Happy Holidays!

I will be back to regular postings after the holidays. In the meantime, stay safe, strong and keep on keeping on!

Chi miigwetch to all my readers and supporters.


Christine

Please Help Support this Important Campaign!

Book Review: For King and Kanata

For King and Kanata: Canadian Indians and the First World War

Reviewed by: Christine Smith (McFarlane)

Published By: University of Manitoba Press

Pages: 224

In “King and Kanata: Canadian Indians and the First World War” author Timothy C. Winegard takes a comprehensive look at the history of First Nations people and their experience on the battlefield and home front during the First World War.

Winegard speaks about the Indians and the Settler-State experience and states early on that “warfare played an important role in the political, social, cultural, and genetic frameworks of Indian nations,” and “in pre-contact warfare, raiding parties which were led by proven war chiefs and usually numbered less than 200 warriors, were sent to settle scores, to acquire provisions, or to avenge the deaths of or replace deceased clan members (known as mourning wars).

But despite earlier warfare that was noted within First Nations, and First Nations pledging to the Crown, that their men would fight to honour their long standing tradition of forming military alliances with the Europeans during times of war, the Canadian government was of the opinion that “status Indians were unsuited to modern, civilized warfare.”

The Canadian government believed this because it was under the British North America Act and the Indian Act that Canadian Indians did not have the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and the government of Canada did not expect or need Canadian Indians to take up arms in what they saw as a foreign war. Another apprehension that the Canadian government had was that including Indians in “an expeditionary force could violate treaties, as evidenced by the position of the government during the Boer War.”

Canada’s stance of how First Nations soldiers could be involved in the First World War changed when Britain intervened in 1915. Britain demanded Canada to actively recruit First Nations soldiers to meet the increasing need for more manpower on the battlefields. It is interesting to note just how many First Nations participated in the First World War because the numbers of how many First Nations soldiers participated have never really been fully disclosed. This is due to the fact that “there were undoubtedly cases of Indian enlistment which were not reported to the department,” and most “status Indians were not recorded as such upon enlistment, as attestation papers did not record race.”

After Britain intervened and demanded that First Nations Indians become a part of the First World War, complications arose between the national and international forces that influenced the more than 4,000 status Indians who served in the First World War. Winegard relays that subsequent administrative policies affected First Nations soldiers at home, the battlefield and as returning veterans.

  

For history buffs, the account of just how much Canadian First Nations participated in the First World War, why they participated and what happened to them after the war, this book is a must read for scholars, students, and the general public when it comes to understanding First Nations participation in the First World War and the major Canadian policies that forever changed the Canadian landscape.

 (previously published in Windspeaker)

Event Listings for Week of December 16, 2013

December 16, 2013-5:30pm-7:30pm- An Evening of Letters Lived with Leah Lakshmi and Rozena Mozart. Please join Three O’Clock Press for a very special evening with two incredible and inspiring contributors to Letters Lived: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha and Rozena Maart!

Leah and Rozena will be reading from their contributions to Letters Lived and sharing conversation with Editor Sheila Sampath. Taking place at the Lula Lounge, 1585 Dundas St. West.

December 18, 2013-10am-4pm- Supporters for Sexual Assault Victim Cheyenne Fox. A preliminary trial is set for Dec 18th at old city hall in T.O. (60 Queens St W). 10 a.m. This is a preliminary trial to see if there enough evidence for a 'full trial' against the person who sexually assaulted Cheyenne Fox. We hope supporters, family and friends will attend and listen in. Pls pass this information to your contacts. @Old City Hall, 60 Queen Street West.

December 19, 2013- 1pm-5pm-Students for Barrier Free Access Holiday Party (SBA) To kick off the holidays SBA will be hosting a Holiday Party. Come by for some good food, yummy treats and great company to celebrate the end of exam season and beginning of the holiday break! Hope to see you all there.

For any dietary restrictions and other accommodation needs please email sba@utoronto.ca or phone us at 416-967-7322. @ 215 Huron Street

December 19, 2013- 7pm- Leanne Simpson’s Islands of Decolonial Love Peterborough Book Launch -with a set by Tara Williamson. Also appearing Sean Conway and Nick Ferrio @ Barbeside Salon 131 Hunter Street. West, Peterborough, ON

December 21, 2013-1pm-3pm- Hot Cider and Signings Part 2 at Glad Day Bookstore. Stop by Glad Day Bookshop on Saturday and get a FREE mug of warm, mulled apple cider and meet some hot local authors who will merrily (sign their books for you. Authors include: Marcus McCann, Bill Bissett, Debra Anderson, Jordaan Mason from 1-2pm and from 2-3pm: Shawn Syms, Sarah Liss, Rachel Epstein and Greg Kearney. Glad Day Bookstore is located @ 598a Yonge Street.

1-2pm-

Marcus McCann ( http://marcusmccann.wordpress.com/ )
bill bissett ( http://www.billbissett.com/ )
Debra Anderson ( http://www.debraanderson.ca/ )
Jordaan Mason ( http://magichelicopterpress.com/skinteam.htm )

2pm-3pm
Shawn Syms ( www.shawnsyms.ca)
Sarah Liss ( http://www.chbooks.com/catalogue/army-lovers)
Rachel Epstein ( http://threeoclockpress.com/titles/who’s-your-daddy )
Greg Kearney ( http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadawrites/2013/02/reader-qa-with-greg-kearney.html )

December 21, 2013- 7pm-10pm-24^th Annual Kensington Winter Solstice Parade

Celebrate the solstice community-style in a luminescent lantern-lit procession through Toronto’s Kensington Market. This event is in collaboration with local community members and performers, including the Samba Squad, Shadowland Theatre, Clay & Paper, Native Men’s Residence, the Kensington Horns, students from the Centre of Indigenous Theatre and many more.
 

For more information please contact: redpepper@bellnet.ca

Wednesday, January 8, 2013- 6:45pm-8:45pm-Climate Disaster in Bangladesh Panel. @ Centre 55-97 Main Street (south of Gerrard)

Speakers:
NASIMA AKTER, PhD., EP, is the Executive Director of the Bangladeshi-Canadian Community Services (BCS), at 2899 Danforth Ave. in Toronto. For information: www.bangladeshi.ca.

TANZIL ISLAM recently graduated from York University with a Master’s degree in Environmental Studies. She is a member of East End Against Line 9.

Everyone welcome

Organized by East End Against Line 9, eastendnotar@gmail.com

Letters Lived Launch Party An Inspiration and A Letter To Myself

 By: Christine Smith (McFarlane)

On November 26, 2013, I had the pleasure of going to the "Letters Lived: Radical reflections, revolutionary paths" Launch party at the Centre for Social Innovation at 720 Bathurst Street in Toronto, Ontario.

I went in part to support the editor of this collection Sheila Sampath, because she has always been very supportive of me and what I do. I wanted to show the same to her. Sheila is also the Editorial Director for Shameless Magazine, where I am also an editor for the column Beyond the Books.

At first, when I went I wasn't sure how I would feel about being there. I had the assumption that I would be out of my element because my career as a freelance writer has always been First Nations oriented. But the assumption I went in with, very quickly disappeared. There were other Shameless Magazine staff there and the speakers for this event in particular just blew me away.

The speakers included teens, and young adults, who read letters to themselves. In these letters, they reflected on the incredible journeys they have taken since their teens and what they wish they could have known back then. Often those who were reading their letters showed a wisdom way beyond their years-( teens reading from their perspective futures)  and that was just amazing.

The wisdom and insight I heard inspired me greatly. I left the event with a sense of optimism and hope that I definitely needed to hear and witness. It also had me seriously reflecting on what I wish I had known when I was a teenager myself and I wrote my own letter which I will include later in this post.

"Letters Lived: Radical reflections, revolutionary paths" is a new collection that is edited by Sheila Sampath and features a foreword by Grace Lee Boggs, and includes chapters from Victoria B. Robinson, Shea Howell, Juliet Jacques, Selma James, Elisha Lim, Rozena Maart, Lee Maracle, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Nina Power, Coco Guzman, Cristy C. Road, Rae Spoon and Kit Wilson-Yang.


It is a book that in the words of Grace Lee Boggs " is an effort to reach across one of the most destructive divides in our culture: the isolation of one generation from another. It is a reminder of how much we have to learn from lives committed to advancing our humanity." 

And its a book that gives a voice of inspiration and hope. This book is published by Three O' Clock Press. It is 131 pages and sells for $14.95.

Below is the letter that I wrote to myself after reading Letters Lived!.


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Letters Lived: A Letter to Myself

Dear Christine, or is it Chris or Chrissy?

I don’t know what you go by these days. I know if I were to say “Christina,” you would get mad and turn all silent before sternly saying “I hate being called that, don’t ever call me that!”

I can see it now, your eyes would squint behind your coke bottle glasses (aren’t you glad glasses are so much nicer these days?) and your mouth would turn upside down into a huge frown. I would have to apologize profusely and swear, “I won’t do it again,” before you looked me square in the eye again.

In all seriousness though Christine, the first word I would want to say to you is WOW! Then I would reach over and clap you on the back because damn it girl! You reached 40 this year. Did you ever think that would happen? Did you ever think that you would graduate with an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto or that in your final year you would get all A’s (you nerd!) and win the President’s Award for the Outstanding Native Student of the Year for 2010-2011.

What about writing for as many places as you are and being able to keep your head on straight? You’re doing a lot and I want to tell you “I’m so proud of you. You’re kicking ass!” So much for those naysayers who always put you down and said “you’ll never amount to much!”

Your childhood was really rough Christine. You were a part of  Canadian history that was called the Sixties Scoop. This was where First Nations children were taken from their birth families and communities and adopted into a non-native families. The children were effectively cut off from their cultures, traditions and languages, and it took you years to get it back. You were also adopted into a family that did almost everything to try and destroy you. But you fought back, even though it meant they gave you up and you lost any sense of family when you were a mere child.

Remember when you were ten years old, and you were told “You’re going to boarding school?” and you got all excited because your imagination ran wild and you thought it was some place exotic? You told your classmates and they seemed happy for you. You later found out, it wasn’t a boarding school you were going to, but a school for troubled kids. Shortly after getting there, your adoptive parents gave you up, and cut you off from the last link to your real family for the next seven years-your sister.

I remember, Christine. You tried so hard to be brave and tried to nonchalantly tell your grade six teacher’s assistant that “I don’t care that my parents don’t want me,” when really you were aching so much inside that you would cry yourself to sleep at night and wonder “why, don’t my parents want me, what is wrong with me?”

You ran away so many times Christine, yet you always survived those times. Every time the police brought you back to your place, the person taking you back, though they were angry, would give you a hug. You just wanted to tell them “please just love me, because I don’t dare love myself. I'm afraid.”

You drove some people away because you were so needy. You didn’t recognize this until years later after a few years of being in therapy.  But you did recognize that if it wasn’t for those teachers, social workers, and later on nurses who took the time to try and understand you, you wouldn’t be here today. They took the time to sit with you, listen to you and showed you someone cared, when there was no one else around for you. They gave you the loving and caring human contact that you needed in order to tell yourself that you needed to survive.

Christine, I always admired that you loved to read and write. Your head was always buried in a book, and if you weren’t reading you were writing. Others would tease you mercilessly for that, but I would tell you “don’t give that up, because your thirst for knowledge and other experiences is what will get you through your toughest times.”

I admired that you saw nothing in picking up a book, getting lost in a characters life, analyzing it and saying, “hey, I can identify with that!” It didn’t matter if the book was fact or fiction, you saw something in everything, and would try to relay it to your life and see if you could apply it to your life in one way or another. You did and do the same thing with music. You listen to the lyrics in a song, and apply them to your life too.

I loved it and still do when you listen to ABBA and their song “I Have A Dream.” The song speaks of how you have a song to sing, and when you’re ready, you’ll cross the street because you have a dream.

Your dream in life was to overcome the trauma in your childhood, and work your hardest to overcome the mental health issues that continue to plague you-depression, anxiety etc. You became a role model for CAMH and mental health when you won the Transforming Lives Award from Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in 2012. Your motto, as you stood in front of 900 people accepting your award was

“Obstacles can be overcome.”

Christine, you are always working towards overcoming obstacles that pop up in your life, and I must say, “Keep at it!”

Years ago, you only wanted to get better for somebody else, and never for yourself. Struggles ensued with your therapists or the groups that you went to.  But that all changed when your niece was born, and you struggled through her first few years. At first you said, “ I’ll get better for her.”

But slowly you realized in your recovery that in order to be the best that you could be, you had to be better for you too. Your recovery has meant encompassing a strength and courage that encompasses everything you touch in life. You learned to stand up for what you believed in, and went after it. You have an important message to give people, so keep it up.

If you get discouraged and feel like giving up, remind yourself of the many people who are in your life that love you and support you. Remember your sister, and your nieces, and the generations behind that can benefit from someone with your story, and who has turned things around for the better. You are a survivor, and your people need to become survivors too, and not let anything destroy them no matter what happens.

There’s so much more I could say, but then this letter might turn into a book. So, lastly, remember this- you’re 40 years old, and though you are a late starter in life in many ways, you are a trailblazer in your own right. Continue to read and write what drives the passion in your life- knowing your truth and letting others know it is okay for them to have a voice too.

Love,

Christine

P.S. save this letter, don’t destroy it and don’t be ashamed that you wrote it. After all, its all good, it’s all good!

Event Postings for Week of December 9-15, 2013

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Events:

Monday, December 9, 2013-6pm-9pm- Shameless Magazine Presents: Second Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser Gala - We hope you can join us for an amazing evening in support of Shameless, an award-winning progressive magazine for teen girls and trans youth.

Come bid on some incredible items, enjoy excellent music (featuring DJ Betti Forde), food (courtesy of the Afghan Women’s Catering Group) and drinks (with thanks to Black Oak Beer) and help support our volunteer-run magazine for teen girls and trans youth.

Taking place at Centre for Social Innovation, Annex (720 Bathurst Street) Toronto

Tuesday December 10, 2013-11AM-3PM- #NoWayFNEA-Idle No More Ontario- Victoria Island to Parliament. The Federal Government of Canada has had their chance to educate First Nations peoples. They did a horrible job, nearly decimating our languages and cultures in the process. Now the Harper government wants to impose a new First Nations Education Act. We are stopping the FNEA!

Listen to what key people have to say about this. Learn how you can help. Rise! CHECK OUT FACEBOOK FOR MORE INFO

Tuesday December 10, 2013- 5pm-8pm- CIG Community Resurgence Speaker Series: Raising Up Good Minds. The Centre for Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University, in collaboration with the Ryerson Aboriginal Education Council, is launching a four-part speakers series on "Community Resurgence" - discussions on the myriad ways Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Mushkego peoples (among others) are revitalizing nationhood though (re)building healthy families and communities. Taking Place at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto.

The event features three amazing speakers:

Louise MacDonald, Bear Clan Mother of the Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs

Jessica Danforth, Executive Director, Native Youth Sexual Health Network (NYSHN)

Vanessa Watts-Powless, Assistant Professor, Indigenous Studies at McMaster University.

All our events are free, children and families are always encouraged to come, and we'll even feed you, too!

Thursday December 12, 20123-7pm-10pm- Radioactive Colonialism: Uranium and the Dispossession of Nehithaw Cree and Denesuline Peoples. Radioactive Colonialism: Uranium and the Dispossession of Nehithaw Cree and Denesuline Peoples: an evening with honoured guest Kirstin Scansen!
A call to RESPONSIBILITY
BEIT ZATOUN 612 Markham Street Toronto

Event will be livestreamed at http://bambuser.com/channel/Cuzdcrow

Friday December 13, 2013-5:30pm-The indigiFLIX Community Screening Series closes its 2013 season with the all-ages feature film "Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes," directed by Dennis Jackson. Presented by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in conjunction with U of T's Native Students' Association and First Nations House Holiday Party. It’s a FREE Screening, so everyone is welcome!

Friday December 13, 2013-8pm- Tomson Highway’s Concert and CD Release: Songs from the (Post) Mistress. Doors open at 7:30 PM - at the Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St West Toronto, ON.

Event is FREE and CDs can be purchased for $ 20.00

Celebrate this spectacular evening with host Tantoo Cardinal honouring the creative brilliance of performer, playwright, composer and novelist, Tomson Highway.

Performing Songs from The (Post) Mistress, a collection of stories of a resident post mistress through lyrics and music, Highway will be joined on stage by the incomparable songstress Patricia Cano and musicians David Restivo (piano), Ted Quinlan (guitar) George Koller (bass), Daniel Barnes (drums), Jeremy Ledbetter (harmonica), Gord Sheard (accordion) and Marcus Ali (saxophone & clarinet).

Sunday December 15, 2013-12pm-Flash Mob Meditation@ the Eaton Centre Tis the season for buying things we don't really need in the hopes to find happiness. Lets bring stillness to the high church of consumerism, the Eaton center, and make this an annual tradition!

First Nation Reading Week Exchange-University College

During Reading Week 2014, the Health Studies Students' Union will be offering a seven day exchange in conjunction with Canadian Roots. Canadian Roots organizes experiential educational programs and field schools in indigenous host communities across Canada. The programming emphasizes personal growth and leadership development through group learning and personal reflection, which is facilitated by exchange coordinators and educators from each community.

The exchange will offer participants an in-depth and hands-on opportunity to learn about Aboriginal worldview and how it relates to the concept of health. Learning will occur in both formal and informal settings; participants will visit community leaders, organizations, schools, etc.

Date: Location: Cost: Spaces Available: Included:

February 15-21, 2014 Six Nations of the Grand River Reserve $600.00 (subject to change, limited bursaries available) 12 (subject to change) All meals, transportation, and accommodations

Applications are due by December 15, 2013.

Event Posting: Tomson Highway- Concert and CD Release "Songs from The (Post) Mistress

Come to Shameless Magazine's 2nd Annual Silent Auction-Monday December 9, 2013

Monday, December 9, 2013-6pm-9pm- Shameless Magazine Presents: Second Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser Gala

We hope you can join us for an amazing evening in support of Shameless, an award-winning progressive magazine for teen girls and trans youth.

Come bid on some incredible items, enjoy excellent music (featuring DJ Betti Forde), food (courtesy of the Afghan Women’s Catering Group) and drinks (with thanks to Black Oak Beer) and help support our volunteer-run magazine for teen girls and trans youth.

Taking place at Centre for Social Innovation, Annex (720 Bathurst Street) Toronto

Event Postings from December 3, 2013-December 13, 2013

Events:

Tuesday, December 3, 2013- 8pm-2am-OPEN MIC at Ciros with Dave DeLeary and Glen Gould. Come out of the cold, keep warm and join us for live music, food & a beverage or two! Bring your guitar and share your talents; spoken word, performance or a few tunes!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013- 10am-Sixties Scoop Hearing- Canada’s Leave to Appeal. The hearing is to decide whether or not permission should be granted to Canada to appeal (and likely involve the case in another 2-3 years of legal wrangling) at Osgoode Hall, 130 Queen Street West. It is a hearing that is open to the public. ALL INTERESTED PERSONS SHOULD ATTEND SO THAT THE VOICE OF CULTURAL-GENOICDE HURT HAS A FACE.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013- 10:30am- AIAI Peaceful Rally to Reject ‘A Proposal for a Bill on First Nations Education. This Peaceful Rally is being held to reject The Federal Government's "Proposal for a Bill on First Nation Education" at the Federal Building on St. Clair Ave East.

10:30 am - Protest Walk from Balfour Park
11:00 am - Peaceful Rally in front of the Federal Building

Bring your drums, songs and a good heart and mind.
It's time to say NO MORE

Wednesday, December 4, 2013- ProjectLiftPH-6pm-Kapisanan Philippine Centre for Arts and Culture and Carlos Bulosan Theatre present ProjectLiftPH
A Haiyan YolandaPH Relief Fundraiser
6pm Auction/raffle
8pm Musical performances
@ The Great Hall (1087 Queen St. West)

TICKETS
http://projectliftph.eventbrite.com/
$20 Advance (through Eventbrite, link above)
$25 Doors

HOSTED BY
TV personality Sarah Taylor

Wednesday December 4, 2013- Bump and Jump with Shameless Magazine at the Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar. This is Shameless Magazine’s 3^rd Fundraiser.

Proceeds will be going to Shameless Magazine a volunteer-run alt mag for teen girls & trans youth

As always this is a pay-what-you-can event (suggested donation $5) and is 19+

December 6, 2013-9pm- The Johnny’s at Annette Studios- Rockin' with The Johnnys at Annette Studios, 566 Annette Street, Toronto- $6
9pm - Doors
10pm - Open stage

11pm - The Johnnys
12am - UFCB's
1am - Open Jam

Sign up for Open stage is onsite! Please join us!

December 7, 2013-(8pm) December 8, 2013- (2pm)- From Rage Comes: Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers in Concert – A full-length work rooted in Taiko drumming, FROM RAGE COMES presents the truths of diasporic Asian-Canadian women through original & traditional compositions, movement, and storytelling.

FROM RAGE COMES will bring together stories of transplantation, rituals of establishing home, chronicles of our fights and flights, and the countless movements we make and are moved by everyday. @ Betty Oliphant Theatre- 400 Jarvis Street.

TICKETS online: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/495676
OR through RAW members & apprentices

Monday, December 9, 2013-6pm-9pm- Shameless Magazine Presents: Second Annual Silent Auction Fundraiser Gala - We hope you can join us for an amazing evening in support of Shameless, an award-winning progressive magazine for teen girls and trans youth.

Come bid on some incredible items, enjoy excellent music (featuring DJ Betti Forde), food (courtesy of the Afghan Women’s Catering Group) and drinks (with thanks to Black Oak Beer) and help support our volunteer-run magazine for teen girls and trans youth.

Taking place at Centre for Social Innovation, Annex (720 Bathurst Street) Toronto

Friday December 13, 2013-5:30pm-The indigiFLIX Community Screening Series closes its 2013 season with the all-ages feature film "Wapos Bay: Long Goodbyes," directed by Dennis Jackson. Presented by the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in conjunction with U of T's Native Students' Association and First Nations House Holiday Party. It’s a FREE Screening, so everyone is welcome!

The Road to San Marcos-written by Tanis Desjarlais ( an amazing read!)

The Road to San Marcos

Event Postings from November 26, 2013- December 7, 2013

Events:

Monday November 25, 2013-6pm-9pm- Navigating the Mythology of the Mad Artist Please join us On November 25 as we host a community panel discussion that speaks to these issues in hope of manifesting a meaningful forum of exchange. @ 519 Church Street Community Centre

Panellists include:

Andrée Vaillancourt
Jes Sachse
Eleanor Brenson
Rachel Gorman

Tuesday November 26, 2013-6pm-8pm- Youth World AIDS Day Event@ Central Toronto Community Health Centre (Queen West CHC) 168 Bathurst Street.

Come on out for a fun and interactive evening of poetry, digital storytelling, yummy food and more. Lots of sexy resources to share! This may be a "world" event but we're going to celebrate, resist, and dance it away in style with some local stories on the ground.

Tuesday November 26, 2013-7pm-10pm- Letters Lived Launch Party by Three O'Clock Press. 
Letters Lived: Radical reflections, revolutionary paths is edited by Sheila Sampath and features a foreword by Grace Lee Boggs with chapters from Victoria B. Robinson, Shea Howell, Juliet Jacques, Selma James, Elisha Lim, Rozena Maart, Lee Maracle, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, Nina Power, Coco Guzman, Cristy C. Road, Rae Spoon and Kit Wilson-Yang

Please join us in celebrating the release of Letters Lived: Radical reflections, revolutionary paths!

This accessible new collection features letters written by a diverse group of international and cross-generational social justice activists to their teen selves. In these letters, they reflect on the incredible journeys they have taken since their teens—and what they wish they could have known back then.
 

Tuesday November 26, 2013-8pm-2am- OPEN MIC at Ciro’s with Dave DeLeary and Glenn Gould. Come out of the cold, keep warm and join us for live music, food & a beverage or two! Bring your guitar and share a few tunes! 1316 Bloor St. W

Wednesday November 27, 2013-12pm-12:50PM Service of Solidarity for the Phillipines. Join the President of the University of Toronto, Prof. Meric Gertler, in consultation with the Filipino Students Association in a service of solidarity for all those affected by the recent Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. Join students, staff and faculty for this brief 40-minute service in order to reflect on the tragedy and celebrate resilience of the Filipino peoples. @ The Multi-Faith Centre, 569 Spadina Avenue

Wednesday November 27, 2013- 6:45pm-8:45pm- Next Steps for a Tar-Free Toronto. Community Centre 55, 97 Main Street, (south of Gerrard) Toronto. You are invited to hear reports and discuss recent developments and proposals on the next steps in efforts to keep hazardous diluted bitumen (tar sands oil) out of Toronto.

Everyone welcome – Express your views

See our face book: Toronto Against Line 9
And our blog: www.notarsandseast.com

Every Wednesday-9am-5pm-the Indigenous Education Network at OISE U of T invites student and staff to drop in and visit Cat Criger and Elder Jacqui Lavalley, Drop ins Welcome or Book an app’t. Hours of availability: Cat Criger (9am-1pm) Jacqui (1pm-5pm)

Contact Julie Blair for more information at ien@utoronto.ca

November 27, 2013-8pm- join The Toronto Review of Books team of authors, editors, and readers to toast the health and long life of our very own first print anthology, Tasting Menu: Choice Selections from the First Two Years. @ 224 Augusta Avenue

We’ll be selling Tasting Menu at the party (for a special launch price!), but you can also buy it online, or in person from Good Egg or Swipe Books in Toronto.

The night promises to be a rare festivity of TRB people doing what they do best, rejoicing in great new books—or rather one really great new book. Can’t wait to see you there.

Wednesday December 4, 2013- Bump and Jump with Shameless Magazine at the Gladstone Hotel Melody Bar. This is Shameless Magazine’s 3^rd Fundraiser.

Proceeds will be going to Shameless Magazine a volunteer-run alt mag for teen girls & trans youth

As always this is a pay-what-you-can event (suggested donation $5) and is 19+

December 6, 2013-9pm- The Johnny’s at Annette Studios- Rockin' with The Johnnys at Annette Studios, 566 Annette Street, Toronto- $6
9pm - Doors
10pm - Open stage

11pm - The Johnnys
12am - UFCB's
1am - Open Jam

Sign up for Open stage is onsite! Please join us!

December 7, 2013-(8pm) December 8, 2013- (2pm)- From Rage Comes: Raging Asian Women Taiko Drummers in Concert – A full-length work rooted in Taiko drumming, FROM RAGE COMES presents the truths of diasporic Asian-Canadian women through original & traditional compositions, movement, and storytelling.

FROM RAGE COMES will bring together stories of transplantation, rituals of establishing home, chronicles of our fights and flights, and the countless movements we make and are moved by everyday. @ Betty Oliphant Theatre- 400 Jarvis Street.

TICKETS online: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/495676
OR through RAW members & apprentices

(If there are any events you would like to see listed, please feel free to contact me at chrissy.mcfarlane@gmail.com)

Bump and Jump With Shameless Magazine- 3rd Fundraiser dance party on December 4, 2013

On December 4, 2013- Please come out to support Shameless Magazine's 3rd Fundraiser at the Gladstone Hotel. Melody Bar is just around the corner.

Shameless Magazine event organizers are super excited to announce they'll be having 2 rad-as-heck DJs spinning all night. DJ cyborgmonkey and DJ Lizzy Mercier will be spinning a radical mixture of riot grrrl/house/synthpop/electropunk and Minneapolis Sound (think Prince but weirder)/'90s hip hop/R&B/New Wave all night!

Proceeds will be going to Shameless Magazine a volunteer-run alt mag for teen girls & trans youth

As always this is a pay-what-you-can event (suggested donation $5) and is 19+

NOVEMBER IS DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH- DO WHAT YOU CAN TO HELP ERADICATE THIS!

By: Christine Smith (McFarlane)

As November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, it was very fitting that on Friday November 15, 2013, there was an Aboriginal Nutrition & Wellness: Feeding mind, body and spirit" workshop held on the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto.

The event brought together a roomful of First Nations students from the University of Toronto and a variety of Aboriginal student groups to provide nutrition and wellness information. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, I like to see events like these, because they give students and the general public the opportunity to gather and speak about current and passionate issues that are impacting our lives.

According to the nutritionist from Anishnawbe Health Toronto and from other research, "diabetes was relatively unknown among Aboriginal peoples prior to 1940 and it can be likened to a silent epidemic among First Nations peoples" because diabetes is 3-5 times higher in Aboriginal communities.

Statistically there are more than 9 million Canadians who are living with diabetes or pre diabetes. There are three main types of diabetes. There is Type 1 diabetes, which is usually diagnosed in children and adolescents. Type 1 Diabetes occurs when the pancreas is unable to produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone that controls the amount of glucose in the blood. According to the Canadian Diabetes Association, 10 per cent of people with diabetes have type 1 diabetes while the remaining 90 per cent have Type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes  occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin and your body does not effectively use the insulin that is produced. Type 2 diabetes usually develops in adulthood although there are increasing numbers of children in high-risk populations that are being diagnosed.

A third type of diabetes is  gestational diabetes. This type of diabetes is a temporary condition that occurs during pregnancy. It affects approximately 2 to 4 per cent of all pregnancies (in the non-Aboriginal population) and involves an increased risk of developing diabetes for both mother and child. Lastly, prediabetes is a condition where a person's blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not yet high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes awareness workshops are important to have because they not only inform you about diabetes, but it also gives you the signs to watch out for, and what to do if you have already been diagnosed with diabetes.

I remember my own diagnosis with Type 2 diabetes and the five year struggle it took to get it under control. At first when you hear the words "you have diabetes," it can be difficult to accept, but once the words do register with you, it's important to pay attention to your doctors and do everything you can to live a much healthier lifestyle.

My change in attitude about my diabetes came about when my sugar levels were reaching 27, and I was told that if my levels didn't go down that I would have to go on insulin. Not only did I not want to be sticking myself with a needle every day, I also didn't want my niece, who was fairly young at the time, to continue seeing me prick my finger to check my sugar levels. There was something about her leaning over and watching me prick my finger each day when I was visiting with her, that made me stop one day and say " hey I need to be healthy, not only for myself but for her too!"

My diabetes has turned around ten fold. My change in how I saw diabetes helped me in many ways. I was able to go off my anti-glycemic medication, and I rely mainly on diet and exercise now. Instead of worrying about high sugar levels,  I often have to be careful about low sugar levels. I am cognizant that diabetes is a part of my life but it doesn't have to control me. Living with diabetes is a life altering condition, but it is something that you can regain control of.

Event partners and contributors of this event included the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (KPE), the Native Students Association (NSA), the Indigenous Health Sciences Group, the Faculty of Medicine, Anishnawbe Health Toronto, First Nations House and Food Share.

For more information on Diabetes and what you can do to prevent it, please visit the Canadian Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.ca or visit Anishnawbe Health at http://www.aht.ca


TO BE AWARE OF DIABETES AND HOW IT CAN IMPACT YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR COMMUNITY  IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US ALL TO  LEARN HOW TO PREVENT IT. THIS IS CRUCIAL TO HELPING EVERYONE ERADICATE SOMETHING THAT CAN BE PREVENTED.

Poem- I Wear a Mask

 

I Wear A Mask

 

By: Christine Smith (McFarlane)

 

I wear

a mask 

 

You may not believe

it

 

But sometimes when 

you see me laughing

or 

see me smiling

and deep in thought

 things aren't always

what they seem

 But I'm practiced

at making things

look like they're ok

on the outside

when they're really not

It's the tricks

I've learned

over the years

I think they came

with this mask

When I first picked it up

No one knows

the loneliness

I feel at night

Or the sadness

that overwhelms my very soul

when the tears 

come

from out of nowhere

and I sit

writing

to try and make sense

Of 

why I feel 

the way

 I do

When things on the surface

seem to be going so well

I wear a mask 

You may not believe it

But behind it

lays something

called

 depression

And I've learned

that it can either kill me

or make me stronger

I've chosen 

the latter

Because deep down inside

I know

I am stronger

than the depression itself

2013