Muses From The North

Article 9 – Woman’s Involvement in the Fur Trade

by Mason McDowell When the European traders first came to North America “colonization was not envisaged”1 by them, so the traders brought no white women from Europe over to North America. This made it much harder for the European traders to practice their own culture and start families in North America so “instead, the traders…

Article 8 – Ohana

by Taryn McKinney One of the most inspiring quotes from the movie Lilo & Stitch is, “Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind.” I used to believe this statement when I was little. I lived by that quote, and I truly believed family was everything. But is it? How long before one…

Article 7 – Defeated Hope

by Alicia Stensgard Character List Thomas (Tommy) Brown: 11-year-old Cree boy from the Pisim First Nation (located 400 km North of Thompson, MB). Known by his people as Osâwisip, meaning Brown Duck in the Cree language. Speaks both Cree and English fluently because of his father who attended Residential school in the 1930s. Has learned…

Article 6 – Bound Forever

By Hope Richards Two children, bound together by an unbreakable bond formed in the womb – Twins. They’re twins! Yet they look so different. One is a boy and the other, a girl. Their interests differ amazingly throughout their lives, but they always speak to one another about them. He tells her about the heavy…

Article 5 – Lurking Just Beneath the Darkness

by Peter Harris Introduction: My three year Bachelor of Arts degree from UCN provided me with exposure to new learning and fresh understanding. During that time I had the pleasure of enrolling in a fourth year condensed American Gothic Literature class instructed by Professor Ying Kong. This course bestowed in me a love of the…

Article 4 – Two Poems

by Darrell Lathlin IntroductionHi, my name is Darrell Lathlin, born in The Pas, MB. Born to a single mom and raised on the welfare system, I moved to Winnipeg when I was 10 years old and lost the understanding of my mother tongue language, Cree. Today, I am married with my wife of 20 years,…

Article 3 – The Thirty Years’ War

by Brady Cockerill Notwithstanding the Second World War, many people often cited the Thirty Years’ War as the most destructive and transformative period in modern European history. The length of the conflict, coupled with its religious and political undertones, did indeed make it a pivotal moment in European and especially German history. The nature of…

Article 2 – Exploring the Town of The Pas Manitoba

by Christopher Charbonneau Making the decision to relocate from one’s comfort zone to an uncertain destination is one that is full of difficult choices. Choosing the location that is best suited to meet ones unique needs requires planning, research, and most of all, interest. In order to surmount this daunting task, one will need the…

Article 1 – Aboriginal Culture in the North

Insights from the Cultural Habitus and True Beliefs of Elder Marie Ballantyne by Damilola Ibiwumi Joseph IntroductionThe world’s view of cultural identity and knowledge is very humanly phenomenal because it recognizes the classification of humans into their geographical locations, race and ethnicity. This makes it possible for each category of people to socialize according to…

Words from the Editors

Muses from the North celebrated her second year birthday this fall. We are proud to release this current issue, the third in the series for your reading pleasure. Our students continue to take advantage of the MFTN platform to relate their culture, tradition, struggles, challenges, aspirations, and achievements to the reading public. So far, more…