Gathering of the People Pow Wow
This past weekend me and my family made it out to Boulevard Lake where the Gathering of the People Pow Wow was taking place. It was the last day of the event, but we got to spend just over an hour watching some amazing dancers and drum groups perform.
Lakehead University - Material Witness - The Outpost
The Office Of Aboriginal Initiatives hosted a special production of “Material Witness this evening at the Lakehead University Outpost. I was lucky enough to photograph some of it.
Material Witness was inspired by Spiderwoman Theater's 1976 production of Women in Violence. Irreverent, sometimes surprising, the show is rooted in powerful storytelling, with a twist of humor and an uplifting musical beat. It is a multigenerational exploration of violence, healing and renewal in the lives of Indigenous women in urban and rural communities on Turtle Island.
NADF CCP Workshop 2019 - Valhalla Inn
Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF) are a not-for-profit Aboriginal Financial Institution serving entrepreneurs, businesses and communities in Northern Ontario. They hosted a 3 day workshop focusing on community planning. It took place at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay. I was there to cover a couple hours in the morning on the first 2 days. While I was there during the first morning they announced their new website launch which was super exciting. There was also a keynote presentation by Dan Longboat.
Wake the Giant Launch - Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School
I was lucky enough to be invited to take photos of the Wake the Giant Launch at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School here in Thunder Bay. ‘Wake the Giant’ is an initiative for local business owners to offer support for indigenous youth. The goal is to have over 150 local business come on board.
31st Annual LUNSA Powwow - Lakehead University
Thunder Bay is a very diverse city, and that was on full display this past weekend as Lakehead University Native Student Association played host to the 31st Annual LUNSA Powwow. It was a 3 day event with warmups taking place on the Friday and the rest of the celebration happening on the Saturday and Sunday. There were 3 grand entries over the course of the weekend, a feast on Saturday, a wide range of drum groups from across the province and of course lots of dancing and singing.
ONWA Family Portraits - Christmas
Earlier in the week I did one of my recurring portrait sessions at ONWA. This time around there were 4 families which ended up being plenty. It allowed a bit more time for each family which resulted in even more photos than usual. Seeing as how it was pretty cold out, we decided to just set up indoors. As much as I love how the outdoor photos turn out, it just made much more sense to do it inside, especially with the families with babies.
ONWA - Poetry Night
ONWA held another Poetry Night yesterday and once again I was lucky enough to photograph it. I covered the last one and I was super excited to shoot this latest one as well. For those of you don’t know, Poetry Night at ONWA is held to raise awareness of Violence Against Women in support of the United Nations International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women.
ONWA Family Portraits
It was that time of year again to capture some family portraits at ONWA. I've lost count how many years it has been now that I have been doing this but I get super excited each and every time. Usually there are about 5-8 families that show up which is actually pretty good, but, this time around there were over 10 families and some of them were pretty big too. Suffice it to say, I had my work cut out for me but it just mean I was able to capture even more photos then usual.
K.I.H.S. Graduation 2018 @ Valhalla Inn
This event was another one that I was photographing for the second time. Last years Keewaytinook Okimakanak Graduation Ceremony took place at the Italian Hall and it was a very intimate yet fun event. However, this time around, I was amazed not only at how many more graduates there were but all the family that attended as well. Whenever I photograph graduations such as this, it's really not that difficult capturing special moments because everyone in attendance is just so happy to be there.
ONWA - She is Wise Conference - Chelsea Hotel Toronto
Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of photographing an amazing event for ONWA, at the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto. The conference was called 'She is Wise in the Ways of Life'. It focused on ending violence against women and girls. Along with photographing the event I also helped design all a lot of the marketing for it, so I knew everything that was going on. With that being said, I was still anxious to see how it all turned out, and I couldn't have imagined a better event.
Gull Bay First Nation Microgrid Announcement
I was recently asked by Ontario Power Generation to cover a very important event at the Gull Bay First Nation this past Tuesday. Kiashke Zaaging Anishinaabek and Ontario Power Generation are working together to develop a microgrid that will use solar, battery storage and grid technology to help reduce diesel use at Gull Bay. It is to be the first fully-integrated solar energy-storage system in a remote community.
30th Annual LUNSA Powwow
I got asked to cover some of this weekends LUNSA Powwow and the Lakehead University Fieldhouse. This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the event and I was honoured to photograph it. Surprisingly I had never been to the LUNSA Powwow, but I have photographed other ones throughout the city. So, I was amazed at just how many dancers and people attended. As I photographer, it's a dream event to photograph with all the colours and people and energy.
ONWA Family Portraits
I usually do a few family portrait sessions a year over at ONWA, but one of my favourite times of year is the Fall/Winter one. Even though the winter season can be somewhat unpredictable here in Thunder Bay, the weather actually held up this time around and it made for some really nice photos. That's not to say it wasn't really cold, but I worked really fast with all the families and they were also very brave and patient.
NADF - Business Awards
The Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund Business Awards took place this past Friday at the Valhalla Inn. I was hired to photograph the event and I had a great time doing so. The NADF is a non-profit Aboriginal Financial Institution (AFI) providing business financing and support services to Aboriginal entrepreneurs and businesses to establish, expand, or acquire a business in remote, rural and urban communities in Northern Ontario. The awards presented celebrate the contribution of Indigenous people to the economy of northwestern Ontario.
ONWA Family Portraits
Last week I had the opportunity, yet again, to photography some families over at ONWA. I've lost track how many times I have done this but each time I do, I have just as much fun as the last. This time around, there were only 4 families, but that just meant I was able to spend even more time with each family. The whole session was very relaxed and most of the time I just let the families interact, which helped create good genuine moments. I'm very much looking forward to the next session, and the opportunity to meet and photograph more families.
Indigenous Peoples' Court - Community Celebration Dinner
When I was asked to photograph the Celebration Dinner for The Indigenous Peoples' Court, I was first honoured to be chosen to capture it, but also excited to be a part of it as well. All in all, I would estimate that there were about 150 people there. Don't quote me on that though. It was such a great turnout and there were a lot of special speakers attending as well.
ONWA Family Portraits
Whenever November rolls around I get really excited because it usually means I get to photograph some wonderful families over at ONWA. This year, the weather held out just long enough to do some outdoor portraits of 8 different families. I have lost track of how many of these sessions that I have done, but I do know that each one gives me the opportunity to meet some new families and also catch up with a few recurring ones.
MMIW Pow Wow - ONWA
This weekend ONWA was host to a very important event, the MMIW POW-WOW. It was a traditional POW-WOW to honour missing and murdered indigenous women. I have done many sessions over the years at ONWA, photographing families, so I know just how important and giving this organization is. My wife Anne and I just got in from Fort Frances this afternoon so we made it there with about 30 minutes left. During those 30 minutes I was able to capture some images of the event. The least I could do is spread the word through photos for such a serious issue.
ONWA Family Portraits
Yesterday I once again had the pleasure to photograph 8 different families over at ONWA. For those of you who haven't seen my previous sessions, ONWA stands for Ontario Native Women's Association. It is a great organization and I'm thankful to be able to contribute my services to it. Each time I take photos for them, I end up meeting some very special families. Some of them I have taken pictures of before and then are always others that I haven't.
ONWA Fall Portraits
Thankfully Winter is still holding off because it gave me a chance to get some great outdoor Fall photos at ONWA. If you haven't seen any of my other posts with ONWA, this will be approximately the 7th time I have photographed families for this wonderful organization. This time around there were only 5 families but boy were those families a lot of fun to photograph.