JamesB's blog

Happy New Year everybody!
I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday season and hope each and every one of you got to spend time with your family and friends as well. As 2009 is now behind us, a new year in front of us,
I am eager to find out what this year will hold and believe things will turn out great. Life is exciting to live so I’m ready for all the challenges it holds.
I have not made any new years resolutions yet but here’s one for the record: I plan to lose at least 60 pounds within the next 6 months by working out more and increasing my running time on the treadmill. Sounds impossible but I’m determined. And yes, I was inspired after watching the weekly episodes of The Biggest Looser on tv and watching the contestants suffer yet at the end, it was like, “WOW I WANT THAT TOO!”. Also this year I plan to take up more sports like floor hockey and my old time favourite, tennis. That’s my goal and we shall see how that goes.

Seven Youth is quite excited and to see what this year will bring. One of the exciting new things that we’ll be seeing at Seven is our Radio show which will be broadcasted through Wawatay Radio Network (WRN). We are looking forward to our first broadcast and hope we can get all your responses and feedback as to what you would want to hear involving youth matters.
I, on the other hand, have been working firmly with some of the young people at my end trying to produce a two-hour radio show which we all have agreed to call it “The Seventh Hour”. This will give us an idea of what we would include on the WRN version of the program.
It is something we are all looking forward too and we hope to hear from you as well.

What is your favorite hobby? Is one of the one most asked questions by young children who I meet occasionally in my travels. I tell them, photography is my favourite hobby. Then they ask me why it is my favourite hobby. I take a minute or two to think about it myself. I honestly tell them my answer - Photography is my way of speaking.
You see, Photography has been a way for me to express my feelings, my thoughts, my imagination and my heart. It is a means for me to express my thoughts, my motions and my interest which is basic - to capture the inner beauty of my people. So many times, our people, the First Nations have been labeled as the bush whackers or Indians with no life to name a few. The photos I take of people are a means of showing the world who we are, how we live, where we live, how we live and the list goes on and on.

I recently started a new job with the KO Northern Chiefs. So far, my last few days here have been good. My job description here is working as the Youth ICT worker. The duties of this job is basically keeping the computers running and making sure everything works out smoothly. Of course, making sure every computer is connected and the network connections are okay.

I have always enjoyed this kind of work as when I was younger, I recalled playing around with an old computer and saying to my friends that I want to one day be a computer doctor. Well, years have come and gone and here I am. My words I had spoken have come to pass. I may not be a doctor but to be able to work with these computers is a dream come true.

I am excited about this job because it’ll give me the ability to work with these students and staff. I will also be working with four local schools that are in the community. What I am more interested in is the video conferencing which we will be able to use to connect with other YICT workers from around NAN territory. It is something I never liked but since it is a job requirement, my fears will have to be put aside. *laughs*.

As for my involvement with Seven, I am still going to be involved with this group. It’s my commitment to help keep this project going and I will do whatever I can to keep the fire burning. Since it’s beginning of times, I have always wondered how far would this project go. Almost 2 years have come and I see such a great accomplishment in this project, simply all because of you helped shape this together. :=D

On a recent wait at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto, I was amazed by the different cultures and backgrounds of people from all over the world. Sitting there with my laptop and book, I would often stop my reading and just gaze at the people around me.

I felt so proud for some reason. I would look around and would notice a First Nations woman probably in her 40s gracefully wearing her nice moose hide coat and a ear ring with a golden feather jeweler. I would often stop to smile at her being to unsure if I should introduce myself or not. I kept my silence and simply said hi.

As I was sitting there, I would remember the time when my grandma would always talk about how proud we should be for who we are and for where we came from. She would often times tell us that when she was younger, life was so different. Life was hard because everybody had to work. Whether it was getting up early in the morning or late at night, she would say they all pitched in to do something. It seems today all that has changed.

Today we got computers to do our work, we got facebook and bebo to communicate with each other, we got telephones and cell phones to keep in touch with each other. Made me think of every word my grandma would tell us... that is: “Things are going to change, people will want you to change but always remember who you are and where you came from. Never forget your background and your culture.

It was God (the Creator) who gave you your identity don’t forget it” As they called for my flight en-route to Winnipeg, I got up and very proudly and I said to myself, “I’m proud to be a nish” Without their teachings and their knowledge being passed down who knows where would I be today.

It's Sunday afternoon and I'm at a pow-wow in Eagle Lake. I am here with my friend Ruth and we're checking out the concession stands and of course the food menu. The weather is quite nice out and seems to be getting hotter as the minutes pass. This is Eagle Lake's annual pow-wow and the visitors come from all over Ontario and Manitoba. People of all ages including children are in the circle dancing in their signature style dance, giving praise to the creator for life, their culture, family and of course friends. I am thrilled to be a part of this event not only to be a spectator, but to be able to join with others in the quest to regain our lost and stolen culture. I am excited to be with others who love life and enjoy what the creator has given. With that, my blog may be short and sweet but remember, always give thanks to our creator for everything. It may be small, it may be big... in all that we have always be thankful.

P.S. Anybody going to the CLE? If you are, have fun.

Well it's 3:54 AM and I am sitting here at work. I am replacing somebody for a week doing night security at the local band office here in beautiful North Caribou Lake. It's been an experience working late at night as I have not been doing such a job in my life. Since I started this week long replacement, my coworker and I have been experiencing some kind of "visitation" if you may.

I know to some it may sound weird, to some it may sound crazy... either way, it seems they won't stop what they are doing. Earlier tonight, while we were sitting in the main building, we heard some kind of movement, then some knocking and chairs moving - the chills would rip through my back like as though I was sitting outside on a cold winter night.

Of course, me I hate hearing this kind of stuff so I went outside and a minute or two later, my coworker went running out, leaving her sandles laying on thick mud - LOL... we stood outside, wishing we had "real" company not that of a ghost kind though.

We laughed and asked ourselves, "why are we scared? we should just let them be..." We came back in, with a grin look on our faces wondering what we would hear next.

Do ghosts really exist or is it just in our minds? either way, it's presence sure brings a cold chill to our spines. It's now 4:09 AM and we heard something loud kicking ---- nobody around, no sign of human life in here other then us two... okay this is getting to freaky... To Be Continued!!!

Booshoo, my name is James Benson and I am the newest member here of the SEVEN Youth Advisory Committee. You may have noticed my name as a contributor in the previous issue of SEVEN. It wasn’t long after I was asked to take the role as a member of the youth advisory committee, which basically means I will be providing ideas and content, and helping with other duties.

A little bit of myself: I come from a small remote community called Weagamow Lake, where I have lived most of my life. I have one older sister and 2 young siblings. My mom is a teacher and my dad is a band councillor for our community.

I understand all the troubles many young people go through because I have been in that type of situation myself. As a child, I experienced a lot of things too. I was physically, sexually and emotionally abused, I was involved in gang activities and I helped in a lot of vandalism in the community.

I was always depressed and wanted to do one thing and that was to kill myself. You name it... I was troubled! However, as days passed, I slowly realized there was a purpose for me in life. I did not know what it was then but now I realize, the purpose for me here is simply to share my own experiences with others. One of the things that got me interested with SEVEN was the fact that they are doing something that I always wanted to do – share our experiences with the world. I applaud the good work Grace started thus far and envision this project growing even more.

Well, i've been given a three week "sick" leave from a recent surgery. I didn't expect to get this done but hey, it was worth the trip because I really needed this done. Now that i'm here recovering, I hope to make my three weeks a good one. While I am off, I plan to do some photo shoots and perhaps work on a website that i'm trying to create. I am not sure how it'll work out but we'll see. How is everybody doing out there? good? bad? somewhat ok? hehe. Remember, I am here for you... :) be back later...

Hmmm.... wondering what to write here as I take my afternoon break from my job. A lot has happened but it's life. Somebody tried to burn our office down the other night. The tree that was on fire was so bright I thought this area would be down in ashes. But thanks to the rain, it stopped the fire just in time. Almost reminded me to do the stop, drop and roll as I stood inside my office watching. Aha.