Sharing the stories of northern Manitoba

In fall 2022, CBC Manitoba journalists traveled to northern Manitoba as part of the Communities in Focus news bureau initiative. In Fox Lake Cree Nation, Thompson and Norway House Cree Nation we listened to local stories with the goal of sharing them with the rest of the province.

As this tour wraps up, we're reflecting on the people we met and the lessons we learned. Here are all the stories shared from Communities in Focus.

Fox Lake Cree Nation

Listen

• Fox Lake Cree Nation has been waiting more than 75 years for Canada to hand over land it owes them. They say the long wait continues to impact their community. Listen now.
• A monument in the middle of the town of Gillam is a reminder of the people of Fox Lake who died between 1966 and 2004. Listen now.
• "Anyone that flicks on a light in Winnipeg...is impacting Fox Lake." Listen now.
• Marcy Markusa takes us to Fox Lake Cree Nation, where she hears Destiny Henderson's story of trauma, hope and healing.Listen now.
• The voices of future generations on truth and reconciliation. Marcy Markusa spends time with students big and small at Gillam School. Listen now.
• You can't look out many windows in the area of Gillam and Fox Lake Cree Nation without seeing "metal trees". That's what some band members call the huge northern hydro towers that cut through the boreal forest. Listen now.

Read

• It's Fox Lake's promised land. For decades, the northern Manitoba Cree Nation has fought for land it is owed under treaty. Read now.
• In a landscape transformed by dams, young Fox Lake Cree Nation fishers, hunters work to preserve traditions. Read now.

Watch

• In Fox Lake, the community prepares to acknowledge Truth and Reconciliation Day.

• Jade Kirkness is the youngest councillor ever in Fox Lake Cree Nation. Months into the job, CBC spent a day with her as she works through her family's painful past and plots out a new course for herself and her community. Watch now.
• Most of Fox Lake Cree Nation's home territory has never been made a reserve by the federal government, despite treaty agreements, which led to community members being displaced from their homes as hydro dams were built in the 1960s. Watch now.

Thompson

Listen

• Faith Fundal checks in with Nadia Kidwai, Senior Producer at CBC Manitoba, about our team's visit to Thompson. Listen now.

Read

• A new facility in Thompson is offering Northerners a space to try out high-tech equipment they might not otherwise have access to in hopes that experimentation will lead to new interests and hobbies, perhaps even a new career. Read now.
• Northern Manitobans are calling on the province to restore preventive foot care nursing at a clinic in Thompson, saying the loss of those services is causing suffering and hardship. Read now.
• People in northern Manitoba say they're fed up with not having enough spots on Highway 6 to go to the bathroom which they say is not only an inconvenience, but a health and safety issue along the province's important north-south corridor.Read now.

Watch

• Get a behind-the-scenes look at the Community Feast in Thompson.

Norway House

Listen

• Hear from the community of Norway House about demand for a new bridge to connect the community year-round. Listen now.

Read

• Members of Norway House Cree Nation are raising concerns about information sharing, environmental impacts and community employment surronding a potential nickel mine in the area. Read more.
• Lester Balfour is teaching young people in Norway House how to trap, fish and gather food. Read more.

Watch

• Norway House's Gilbert Fredette tells us about the history of the community.

• A northern Manitoba educator says he and his students continue to learn from the ancient knowledge and teachings offered in a series of rock paintings in Norway House Cree Nation, Man. Watch now.
• Dr. Courtney Leary grew up in Norway House Cree Nation, dreaming of becoming a doctor. After completing university and training elsewhere, she returns home to her northern Manitoba community to practice medicine and honour her roots.

• Watch as Stephanie Cram reports live from the Norway House Community Feast.
• Norway House Cree Nation still does not have year-round highway access. Now, residents of the northern Manitoba community say they want a bridge built near where a cable ferry crosses the Nelson River. Watch now.
• Austin Apetagon runs a video production company that makes sure everyone in Norway House can see what is going on in the community. Watch below.

• Like most Manitoba First Nations, the economic hub of Norway House Cree Nation is the Northern Store, a chain of stores owned by the North West Company. Now, Chief Larson Anderson is sounding the alarm on the monopoly the company has on economic development in First Nations like his northern community.