An annual celebration of wild rice and Indigenous food sovereignty returns to Curve Lake First Nation this Saturday (September 24).

The third annual “Mnoominkewin” gathering takes place from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at Lance Woods Park on the shores of Wshkiigimong (Mud Lake, also known as Chemong Lake), featuring speakers, workshops, artist demonstrations, a concert, and more.

Mnoomin (pronounced mah-noh-min), meaning the good seed or the spirit seed, is the Anishinaabemowin word for wild rice. It is the only grain native to what is now known as North America and has sustained Anishinaabeg peoples for millennia. The practice of planting, tending, gathering, and processing mnoomin into food is called mnoominke, with mnoominkewin describing the way of life, art, and culture that develops as the community practises mnoominke.

The Mnoominkewin gathering is produced by the O’Kaadenigan Wiingashk Collective, a multidisciplinary arts collective dedicated to nurturing Indigenous artists and communities formed in 2004 by Sarah DeCarlo, Sara Roque, and Patti Shaughnessy. The first Mnoominkewin gathering began in September 2020, co-created by Curve Lake First Nation members Patti Shaughnessy and James Whetung.

“With collective spirit and celebration, we wish to inspire generative discourse and illuminate all that is good about our local food source,” reads a media release from organizers. “Its presence inspires ecological attention to our waters, our lands, our mud, the crawlers, the swimmers, the four leggeds and the flyers.”

“As we plant, gather, process, eat, celebrate, and renew familial and community ties we actively un-do the damage done by the colonial government through the William’s Treaty. Together we restore cultural transmission, exercise sovereignty, and practice Mnoominkewin — the art of wild ricing.”

VIDEO: About Mnoominkewin (2020)

The Mnoominkewin gathering begins at 7 a.m. with a sunrise ceremony conducted by Elders Shirley Williams, Wesley Whetung, Leona Stevens, and Liz Ozawamick with Firekeeper Billy Whetung, followed by a mnoomin-themed breakfast catered by Thomas Olszewski of Grandfather’s Kitchen.

At 9 a.m., Curve Lake First Nation Chief Keith Knott will welcome participants to the gathering, with emcee Gerrard Day orienting participants to the gathering and Dorothy Taylor performing an opening mnoomin song.

At 9:30 a.m., there will be a series of concurrent sessions, including Mario Wasageeshig speaking about Anishinaabeg mnoomin, artist demonstrations of beading, quilting, and muskrat fur and leather work, a workshop on planting and gathering mnoomin, and a workshop on processing mnoomin into food. The artist demonstrations and the workshops will continue until 3 p.m., with a break for lunch.

At 10:30 a.m., Janet McCue will lead participants in a open women’s hand drum song circle. All participants are invited to join in to learn and practice songs.

At 11 a.m., Dr. Fred Metallic will share how the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation community in Quebec came together to assert their inherent right to fish salmon on the Listuguj Sipu (river) and reclaim their powers of law-making and enforcement. Also at 11 a.m., Jonathan Taylor will provide an Anishinaabemowin mnoomin-themed language lesson

The gathering will break at noon for a mnoomin-inspired lunch featuring a pickerel fry by Elmer Whetung, Atlantic salmon caught by Dr. Fred Metallic, moose harvested by Ryerson Whetung, and wild rice pudding made by Gary Williams.

At 1 p.m., Chandra Maracle and Rick Hill present “Two Dishes, One Spoon: Sharing O:nenhste (Corn), Mnoomin (Wild Rice), and Stories as Haudenonishinaabe Reconciliation.” At 2 p.m., Tuscarora musician, composer, and vocalist Pura Fé will lead a drumming and singing workshop and share her canoe and paddle songs taught to her from her family.

At 2:30 p.m., a mnoomin practitioner panel will discuss their communities’ efforts to rehabilitate their mnoomin beds. Moderated by Autumn Watson of the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle, the panel will include Kelsey Trivett of Georgina Island First Nation, Julia Pegahmagabow of Atikmeksheng Anishnawbek, and Amanda Paul and Marc Sams of Bear Island First Nation.

The panel will be followed at 3 p.m. with a question-and-answer session featuring all of the day’s speakers.

At 3:30 p.m., the day’s activities will come to a close with remarks and a round dance led by Liz Ozawamick with song by Nimkii Ozawamick.

Mnoominkewin concludes at 7:30 p.m. with a concert in the Curve Lake Community Centre featuring Anishinaabe-American singer-songwriter Keith Secola, perhaps best known for his song “NDN Kars” from the film 1994 Canadian drama film Dance Me Outside directed by Bruce McDonald.

Secola will be joined by special guests Pura Fé and Curve Lake First Nation’s own Sarah Lewis and Missy Knott.

VIDEO: “NDN Kars” by Keith Secola

Everyone is welcome to participate in Mnoominkewin. Admission is free or by donation. You can register in advance on Google Docs.

The gathering is sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council and supported by Public Energy Performing Arts, Black Duck Wild Rice, and St. Andrew’s United Church in Beaverton.

For more information about Mnoominkewin and any schedule updates, visit www.mnoominkewin.com. To donate to Mnoominkewin via Public Energy, visit canadahelps.org.

With World Rabies Day coming up on September 28, the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit is teaming up with selected veterinarians to offer reduced-cost rabies vaccination clinics.

Intended for pet owners who face financial challenges, the clinics are being held for the first time since the pandemic began. They will be offered on Saturday, October 1st in the City of Kawarthas Lakes and Northumberland County. No clinics are available in Haliburton County, as a participating veterinarian could not be found there.

The cost for a rabies vaccination at these clinics is $40 cash only per animal (unless otherwise specified). No appointment is needed. Owners should keep dogs on leashes and cats in carriers, and bring proof of their pet’s most recent rabies vaccination if possible. The clinics do not offer examinations of pets, only vaccinations.

“Rabies is fatal, so getting pets vaccinated is an important part of caring for animals and being a responsible pet owner,” says Richard Ovcharovich, the health unit’s manager of health protection, in a media release. “By vaccinating your four-legged friend, you are also protecting the health of your family and loved ones.”

Here is a list of the reduced-cost rabies vaccination clinics on October 1:

• Kawartha Animal Hospital (130 Angeline St. S., Lindsay) from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Fenelon Animal Clinic (474 County Rd. 121, Fenelon Falls) from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Dale Veterinary Clinic (121 Toronto Rd., Unit 131, Port Hope) from 2 to 5 p.m., with registration starting at 1:30 p.m.
• Ganaraska Animal Clinic (146 Rose Glen Rd. S., Port Hope) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• English Line Veterinary Services (527 County Rd. 38, Campbellford) from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
• Presqu’ile Animal Hospital (46 Prince Edward St., Brighton) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or while supplies last.

Masks will be required to be worn indoors at the clinics. Anyone who is feeling sick is asked to stay home.

Rabies can be transmitted to humans when there is contact with the saliva of an infected animal through a bite, lick, or scratch. In each of the past three years, the health unit has investigated more than 600 animal bite or scratch incidents in Haliburton County, Northumberland County, and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

World Rabies Day on September 28 raises awareness about rabies prevention and highlights the progress made in defeating this horrifying disease. It also marks the 127th anniversary of the death of Louis Pasteur, the French chemist and microbiologist who produced the first rabies vaccine. The vaccine was first used to save the life of nine-year-old Joseph Meister in 1885, after the boy was badly mauled by a rabid dog.

According to the World Health Organization, dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths around the world, contributing up to 99 per cent of all rabies transmissions to humans.

Municipal law enforcement officers in the Town of Cobourg will begin using body-worn cameras as of next Monday (September 26).

On August 16, town council approved a report from the town’s legislative services division outlining the policy for the use of body-worn cameras by municipal law enforcement officers during investigations and within the course of their operations.

Municipal law enforcement officers are responsible for enforcing the town’s by-laws and regulations. Officers with the Cobourg Police Service have already been using body-worn cameras since June.

“The use of body-worn cameras aims to enhance trust between town staff and the community as well as improve enforcement reporting and accountability,” reads a media release from the Town of Cobourg.

“Body-worn cameras are intended to capture specific interactions with the public and are not intended for full-shift recordings. The body-worn cameras allow for accurate documentation of officer-public contacts and enhance the accuracy of officer reports and testimony in court.”

“Audio and video recordings also enhance the town’s ability to review enforcement proceedings and may also be useful in documenting infractions, violations, and accident scenes or other events that include the confiscation, removal of equipment, personal items, and vehicles from town or private property.”

A municipal law enforcement officer will wear the cameras in full sight, with lights on the camera indicating it has been activated.

At a private place or residence, an officer must obtain the fully informed consent of the owner or occupant before they can activate their body-worn camera. The owner or occupant can request that an interaction not be recorded at any time during the officer’s attendance at the private place or residence.

The minimum retention period for recordings from body-worn cameras is 60 days, with recordings of evidence captured during an investigation retained for a minimum of two-and-a-half years.

More information about the town’s policy on body-worn cameras is available at www.cobourg.ca/bwc.

A non-profit organization in Kawartha Lakes will be heading to Mexico on Saturday (September 24) on a mission to help homeless animals.

The Kibble Project was founded by Mexico native Gladys Orozco, who is married to Canadian champion figure skater Elvis Stojko. Stojko lived in Mexico for 12 years and met Orozco, who is also a professional figure skater, in 2009. They married in 2010, and the couple now own property in Pontypool.

Currently pursuing a career in modelling and acting, Orozco — along with her husband — is also an animal lover. She and Stojko have three rescued Australian cattle dogs named Sunna, Bestla, and Isis.

Orozco founded The Kibble Project as a small pet food bank to help animal foster parents and shelters with everyday food and supplies. They support a long list of animal shelters, rescue organizations, and human and pet food banks all over Ontario.

Recently, they sent food to Manitoba as well as toys and other supplies to Regina, Goose Bay, Newfoundland, Mexico, Guyana, Trinidad, and Tobago.

On September 24, The Kibble Project is teaming up with southern Ontario’s Full Circle Rescue and Mexico’s The Dog Go Project to set up a spay-and-neuter campaign in Puebla, Mexico and visiting the Funkytown Puebla animal shelter to donating food and pet supplies for more than 300 animals in the shelter.

As well as setting up the clinic and delivering supplies, they will also be returning to Canada with 10 dogs from the shelter.

Also on September 24, The Kibble Project will have a booth at the “Market in the Barn” vendor event at Hollowbrook Highlands, which runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 1020 Gray Road in Pontypool. Donations are welcomed.

For more information about The Kibble Project, visit facebook.com/TheKibbleProject.

Police have confirmed the body of a deceased person found on Sunday (September 18) is that of missing 22-year-old Travis Nickerson of Northumberland County.

The village of Hastings resident was last seen on September 8 and police issued a missing person report on September 12, describing Nickerson and the vehicle he was driving.

On Sunday, the Northumberland OPP received information about Nickerson’s vehicle being seen in the area of County Road 18 in Alnwick-Haldimand Township.

Officers responded to the scene and found the body of a deceased person.

After the discovery of the body, police said an investigation into the identity of the deceased person was ongoing and a post-mortem examination would be conducted at the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service in Toronto.

On Thursday (September 22), police said the post-mortem examination was conducted on Monday and confirmed the body to be that of Nickerson.

The cause of Nickerson’s death remains under investigation pending further forensic analysis.

The investigation continues into the circumstances surrounding the death by members of the Northumberland OPP Crime Unit, under the direction of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB), with the assistance of OPP Forensic Identification Services and in conjunction with the Office of the Chief Coroner for Ontario and the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service.

Police are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to immediately contact the Northumberland OPP at 1-888-310-1122.

If you prefer to remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit a tip online at stopcrimehere.ca.

This year’s annual Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign is supporting Community Care Peterborough, a registered charity empowering seniors and adults with physical challenges in the city and county of Peterborough to live at home by providing services including transportation, Meals On Wheels, and more.

When you buy a chocolate chunk Smile Cookie for a dollar plus tax (or a box of a dozen Smile Cookies for $12 plus tax) from a local Tim Hortons restaurant from September 19 to 25, they will donate 100 per cent of the proceeds to Community Care Peterborough’s “Give A Meal” and “Give A Drive” programs.

“Many more seniors and adults with disabilities are making difficult choices about cutting food costs or missing medical appointments to reduce travel costs in order to remain in their home,” says Alicia Vandine, Community Care Peterborough’s donor relations and communications lead, in a media release. “To assist these clients, we created the Give A Meal and Give A Drive subsidy programs.”

“These subsidy programs allow seniors and adults with disabilities to access these services for free, or at a reduced rate, depending on their financial circumstance,” Vandine explains. “It also allows us to help us subsidize the costs related to these programs so that we also have affordable options for those clients who can pay for them on their own.”

As well as visiting a local Tim Hortons restaurant to purchase Smile Cookies, you can order them 48 hours in advance by downloading an order form from Community Care Peterborough’s website at www.commcareptbo.org/smilecookies2022 that you complete and drop off at your local Tim Hortons restaurant.

You can also order online at Community Care Peterborough’s website and pick up your cookies at your local Community Care office or make arrangements for delivery (48 hours in advance is appreciated). The online order form is available until September 23; after that date you must place advance orders directly with your our local Tim Hortons restaurant.

The Tim Hortons Smile Cookie campaign began in 1996 as a way to help raise funds for the Hamilton Children’s Hospital in Ontario. It has since grown to become a major fundraising event at Tim Hortons restaurants, raising more than $75 million for local charities and community groups.

Last year, the campaign raised a record-breaking $12.2 million for over 600 local charities and community groups, including almost $69,000 for mental health care at Peterborough Regional Health Centre.

Here are the participating location in Peterborough, Lakefield, Bridgenorth, and Curve Lake:

• 721 Ashburnham Drive, Peterborough
• 1527 Water Street, Peterborough
• 1200 Lansdowne Street West, Peterborough
• 336 Lansdowne Street East, Peterborough
• 871 – 875 Chemong Road, Peterborough
• 157 George Street North, Peterborough
• 645 Lansdowne Street West, Peterborough
• 55 Park Street North, Peterborough
• 81 Hunter Street East, Peterborough
• 898 Monaghan Road, Peterborough
• 1781 Lansdowne Street, Peterborough
• 1420 Crawford Drive, Peterborough
• 1901 Lansdowne Street West, Peterborough
• 949 Highway 7 East, Peterborough
• 139 Queen Street, Lakefield
• 758 Ward Street North, Bridgenorth
• 1420 Mississauga Street, Curve Lake

Without downplaying the human toll of the ongoing opioid poisoning crisis in Peterborough, numbers speak the clearest language for most.

On its website, Peterborough Public Health maintains a series of sobering numbers: 31 drug poisoning deaths to date this year, 234 suspected opioid-related 9-1-1 calls during the same time frame, and 343 emergency department visits connected to substance use, also since the first of the year.

But there’s another number that offers proof progress is being made in the daily multi-agency daily to save lives: 1,435. That’s the number of visits recorded by the end of August at Peterborough’s Consumption and Treatment Services (CTS) site since opening June 13 at the Opioid Response Hub at 220 Simcoe Street at Aylmer Street.

In addition, says CTS program manager Kerri Kightley, 125 unique service users has been registered by that date.

“That’s far more than we expected in the first three months,” Kightley notes.

It’s also far higher than what most other Consumption and Treatment Services sites have experienced during their initial months of operation, according to Fourcast executive director Donna Rogers.

“One of the things we were forewarned about is we may be open for a period of time before anyone comes to our door,” says Rogers. “We thought we were going to have to do a lot of engagement in the community to find ways to get people to use the harm reduction works and to warm up to coming inside to use. Surprisingly, that didn’t have to happen.”

Surprising in part because of the stigma associated with substance use, she adds.

“They are doing something that is probably one of most stigmatized things anyone can do,” Rogers says. “They’ve been doing it with small groups of friends or doing it alone. It takes a lot of trust for people to come inside and do that in the light of day.”

One of the reasons for the high number of visits to the CTS is its location, Kightley points out. As home to the already established Opioid Response Hub, the former Greyhound bus terminal building was familiar ground for many.

“People got used to coming to 220 Simcoe Street to have their needs met, whether that be to connect with support services or medical-related services, or for harm reduction equipment,” Kightley explains, adding “Kudos to the staff here before the CTS was opened for doing the work of building relationships.”

“Its location in the middle of things in downtown Peterborough is just perfect. It was evident there was a need for low-barrier services for folks who use substances in Peterborough. Having a place where it’s safe and where you’re allowed to bring your substances and use them as you’d like without judgment is pretty remarkable.”

More than that, Kightley says, the CTS is saving lives. With a paramedic on site at all times during the its hours of operation, “a number of overdoses” have been responded to almost immediately.

“There isn’t a 30-minute delay between watching the effect of an overdose and then responding after the service user’s respiratory system shuts down. We can respond right away because we see what’s happening.”

Kightley adds another benefit of having the CTS is being able to monitor the safety of the drug supply on the streets.

“Staff and service users are paying attention to what colour the substance they’re using is. We keep track of what the effect is on the body. We’re then able to share that information with people so we can say ‘This colour is putting people down rather quickly.’ We’re sharing the risks of what we’re seeing.”

Open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., the CTS site is a partnership involving lead agencies Fourcast, PARN, and the Peterborough 360 Degree Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic. It was a years-long challenge from the initial proposal to establish a CTS in Peterborough to making it happen.

After a number of public consultations held in November 2020, an application for a federal exemption allowing the use of illegal drugs at 220 Simcoe Street was granted conditional approval in June 2021. Then, in March 2022, long-awaited annual provincial funding of $1.35 million was approved, complementing the $160,000 in community funding that came in via the Light The Way Campaign held in the fall of 2021. Shortly after, Health Canada — following a site inspection and satisfied that funding was in place — granted the exemption the CTS needed to operate.

The result is a safe and clean space for users to self-administer their already obtained substances under the supervision of health professionals who can respond to medical emergencies. Service users are also provided with sterile injection supplies, education on safer consumption practices, basic medical services, and referrals to drug treatment, housing, and other social services.

While there are always those who will object to providing a publicly funded space for people to use substances, “It’s tough to be against anything that could potentially help save lives,” Rogers says, adding “We’re not seeing lots of letters to the editor. We’re not seeing lots of opinion pieces. We’re not seeing people protesting. We aren’t getting a lot of backlash.”

That lack of backlash may be in part because of the effort that has gone into regularly communicating with neighbours of the CTS site, Kightley says, and being available to answer questions and address any concerns.

“We do sweeps of the block. We chat with security at the Simcoe Street bus terminal. We chat with shop owners. We talk to the folks at the library.”

In fact, the CTS has had a positive impact on the Peterborough Public Library, located on Aylmer Street between Simcoe and Charlotte. Before the CTS opened, there were a number of overdoses both inside and outside the library’s building.

“Since we’ve opened, they haven’t had an overdose response — that’s remarkable,” Kightley says, pointing out people using substances prefer to be indoors. “They don’t want to be in an alley or a park.”

The CTS, which is “completely prepared to respond in an emergency,” provides them with a safe indoors space to use. But, as both Kightley and Rogers note, the CTS on its own isn’t the answer to the opioid poisoning crisis — the toxicity of the drug supply remains a challenge.

“We can stop deaths if no one is having to rely on street drug supply,” Rogers says. A pilot project to ensure a safer supply of substances, being administered by the Peterborough 360 Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic, is a step in the right direction but is limited to supplying just 50 substance users with safe pharmaceutical-grade substances.

One restriction for substance users at the CTS site is that they can only take their substances orally, intranasally, or by injection. Health Canada’s exemption approval does not allow for supervised inhalation services (smoking or vaping). Rogers says inhalation services are not permitted in an enclosed space because of provincial health regulations.

“We would love to be able to provide inhalation services and pull in folks who may be inhaling their substances,” Kightley says. “Injection is more risky for blood-borne illness, infection, and the passing along of communicable diseases.”

To address the lack of safe inhalation services in Peterborough, a volunteer group has set up a mobile outdoor space called Tweakeasy — a reference to the speakeasy bars in the U.S. that served alcohol during the Prohibition era of the early 20th century.

“They do remarkable work,” says Kightley of Tweakeasy volunteers. ‘That’s a response to a drug poisoning crisis that has taken too many lives — they’re filling a need for a specific service.”

With colder weather now approaching, Tweakeasy is raising funds to purchase a tent and other gear to provide its service through the winter months. Organizers originally set up a GoFundMe campaign last October, but GoFundMe recently shut the campaign down for “prohibited conduct.”

Meanwhile, while both Rogers and Kightley are grateful for the provincial and federal support of Peterborough’s CTS site, Rogers notes there’s much more work to be done across the province.

“What about if you live in Lindsay? What about if you live in Cobourg? What happens if you live in Belleville? None of those places have a CTS site.”

Saying it will take “political will” to expand CTS sites across Ontario, Rogers points out there is another benefit to having a CTS that addresses a social issue taking lives.

“The health care system wants to figure how it can save money,” she says. “This is the place to start.”