Notes from the Trail with Nancy Vail

This is the first instalment in a two-part series on local economic development. Sean Whelly is a lifelong Northerner, economic development practitioner and Mayor of Fort Simpson.

I see red dresses and my body goes into a panic SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” itSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s May 5 and I should do more (I hear my guilt say), but threats to my safety are a lived experience for me SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” housing insecurity, assault. I live with panic attacks now, and a constant low level anxiety that somehow always threatens to steal me from the beauty of a delicately healing life.

With the coronation in England, we certainly saw a lot of pomp and ceremony going on. It is something that the British and royal family are really big on. Ceremonies are sort of prearranged scripted actions that hold a lot of meaning, while pomp is added to make the ceremonies as big, exciting and colourful as possible.

HALUU INUIT. HILA ALIANAQHIJUQ AUQTULIQMAN IQALUKTUUTIAMI. IQALUKHIUKNAHIJUQ AUDLATIJUT ALIANAQ. INUIN MAJUVAKTUT EKALOKTOTIAMUN. NUTAQQATLU QUANA AUDLAATIVAKTUT. UPLAQINIAQMIJUT IQALUKTUUTIAMI HIKUMILU ULAPQIVIKMILLU KAMIUNITI HAAMILU. INIQNIGIITLU ULAPQINIAKTUTLU. TAPKUAT HAVAKHIMAYAIT ULAPQIPKAINAHUAT QUUJATAKTAVUT IHUAKHAIMATA. NIRINAHUATLU ULISIKNAHUATLU NATTIQHIUKNAHUATLU NUTAQQATLU ULAPQINAHUATLU QUANA. MAQPIRAAK QINIQLUGU HUMUNGGNAQQATLU HUMILIKIAK PINAHUAT.

We are ascending through the rituals of the sun. Here in the northern hemisphere, snow is receding and birth is reflected in all of us SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” we, all of creation, aligned together as one molecular symphony, seasons shifting SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” gyrations of earth and sky.

Native people have been asking me how to become a counsellor. ItSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s easy. Come join the Northern Indigenous Counselling Program. It starts on September 11, 2023. Woohoo!

When I was a kid, I read a comic book, set in ancient times, long before the first bird field guide had been created. The people referred to a flock of geese in the sky in their traditional V as SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½˜A flock of honkers. A sure sign of springSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™. I loved the idea that they were called honkers because that is just what they are, and you can often hear them long before you can spot them in the sky.

According to Forbes Advisor, up to 50 per cent of marriages end in divorce. This means that a large percentage of future relationships will involve blending families together. ItSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s well known that any relationship will fail without nurturing, guidance, and a lot of patience. Divorce is hard on everyone involved and taking that step to create a new step-family is a big decision and one that should be well thought out from all angles.

Notes from the Trail with Nancy Vail