determination. He has done the same in his other films, including 2009's Reel Injun, which examined the problematic portrayals of Native Americans in Hollywood westerns, earning him and co-directors Catherine Bainbridge and Jeremiah Hayes three Gemini Awards and a Peabody Award. 'I've gotten quite comfortable (on screen),' Diamond said recently, over coffee with Robertson at Outremont's Croissanterie Le Figaro. 'Sometimes I forget the camera's rolling and I just act real goofy.' 'I think people appreciate it,' Robertson said. 'You bring a lot of humour to these (potentially) doom and gloom situations.' One amazing shot in the documentary shows Diamond puffing on a cigarette as he rides a bicycle down the middle of the road in the bustling Champs Élysées, with the Eiffel Tower behind him, and ponders his next move. Inspired by their subjects, the filmmakers take a surrealist approach to the storytelling as they weave together disparate clues and different ways of seeing the situation. On the one hand are Yup'ik tribe members who are happy to see their masks being preserved and showcased under the same roof as the Mona Lisa: One magical moment finds Yup'ik artist and storyteller Chuna McIntyre singing and dancing joyously as he approaches one of his tribe's masks on display at the Louvre, during an after-hours visit. On the other are members the Kwakwaka'wakw and their allies, who are in a continuing fight to see their masks — including many stolen during Canada's Potlach ban in 1921 — come home. At the heart of the intrigue is a quest to locate a mystical Raven Transformation Mask and possibly converse with its current owner about its eventual return. Somewhere in the middle are the wild surrealists — Max Ernst, André Breton, Roberto Matta, Enrico Donati and Joan Miró — and their friends, including famed French anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, who were endlessly stimulated by the otherworldly dreamscapes evoked by these masks. The extent to which they were aware of how these artifacts were obtained is unclear. 'I'm grateful we're able to shine a light on these stories, which are so fundamental to our understanding of who we are — of colonization and also the importance of Indigenous storytelling and culture,' Robertson said. 'The surrealists saw something — they lived through war after war after war — and they saw something in these masks, however problematic, as a reminder there's another way of being, and of seeing the world.' She expressed hope their film can foster empathy toward indigenous communities and all that they have lost. 'Yeah,' Diamond agreed, 'because if you lose your culture, you have nothing else.'
