b'inadequate housing, lack of water andeveryday life for the kids and I, and IQ.What challenges did you facesewers, poor road conditions, and a lackrecently started travelling to meetings.growing up?of a fire station. In March 2016, a houseAnother difficulty is when a commun- A.I have the best childhood memories fire devastated Pikangikum; nine peopleity member passes away; there havegrowing up in my community. I had a lost their lives. My only sister was one ofbeen a few passings since I was elected.good childhood. I was like most of the these nine; it was this tragedy that madeThese are difficult as the council and Ichildren today raised as a unilingualme determined to help my community.have to help support the families. speaker of the Ojibwe language. When My thesis in university addressed theseI got into my teen years, I lost a lot of issues. I was in my third year of studiesQ.What career did you have priorfriends to suicide. Suicide was a huge epi-when this tragedy occurred. I graduatedto being elected as Chief? demic in the 1990s in Pikangikum. This in 2017 and moved back to PikangikumA.I went to college and universitywas the time my father was a Chief; those that same year. I want to address thesefrom 2011-2017, but prior to thewere difficult times.issues, especially the shortage of housing.election I was employed by a legal Every family deserves to have a home ofcorporation. I worked in the justiceQ.If you had a message for the youth their own. It is something I hear fromfield as an Indigenous Bail Worker forof today, what would it be?community members on a daily basis.Pikangikum as soon as I moved backA.I always make time for youth. I have Pikangikum is a fast-growing com- home after university. It was a pilothad a few speaking engagements with munity, and one of the most populatedproject to address the number of com- students in Pikangikum. I was a guest reserves in this region. munity members incarcerated. Thespeaker for our local high school graduation Q.What is the biggest challengeDistrict Jail is 33 per cent populatedin 2017. One thing I always tell youth is to as Chief? by Pikangikum community members.stay in school, to chase their dreams, because This project was the first of its kindthen they can choose any career they want. A.The biggest challenge is the timefor a remote First Nation in the re- I tell them that they are all very capable. away from my children. I spend a lot ofgion. It was a successful program andI want to see every youth be successful time away from them. But I do have aI enjoyed this work. The justice fieldthrough education. A good education creates great support system from my parents.has always held an interest and been athe pathway to not only get ahead in life, I struggled to get a new routine forcareer that I aimed for. but also provides endless opportunities. Safe, Clean Thats What Newterra Offers.We offer a range of pre-engineered, self-contained packaged water treatment Drinking Water for ALL plants that simplify and expedite the process of providing potable water to remote communities. Our modular systems offer cost-effective treatment, regardless of the water source and are made scalable to accommodate any additional growth.We have the experience and technology to transform any source water into clean, safe drinking waterwherever its needed.For more information, call us today at 1.800.420.4056 or email us at info@newterra.com1.800.420.4056 | newterra.comISSUE 1 2019C hIEfS ofo ntarIoA dvocAte magazInE l 592019-The Advocate_July2019.indd 1 2019-04-18 10:29 AM'