Jennifer Laviolette
Helping others to understand Truth and Reconciliation
A former resident of The Pas and Cormorant has spent her working career teaching others about residential schools as part of Truth and Reconciliation. Melody Dumas and her family members have been impacted and experienced residential school in some capacity. Dumas’ childhood recollections of what residential schools were have followed her in this journey.
“I lived in The Pas until I was six and then my parents decided to move to Cormorant,” said Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre (MFNERC) Languages and Cultures Instructional Resource Analyst Melody Dumas. “Living in Cormorant was a great experience. Swimming, berry picking, hunting, fishing, family, outdoor activities, and eating traditional foods were a huge part of my life. I loved going hunting with my family. My dad had a camp on the river. We lived in Cormorant until I was eleven years old and then we moved to Dauphin.
Head part of Grammy-nominated album
Opaskwayak Cree Nation’s rising star Rhonda Head is now part of a Grammy-nominated album for this year’s upcoming awards. Head collaborated with Antonio Vergara on his album The Fury and it recently was nominated for the Grammy’s Best Contemporary Blues Album.
“Antonio is from Ecuador and is a fantastic musician,” said Head. “He had messaged me through social media and asked if I would be interested in collaborating with him on his next album. I was excited and more than happy to. He sent me the final song and I sat on it awhile, listening to it before I recorded my vocals.
“Once I recorded my vocals, I sent it off to him. Next thing I know, the Grammy For-Your-Consideration nominations came up and his album was selected to be one of the nominees on the ballot. When I heard his album was nominated for a Grammy, I called him up and congratulated him. He then said to me, ‘Rhonda, you are part of the album too, so we are celebrating this together.’ This didn’t dawn on me at first.
“The days went by and Antonio started sending me things to post on Facebook mentioning this Grammy nominee,” said Head. “ Just last week, he shared with me press release information to share with local media on this. It wasn’t until I looked at the press release that it sunk in that I was part of a Grammy nomination. I was shaking, then I cried and laughed once it hit me, and I’m still processing it. It’s hard for me to accept it.”
Vergara worked with several musicians for his album and he shares his success with The Fury with every one of them.
Getting ready for snow
As we roll into the last weeks of November, we all know that snow is soon upon us and with that comes winter driving and snow removal. The Town of The Pas has set guidelines for how the public works department manages and handles snow removal operations in the community.
“Our town foreman monitors the forecast with his operators and they will make the determination when crews should mobilize,” said Town of The Pas Municipal Superintendent Sam Mirza-Agha. “Obviously, forecasts can’t always be 100 percent accurate, so we must use our best judgment on when to have crews ready to mobilize. This becomes a bit more challenging when we are expecting a significant snowfall because the start of the snowfall isn’t precise.
Road trip from Ushuaia to Birch River
Travelling to Canada has become a highlight and a must for many foreign travellers. If you recall a story that ran back in March of this year, in the Star and Times, a couple from Chile were travelling from their home country to North America. Macarena Orozco and her family fell in love with the Valley so much that they made Birch River their home. Through connections, they had a friend travel from Argentina to come and visit them while documenting the journey here.
“I’m originally from Patagonia, Argentina, and a couple of years ago, I started a project to restore a 1970s Ford Falcon, which is a vehicle made and very common in Argentina, and undertake a road trip from Ushuaia in Patagonia all the way to Alaska,” said Fabián Viaja.
“I went to Birch River because I knew that a family of Chilean travellers was living there. My plan to reach Alaska is divided into two stages. These Chilean travellers have spoken highly of Birch River and the Swan Valley, so in the past few days, I have been exploring the area and getting to know more about the local community. I have been documenting the entire trip on my YouTube channel, FABIANVIAJA, which to date has nearly 50,000 subscribers.
“The first stage is to reach Canada and leave my Ranchero, that’s what I call my Ford model, in Wadena, Saskatchewan,” said Viaja. “This is where there is another family of Argentine travellers residing and they will take care of the vehicle during the winter. After leaving the car, I will return to Argentina and then fly from Argentina to resume my journey to Alaska when the weather permits.”
Viaja has been on this journey for quite some time and has gone through five countries, from Central America to North America.
“I have been travelling for almost a year,” said Viaja. “My journey has taken me through Chile, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. Then, I crossed Central America by boat to Mexico and subsequently travelled through the United States, where my wife joined me to explore various places across the country.
“After that, I entered Canada through Saskatchewan and stayed a couple of days in Wadena at my Argentine friend’s house. Later, I coordinated with La Maca and El Gabo, the Chileans, to reach Birch River and get to know the area. It took me nearly a year to arrive at the Valley.”
There has been so much for Viaja to see and take in as he made his way to Birch River. He has had nothing but positive experiences in his interactions with Canadians.
“Overall, it has been a very pleasant journey without major setbacks, only some mechanical issues that I have been able to resolve along the way,” said Viaja. “I have been pleasantly surprised by Canadians. They have been very kind and friendly. They have shown great interest in getting to know my vehicle, and despite my limited English, I have managed to understand their good wishes for my adventure.
“This is my first time in Canada. Although I have only been here for a couple of weeks, I have a lovely and positive impression. People are truly friendly and always willing to help. They have been very curious about my car and have stopped me more often than in other countries. The forests I have encountered are truly beautiful. While I have visited very small towns in Canada, my stay has been very pleasant, as there is a sense of tranquillity and silence, something highly desired in large cities.
“I have visited many towns and cities that have caught my attention,” said Viaja. “Due to the uniqueness of their landscapes, I could highlight the Atacama Desert in Chile, the Grand Canyon in the United States, and the Canadian Prairies, which remind me of the Patagonia region in Argentina because of their vastness and sense of solitude.
“I have spent very little time in the town of Swan River,” said Viaja. “I have been mainly in Birch River and its nearby lakes. Although it is a very small town, the neighbours have been very kind and affectionate with me. Some have even come to where I have been staying just to greet me and welcome me. Such a lovely gesture!
“Additionally, I have participated in some antique car shows in the United States, where I won the Most Unique Car Award, and also in the Sturgis motorcycle shows in the USA. Regarding Canada, although I have travelled little, the lakes north of the Swan Valley are very beautiful, complemented by their lovely forests with autumn colours.
“In the second stage of my trip, I plan to explore more of Canada,” said Viaja. “My car is not prepared for winter, so I hope to return to Birch River in April next year to continue my adventure when the weather conditions permit.”
Viaja’s stay in Birch River seemed like a short one, but he vows to return next year.
“I stayed in Birch River for one week and then returned to Wadena to prepare my car for the winter, and subsequently travel back to Argentina,” said Viaja. “In Argentina, I will continue with another project I have. I’m remodelling an old Mercedes-Benz motorhome and will be travelling through Patagonia. As winter ends and the good weather returns to Canada, I will come back and visit the Valley again with the Ranchero.
“I hope to return in April to resume the second stage of my journey. Perhaps around that time, you might see the Ranchero parked somewhere in the Valley.”
Town welcomes new youth councillor
At yesterday’s Town of The Pas Council Meeting, council welcomed their new youth councillor to the table. Eniola Atoyebi will act as the Town of The Pas’ Youth Councillor and participate in the council meetings going forward. Atoyebi is a high school student with a keen interest in community development and politics.
“I'm 15 years old and in grade 11 at Margaret Barbour Collegiate Institute,” said Atoyebi. “In my spare time, I like coding and listening to music.
Monarch Wild Rice stocking store shelves
Wild rice has been a hidden treasure in northern Manitoba that many people enjoy eating. Monarch Wild Rice has been processing out of its plant in The Pas and is starting to get its product on store shelves. Ken and Heather Medwid got involved in wild rice processing by chance and have invested to grow the business.
“About eight years ago, I bought into the wild rice processing plant in The Pas and since then, I acquired the plant and bought out the last partner four years ago,” said Ken. “Processing wild rice started in about the 1970s in The Pas in the Quonset. Then, in the early 1980s, a bigger building was built, with the processing part being quite modern with more equipment than other plants had.
The Pas engages in community safety consultations
Some community engagement sessions were held in The Pas last week as part of the safer communities initiative. Three groups were invited to participate in public sessions to share their thoughts and concerns about community safety as a whole. The Town of The Pas had the Canadian Centre for Safer Communities (CCSC) facilitate all three sessions.
“These were engagement sessions, and there was one for seniors, youth and then the business community,” said Town of The Pas Mayor Andre Murphy. “We had an excellent turnout for the seniors session, with over 30 people in attendance.
Moore hits the runway at Paris Fashion Week
Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) member Madison Moore is stepping back into the spotlight and into the world of modelling. Moore recently went to Paris Fashion Week at the end of September with Ally’s Ribbons. It was an experience of a lifetime for Moore.
“The opportunity to go to Paris Fashion Week happened during Manito Ahbee in May this year,” said Moore. “Alyssia and I were backstage for a fitting, and she asked what I was doing in September. I responded, ‘I’m not sure, working probably.’ Alyssia asked, ‘Are you free to travel the world with me?’ How could I say no? I immediately said yes!”
Moore has been busy modelling for different events leading up to Paris Fashion Week. She has vast experience modelling in front of large crowds at big venues.
Restoring a work of art to its original greatness
Many of the long-standing murals in the community have seen better days and slowly, thanks to the efforts of some local organizations, they are being restored and given a second life. The Pas Rotary Club recently unveiled the rejuvenation of a mural painted many years ago by artist Michael O’Toole.
The unveiling was on October 22 and started off with a land acknowledgement to recognize that The Pas wasn’t the first community to settle in this spot. This project started out with the vision of a local Rotarian.
“Jim Scott was our chairperson for The Pas Rotary and he was chair for The Pas Revitalization Committee many years ago, which initially got the mural going,” said The Pas Rotarian Robin Reader. “It was to promote tourism. We have tourists that stop through here when they travel by railway to go to Churchill and see the polar bears, so this mural provided them with something beautiful to look at and take pictures of.
Series of scans causes lots of confusion for customers
“There are a series of transportation-related scans that occur between depots and processing plants that happen when a parcel is sent to customers. For example, mail and parcels that are sent to The Pas Post Office will receive a transportation departure scan from the Winnipeg Processing Plant and a Flin Flon Depot transportation arrival scan because they are the last destination on the transportation truck route.
“There are multiple stops between Winnipeg to Flin Flon, including The Pas,” said Liu. The parcel is scanned at the Winnipeg Processing Plant, indicating that it is en route to Flin Flon Depot, which is the last possible scan. The parcel is dropped off at The Pas on the way to Flin Flon. The parcel then needs to be scanned, processed by post office employees and carded before the customer picks it up, as The Pas is on the route to Flin Flon, mail and parcels never pass through Flin Flon.