Does It All Matter?

For those who know me, you will know that I often look to the night sky and watch for the occasional passing of the International Space Station or look to the heavens and will point out certain clusters of stars.  I will show someone how to spot the North Star - Polaris. I will even show how to find the brightest star -Sirius- during the Winter and Spring sky. If you can find the Constellation Orion, draw a line through the belt and travel left of it, you will soon see it. I haven't a telescope. I wish I had. If I did, I am sure many of my evenings would be spent gazing the stars that fill our night sky. 

As I get older I find myself pondering all that is happening in 'our backyard' - so to speak. Be it the Middle East Conflict; the North-South Korean Conflict; other headlines from around the world that seem to take center stage on the evening news.  Then there is that which is closer to home. South of the border with the 'Obama-Care' debate and their unfathomable trillions of dollars in spending debt. To that on my own soil -something that hits close to home. Such as the Idle No More demonstrations to the political debates that happen in Ottawa. Each of these have an impact that affects everyone in one way or another. The affects are felt more for some, less for others. Nonetheless the ripple effects are felt.

July 19, 2013 the spacecraft Cassini which orbits the planet Saturn was in an unique position to take a photograph of our home -Earth.  This picture was the second ever to be taken from this vantage point. The photo shows a portion of the planet and its famous rings. The Earth was captured through the rings shown with the tiny white arrow. I stood outside that day around 1600hrs looking to the heavens. Standing in awe really knowing that the spacecraft would be taking snap shots of  'US'.

Here is another photo. It is the very first photo of our planet taken in 1990 from the Voyager 1 space craft more than 4 BILLION miles away at the edge of our Solar System. Again through the rings, of Saturn.

If you look closely on the right side of the image mid way down you can see a small dot, dubbed the 'Pale Blue Dot.' That is us.

Every human conflict; every war between Nations all for the title 'momentary masters.' The unending hate, and destruction, that has caused the loss of life and culture in exchange for political power and riches. The destruction and stripping of our natural resources to feed humanity's thirst for technology. Of all the things we could ever want to satisfy our need and wants. We still lack! If you think about it for a bit and are really honest you will somehow begin to see that.

Take a good look at these images. For me,  I come to the realization that mankind seems to be so insignificant when looking at our home - the Pale Blue Dot. Our human existence seems so frail, when looking at 'US"  against a black drop of empty space that literally goes on for an eternity.

The late Carl Sagan says it the best in his book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space , "There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known."

Let us take the time to give thanks for the freedom that most of us on this Pale Blue Dot enjoy. Not just on one occasion every year but on a daily basis. If only all of us could catch the vision of what Mr. Sagan wrote. It will never happen but we can always hope.

Meegwetch

&

Baamapii

Waffles n Spagetti

It never ceases to amaze me of the differences between the thought process of how a male perceives things compared to that of the female counterpart.

Us guys think more like a waffles - there is a actually a book that has the same title of this excerpt. We tend to compartmentalize things we see and think about. Women tend to be all over the map when it comes to , well seeing and thinking about things. 

Let me give you a few examples.

 I can be sitting outside enjoying the sun, rain or whatever it is. Just sitting. Relaxing. Enjoying the moment. My wife, Martina can be sitting next to me looking at me and asks, "What are you thinking about?"

My response - ok guys all together - "Nothing!" 

Her:  What do you mean nothing?!!  Why don't you want to tell me what you are think about??   Irritated look. 

Me: because I WAS enjoying sitting here really thinking about nothing.

She cannot possibly perceive that I can sit outside and not be thinking of anything. To top it off she gets mad! Guys do I hear an AMEN!!
She will sit there next to me and be thinking of washing the towels, planning a party, creating a shopping list, wonder what to make for supper - next week, what bedroom to clean first, what colour linen to put on the bed and what items she forget at her recent trip to Wal-Mart. While she enjoys sitting outside.

Another example. Same scenario. I'm outside sitting there enjoying the scenery. We are having a conversation about our holidays. Suddenly, she veers off and starts talking about kenneling the dogs, making sure the grass is cut and asking if the tires on our camper needs to be replaced with new ones and making sure we have enough hot dog sticks.   Oh, we are planning for next year. I was lost at kenneling the dogs.   I think like a waffle. One little honey comb or compartment at a time. She thinks like a plate of spaghetti. Lots of things all at once.  If you ever listen in on a conversation between a group of women at Tim Horton's you will see this come into play. They can talk of 6 different things at one time and be able to flow. 

Anyways, we were in Costco today and we stopped at a display of bed linen and comforter packages. There was this couple that had stopped at the same time. We both assumed the position while waiting for the ladies to finish browsing- forearms resting on hand rail of the shopping cart and legs crossed. We did the ole head shake; the how are you nod. His wife after literally tearing up the huge piles of bed packages - quite amusing actually - panting turned to him and asked. "What colour?"  His response........"Doesn't matter to me"  She gave him 'the look.' I burst out laughing cause I was thinking the same thing. He looked at me grinning and said, "Well it doesn't ."  My response was, "Same here!" My wife was already irritated with me for laughing at that because she was going to ask me the same question. I guess it is safer to choose a color, even if it is the wrong one. If I were given the choice of two colours his wife gave him, I wold of chosen a completely different one.
Hey, at least I would of been engaging and not giving the typical male response of, 'Doesn't matter to me.'

Guys think alike.
Oh, I still wonder why I have to be thinking of things when I want to sit and just enjoy my surroundings

Anyways,  take care

Meegwetch

&

Baamapii

One Man, One Dream

Instagram! For those of you who have never heard of it before, it is a photo sharing app for your iPhone and Android smart phones.  It allows a user to follow individuals under aliases or nic names such as @CanadianJake or @Cachafaz.

I have been following @Cacafaz for almost 2 years now. The photography he does is amazing.  He has a hands on  approach; a 'get your hands dirty' sort of way in capturing the picture perfect snap shot. He visits places most of us are afraid to. He seems to enter with ease into part of the world; our back yard so to speak; a sector of society that too many of us choose to ignore - the world of the homeless.  If you do not see them then perhaps it is your choice not to.  You may even have rubbed shoulders with these individuals. One probably even looked you in the eye and you decided to look away.

It is said, 'The eyes are the windows to our souls.'  Cachafaz captures what many people choose to ignore. The eyes!  It is the eyes, to me, that tell the story of  these individuals. The stories that could be told I'm sure could fill libraries full of books.  I am sure you would hear stories that would break your heart; make you laugh until you cried and your stomach hurt; stories that would scare you and inspire you. Most of all stories that bring you to the realization that those eyes are part of a bigger picture. PEOPLE!  People that had dreams and aspirations, only to lose them along the way somewhere. People that still have dreams and aspirations, yet the only thing holding them back are the circumstances that they find themselves in. Cachafaz looks to change that.  Click on the link to find out how.

His photos capture people as they are. There are no props; no gimmicks; no nothing. Some bring a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. Cachafaz is an individual that seems to be comfortable sitting with the homeless as he would be sitting at your kitchen table. My bet is that he would rather be sitting and  conversing with the homeless than sitting at your table. One day, Cachafaz I hope our paths cross.

So if you have an iPhone and the Instagram app look up Cachafaz and follow him. Trust me you will be inspired


Until next time,
Chi-Meegwetch

Baamapii

Let The Drama Begin

Bkejwanong (Walpole Island) First Nation nestled on the southern end of the St. Clair River - my beautiful home and Native land - recently accepted $28 million land claim settlement offer from the Canadian government.

A quick history lesson on why: On Aug. 18, 1843, the Principle Chief of Chenail Ecarte (Walpole Island First Nation) signed a treaty surrendering the Lower Indian Reserve to the Crown. It was to be sold for the benefit of the First Nation. The parcel of land was surrendered by the leaders of the day, because it didn't have any sugar bushes, little or no value for hunting, and was surrounded by white inhabitants.  Well the Crown was supposed to represent  the best interest  of Walpole Island in selling the land. They didn't - in fact the land was 'disposed of' well under fair market value.  As a result a claim was submitted to the Federal Government in 1988. Fast forward to 2012  a settlement was reached for the amount of $28 million

 Bkejwanong FN had a vote in Aug 2012 to accept the offer and fell 4 votes short of accepting the deal. Then again in January 2013 another vote was given and there was an overwhelming majority vote in favour of accepting it. Now,this is where the drama begins! As I venture into this portion of my blog I know beyond a shadow of a  doubt that I will get a lot of hate mail- from my own community. In the words of a UFC  announcer "SO HERE WE GO!"

Since the ratification vote there has been a lot of speculation and opinions -strong ones at that - from many Band Members as to how 'our money' should be spent. Hands down, the Chief and Council (C&C)have said that the first priority is an allotment/distribution per band member.Therefore, each of will be getting a nice 'gift.'  Drama unfolds as many people voice their concern that the 'gift' should be more.  C&C stated early on that they will have a Board of Trustees. The acceptance of the settlement through the voting process was  also a green light for the go ahead to appoint a Board of Trustess- names nominated by and voted on by band members - to be given the authority to wisely oversee the use of these monies.  A GREAT IDEA.  Again drama, as members are voicing their concern over this as they all seem to want to voice their opinion on how the monies should be used.  Drama continues as discussions come under the guise of concerns for our elderly population, our youth and future generations. All focused around the settlement offer. A valid point and worthwhile to discus but don't you think C&C are already looking at this.

Here is my outlook on all this.  First: Those of you who are not happy with the distribution number  C&C agreed upon recently. And those thinking there should be a vote between three (3) distribution numbers  I say be happy with what we are getting because it is a lot more that what was agreed upon in early 2012 .  Secondly: Those who are so concerned about the idea of a Board of Trustees overseeing $28 million.  Do something to  get involved. Hmm I wonder how? OH! I know,  ask a friend or family member to nominate you. If they don't want to for some odd reason then see if you can pay off someone who will.  If that doesn't happen for some strange and surprising reason then support those who will be voted in. I am absolutely sure you are not fit to be trusted to deal with millions of dollars that need to be handled with fear and trembling. Those who are voted in as a trustee I admire you for your bravery, your love for our community and your commitment. Oh yeah, watch your 'six'.  Thirdly: Those who discuss the issue of the elderly, the youth and  future generations. If you are truly concerned about these issues and want them taken care of be the first to do something POSITIVE  about it. For example :'donate' your share  of the distribution to be used specifically for these purposes.  If you cannot do this  then I advise you to carefully choose how you want this issue to be addressed.  Oh, one more thing stop your bickering immediately.

I have no doubt that each of these issues are indeed valid to those who voice them particularly the third. However, the way the presentation of members concerns have come to light amid the finger pointing towards our C&C about not doing their job etc. only begins to shed light on ones true nature and intent. What is that? I hate to say it but the issue is GREED. Greed has no racial preference. It has no preference to social status.  Greed has no set target such as money. It can be power as well.  It has no concern or cares about the welfare of those it affects. In fact greed wants to destroy not build, It wants to separate not unite.  Its main issue is to tear apart that what needs to be united.  When and if we as a people can ever overcome this issue our community will be in a much better place.

This settlement money can be a blessing to our community. It should be a blessing and needs to be.  Drama will always pop its head up - but we the members of Bkejwanong can be better and must be better. There are hundreds of thousands of people around our community that are looking at us. Looking at how our community as a whole will respond and deal with this 'new found wealth.'  I am sure there are as much that want to see us fail as there are those who want us to succeed and move forward.  So what will we show them?

Let the Drama begin: as something positive

Until next time,

Meegwetch 

Baamapii





http://www.lfpress.com/2013/02/06/walpole-island-votes-to-accept-28-million-land-settlement

It's Not About The Money!

I just finished reading an article on tsn.ca about the Baltimore Ravens signing their franchise QB Joe Flaco to a new multi year, multi million dollar contract. It is - ready for this? you better sit down- worth $120.6 million over six years. He is now the highest paid NFL player in history.

Now I don't want to judge the man but it's hard to do when I read: to quote in his own words, "It's not really about the money, it's about the respect."  REALLY! My question is then, "Well Joe, if it's not about the money then why even ask for that much money?"   Think of it people - if that money is divided up over 6 years that is $20,100,000 A YEAR! That is $1,256,250.00 per game in a 16 game season.

Yes I am a littler worked up over this. Call me jealous if you wish but I am not. No man is worth over a million dollars for an hour of his time on field. I guess what gets me is his "not money but respect" issue. Yes, his on field performance and the record that the team has had since he turned pro is impressive. This to me still has to do with the money. Always has and always will.  I hope that he does more with his earnings than just let it build interest in the bank.  Respect to me will be earned when he contributes back to his community, how he handles himself in the spotlight on and off the field.

OK I'm finished  Yes, he is a great athlete - a quarterback. Yes, I'm a Ravens fan and have been for many years now. Maybe he can pass a few bucks over this way so I can buy a few more Tim Horton's coffee and have the odds in my favour of winning something.

Until next time,
Chi-Meegwetch

Baamapii

Look at the Whole Picture!!

Our gang was playing outside on a cold winters day. We were sort of daring each other to place our tongue piece of frozen steel pipe. The kind that playground equipment was made of.  You see all five of us got together and said, "Let's pretend that we are sticking our tongues on the pole."  In our minds, we all knew without verbalizing it that our nemesis Spidey would soon show up. Sure enough he showed  and wanted to try. We showed him, indirectly, that we placed our tongues on the cold frozen pipe and pretended to pull them  off. With very little prompting Spidey stuck out his tongue out. All eyes riveted on the spectacle that was about to unfold and he placed his tongue on the pole. There was a delight in his eyes that he did what we all did -sort of.  The delight soon turned to a horrifying squeal when he looked at us and said, "My tongue ith thuck. My tongue ith thuck." By then we were all laughing because we knew he wasn't going anywhere. At that moment the  bell rang. Recess was over and all of us, except for Spidey, ran for the door.


I have been thinking about the Idle No More (INM) Movement that has catapulted into the National spot light, here in Canada, since Nov '12 to the present.  As I read about the events that had unfolded and even hear about it from both side of the table I can't help but wonder where this will lead.  People all over are getting mad at someone.  Whites, well non-Aboriginals getting mad that the Indians, Indians are getting made at each other, Indians getting mad at the government. At first the media were loving us now they are getting mad at us. What really gets me is that people are getting mad at us Indians for INM happenings and they really have no clue as to why they are. They base their facts on a media that likes to turn things around for its own political agenda. Indians are getting mad at each other because of the same scenario - they have not a clue as to what really is going on!

 Everyone who does not understand what this all means are looking at this from a one sided perspective.
What they are really doing is sticking their tongues on that frozen piece of pipe and realizing that they are stuck. Why? Because they chose not to look at things carefully and do a little research for themselves. Now, I know that I only get a very few people who read this blog of mine. That is okaay because I like to think I write this for my own self. If you do come across this and read it, please by all means do yourself a favour and start doing your own research as to why the INM movement began in the first place. Educate yourself!   See for yourself how your neighbours, co-workers, friends, can be lured by what they hear and what they thing and by the media. Let's face it, our own uneducated opinions and those of others, particularly the media can take something that is supposed to be a good thing and turn it around to be a bad thing. What power uneducated biased opinions have.

I guess it is a human triggering mechanism that what one does not understand one will fear. It would be a little overwhelming to see 100's of Native people dressed in their regalia dancing to the singing and beating drums in a public place. It would be a little unnerving and even irritable to be held up on a major highway as 100's of Native people show their support for each other, in protest. If only, a few of those people who are non-Aboriginal would educated themselves, maybe just maybe they would see what the fuss is all about. And they would not find their tongue stuck to that frozen pipe.

In case you are wondering what happened to Spidey. He was discovered after 10-15 minutes when his teacher realized he had not returned from recess. He never did tell what actually happened. He knew better.

Until next time,

Chi-Meegwetch
and
Baamaapii


Here are 2 links to get you started in your education:

http://indigenousnationhood.blogspot.ca/2013/01/what-is-idle-no-more-movement-really.html

http://wabkinew.ca/idle-indian-thing/

Short Cuts

I have to let all you in on a not so secret, secret.  I am an avid geo-cacher! What is that you may ask. Well, 'it is a real world outdoor treasure hunt. One locates hidden containers of all shapes and sizes using a smartphone or GPS using specified co-ordinates found on line at www.geocaching.com  No, this is not a commercial announcement for geo-caching. If you give me a bit of time to explain myself then  you will see why I mention this awesome outdoor game.

Your's truly. Found this cache will bird hunting
Yes, Timmy's in hand. Cache is a peanut butter
jar wrapped in white  camo tape. Hidden just out of sight
in a downed tree.

Back when I was a child - by definition I speak of chronological years,  I was kind of mischievous young Nish. Let me give you an example.  I recall going to church with my Aunt and Uncle as I did on several occasions. I was way, way in the back row playing and not really paying attention, as I should have. For some reason I honed in on what the preacher was saying. I vividly recall him looking over the congregation pointing his finger in dramatic fashion and bellowing, "What do you think Jonah did as he sat in the belly of that big fish?"  I sat up and said, I think he did this!" - I placed my lips on my arm and blew, making a loud farting noise. I thought it was the funniest thing that happened inside the walls of that United Church. Unfortunately, for me, my Aunt didn't think so.  You can even read back in a few of my entries to see how much of a good boy I had been.

Then there was the 3 year stretch that I would hunt high and low for the Christmas gifts that my parents bought and hid so poorly in our house. If some of the gifts were already wrapped I would make sure to carefully peel back the gift wrap where it was taped and take a look. Masterfully, I would overlap a new piece of tape over the old one - I was so clever. Or I'd wake up in the wee hours of Christmas morning and do the same thing, and sneak back to bed happy and content that I accomplished my mission. Only to put on a show of being surprised come time to actually open up my gifts. I will you in on a secret - the thrill of opening gifts was lost so I stopped after my 3 years. Mom never ever found out - until now if she reads this. By now the statutes of limitations has kicked in for this sort of crime so she can not touch me.

Then there was the time in grade 4 when our class was having a math test. It was all division questions. I hated math. I hated division. PERIOD! I played up the sick routine pretty good the day before and thought I missed the test. I was wrong. So instead of tackling the mountain of division questions I decided to look to my left where, Spidey sat, scribbling away answers to the test. So, there I go occasionally doing a few of my own questions because the teacher always walked the class ready to pounce on those who would dare to cheat in her class. Seriously, she was a scarey looking haggard thing. So in all I used to little over half  of Spideys answers. Well wouldn't you know it. I had all my answers correct and all of Spidey's answers were not only wrong but way out of the ball park. Yes, I was caught. I cheated off the dumbest guy in class.

Back to geo-caching. There is an exhilaration when I end up finding a cache all on my own. It's funny because I have a smile on my face, sometimes I even do a fist pump in the air after find a difficult hide. However, there is one particular cache have been searching for over 13 months with no success. Over that time span I literally looked for this one cache twice a month, at times in knee deep high snow spending at least 20 minutes on each encounter.You do the math!

 Finally, I decided to e-mail the owner of this cache and ask for a hint. A spoiler. A hint was given and in 2 minutes it was uncovered. The thing is - the exhilaration and the thrill that I experienced when finding these elusive items on my own was not there. My immediate thought raced back to those three Christmas when I cheated myself out of the thrill of opening a unknown gift. I am glad I found that cache but not how it came about. I felt cheated and I did that to myself.

Here is the moral of this story. It is always better to obtain the prize out of what you put an honest effort into, rather than taking a short cut.  Life does have its challenges. Out of those challenges it has its rewards. Fight for what you know you can get out those challenges. When you do and you are successful, the reward that you obtain in gaining the prize far out weighs the feelings of regret that you have in getting by taking a short cut.

Someone once said, "Don't worry so much about your self-esteem. Worry more about your character. Integrity is its own reward." If life were judged by how well I found my geo-caches I guess I would of failed the test. Be all that you can be!

Until next time,

Chi-Meegwetch

Baamaapii

Here is a cache that is hidden
in the corner remnants of an old
cabin,

A cache looking like a mossy covered rock.
Stared at it 3 X's. After that I knocked on it to discover
it was hallow.