Remembrance Day: Honoring our Veterans

/0 Comments/in , /by

November 11th is a day to remember those who fought for our future and safety. 

The Listuguj Veteran’s Committee held the Remembrance day ceremonies at the Listuguj Community Development Center this year. It started at 10:30 a.m.

Half of the (Bingo) Hall was decorated, with a long table running midway through the room to accommodate our veterans.

At the front laid the Canadian, American, Prisoners of War, Listuguj American Veterans Flags,  along with the Veteran’s Cenotaph.

Shortly after the doors opened, people started filling the seats.

“I was very amazed with the turnout,” said Mary Bradstreet, one of the organizers. “This was a larger attendance – much more than what we usually get.” 

The service started with the Spirit Bear drum group, singing, while the veteran’s entered. After placing the flags alongside the cenotaph, the veterans took their seats at the table.

The ceremony opened, and Bradstreet introduced Chief Darcy Gray. He spoke of the profound impact these men had on the families, here at home.

Peter Arseneault, Chief of Police,  also spoke of the connections to family.

“There is a lot of pride – family pride – with individuals that have served in the military,” he said. 

Arsenault also noted that there’s been somewhat of a revival in honoring veterans of the past, and those of today.

The Royal Canadian Legion used to hold Remembrance Day ceremonies in Listuguj. However, many veterans served in the American Armed Forces, not the Canadian. This created some issues, and the ceremonies were ultimately discontinued.

“We didn’t have that voice or presence of the veterans for a long long time,” Arsenault said.

In 2009, the Veteran’s Committee was created to change that. The first step was creating a veteran’s monument. It was unveiled at AGS, on June 21st, 2010.

The next step was establishing a permanent home for our Veterans.

“We talked about the Veterans Lodge,” Bradstreet said. “This goes all the way back to when Michael Isaac Sr. was still alive and well. That was his dream, to have a veteran’s lodge. John Melvin Vicaire, Patrick Isaac, James Isaac – they were  key, instrumental, in getting that Veteran’s Lodge.”

Remembrance Day holds a lot of meaning for many of us.

It’s important that we continue to remember, and honor, all that these men sacrificed, for the good of their families, and the community.

Salmon Summit 3

Salmon Summit 3

/0 Comments/in , , /by

The Salmon Summit has been held in Listuguj for three years now. It was created to bring people and organizations with interests in the Restigouche watershed together.

Over the course of two days, Salmon Summit 3 was held at the Bingo Hall. Discussions and focus group sessions were held, showing the amount of work and data that needs to be analyzed and shared.

The summit began as a means to talk about the diverse relationships with the salmon, but is now growing into a truly collaborative approach to managing and protecting the water, and all that it sustains.

There are people like Carole-Anne Gillis, a cost-shared fisheries biologist, working for several organizations, to gather information and understand Everything from stock assessments, to testing fish for viruses or bacterial infections.

“We’re doing a lot of basic fundamental research,” Gillis said. “To answer questions that we can then follow through with management.”

The benefit of the summit, is various groups can work toward mutually beneficial goals. The first step, however, is Identifying the challenges to achieving them.

“Discussion groups today were about identifying them,” said Kirt Dedam, the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy Coordinator, with Listuguj Fisheries. “How can we work toward solutions? So that everybody – when they go away today, will have something to work towards.”

The hope is that people can return next year, for Salmon Summit 4, and say they followed through with their commitments.

“This is how we want to keep growing this thing,” Dedam said.

The summit has always been intended to serve multiple purposes. Representing the Aboriginal perspective has always been one of the key goals. Dedam believes a lot of people were taking this perspective away with them this year.

“There’s a lot of talk about ‘two-eyed seeing,’” Dedam said. “Seeing from a western science and an Aboriginal perspective too. But how do you blend the two?  So I think that’s one of the things that people get from these meetings. Plus, we learn more about the science that’s going on, which is important too. ”

A main focus has always been building relationships and trust among the various groups, and Dedam was pleased to see a lot of participation this year.

Discussions around what the future may hold for the summit has also begun.

“We’re starting to expand our view,” Dedam said. “And where we want to go with this is maybe inviting other watersheds in the area, from other provinces, other communities, other First Nations, and start being more inclusive, and keep growing this.”

Many aspects to wellness

/0 Comments/in , /by

The 23rd annual Wellness Fair kicked off in the usual way, with a march from Subway to the Powwow grounds at 8 AM.  As always, the Wellness Fair was a family event, equipped with an inflatable playground, and breaks for games, like a fair-wide “rock, paper, scissors” tournament. Organizer called it one of the best attended Wellness Fairs in recent years.

“One Wellness Fair is never the same as a previous one,” said Sheila Swasson. Haven House hosts the event.

This year, many aspects of physical and mental wellness were addressed, but it had a clear focus on language. Many presenters in the morning spoke entirely in Mi’gmaq. Others spoke partially in Mi’gmaq.
“If we don’t start working toward revitalizing our language, within 30 years, there will be no Mi’mgaq speakers in Listuguj,” said Swasson.

Lorna Sook, Listuguj Education Director, told the crowd about the struggles of the Listuguj Education Directorate in finding a way to address the threats facing the language.

Sook eventually attended a conference at Mount Allison University, where she heard that the only way to save a language is through immersion programs. And immersion programs will only work if they are complete. “I came back with that message, frightened,” said Sook. “Having to make a decision on relocating the Mi’gmaq Immersion Program out of the Gitpu School, and it will be located in a section the Education Complex.”

The Immersion classes will be isolated, in an attempt to reduce the tendency to switch back to english. After a certain point, people will only be allowed to speak Mi’gmaq.

Like every year, the Wellness Fair had many presenters under the big tent, and lots of gifts to give away. Presenters spoke on a variety of topics related to all aspects of “wellness.” Denny Isaac, of the GMRC spoke about the importance of water. Dr. Fred Metallic was able to keep with the Mi’gmaq language theme, while also giving a first-hand account of how preventing violence can apply to different levels. He told the story — partially in English, and partially in Mi’gmaq — of his doctoral thesis, and the battle to write it in Mi’gmaq, and defend it in Mi’gmaqi.

He referenced a banner “Family violence is not a Mi’gmaq way of life” carried in the march earlier that day. “Well neither is institutional violence a Mi’gmaq way of life,” he said. “To insist that indigenous students only speak English or French is a form of violence.”

2015 Wellness Fair

/0 Comments/in /by

The Wellness Fair started the year after the Pow Wow, and it’s now held the Friday of Pow Wow weekends. This is its 22nd year in a row.

150 people estimated to attend – that’s the amount of shirts they buy. And they know it’s growing.

It all starts with a march from subway to the tent, where there are presentations, and then kiosks from various local organizations open up.

“We have a vast amount of resources in our community,” said Sheila Swasson. “And this is their opportunity to  showcase what they do.” 

The fair is hosted by Haven House, which has a mandate that includes creating awareness for family violence prevention.

The keynote speaker is Tuma Young, from Cape Breton University.

“I think he’s focusing on technology, and the impact that it’s having on culture,” said Swasson.

Dominque Loyer, a Naturopath originally from Listuguj will be presenting.  Families First and the Anti-Racism Strategy will also be giving presentations.

Swasson feels the fair is appropriately named – it’s all aimed at “wellness.”

“Every aspect of it,” Swasson said. “And it’s a personal thing … I always think of it [as] a journey.

It’s not a destination, so it’s something that you’re continually working at, and we’re all at different places along that way.”

Swasson hopes people will find something to improve their wellness, in any  way.

“Take what you need, if you don’t need it – leave it behind.”