History in the making is happening when it comes to the roles that Indigenous people are playing in levels of government. For the first time in Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), a historic moment has happened as the community has elected the first Iskwew to become chief. Chief Maureen Brown was sworn in last week as the new Chief for OCN.
“It’s an incredible honour and the whole experience has been surreal,” said Chief Brown. “As I think and reflect back on my life and how all of my experiences have brought me to this place, everything good, bad and indifferent has continually guided me to where I am today. It’s incredible when I think back to my very first memory of being taught our values at four years old, then attributing my whole life that has been leading up to this point and time.

Physical fitness is a lifelong endeavour that most people struggle with when they become adults, however, a local Swan River Constable has been using physical activity as a motivator to not only achieve her own personal goals but to do some good as well.
Briana Blencowe has participated in many events, particularly triathlons, over the years and for the first time, she competed at the World Police and Fire Games this past August hosted in Winnipeg.
“I competed this year in the World Police and Fire Games,” said Briana Blencowe. “This was my first time competing and I did the triathlon.
At this event, it was an Olympic distance triathlon, which is a 1.5 km swim, a 40 km bike ride and a 10 km run.
I started training at the beginning of April, specifically for that race, after I was cleared by the doctor to return to work and full activity.
“It was a different kind of experience for me. I have completed many triathlons since 2014, along with a few in Manitoba this year.
This one was smaller than I am used to as there are normally more triathletes participating in them.
However, the main difference in this small Triathlon was that it hosted many international athletes that are First Responders. There were 60 individual racers and nine teams from all over the world competing at St. Malo Provincial Park.
“This one was a challenge as it was only the second time I’ve raced the Olympic distance,” said Blencowe. “I was going into it with personal goals, rather than thinking of representing Canada on the podium. Just coming off an injury, I had goals I wanted to achieve for each discipline. My top two goals were to have fun and to finish.
My race-specific goals were to finish in under four hours, so the hope was to complete the swim in under 45 minutes; transition one in under five minutes; bike in under 90 minutes; transition two in under five minutes and run under 90 minutes.
“I completed all my goals with an official time of 3 hours and 27 minutes. I completed the swim with a time of 33:56 minutes; transition one was 2:54; the bike with a time of 89:26; transition two was 3:39 and the run with a time of 82:20.
“It was a challenge as you are swimming with all the other racers at the same time, then on the bike course the riding got tough as it was extremely windy,” said Blencowe. “It was a lot of fun and nice too. There were people there cheering us on along the course and through the park, which is where we got to see the different racers during the 2 loop run course. The cheering of ‘Go Canada’ or ‘Go Brazil’ or ‘Go Sweden’ was neat as I was running with people from all over the world. The triathlon community is always very supportive of their athletes and I was so happy to see that same support at this event as well.
Blencowe participated in other triathlons this summer including the Riding Mountain Triathlon which proved to be a course personal best.
“I completed my 15th triathlon and third race of the season, post-injury,” said Blencowe. “I raced the sprint distance at Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) for the second time since 2019. The wind gusts on the water meant white caps, so for safety reasons, the swim course was cut short from 750 meters to 300 meters.
“Overall, I finished in fifth place in my age group, out of 13 women. My time was 1 hour, 33 minutes and 42 seconds. I was able to cut three minutes off both my bike and run time during this race, which led to me achieving my personal best on this course.”
Recently Blencowe did another event, but this time to create awareness and raise funds. It was held again at RMNP, but was strictly a bike ride.
“I did the MS Bike Tour in RMNP last month,” said Blencowe. “Normally it’s done over two days, but this year it was held in one. It started and finished at Elkhorn Resort and riders had two options. The first was to turn around at the 35 km mark to do a 70 km bike or at at North Gate (54km mark), and come back for a 108 km ride, which was what my husband and I chose.
“Our goal for this was more a relaxed ride and to take breaks at each stop provided. Our ride time alone was about five hours and 14 minutes but came in just over six hours with breaks.
‘The fun part was going down that really big hill at the North end of Riding Mountain, at one point my speed got to 61.9 km an hour,” said Blencowe. “It’s unfortunate that they started the event going down the hill as it made the climb uphill feel that much tougher.”
This is a cause very near and dear to Blencowe’s heart, for she has seen first-hand how MS impacts people who are diagnosed with the disease and their families as well.
“Before I became a police officer, I was a personal support worker,” said Blencowe. “I worked in home care and in nursing home care. Over the years I was the caregiver to people who had been diagnosed with MS and who were at different stages of the disease.
Just seeing their lives change as it progresses, is something no one should have to experience. I’m fortunate that myself and none of my family members have been specifically impacted by it, but I have seen how it does affect people and families. This is one of the reasons why I’ve chosen to participate in this fundraiser over the years.
“I have until the end of the month to continue to raise funds, but I am at $1,345 raised so far,” she continued. “I always try to support my friends and family who are doing their own fundraisers, but it’s nice to see that others support me as well.
“It’s not always easy to ask people for money, because there are always so many organizations in need, but at the same time I’m putting myself out there and doing something that is challenging. It’s nice to have that support and people recognize the effort.”
Blencowe has raised funds for a variety of charities over the years through physical activity. What she has achieved is remarkable and goes to show how one person can make a difference.
“I’ve kept track of my fundraising efforts since 2019 and totalled all the amounts I’ve raised for charities, which is over $7,000,” said Blencowe. “It’s been great to not only challenge myself physically but to help do some good through raising awareness and funds to help others too.”

The tri-community has no shortage of incredibly talented beaders, however gaining access to beading supplies is another thing. A new home-based shop, Beading Culture, has opened up and is selling beads and supplies. The business was based on Beading Culture Owner Ashley Robertson’s own experience in beading and looking for supplies.
“I was around 15 years old when I was introduced into beading from my sister,” said Robertson. “My sister had learned how to bead from our grandmother. Our grandmother had passed away when I was two years old, so my sister was able to pass that knowledge on to me.

Opaskwayak Cree Nation is home to many talented people who have a variety of gifts to share. When it comes to music, everyone knows there’s a star in the community and he’s been a part of the music scene for quite some time. Ahab Constant started playing music at a very young age and grew up around several musical influences within his own family.
“I started playing the fiddle when I was very young,” said Constant. “We were living in Barrows at the time. My uncles were living around there too and they had a couple of instruments, a guitar and a fiddle. I was more interested in the fiddle than the guitar.
“One day I went to visit my uncle and he told me to just play the guitar, and not to touch the fiddle that was hanging on the wall. While I was there, he was getting ready to go somewhere to see some friends, and told me once again to not touch the fiddle on the wall. I started playing the guitar and he left. I kept looking out the window, while playing the guitar, to see how far away he was. Finally, he was out of sight, and then I picked up the fiddle.

Many of us don’t realize the power and healing that can come by sharing lived experiences and one’s culture with others. This has been a powerful journey that Steven Nipin-Muskwa has been on and discovered through the course of his life. He didn’t grow up immersed in his Indigenous culture, but he has taken the time to rectify that and share it with others.
“My family is originally from The Pas and my mother was a Sixties Scoop survivor,” said Nipin-Muskwa. “She was raised in the U.S. by a non-Indigenous family. I grew up knowing nothing about my Indigenous culture and about 15 years ago I went to my first pow wow with some friends. I didn’t know anything about where I was from or my family, but watching the pow wow, I was drawn into it and it was amazing.

Canadian social media sensation, Gurdeep Pandher, has caught the eye of many followers online with his Bhangra dancing and spreading messages of joy, hope and positivity. Pandher makes videos of his Bhangra dancing and shares them on his social media. This all started as a result of the pandemic and as a means of lifting people’s spirits up.
“I live in the Yukon territory, in an off the grid cabin in the wilderness,” said Pandher. “When the pandemic started, I became passionate about Bhangra dancing and sending out positive and joy during that time when it was very much needed. I started making a video each day, dancing in the wilderness around my cabin and posting it on social media as sending messages of joy, hope and positivity across the country and beyond.

Kelsey Learning Centre first opened its doors to students in the fall of 1996. The center began as a partnership between UCN (which was Keewatin Community College at the time) and Kelsey School Division. With only two instructors and one of them acting as part-time administrator, one room, and about 25 students, Kelsey Learning Centre fast became the place for adult students to complete their Mature High School diploma. Throughout the 27 years of its existence, KLC has helped 983 adult students receive their Mature Adult Diploma!
KLC is a Manitoba certified Adult Learning and Literacy centre. Adult students with all kinds of literacy and academic needs are welcome. In terms of programming, KLC offers full time day and some evening classes toward a Mature Adult Diploma, academic upgrading for high school, as well as academic upgrading for post-secondary programs.

A long-standing volunteer with The Pas Arts Council has been given a prestigious recognition for her many years of dedication and service. Elaine Bollman received the Governor General’s Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers last week in a local presentation amongst friends and colleagues.
Bollman was drawn into volunteering for The Pas Arts Council when she went to a meeting to learn more about the organization.
“In 1985, I saw an advertisement in the paper and it said The Pas Arts Council was hosting a meeting,” said Bollman. “I had heard of the group and only lived a block and half away, so I decided to see what they were all about. I thought it was a good way to learn about the organization. I attended the meeting and the group welcomed me in, and by the time I left the meeting, I was the vice-president.”