Yes, that's Waskaganish on the news

Posted by S. , Friday, October 1, 2010 12:59 AM

Yes, if you're wondering, that Cree town being shown on the news and in newspapers is where I live. Billy Diamond's death is pretty enormous as far as losses go, and the helicopters started arriving with media about 5 hours after I saw the ambulance fly by to the clinic.

School was, needless to say, cancelled towards the end of the day, and will be cancelled tomorrow as well.
When important members of the community pass away, everything comes to a stop here, with most businesses (all 5 of 'em) and the schools closing. Unlike the token symbolic half mast flags of Southern tradition, in Cree communities everyone actually attends the funerals as well. Weddings, on a related note, are pretty much also open to the general public. Notions of community, at least in Waskaganish for all its flaws, are much stronger here than in any small town or village I have seen back home.

As a former history student, the idea that I will  be attending this funeral feels somewhat surreal.

If any of you Quebecois actually don't know who I'm referring to, you should: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Cree+trailblazer+Billy+Diamond+dies/3605967/story.html