Here in the mountains the spring birds have arrived early. During our ritual morning walks along the lakeshore the dog and I have heard the unmistakable trill of the red-winged blackbirds. We've heard robins. Despite the thick layer of ice and the snow on
Here in the mountains the days stretch out longer. There's an evening now. As the winter sun flashes all scarlet, pink and orange on the horizon, I feel myself contented, safe and ensconced comfortably in a home it's taken years to achieve. Sometimes, the
I have a friend who's waiting for me every time I get home. He's not a dog or a pet of any kind -- he's an empty peanut butter jar and his name is Smoothy. He's a special edition 2002 Kraft NHL Bear Bank. He's adorned with a Calgary Flames jersey and a...
My mother called me near the tail end of last year. That in itself wasn't as strange as the reason she called. She needed money. She was having trouble making it to the end of the month when her pension came in. It was a shocking call to receive.
According to the folks at Merriam Webster, the ones who produce one of the most popular dictionaries, the word of the year for 2008 is ‘bailout.
It’s the first white Christmas in nearly 40 years. When I heard that on the late night news it made me smile.
Maybe it’s the particular age I am that asks this of me come Christmas time or maybe it’s just the plain fact that deeper nights and…
There are crows everywhere around our mountain home.
Walking through the bush I always hear them cackling and cawing and they can get quite…
There are fewer creatures on the timber road.
When the dog and I walk into the backcountry behind our home in the mountains we were used to seeing…
A friend of mine is running for the office of the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.
He declared his intent back in the summer and we…
I was a problem drinker for a long time. I knew that I was a problem drinker all along. When I chose to drink, armed with that knowledge, I was…
It’s taken some time for Olympic organizer Dick Pound’s comments on savages to boil down for me.
The nature of native politics in this country is not expressed by our politicians. It’s not articulated by radicals, the disgruntled, the jaded…
I turned 53 recently. It was a quiet celebration, no big parties or huge dinners, just a calm recognition of time passing and a life being fleshed…
I’ve come to love the idea of firewood.
At our home in the mountains we have a woodstove we use for heat.
It’s been interesting for native people to watch the volatile world of the stock markets lately.
When I was growing up, the differences between Native people and mainstream Canadians were often remarked upon as striking.
There are bursts of colour at the foot of the mountain that strain the eye.
Across the gun-metal blue of the lake, the scarlet, orange and yellow…
I’ve never voted in a First Nations election. Chances are that I never will.
I’m a registered member of an Indian band and as card…
I got a big part of my education from the CBC. My formal schooling ended with Grade 9 and I moved to the welfare roll and endless unskilled jobs.