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Aboriginal Harvest Church of Thunder Bay is hosting a conference on May 21-24, 2002. The conference will be held at the Travelodge Airlane Hotel, 698 W. Arthur Street. The conference is about inner healing through prayer taught by Pablo Bottari, who is originally from Argentina. There will be 2 sessions each day at 9 am and 7 pm. The conference is free of charge but travel, accommodations, and meals are participants' responsibility. For more information please call Pastor John D. Beardy at 1-807-475-9124 or by email at beardyjd@tbaytel.net

After weeks of planning and two postponements, our commmunity's 1st Winter Carnival finally began. Once the announcement was made on the radio station, about fifty excited boys and girls showed up at the hockey rink in a flash.They had been looking forward to this huge, long talked about event that promised fun, games and lots of prizes! For starters, everybody got into a friendly game of soccer,then there were other games that were played in different age groups like the three legged race, Monster (yes,it's a game), sled races and snow shoe races. For other type of games like tug-of-war and the snowman making contest, the children were divided into teams to play in. When it was time to warm up and take a break, the children were brought into the Community Centre where volunteers had hotdogs, juice and hot chocolate ready to be served to the energetic youngsters. For the spectators there were bannock hotdogs and cheeseburgers ready for sale. A game of musical chairs was also played while they were inside. At the end of the day, prizes were given out. Each winner got the opportunity to choose his or her prize. There was also a fireworks display on the last evening. Even with the minimum amount of volunteers the three day event was a huge success. A huge thank you to all these volunteers.

The National Aboriginal Hockey tournament was a success down in Cornwall, Ontario. First Nations teams from Saskatchewan to New Brunswick competed in the 7 day tournament. The Akwesasne hosted the first ever National Aboriginal Hockey Championships. Two northern Ontario teams competed in the tournament. The Ontario North Males took the bronze medal as they defeated the Ontario South team, coached by Ted Nolan, by a score of 8-6. North came back from a 6-3 deficit and ended up winning the game by five straight third period goals. The Ontario Females lost in the bronze medal game to Saskatchewan by a score of 5-4. Both Northern Ontario teams ended up with a record of 2-3 in the round robin. Gold medal games were won by Manitoba for males and Ontario South Females. They defeated the Eastern Door male team and the Northern Quebec female team by a wide range. Four Northern Ontario players got chosen to participate in the National Aboriginal Training Camp which will be held in Thunder Bay, Ontario on July 2 through 8 of 2002. We all look forward to next year's tournament, as it will be bigger and better.

The results are in for the Keewaywin election: Chief - John Mckay 132 votes Solly Kakegamic - 108 votes. Deputy Chief - Joe Meekis 160 votes Allan Kakepetum - 80 votes 2 spoiled votes. Councillor - David Thompson - 155 votes Councillor - Silas Kakegamic - 136 votes Councillor - Hallum Kakepetum - 94 votes Alice Kakegamic - 92 votes Raymond Mason - 86 votes Jason Kakegamic - 77 votes Lester Pascal - 65 votes Luke Monias - 17 votes. 2 spoiled votes And there was an additional 5 mail in ballots that were spoiled. And we say Thank-you to the election committee for all the hard work that we put them through.

This week on April 22nd to the 26th 2002. Keewaywin had their first visit from a dentist. Dennis Hewitt is from Toronto and is home based in Sioux Lookout. He works out of the Sioux Lookout Zone hospital. So i'm sure most of the northern residents who go to the zone will recongize him. As this is Keewaywin's first dental visit. The equipments had to be flown in from Sioux Lookout, most of the equipment was late in getting in and the first day they did no fillings, just tooth extractions (ouch). The X-ray machine was flown in from Deer Lake, but not all the parts came in so it was pretty useless. The dental charts had to be made from scratch. The chair assembled. And a new dental assistant trained. But it is rewarding to have a dentist to come into our community. See Photos

Are you interested in getting involved in starting a community support group? People who want to be involved in a rewarding and fulfilling activity should get together with other interested people to discuss what opportunities and possiblities are out there. One such activity would be visiting elders. These visits would provide good social interaction with eveyone involved. This group would also sing gospel songs for the enjoyment of the elders. If you can't sing you can still take part on the visits We require a volunteer to coordinate the setup and information sessions. Contact person: Lawrence Mason KWW Health Centre (807) 771-1407

Keewaytinook Okimakanak has announced that Darrin Potter, current Teacher Mentor in Keewaywin First Nation will be the Principal of KiHS next year. In addition, Marlene McKay, current Teacher Mentor in Frenchman’s Head will be the Vice Principal of KiHS. Darrin (read his staff profile) and Marlene (read her staff profile) bring a wealth of experience and knowledge about the communities with KiHS classrooms. Next year promises be an exciting for the Keewaytinook Internet High School as it expands to offer a full range of Grade 9 and 10 courses in at least 10 First Nations. Be sure to check out all the courses being offered starting in September 2002 in those communities with a KiHS classroom. To date, ten (10) communities will have a KiHS grade 9 and 10 classroom in their communities. They include the following: Cat Lake Fort Severn Frenchman’s Head Keewaywin Kejick Bay North Spirit Lake Sachigo Lake Slate Falls Weagamow Webequie A small number of other First Nations are still deciding whether KiHS can meet their needs. Lots to look forward to during the 2002-2003 school year.

This is to inform the Keewaywin members who got their mail in ballots to please send your ballots in right away. As the election is just around the bend, April 30th, the elections committee is asking you to send it in as soon as possible. It should have been sent already. If you haven't received a mail in ballot yet, please phone one of the election committee member at the band office right away and they will help you. You can even send it to Abraham Monias through the Bearskin Airways, as he is the Keewaywin Bearskin Agent. You do not have to pay the envelope costs if you mark it atttention: Abraham Monias Non-Rev. Please do not send your mail in ballots at the last minute. Try to do it right away. As it will take time to sort them all out.

TO OUR FAMILY OUT THERE, WE ARE HAVING OUR FIRST MEMORIAL FEAST FOR MY GRANDMOTHER SARAH RAE, ON MAY 9TH. PEOPLE KNOW HER AS MAH SHINA IN POPLAR HILL AND PIKANGIKUM. WE WOULD LIKE KNOW IF STACEY RAE IN ROUND LAKE IS GONING TO BE ABLE TO ATTEND? LET US KNOW.

Once again we lost one our most respected elder, mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Claudia Meekis died on April 9th 2002, she left us so sudden. The death of her sister must have been too much. She leaves behind 7 sons, 3 daughters, 6 daughters-in-law, 3 sons-in-law and 37 grandchildren, 4 greatgrand children. We will miss her deeply.