Top News - October - 2004 International writers meet up in Eden Mills Native firefighters recognized for long service University expands This is only a partial listing of the stories featured in the October 2004 issue of Birchbark. If you are not receiving your own copy of Birchbark, then you have missed out on a lot. Click here for Birchbark subscription information. International writers meet up in Eden Mills Jennifer Chung, Birchbark Writer, Six Nations It was a night like any other in the sleepy town of Eden Mills when an author named Leon Rooke came across a woman who told him, "Aside from arson, burglary, illegal moonshining, wife and husband-swapping etc., nothing of interest ever happens in this God-forsaken village." The woman, a fellow writer, inspired Rooke to launch the Eden Mills Writers' Festival. Sept. 12 marked the 14th year of the festival where authors from Canada and the United States come together to share their work with their peers and fellow book lovers. The jam-packed day was filled with food, live music and a book fair. It was also an opportunity for thousands of event-goers to meet their favourite writers and hear them read their work. In the Aboriginal authors' area, the line-up included Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Joseph Bruchac, Simon J. Oritz, Eden Robinson and Drew Hayden Taylor. Representing the Six Nations Writers Group were Yvonne Beaver, Lorrie L. Gallant, Stephanie J. Styres and Lisa VanEvery. Other sections in the festival included the fringe genre, as well as young adults' writers, children's writers and French language writers. Bruchac is an Abenaki storyteller, poet and author of more than 100 books for adults and children such The Warriors, Ndakinna/Our Land and Above the Line. Hailing from Greenfield Center, N.Y., Bruchac has strong family ties to members of the Odanak First Nation in Quebec. Aside from catching up with old friends, Bruchac said the festival was a great way for Aboriginal authors to gain exposure for their work. "It's a way to draw attention to the large number of Aboriginal writers that have appeared over the last few decades. It's really quite exciting both in Canada and in the United States to see how many Native writers are being published and how many are being praised for their work," said Bruchac. "It's important to measure Aboriginal writing not just in a limited context, but against all writing; to think of Aboriginal literature as a part of world literature, not even just Canadian literature, but world literature that can stand on its own feet and be measured equally to any good writing anywhere in the world." Sharing a selection from her upcoming book Blood Sports was Haisla author Robinson, who was thrilled to be back at the festival. From Kitimaat, B.C., Robinson said she relishes the chance to mingle and meet new people. "(Writing festivals are) invaluable when you have your down time and you need a little pick-me-up and you just want to talk to other people. You hear how they've gone through the same stuff that you're going through and that's just what you need," said Eden Robinson, whose first novel, Monkey Beach, was a finalist for the 2000 Giller Prize and received glowing reviews. Although Eden Mills is a great venue, according to Robinson, she said it was uncomfortable for her to be separated by her cultural background into an Aboriginal authors' section. Robinson said it felt "a little old fashioned." "The only thing we have in common is that we're all Native writers. When we have the Scottish writers of Canada then I'll stop feeling segregated. But a lot of groups are going through the same thing. The folks from the Atlantic are going 'Well, they always stick us in the Atlantic section' ... and it's one of those boxes," said Robinson. Lorrie Gallant is a Brantford-based storyteller and author of the children's book Bread and Cheese, about the annual celebration on Six Nations commemorating Queen Victoria's tradition of giving the gift of bread and cheese to Aboriginal people for their loyalty. It was her children's curiosity about her childhood that inspired Gallant to write about her own experiences growing up on the Six Nations reserve. "(My children) always asked what it was like to grow up on a reserve. 'What did you do? What did you take for lunch?' And they'd go on and on like it was some fairy tale land. So I started to journal stories about what I did ... out of that came a little series of stories," said Gallant. Since Bread and Cheese was published, it has become a part of the Grade 2 social studies curriculum across Canada. This fall, the book is being translated into the Mohawk language and is being reviewed by the Six Nations Education Commission for use in schools on reserve. Gallant is a full-time writer who is currently working on a series of monologues called Life on the Six and an adventure series for children. As a First Nation storyteller, Gallant said she hopes her books will help educate non-Native children and adults. For her Aboriginal readers, Gallant said her work is a celebration of the culture they share. "It's still a positive opportunity to share something that I've got ... my stories are very personal because they're about me. So it's like being able to first-hand give it to somebody as a gift almost," said Gallant. Top Native firefighters recognized for long service Joan Taillon, Birchbark Writer, Niagara Falls This year marked the ninth time the Ontario First Nations Technical Service Corporation (OFNTSC) held an annual technical conference and trade show, but it was the first time they invited firefighters to join in. OFNTSC fire safety officer Brian Staats, who co-ordinated the event, said they wanted to include "all three major organizations out there that deal with some kind of technical services." He said "We've always had ... the Aboriginal Water & Wastewater Association as part of us, and this was the very first time that the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society actually brought their expertise into our agenda." OFNTSC held the event to coincide with the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society's annual conference and the Aboriginal Water & Wastewater Association of Ontario's annual general assembly and training conference. The collaboration is being called a great success. It was the firefighters 14th conference and the water and wastewater association's 10th. The OFNTSC conference ran Sept. 27 to 30. The annual banquet and awards ceremony, emceed by OFNTSC executive director Michael Nepinak, was held Sept. 29 in Niagara Falls and included all three organizations. Staats said a rough approximation of the number of attendees were 86 delegates for the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society, 92 for the Aboriginal Water & Wastewater Association, and more than 230 for OFNTSC. "Everybody has their own, we call them 'track training.' The fire fighters as well as the Aboriginal Water & Wastewater Association come to our plenary session, the opening address and everything else like that, then they break off into their own conference," said Staats. "We all joined back up on Wednesday for the trade show, as well as the banquet." The Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society, which organized the firefighters' conference, conducted its own awards presentations. Twenty-three men received the Governor General of Canada Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal award at the banquet. Tom Littlechild, president of the National Aboriginal Firefighters Association and fire protection manager for Siksika Nation Fire Department in Alberta was on hand to present the firefighters with their medals. Medal recipients from Akwesasne First Nation were Frank Lacerenza, Ivan Ransom, Dennis Phillips, Richard Phillips, Robert Lazore, Charlie Jacobs, Merlin McDonald, Richard Sunday, Cecil Ransom, James Sunday, Norman Peters, John Lazore and Jerome McDonald. Allan J. Manitowabi and Richard C. Monague from Christian Island First Nation received the award, as did Cecil E. Issac from Walpole Island First Nation. Recipients from Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation were Patrick C. Jamieson, David A. Martin, Jonas Hill, Frank G. Jamieson, Howard VanEvery, Randall E. Thomas and Barry D. Hill. Littlechild said about the awards ceremony, "I would have to give hats off to the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society for starting that. They started it about three years ago. Best of my knowledge no one across the country has actually done it as a whole, to bring all the First Nation award recipients (from one province) together at one night to get their actual awards. "I'm hoping to get it going here in Alberta as well." Staats explained one reason the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society joined the OFNTSC conference, instead of running it totally separate as in past years. "This year, one of their big things that they wanted to do is to promote or to show the general public in Ontario First Nations country that the medals that were going to be received for exemplary services was a pretty prestigious medal to obtain. "You had to have 20 years of service with a volunteer fire department," he said, and some firefighters have substantially more. The award is from the Governor General of Canada, but Ontario Native Fire Fighters distributes the medals. Staats explained, "Until three years ago, the Ontario First Nation firefighters were not totally clear on how to obtain exemplary service medals," and few First Nations firefighters had received awards. "The Ontario ... society took it upon themselves to go back to the Governor General of Canada awards people and try and push for First Nations to receive the medals." Staats said the usual route is for the office of the provincial fire marshall "scrutineer group" to go through the awards applications and check back with band councils or First Nation fire departments to find out if nominees had the correct number of years of service and to collect documentation. "But what happened is that the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society entered into an agreement with the office of the fire marshall in Ontario (to) manage the program for First Nation firefighters. "The First Nation firefighters were still eligible to go through the office of the fire marshall if they wished. But to remove some of the stumbling blocks the Ontario Native Firefighters took it upon themselves to go and start to manage or facilitate this program." That has resulted in more recognition for Native firefighters. "Two years ago, in Thunder Bay, there was a ceremony for ... 12 individuals, and for this ceremony in 2004 at the Hilton Niagara Falls, they had 24," Brian Staats said. The process involves submitting information to Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society president Eugene McPherson's office. McPherson goes through the applications and contacts each firefighter's First Nation to verify the information before forwarding it to the office of the fire marshall, according to Staats. That office likewise reviews the applications and then checks with the Governor General's office to make sure each nominee has not previously received a medal, as it is a one-time honour. When it is determined that everything is in order, the Governor General's office contacts the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society and "tells them who is and who is not eligible for the award," Staats said, adding it usually takes five or six months to complete this process. At that point the Governor General's office mails the medals to the Ontario Native Fire Fighters Society to be held for the ceremony. The firefighters were still talking about the national firefighters competition held Sept. 18. Norway House First Nation of Manitoba won and Wikwemikong Unceded First Nation which had won the Ontario provincials came second. Wikwemikong's fire chief Bernie Brant attended the OFNTSC conference. Another of the highlights at the banquet was the presentation of two OFNTSC science and technology awards to a student from Northern Ontario and a student from the south. The awards encourage Native people to participate in those fields of study, and recognize the time, dedication and sacrifice necessary to graduate. The students honoured this year were Leslie Papineau from Akwesasne, who is studying architecture at Carlton University, and Sydney Mamakwa from Wunnumin Lake, who is studying civil engineering technology at Confederation College. OFNTSC is headquartered at the New Credit First Nation in Mississauga and has service centres in Toronto and Thunder Bay. This year the Toronto office put on the conference, next year Thunder Bay will take it on. Top University expands PETERBOROUGH-The official opening of the Peter Gzowski College, Enweying building and the First Peoples House of Learning takes place at Trent University on Oct. 16, expanding multiple student services and education supports for both Native and non-Native students. The Enweying building-Enweying being an Anishinaabe word for "the way we speak together"-houses both the Peter Gzowski College and the First Peoples House of Learning. The new First People's House of Learning includes performance space, gathering space, ceremonial space, an atrium, a lecture hall and the Native studies department. | Popular journalist and CBC broadcaster Peter Gzowski, who became chancellor of Trent three years before he died in 2002, was known for his interest in Aboriginal people and environmental causes. The college named after him includes a 250-bed residence, dining hall and academic office space. The vision statement of First Peoples House of learning influenced the design of the Enweying building. Trent describes that vision as honouring the land and "creating a respectful community as a beacon." By distributing aspects of First Peoples House throughout the college, students and visitors are reminded that Aboriginal people live throughout Canada and may be met anywhere and everywhere. President and vice-chancellor Bonnie Patterson, Chancellor Roberta Bondar, head of Peter Gzowski College David Newhouse, and Curve lake First Nation Chief Keith Knott will welcome many distinguished guests, including drum groups, Elder Edna Manitowabi, the Otonaabe Women's Handdrum Singers, the Chippewa Travellers who will perform an honour song, representatives of the Gzowski family, government officials and many others to the celebration. The day will begin with a sunrise ceremony and fire at the tipi on site. Public tours of the Enweying building will be ongoing throughout the day. Top