Jennifer Laviolette
Sam Waller Museum welcomes new curator
The Sam Waller Museum is welcoming and eager to introduce their new curator to the community. Kristen Fader started her role as museum curator last Monday. Fader comes to the job with an extensive post-secondary education and bilingualism.
“I hail from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where I spent the entirety of my childhood braving East Coast winter storms and spending summer days at the beach,” said Fader. “My mother is from Québec, and so my first language and schooling, up until undergrad, was in French allowing me to be bilingual, which I’m continuously grateful for. Like my father, grandfather and as my siblings have now done, we Fader’s have all gone to Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.
Mahihkan Bus Lines partners with WSFN to provide bus service to Brandon
Soon northern Manitoba residents will have bus service that travels to western Manitoba. Recently Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation (WSFN) purchased the old Greyhound Bus Depot in Brandon and formed an agreement with Mahihkan Bus Lines to have part of the building as a bus terminal/depot.
The former Greyhound Bus Depot is about 10,734 square feet and located on the southeast corner of Sixth Street and Rosser Avenue. It closed its doors when Greyhound ended service in October of 2018.
Also in that same time frame, First Nation owners of Aseneskak Casino in Opaskwayak Cree Nation, received approval from the Manitoba Motor Transport Board for its Kelsey Bus Lines division to conduct public transportation throughout Manitoba. The Kelsey Bus Lines division was sold and transferred the new partnership to form Mahihkan Bus Lines as of April 1, 2019.
The name Mahihkan, in Cree, means wolf, hence their slogan ‘Travel with the pack’. Currently Mahihkan Bus Lines travels to and stops in Flin Flon, The Pas, Wuskwi Sipihk, Swan River, Neepawa, Dauphin and Winnipeg.
WSFN’s new acquisition will result in not only further expansion for the First Nation community but also expansion of travel and shipping services for northern Manitoba. WSFN also plans to incorporate some economic spin-offs with a VLT lounge, smoke shop and restaurant within the building as well.
“We had a look at this property a while back and had a good opportunity to buy it,” said WSFN Chief Elwood Zastre. “We got it for a good deal. Brandon doesn’t have anything downtown for First Nations, so we are going to convert it into reserve land. Then we will be putting some businesses in there with it being a depot for the Mahihkan Bus Lines, and then some VLTs and possibly a pharmacy, with some space for office or business rentals as well.
“There are several great benefits for our people in this new venture. It’s going to employ our people in Brandon and get the bus line going into Brandon. Now people can take the bus from The Pas to Swan River to Brandon or Winnipeg.
“This will provide affordable transportation for people with medical appointments to go to the city and back home,” said Chief Zastre. “It will also help with freight and having things sent out and arriving to the north.”
“With a trusted partner in Brandon, we will be able to offer services between Brandon to Dauphin, which will connect with our current six days a week, from Sunday to Friday, that travels between Winnipeg and Flin Flon,” Mahihkan Bus Lines Operations Manager Aynsley Smith. “We are in the planning stages, but we are hoping the run will include more small towns that had bus service before the closure of Greyhound.
“The start date for these services really depends on when WSFN finishes their renovations and upgrades to the site. Currently, Mahihkan Bus’s Fleet includes seven motor coaches, four minibuses and 4-15 passenger vans. We will be offering the same six-day-a-week service that is offered on our current routes.”
Meetings have been held between WSFN and the City of Brandon and renovations are expected to commence soon in the very near future.
“We finished the deal and are in the process of starting renovations,” said Chief Zastre. “We met with the City of Brandon last month, and as a result, we have the permits and everything ready to go.
“This venture is all for our people and our future going forward.”
All in a woman’s line of duty
Last week the world celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8, which is a time to celebrate, acknowledge and showcase the remarkable contributions, efforts and achievements of women. Two women in the tri-community are stepping up to a higher level of community service by being a part of The Pas Fire Department (TPFD).
Brooklyn Mayer is the newest female recruit to join TPFD and has found her place as one of the members.
“What first made me join, was seeing the advertisements for a calling to TPFD in the local newspaper,” said Brooklyn Mayer. “I joined last year in 2023.
“Since I started, there was only one other woman in the department.”
A style above the rest
The Northern Manitoba Skills Competition always brings out the best of the best when it comes to high school students demonstrating a certain skill set. Once again, the hairstyling portion of the competition was held in The Pas and showcased many talented students taking hairdressing at Mary Duncan School
“I taught hairstyling part-time between 2017 and 2023, while I went to school to complete my education degree,” said Mary Duncan School Hairstyling Instructor Becki Crozier. “I graduated this past June and am now teaching hairstyling full time at Mary Duncan School.
CNTH to host Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ event
Cree Nation Tribal Health (CNTH) is presenting their first gathering, known as Weesahkayjak Comes Home, for Indigenous 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals in the tri-community. The event will be held for two days at The Pas Legion.
“This is our first time hosting the event,” said Connie Merasty. “I’m the 2SLGBTQIA+ Program Manager at Cree Nation Tribal Health and this position came up last year, so it’s fairly new. With the funding we were allotted, I decided to try and hold a gathering for 2SLGBTQIA+ people in the north. From that concept, we had an opportunity to host a small gathering here in The Pas.
Art imitating the meaning of life in The Pas
The Pas Guest List has contracted an artist, this time from northern Manitoba, to do the second mural as part of their Walking Path Mural Project, which brings new life and art to the community. There were no specifications given to the artist on what to paint for this second mural, so it was like a blank canvass waiting to be brought to life.
“For the second mural it was really important to feature a local northern Manitoban Artist,” said The Pas Guest List Treasurer and Co-founder Gabrielle Swan. “Mike Spencer is so active in the arts community and his style is unlike anything we have in the other murals in The Pas; it was an obvious choice for us to commission him to create the second mural.
OCN’s Rhonda Head sings national anthem in Cree at WASAC
Opaskwayak Cree Nation’s (OCN) Rhonda Head has accomplished a great many things in her musical career, but now she has achieved something that was a personal goal she had set for herself. Head was asked to sing the national anthem in Cree, as part of the Winnipeg Aboriginal Sport Achievement Centre (WASAC) Night during a Winnipeg Jets game.
“This is their sixth year for the WASAC Night and they contact various Indigenous singers and performers to be a part of that evening,” said Head. “When they contacted me and I immediately said yes.
Queen Trapper competition a family tradition
This year’s Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF) Queen Trapper has come from a long line of competitors. She has competed against her sister who was last year’s Queen Trapper in hopes of winning the title and this has been her year.
“I have been competing in the NMTF’s Queen Trapper events since I was 13 years old, and I'm 36 now, however, I did take a break in between than to have my four children Marcus, Myles, Kacey and Kylie,” said NMTF 2024 Queen Trapper Kristen Burns. “It’s been almost 20 years that I've been competing and I owe it to my family who has always been supportive of me.
Wrapping up 2024 Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival
It was another successful run for this year’s Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF). Despite the dog sled races being cancelled due to the lack of snow, there were still lots of highlights, events and festivities for spectators to engage in.
“The biggest difference from this year’s festival compared to last years is there were no dog races,” said NMTF Board of Directors Chairperson Laurie Stevenson.
A new Fur Queen and reigning court are crowned
With the wrap up of the Northern Manitoba Trappers’ Festival (NMTF) also comes the introduction of a new Fur Queen and reigning court. This year’s Fur Queen and reigning court are looking forward to embodied the tri-community spirit and representing the community at events.
For the new Fur Queen, being crowned as such was something that seemed to be a once in a lifetime experience that she always dreamed of.
“Growing up as a young girl, I always looked forward to seeing the beautiful ladies who were part of our NMTF Fur Queen competition,” said NMFT 2024 Fur Queen Lynelle Bon. “Their excitement, happiness, dedication, positivity and more truly showed how much they enjoyed the competition. Seeing the ladies enjoying their once in a lifetime experience always influenced me on wanting to run for Fur Queen.