Gada Gawek’seg- Quay Ska Tiss See- Be the Change At St. Charles College

An emergency meeting was called by St. Charles College Native Studies Student President Natasha Cooper Lewis when she heard about the housing crisis in Attawapiskat. “I really wanted to help the Cree people in their time of need and I turned to the students for help,” said Natasha. The students decided to have wristband bracelets made that say “Gada Gawek’seg” and “Quay Ska Tiss See” which is Ojibway and Cree for “Be the Change”. The wristbands are being sold for $2 each at the school and by students in the community with all proceeds going to the Red Cross, earmarked for Attawapiskat. Grade 9 student, Beth Baxter from Moose Factory, ON, was grateful her classmates were willing to help be the change in a community her family is connected to on the James Bay coast. “I’m happy that my school wants to help out the people of Attawapiskat and that they liked our Cree translation so much that they put it on a bracelet. It’s a very powerful statement to make,” believes Beth.