Fulfilling my treaty rights

Today on July 30, 2007...

What a time to come back home, today was treaty day. There was no bread and cheese, instead I got cold hard coin. There is always a debate amoungst the people during this time of year about how we feel about getting the $4 a year, although the agreement is signed in 1905. I am not sure about how much the $4 would be worth in todays currency with modern day inflation, but it would be a healty sum for sure. But people still line up though, the elders line up with pride and the young people are excited to get their small share to head to the local store to fill up on a pop and chip (as they say back home.).

Here is my treay day story in pictures...

Always approach the government representative with a smile, this makes the transaction much more painless. I've often wondered how they feel giving out small currency to line up filled with a bunch of "indians."

In order to prove that I am worthy of my money, I must hand over my status card.

She then gladly accepts it, looks up my name in the ledger. Under my name, there is an amount of how much I am intitled to and a bar-code.

She then hands me over the ledger and I sign it. She then takes back the ledger, scans the bar-code and I move on to the final step.
Because I didn't cash in for 3 years, I am intitled to $12.00. RCMP officer, Jean Roy hands over my money, on behalf of the Queen of England.

Here I am with my childhood friend, Phoebe Sutherland-Foster and RCMP officer, Jean Roy. Jean and I go back 5 years or so, we did a regional workshop together. I am so glad that he was here representing the RCMP, he is one of the most honourable men I have ever met.

Thank you Phoebe for capturing my treaty day story in pictures. You an okay photographer, however, you are the best friend anyone can ever ask for.

Man, I am so happy to be home!!!

HOME

On July 28th, 2007...

I made it home safe and sound with no delays, cancellations, terminations, exterminations, or frustrations. For northern travel, that says alot.


Here is the approach into Moosonee airport. We are looking off right towards Moose Factory. I flew into home so many times, and the sight of the mighty Moose River never gets old.

Here I am with my uncle Stan Louttit and our boat taxi driver Wayne Small. The best part of coming home is being surrounded by water. I just love it all, coming over on the taxi, driving on the river road, walking down the bank or running in the rain on the trail down the bank at the back of the island.

It's so great to be home.....Keep posted, there is lots going on.

Team Fourskins go all the way!

On Friday July 17, 2007... at The Tidewather Golf Classic in Timmins, Ontario.


Team Fourskins: Stan Wesley (me), Norm Wesley (my father), Angel Doucet and Terry Metatawabin. We had such a great time, although we were playing for fun, we also set a goal of 2 under par which also made it competitive. Our final score was even par, which was great for us fourskins. We were more pleased with the fact that we had tonnes of laughs throughout the course.

Why Fourskins? There are four of us, and we are all skins. There was an issue whether people would take the name the wrong way and get offended. Since I generally don't care what people think, we went ahead with it anyway.

Here is Terry Teeing off on the 7th. Terry is the Executive Director of Mushkegowuk Council, which donated the our entry fee for the tournament.


Here I trying to hit the ball on the 7th. I am the owner of The Wesley Group which supplied the team spirit and energy for the team.

My father also on the 7th. When my father called me a month ago or so about putting in a team, I had to jump at the opportunity. Since I don't see my father as much I would like, I take all the opportunities to see my folks.

Angel on the 6th tee. This was funny; she is reacting this way because the ball almost hit me. I guess you could say she came close to a hole in one. On the 13th hole, she came close to hitting Terry. It was so close; he actually caught the ball before it hit him in the head.

Angel was our last minute substitute, due to a cancellation a day before the event. Terry was over at Sportchek, sulking, and he asking around for any golfers that may be interested in playing with us. Angel, who works there, was introduced to Terry by another sales associate. She was an absolute delight; she put up with our jokes and played great.

Here are my cousins I haven't seen in a few years, Pat and Tony Chilton.

Slowly making my way home.

Going back to Moose Factory is always special, but this time it's a little more so. I usually jump on the plane and I'm home in a few hours, but this time I wanted to drive, at least most of the way. Since I had the time, I thought I would take advantage of enjoying my car, sirius radio, and my thoughts. This also freed up some space for family, I hauled up 20 dozen of sweet corn for my folks and a new toy for my brother Mike.

I left home last night, spent an hour or so in Rama, making a donation to the First Nations before heading to North Bay for the night. I spent some time this morning with Jody Cotter, you know, the safer sex lady I have been brewing up some future magic. She gave me so of the pics that were taken of me for the poster and billboard. One of her colleagues came in and complimented me in the photos, and I relied "thanks, I must take all the credit for that." We laughed, but I wasn't kidding. People usually have an uncomfortable time with compliments; there is nothing wrong with agreeing and saying thanks.

Stay tuned for more safer sex pics, poster and billboard information.


Here I am pulling into Timmins at exactly 2:24 pm. Check out the eagle feather, that was given to me by my out west uncle and my late aunt. I drove out west one year for a visit. At the conclusion of my month visit, I packing up the truck getting ready to leave and uncle comes storming around the corner in his ultra fast walk. He came rushing over with an eagle feather in his hand, and I knew something meaningful was about to happen. He explained "long time ago, when someone from far away would come pay a visit, we would give them a gift of a horse. Since giving you a horse would not be very practical (as he said while laughing), I thought I would give you this eagle feather. This will protect you in your journey home, and will protect you in all of your travels." I was very touched and I was more than happy to accept it.

From left to right: My brother Michael and Curt, Uncle Floyd and my father.

My brother Mike, a helicopter pilot, came to Moosonee to pick up my uncle to take him to Island in style. He was very pleased, actually very excited to sit in the front seat.

Golf tournament in Friday, I'll keep you posted on how much we win by.

Running Week In Review Part 5 / My friend John

Last Week's Distance: 30 km

Last Week's Time: 2:42:23

Last Week's Prediction for this week: 50 kilometers

This Week's Distance: 50.19 kilometers

This Week's Time: 4:31:39

This week was a little more challenging than I thought. The motivation is always there to head out for a run when my body is in good form and I'm not hurting. A few days ago, I tested my cat skills and failed miserably. If you missed it, I tripped over my footstool in the dark and hurt my knee. I took the next day off, however, I managed to make my mileage for this week. Because of my little injury, this week was probably the most challenging week yet.

Next Week's Prediction: 40 kms. A little bit less, since I'm playing in a golf tournament, travelling home and visiting my cousin. I'll call it a recovery week.

After running and sustaining some injuries along the way, I can't help but jot down some info on the following subject. What confuses from people about running is the following question;

Does running cause Arthritis?

I grew up playing a lot of sports, from the time I was a little guy I was always getting involved in physical activity. My community, Moose Factory, was blessed to have one of our all time best community minded citizens, John R. Delaney.

John's love for the YMCA movement and children motivated him to set up a YMCA program in Moose Factory. As a young guy, probably in grade 5, I got my first taste of the YMCA fair play atmosphere, I was hooked. I was always an above average player, in most sports I played, but there was something incredible about this new league. For most of my life until that moment, I was trapped in an elitist sporting environment. If you weren't the best, you weren't given the respect, or you were not allowed the ice time etc. In the YMCA, I was given the respect I always wanted through sports, great coaching from older community youth (who were quite patient I might add), and equal treatment.

As I matured in the YMCA, I moved from the junior boys basketball league to the senior basketball co-ed league. The senior league was a little more competitive, but the foundations of the YMCA remained the same. I then moved into The YMCA Leaders Corps. When I was a teen, The Leaders Corps was the most prestigious club on the island. This club offered the members important life skills and coaching skills to be utilized in the junior basketball program.

I recall at the end of our year, the Leaders Corps would celebrate by having tournament after tournament after tournament every Saturday. We would play Badminton, Y-not tennis, Table Tennis, and Racquet Ball. All tournaments would be singles, mixed doubles, and men’s/women’s doubles. We were kept busy from September until the end of May every year, on Wednesday nights and all day Saturday.

My director turned my good friend John would tell me throughout our friendship that his arthritis was acting up. When his arthritis would act up, he would move considerable slower with a brace on his wrist, however, he would remain steadfast in his love for the sport and for children. He would never miss a meeting and although he would not be able to play, he would still be on the sidelines cheering us on and offering much appreciated advice on how to improve our game. John, in his prime, was one of our country's premiere athletes.

On May, 2003 during a Y-not Tennis game, I could feel my knee getting real stiff, then sore. I had to forfeit the game, something I have never done before in my life. As I sit defeated and confused on the stage, John came calling from behind his tournament official table. He asked me "what's wrong Stan, I can see you are favouring your knee?" I told him what was going on, about how this was not the first time that this was actually happening more frequently. He encouraged me to head to hospital to check it out.

After getting a physical examination and x-rays, the verdict came back on June 11, 2003. It was arthritis; I didn't know what to think. All I could think about was my dear friend John still enjoying an active life at his age and learning to control his arthritis.

At this time, I was not only enjoying an active life, I was also enjoying running as a hobby for about 3 years. Could this be the cause of my arthritis?

Running is the best cardiovascular exercise out there, you burn so many calories on a single workout but it does take a toll on your body. There is so much pressure and pounding on your knees, hips and back with every step.

A similar comparison would be going for a drive in your car, and after thousands of miles you will eventually have to replace your brakes and/or other parts of its mechanical system. We on the other hand work with a biomechanical system; those three letters make the world of a difference. Unlike mechanical systems, our body's are made up of living tissue that is constantly rebuilding and repairing themselves. Not only that, living tissue actually grows stronger the more we use it.

If you are careless with your body, and you run or remain active when we are injured, then we could have tough times in the future. The same goes if we live a sedentary life (inactive life), the less we use it, the weaker it gets.

So there it is, stay active, the more active you are, the better quality of life you will have when your older. But play safe, know when to say no and take time off when your body needs a break.

I'm not sure where I got my arthritis from, only if my knee could talk. Sometimes my knee will flare up, surprisingly, only when I take a long break from my running routine. That's when I know it's time to hit the road again. My long-term goal is to remain active when I'm old and grey. I want to be that old man who's in good shape. So I'll keep being active, as long as I can, just like my friend John.

John's love for healthy lifestyles and children shaped me in such a profound way. And although he is no longer with us, I can still see John shining through at every turn of my life. When people close to us pass away, we can't help but think of how much we have lost. But in John's case, I can't help but think about how much I have gained.

Thank you John, I miss you.

This is my friend John, outside of the old YMCA building in Midland, Ontario. I had the pleasure of travelling with him, along with his beautiful daughter Christina and loyal friend John Kataquapit to the Midland YMCA general meeting in April 2002.

Here is John, Christina and John K outside John's favourite restaurant in Temagami, The Copanhagen Room. John really liked to take his time and stop every 2-3 hours to get out and stretch. Because of this, he would discover all of these great places to eat along the way.

Here is John and Christina in the gymnasium at Geneva Park outside of Orillia. He is demonstrating Lloyd Stackhouse's famous rafter shot. I love this picture, it shows the incredibly strong bond between John and Christina.

Playing hard on my days off.

Today was the day for the Annual Grand River Post Secondary Education Golf Tournament, and I was asked to play with the Dreamcatcher Fund. All funds raised from the tournament will go directly to post-secondary funding for Six Nations Students.

When I was asked to play, I explained I usually only play for fun, so don't expect me to play any good. But expect me to have a blast. We had so much fun; it turned out to be a serious blast.





Here is our team; from left to right, Me, Suz, Geoff and Goldie. My three teammates are all siblings, and they were totally hilarious. Just like any other family, they have their quirks, one of which is their ability to affectionately make fun of each other to put it mildly. It's so refreshing to be around a family who is so close and so laid back. I knew I was being initiated into their family when they all started to attack me. I absolutely loved it!!

Here I am on the 7th tee, you may be asking where my ball is? It's on its way toward to the green thank you very much.


Here is the reporter from Turtle Island News interviewing my team. I didn't hear much, but the one thing I did pick up was "Who is the guy on your team?" The interview must have lasted for 30 minutes, they kept praising my game.


Okay, the ball didn't end up on the green; it ended up in the sand trap. Sometimes, cameras sometimes a good thing, they capture the truth. In this case, it captures a lie thanks to Suz. Next time Suz, don't touch my camera. Just joshing, actually, I like this pic.

As for the final score, we shot a respectable 1 under par. We were all very pleased with the score; our goal was to shoot an even round. Although we succeeded our goal, we were still 13 shots from the first place teams.

Thank you to the Dreamcatcher Fund for inviting me out for a great afternoon.

Breaking News!! Part 2

I admire my friends at Wawatay for having a sense of vision for the growth of readership of the award winning Wawatay News Paper and website. Effective today, they have linked my blog from their website, http://www.wawataynews.ca/node/11763.

On June 15, I was interviewed via MSN Messenger by Wawatay. They asked me about my character, what I've been up too, and my views and opinions on a few things. The link to the interview is www.wawataynews.ca/stanwesleyinterview. The interview was live and is posted as an unedited piece, so I apologize for the poor grammar.

Now that I have just increased Wawatay's readership by at least 393%, what am I going to do? I'm going for a run yo! A true Stan Wesley celebration. In a serious note, I want to thank my friends at Wawatay for seeing value in my blog, and of course, their ongoing support of my business. This is much appreciated promotion for my services.

KNEE UPDATE....Although it's sore, I'm still able to run. But I have to take it easy.

A moving tale of cats and movements

Last night I got home, flicked the light on by my front door and went to powder my nose and do my before bed routine. When I was all powdered up, it was time to call it a night. So I thought that rather than walking to my bedroom and turning on the light, I would turn off the light by the door and take a chance and walk to my room in the dark. This could save me about 20 seconds of walking and about 30 feet of a gruelling workout.

Before I turned off the light, I scanned my apartment floor. Just like the terminator, I uploaded all the data into the mainframe to ensure safe passage to the bedroom. So I turned off the light, and I said out loud, no word of a lie, "I'm a cat, I can see in the dark, I'm a cat." Just after I said that, down I went, I tripped over my footstool. I did laundry that day and that darn footstool was in the wrong place. It's usually by the foot of my chair, but today it was the left side of the chair with a few pairs of pants piled on it.

You see, cats can manoeuvre around in any condition. They are smart and they seem to adapt to any surroundings. My problem was that I was look down at cats, I really don’t like them. I think it’s time to start showing a little more respect for my mean feline friends.

I immediately started to limp, I injured my knee. Ouch, it hurt! There is a reason why I almost given up sports, is to protect my knee so I can focus on running. Without running, I am a mess. I will gain so much weight; the running helps me control my weight issues.

What am I gonna do now? So long for long romantic walks in the dark. I will never be able to have a blackout sneak attack. Or playing midnight hide and goose seek, ah man, those were fun times. I recall the time, when I was a kid, I was playing hide and goose seek outside in the dark, and I fell into a shit hole. You know, an outhouse hole. Sadly, the hole was cut into mother earth filled with fresh human feces just waiting for a victim...me. I still ask; where was the damn outhouse? Why was the hole unmarked?

Perhaps I should have taken the hint back then.

As I walked carefully into the porch, my mother stood there with a look of shock in her eyes. I will never forget her carefully thought out words “what the hell happened to you?”

My work in the safe SEX industry Part 3

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for...the photograph!

I just got off the phone with Jody Cotter, AIDS Coordinator/Educator with the Union of Ontario Indians and she is excited with the upcoming billboard and poster campaign. As far as I know, the billboard will be on highway 17 just a few kilometres out of the North Bay on the Nippising First Nation Territory at the Union of Ontario Indians Office. As for poster, it will be placed in washrooms, bedrooms, living rooms telephone poles etc. all over the world.

Opportunities like this are so important for me to get involved in. There are so many of our people young and old that are making careless sexual decisions, and this is my way of helping. I have been thinking of how else I can make a difference, so stay tuned for when my sex show/workshop is completed. It's going to informative, funny and of course...HOT.

Here are my friends listed from left to right; Sandra Albert, Arnold Norm Yellowman, Me and Amy Assinewae. I don't look too bad for an old guy, if you ask me.

What do you know; we are all embracing our little latex friends. Last week in Waskaganish, we were giving away condoms and people were only taking one at a time. As if people are going to have sex only once, so I gave them all handfuls. Now that's more like it, more the better. We should all have at least 50 in each drawer, and if you don't, go and get a case or two.

Breaking News!!

This just in


On July 4th, I received a call from Brent Wesley, a reporter from Wawatay News in Sioux Lookout. He was telling me that he been a loyal reader of my blog and is going to link my blog from Wawatay's new website, http://www.wawataynews.ca.

Okay, it's not breaking news to me. But since I'm just telling you now, I'll call it breaking news, just because it sounds cooler that way.

I'm sure if they linked it just yet. Once they do, I'll be hiring the services of some bouncers to deal with the long line-ups, the crowds, and the excess noise.

I got your back my friends, what the heck, your front too.

A powerful way to say farewell

On July 15, 2007...

When I leave a community usually I get dropped off and jump on the plane and head for home. Nothing could have prepared me for how my friends in Wasaganish did for when when I left.

What a bunch of sweethearts, they went out of their way to prepare these thoughtful signs for me. I was really touched by the affection I received from the community.

Cathy and Cobra came up to me and said I have to kiss a fish, a traditional Waskaganish send off. And since I never say no to a kiss, I just had to. The sign I'm holding is like Moose Factory's version of "Jestug."

They like me, they really like me!!

On the radio, they made some dedications for me. The first was White Lion , Farewell to You and second one was Sammy Kershaw, If you ever come this way again. Just another reason why I found it difficult to leave.

Here is a shot with the Youth Coucil, and Dr. Joseph Jolly. Dr. Joe was facilitating workshops and individual session on Grief and Loss. I admire that man so much, he helps so many of our people heal and overcome their grief. This was taken the night before, at the closing ceremonies.

Now that's what I call Elders!!

On Saturday July 14, 2007...

Often the youth within our communities are looked down from the elders for the way they dress, the music they listen to, or they way they talk. It's the sign of the times, as popular culture moves, our communities and culture will also move in a different direction, which sometimes our elders have a difficult time grasping. What impresses me with the elders up in Waskaganish was their willingness to want to learn and appreciate the youth.

The conference organizers hosted an elder’s pageant to give the elders an opportunity to show their skills in way to bridge the gap with the youth. There were 4 elders that participated in the event, and the community loved it.

Here is Peter Moses, AKA Picato. Peter was telling me that he and my father went to school together in North Bay.

Here is Billy Steven, AKA Be Cool. He was crowned with first place in the event. He looks like a real hood, if you ask me. I love it!!

Here are all four contestants posing for the community before the show. From left to right is; Picato, 05, California Girl and Be Cool.

They were judged on the following: Fashion statement, best dancer and catwalk skills. The dancing competition was hilarious, it was so funny to see the elders shaking their booty's to some modern day hip-hop.

Now that's what I call elders! I love how they let their guards down to connect with the youth of the community.

The weather to turn bad as the competition started but people stuck around. Here we are staying dry in a wig-wam. I would say there were about 100 people there enjoying the show, all of which were staying warm in the 5 shelters.

Wild night!!

On the evening of July 13, 2007...

I was asked to be apart of dynamic duo of Waskaganish and put on a skit for the community. Myself and Cathy the cobra joined in for the fun.


Here is Granny checking Cathy's hair for nits. They came out first to a some big laughs, Cathy's baby outfit was hiliarious.


Here we are coming onto the set. We are coming from Moosonee and we are visiting Granny and my friends kid. As you can tell, Granny and the baby are really happy to see us.


Granny took a liking to me and she let me try on her glasses. At the same time, we are all enjoying some klik and bannock that granny made for us. It's been years since I had klik and bannock, and I must admit, it was awesome.


Granny wanted to celebrate our return by step dancing.

Granny is pretty direct in her affection towards me. She started off kissing me goodbye, then she got carried away and ripped my pants off.

Here is the troop and I after the show. I tell you, it was so great to perform again.

It's a wrap ladies and gentlemen!!

WHAT A WEEK

Usually each week on the road is somewhat similar, lots of fun and lots of connections and friendships made. I'm invited to a community with very specific expectations, as I mentioned in the past, some of which are filled with pressure. To be asked to be the energy guy, it can be somewhat stressful. Again, it's the pressure I come to embrace.

The important thing for me to always consider is, how can I make this fun but also meaningful at the same time? It's great to have laughs, but if I can't create a safe environment so people can reflect, share and feel, I have failed.

In my field of work, I can never have excuses. What really matters to the community is that I do the best quality of work possible for the sake of their people. If I do that, I have succeeded. Quite often I not only meet their expectations I exceed them. After years and years of doing my work, I like to think I have gained enough knowledge and experience to be the best at what I do.

Here's my point. It's all about expectations of course. Not about the expectations they put on me or about the incredibly high expectations I put on myself, but about the expectations I put on the community. Usually I expect a quite space to sleep, decent food, and fairly good organization, that's it. If they do this for me, I'm happy. I have never been blown away as I was this week; this community has touched in a way that I have never been touched before.

I have made more friends in one week then I ever made, I experienced community spirit that I have never have experienced, and that's just to name a few. To have children and adults alike, come up to me and say "why do you have to go?" or "you should get a band number," or "I'm driving to Nemaska tomorrow and I hope to make it back to come to the airport to see you. But if I don't make it back, I want to give you a hug. You're such a positive guy." This last one came from a 24 year old young man, who has struggled in the past, but is beginning to live a better way thanks to his ability to take a risk and participate in this gathering.

What really moved me was last night, when they presented me with a photograph of those 100 year old trails that I walked on earlier on this week. But the gift that really moved me was the amount of people that wanted to come out to say Wachiya in the rain. It's such a beautiful thing to get embraced by people.

Thank you for the claps, screams, cheers, laughs, smiles and the countless number of hugs I received. As I stood wet in the rain, I felt like I could have stood there for hours, because of the love I felt from my new friends and family of Wakaganish was like an umbrella that was keeping my spirit warm, dry and safe.


Stay tuned for more great pictures from my amazing week in Waskaganish. I'll be posting more on Monday.

Running Week In Review Part 4

For the week of July 8 - 14, 2007...

Last Week's Distance 60.08 km
Last Week's Time 5:27:36

Prediction for this week: 40 km

This Week's Distance: 30 km
This Week's Time: 2:42:23

I knew for sure coming into this week that I wouldn't even come close to last week's distance. I kind of figured that whatever my goals were for this week, I would have a hard time meeting them due to my long hours that my "fun" entails. Typically my day is starting quite early and finishing late in the evening. It did, however, help that I had the mornings off and I managed to squeeze in a relatively easy paced 30km this week.

I must admit, I'm a little spoiled when it comes down to running down south. The roads do not require any grading, because they are nicely paved and even the trails are groomed on a weekly basis. Waskaganish does have paved roads, but only within certain sections of the community. I was quickly reminded that I should avoid running in town soon after the start of first run when a dog chased me. I ran from 12km an hour to about 12.5km an hour in an astonishing 15.5 seconds.

Last week I had an issue with my bum knee, and I knew I would have to take it easy. I had to pay special attention to the condition of the roads, to prevent any ankle injuries. I managed well, when you have traction and poor overall road conditions you have to shorten your stride for extra control and protection while sacrificing speed.

I find that eating out up north is somewhat of a challenge. There are not a lot of healthy alternatives, which is usually the case. Everything seems to be multiplied for 2 or 3 times and that's no exception for the food. For example; fries, gravy and cheese, known as the lethal poutine is the most obvious. Cathy the Cobra ordered a small poutine for lunch one day and I tell you, that little sucker was like an extra large anywhere down south. It was huge. They must sell more poutine’s per capital than the Ojibway`s sell bingo dabbers.

I survived in great form though, my knee is holding up well and I don't think I did a lot of damage by eating kind of junky. Thanks to the mean golden lab who reminded me of how's really in charge in the northern communities.

Next week's prediction: 50km

Fitting in just fine in Waskaganish

I love this picture so much, I laughed so hard when I saw it. Check out my new friend Ernest, he's looks like he's 10 feet tall. He's shopping around for a space helmet for his next mission to Vega aboard SS. Goose Grease.

This was totally unauthorized, I had no idea they took this shot. Anyhow, you can tell I'm feeling at home here, when I go to a yard sale.

I'm setting a new record for the amount of new friends I am making in one trip. Here's bunch of new good friends taken at last night’s fire and games night.

On the way back to the hotel last night, I couldn't resist sitting in the back of the pick-up truck. Because I am a "Man-dow" (guest) they wanted me to sit up front since it was cold and raining. It brought great memories of enjoying rides in the back my parents red Ford truck.

Here is Cathy the Cobra and I showing off my money. This activity was geared around our Cree communication skills. If someone is caught speaking English, you can take $20 of their money from them. The person with the most money at the end of the evening wins. Since my Cree vocab is poor, I didn't last too long.

This community is so close to Moose Factory, only about 100 miles or so, and their language is so strong here. Moose Factory should begin looking at communities like Waskaganish as models to regain our Cree language in our youth. There is so much identity in speaking your own language, something many of our young from Moose Factory struggle with.

I must admit, in all of my years of travelling the country, I have never felt so connected with a community. I am having an extra special amazing week.

No Sex, No Drugs, and a lot of Rock n Roll.

On the evening of July 11, 2007...

I was treated to an evening of great entertainment. Beginning with John Morello, a one man show, titled Dirt. This is a great show featuring many characters. This highly recommended shows touches on subjects that our young people need to talk about (drugs, diversity, date rape, respect for others etc.). What I like best about his show is that he does it in a way that entertains the audience rather than preaches.

http://www.johnmorello.com/

Here John is portraying a female character, she has a rough go at life. I don't want to give it away, but this is a very moving part of the show. Many young woman in the audience really connected with this section of the show.

Here are the Cree Rock Hero's, Ceramony in action. Another act, I would highly recommend for any community gathering. They masterfuly blend contemporary rock and roll with cree language and culture. The audience went absolutely bannock over them. Get ready, they are releasing a CD in the very near future.

www.ceramony.piczo.com

Here is Ceramony and I after the show. I admire their passion for wanting to our young people.

Here's the audience from my point of view. Although there are alot of free chairs, it was a packed show. Typical first nation audience, most of the people are standing in the back.

Thanks for a great night Waskaganish!