Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 29, 2000, Winnipeg, Manitoba october 29, climate toxins besiege North global warming and the buildup of toxins could change the face of Hudson Bay forever scientists say /b2 Winnipeg free press editor Margo Goodhand / 697-7076 i a i in i boys to men what a a Mother to do when that Sweet Little boy who held her hand and never said goodbye without a hug turns into the Guy who wont be seen with her in Public /b3here the land seems to speak and the Waves murmur Back Burnt free press reporter Alexandra Paul was raised in the mar times and for the past 25 years has been accepted into traditional native circles. Every year she returns Home to study with her teacher a Medicine Man and to gather medicines. This is her Story from inside Indian country on the Crucible that we Call Burnt Church. Stephen Augustine with Wampum Belt pledges to the creator. By Alexandra Paul continued please see Burnt Church b2 it a we give thanks to the North where the Snow and ice come from that purifies the air that we Are breathing. Then to the East where the Sun comes up we thank the great spirit for that. When we open our eyes in the morning we thank the great spirit. Then to the South where the soft rain comes sinking into Mother Earth then to the West we thank the great spirit because when the West wind blows it purifies our water and that makes us feel Happy. The Mother Earth helps us in so Many ways. That is where everything comes from. A prayer by Maliseet elder and Medicine Man Charles Solomon. Jacques Boi Sinot / Canadian priss arrives i urn Church . A we Are sitting at Mii Gam Agana a Kitchen table on the last Day of the lobster wars. Outside her Home of Cedar shakes and shingles the rain is falling and so is the temperature on this Crisp autumn afternoon. Nicked in a Woods of Pine Spruce and fir the snug two Storey Home is far from the water where natives endured government raids All summer while managing to keep violence from spilling onto the Shore. As spiritual and Community leaders Ming am Agan and her husband have turned their Home into a Refuge. But even Here the tension is palatable. It fills the air like a knot in your stomach and it feels like the land itself is holding its breath. All summer daily headlines chronicled the Battle on the Waters off the tiny first nation Reserve in northeastern new Brunswick. They read like accounts from a War front. Fisheries vessels line the horizon off the Shore two or three a Day patrol the Waters off the Northumberland Straits. Federal reconnaissance planes Fly spotter flights in routine air surveillance and helicopters swoop Down Over the roman Catholic Church at the heart of this Reserve of 1,200 people. Every Day. When a chopper makes a pass its intimidating. The ships that Block off the Bay make you feel you Are under siege. Its strange. This is a land where sacred medicines grow where the Earth itself meets the sea in an embrace As old As time. Here the land seems to speak and the Waves murmur Back. I can still feel it like a pulse beating Way Down deep. Here there Are ancient stories of sacred import about How the land lives and How the people Are charged to look after it. That duty sits Strong in the Village that canadians know As Burnt Church. But Burnt Church a christened after a raid in the 1700s when British soldiers burned Down the Church a Isnit the Community a real name and the headlines about lobster Are Only a tiny part of the real Story. Behind the news reports and stories of economic deprivation there is a historical even a spiritual sub context reverberating across the land of first nations. A the greatest gift one of the things that keeps coming up Over and Over again is this has created a Bond Between first nations a spokeswoman Karen Summerville said. A the Power within that Unity of All these first nations is something to be reckoned an ancient prophecy says the Healing of first nations people will begin in the East. Consider this. The original name for Burnt Church is and it Means the people who Are looking out for those who Are coming. For thousands of years this place hosted ceremonial gatherings for the Miramichi Mike May. Even in the 1800s, English settlers recognized it As the Mike May Headquarters for Commerce and religious festivals. This summer took Back its name. Arguing conservation of resources As its Paramount interest Ottawa has justified its seizure of thousands of lobster traps As the enforcement of its regulatory Powers under the fisheries act. The Federal perspective is that All canadians Are bound to obey the same Laws. Its a reasoned Legal argument that cannot match the passions in this Community. Non native Fishers fear the lobster stocks will be depleted and rage at the sight of natives setting traps while they Are bound to Shore. The a in a quietly surging sense of identity and purpose a assert an ancient Heartfelt duty to a Power greater than government. A the first order of business in Indian country is to acknowledge the creator a Ming am Agan says. Not a boat is launched without a prayer to protect it ;