Two local events are coming up this weekend in the tri-community, focusing on the national epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and two spirited people (MMIWG2S+). The MMIWG2S+ Family Wellness Weekend and the Annual Remembering Kendara Memorial Walk are being held in conjunction and are giving the families and friends of MMIWG2S+ an opportunity to spend time with others who have experienced the same kind of loss.
The MMIWG2S+ Wellness Weekend is being hosted through a partnership with KB Memorial and MKO MMIWG2S+ Liaison Unit.
“During the Red Dress event, we had a debriefing and were talking about how the energy was and how we needed more events in the community for impacted families going forward,” said event organizer Lorraine Ballantyne-Packo. “When we were talking with MKO, this came into the plans. We started planning the MKO MMIWG2S+ Family Weekend in June. We met on a regular basis and starting talking about what we would like to see happen with the event and what we would like to see people take away from it as well.
“Bringing MMIWG2S+ families together can be heavy at times, and we wanted this event to be an atmosphere where people felt comfortable being at, so we called it a Wellness Gathering. “It’s so important to us that MMIWG2S+ families do not feel alone. We’ve had to go through this alone and we know what it feels like. We want to make sure families know we are there for them and can connect them with the supports they need.”

A provincial roundtable was held a couple of weeks ago in Winnipeg focusing on MMIWG2S+, with families who were impacted by it in attendance. Nine Indigenous organizations, along with some funding from the provincial government, put on the Giganawenimaanaanig Manitoba MMIWG2S+ Regional Roundtable that was held over two days.
“I’m actually a member of Giganawenimaanaanig, which was known as the MMIWG2S+ Implementation Committee,” said Renee Kastrukoff. “That committee is comprised of several organizations from around the province and is tasked working to implement the 231 Calls to Justice. We organized the Manitoba MMIWG2S+ Regional Roundtable on July 13 and 14 in Winnipeg.

A series Moose Management Town Hall Meetings are scheduled to take place to discuss moose hunting in the Duck and Porcupine Mountains areas. The event is hosted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER), Manitoba Natural Resources and Development along with the Canadian Section of the Wildlife Society.
This is an opportunity for all licensed and rights-based hunters, community members and local stakeholders to learn and share about the current state of the moose population in the Duck and Porcupine Mountains.
“The Manitoba government is actively engaging with local Indigenous communities, licensed hunters, outfitters and other stakeholders to guide the development of a long-term sustainable moose management plan for the Duck and Porcupine Mountains,” said a spokesperson for the Province.

Opaskwayak Sundance was held from July 6 to 9 at Alvin and Marie Merasty’s property. This was the fourth Opaskwayak Sundance held and nine dancers graduated this year. Although the Opaskwayak Sundance is in its early years, Alvin Merasty have been involved in Sundances in other communities since 1985.
“This has been the fourth Sundance in Opaskwayak Cree Nation,” said Alvin Merasty. “This really got started because there’s been a resurgence of pan-Indianism. Joe Ross was instrumental in bringing Indigenous culture to a Christianized community. He was part of The Pas Friendship Center in the early 1970s, and he brought some Indigenous drummers and powwow dancers to teach it in the community. I really accredit him with how this cultural movement started again in the community.
“It strikes a chord in people, especially when they hear the Indigenous drumming and singing.

The Manitoba Underground Opera is returning to The Pas, giving children and people of all ages some exposure to classical music and opera. The goal of their Opera for Children Tour is to bring opera and classical music experiences across the province.
“The Manitoba Underground Opera was founded in 2008 by a group of students who wanted to share their love of opera,” said Manitoba Underground Opera Administrative Director Janice Marple. “Since then, we've grown into a fixture of Winnipeg's arts scene, presenting an annual season that includes three fully staged operas, concerts, and outreach events around the city. Our Opera for Children Tour began in 2017, and now brings opera to more than 1000 children all over Manitoba each year.”
This year’s production for the Opera for Children Tour is based on a classic children’s story that includes both animals and music.

Last week the Province announced that it was providing a grant of $90,000 to Canadian Kraft Paper Industries to help explore opportunities for transitioning to greener methods of operation. The Community Economic Development Fund also provided a grant of $75,000 towards this initiative and Canadian Kraft Paper Industries will invest $130,000 of their own funds to help them examine options for enhancing the use of biomass to generate energy at the mill in The Pas.

Local Indigenous artist Shauna Ponask’s work is appearing again as part of another juried competition and exhibit. Ponask came across the Manitoba Society of Artists Open Juried Competition and Exhibit online and decided to try entering.
“I came across this opportunity online through the Manitoba Society of Artists, and decided I would try entering a piece,” said Ponask. “The entries were accepted from March 25 to May 5, 2023. All entries are shown virtually from May 18 to August 31, and a jury selected shortlist pieces that were displayed at Eagleridge one five exhibitions from June 1 to 28.”