‘I want to become a paramedic or get into nursing, and bring that back’
> DARCY WILLIAMSON, 27
I’ve been playing hockey since I was 4 years old, so I know what it’s like outside of the community and I know what’s going on inside the community.
I played in Kenora from Grade 9 to the end of high school, played for Team Ontario at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships, and then played junior Ain Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto and Thunder Bay.
And I did hear stuff about Grassy brought up in those cities. I heard about the mercury problem and the forestry, both good and bad.
But sports brought me out of my shell — I gained more confidence and started to find out that mercury didn’t have to be a huge factor in my life.
I feel like the media only covers the bad stuff here.
Why not talk about the powwows? The cultural camp that happened over the summer? The fish derbies?
The way our community and school came together during the Humboldt Broncos tragedy?
I wish they could find a balance in coverage, just like life — life needs a balance between the good and the bad.
When people see me, I don’t want them to see someone poisoned by mercury. I want them to see a culturally oriented community member.
I’m also a grass dancer, and when I dance, I dance to feel good about myself. Or when someone is asking me for help or advice, when I enter the circle to dance I pray for them and for their healing. It’s a good path to go on.
I went to Lakehead University for a while and studied Indigenous learning. I did pre-health science, and ultimately, I think I want to become a paramedic or get into nursing, and bring that back to the community — something that’s really needed.
For now, I’m the phys-ed teacher at our community school. One of my goals is to bring all the hockey knowledge that I have to the students here and show them there’s a lot more out there than what they see here.