CHAPLEAU EXPRESS
Local News Weekly
705 - 864 - 2785
Free to Every Household
Vol. 28, Issue 28, March 21, 2024
705 - 864 - 0911
Jennifer Ribout wins the InFocus People's Choice Award By Jennifer Ribout n February 24th, in Edmonton, Alberta, I received the People's Choice Award at the 10th annual InFocus Photo Exhibit & Awards. As indicated in the name, the award is won by the participant who gets the most votes over the voting period; one vote counts per person per day. Thanks to incredible participation, I took home the win with over 1,300 votes. I am absolutely floored by this incredible accomplishment and eternally grateful to be this year's recipient of the InFocus People's Choice Award. The word spread like wildfire, as Jan Ribout, my mom, shared reminders through Facebook and encouraged others to share as well. In the end, a chain of sharing and voting ultimately helped me achieve this win. Many (if not more than half) of these votes came from you, the community of Chapleau. This win of over 1,300 votes is because of you. That number is wild to me. This has been a wonderfully encouraging initiative, and to have it come from the beautiful community of Chapleau is just the most incredible gift. Thank you for your endless support; it means the absolute world to me. To learn more about InFocus, please visit their website: www.infocusphoto.ca
O
Photograph by Najibe Kirameddine www.kirameddinephotography.com
“Indigenous enough” : What it means to find an Indigenous identity in a modern world By Grace David — Published March 17, 2024 When people ask me where I am ‘really’ from, because my response of being Long Term Canadian doesn’t Forecast suffice, I tell them that Thursday High -9 my dad was born in the Low -17 Philippines. I say that Friday my grandparents are High -4 immigrants and that I am Low -18 a proud Filipina. For the Saturday High -8 Low -17 Sunday High -4 Low -13. Monday High -2 Low -5 Tuesday High 2 Low 0
longest time, I did not say I was also Indigenous. I did not say that my mother grew up in Northern Ontario, or that my grandfather worked tirelessly to be a recognized member of the Chapleau Cree First Nation, because who was I to claim Indigeneity? I was born and raised in Ottawa. I do not speak Cree. I do not know the culture. My genes, blood, and family tree carry the culture of Chapleau Cree, but it is not who I am. I have spent the majority of my life distancing myself from my Indigenous roots
because I felt like a fraud. I believed that identifying as Indigenous should be reserved only for those who understood what it meant to be Indigenous. In school and through the media, I have learnt so much about the collective Indigenous pain, about a history of blood, sweat, and tears. Residential schools, the Sixties Scoops, the Indian Act, and years of systemic discrimination events which have profoundly Cont’d on P.2
MISSION
MOTORS ofWAWA
61 Mission Road, Wawa, ON, P0S 1K0 Phone (705) 856-2394