New Eagle Staff to honour those murdered and missing
By Kelly Anne Smith
NIPISSING FIRST NATION— A determined father carried the new Eagle Staff honouring Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Men and Boys to the Timmins Traditional Pow Wow.
Every Spring, the event is held as a celebration of life – the 2018 theme is Remembering and Honouring our Sisters and Brothers. This year’s focus is on missing and murdered Indigenous people from across Canada.
John Fox from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory has worked hard to find answers surrounding the death of his daughter, Cheyenne Fox.
Cheyenne Marie Fox, a member of the Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory on Manitoulin Island, was a mother who died at the age of 20. Fox is suing the Toronto Police Service for lack of response.
John Fox has suffered through the pain of grieving and is now ready to share his story and help others. He will travel with his son Jonathan Jr. to the Traditional Pow Wow in Timmins with people expected to attend from all over Ontario.
Coming from Peterborough, father and son arrived at the Anishinabek Nation Head Office on the traditional territory of Nipissing First Nation and sat down in conversation before making his way to Timmins.
As the transition is made from the trauma to healing and positive change, Fox has placed a new piece onto the new MMIWG/MMIMB Eagle Staff. The piece is a beautiful creation by Lily Armstrong of Nipissing First Nation.
“We are going to retire the other one. We are moving forward from the loss. That is why it was created that way in the beginning. Now the Staff is in line with the actual carving and the work that was done for it. The vision came to me after almost two years of when we lost my daughter Cheyenne Fox.”
“It took quite some time to put it together. It could have taken longer but the guy worked on it steady. Normally it would have taken him a year to make that but he had that done in less than six months. He is a professional. He has detailed work. Intently. He put a lot of work into it. Because he knew what my vision was. After I explained it, he started working on it right away. He said it would be a priority for him.”
“The stick that was made for it, in the beginning, it wasn’t the proper stick for it. So, we had to replace that stick. I went to Manitoulin Island. A carver from the Madahbee family made one for it out of cedar to represent women.”
“When I went there to pick it up, the committee did an Honour Dance for me and the Staff. They had wanted me to change the original stick because it was no longer appropriate. It was a different stick altogether and they wanted me to replace it with this here stick, so I did that.”
“We added the sculpture onto it to top it off for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. The turtle base is whittled [and] is made out of cedar, too, to represent all the Nations, the Clans. The artist in the community did all the Clans on it, Carver Kevin Charles. There are little feathers on it, small little wee feathers. The whole thing is very detailed.”
“I will retire the other one and have a feast for it. We have already done a lot of the work for it. I will either burn it or put it in the bush, whatever the spirits tell me to do. It is all done in a spiritual way. The journey for healing has started.”
Fox has much gratitude for the support of Rebecca Timms, Anishinabek Nation Coordinator of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Transgendered and 2Spirited, Men and Boys. With Timms help, Fox and his sister will meet in Timmins.
“I’m going to be talking to my sister and we haven’t talked in four years. We were just starting talk when my daughter was murdered. We were just starting to build a relationship. And then that got shattered. We were both in the Sixties Scoop.”
“I’m going on to Timmins and she knows I’m coming and going to the Pow Wow. She is my only biological sibling out of all of my brothers and sisters. Through the blessing of this program, my son and I are able to go up there.”
“The thing is, our families can’t do it alone. We need people to support us. At first, my people were also hit with this too because of the tragedy and loss. They were shocked just like we were. You become immobilized going through the grieving process. Now we are at the point that we can share things.”
“We will go to Timmins and be there as a support family. People are welcome to come up and ask about where we are at now.”