We finally made the decision to change career paths and move on from the paper in the summer and made it public in the September edition. This was a tough decision arrived at over several years of wavering debate. Once the decision was made, the pressure lifted a bit, but our biggest concern was to keep this entity, good old Eagle Feather News, going somehow.

This Daruma Doll has been waiting for me to make a decision for three years. Photo by John Lagimodiere

Well, within a day of the paper going out, we had excellent response and a bit of shock to be honest. The shock came from folks who couldn’t believe that the paper would go away. They looked forward to the monthly issue pick up at the gas bar or library or at the school. Folks told us about their EFN habit, loving the stories celebrating the success and awesomeness of people and events in the Indigenous community. Or tuning in every morning to see what was new on the website or searching the website for events or even way back into the archives.

We knew people read the paper but did not quite understand the long roots it had. The pressure then grew to ensure that the paper would go on. Fortunately, the people on the next page to your right all stepped up and said they wanted to continue the legacy. We couldn’t believe our good fortune. 

Over the years, we had built personal and professional relationships with Ben, Melody, Errol and Kerry. And in that time had grown to respect their abilities. When they all had a meeting and agreed they had shared vision and passion for the paper, what it does and can do into the future, the conversations switched from could we, to how do we transition to keep EFN serving the community. And tadda! Eagle Feather Media takes over January 1, 2022. A young, energetic and talented team that will take this media outlet to new heights.

What a relief. Seriously. I figured giving over the paper would be business as usual. Just a simple business transaction, hand it off and away we go. But I tell ya when I read the press release the new team wrote, I wept. A deep twenty-minute cry of sadness, joy, stress and then relief. Turns out after an almost 25-year career, you hold some things close. I think the tears was all of that coming out in a rush. And ya know, I felt great after it.

I realized by letting it go, I was doing what was right for me and my family and for Eagle Feather News. Let it go and let it grow. And with the new team, we couldn’t be happier or more confident on the future of EFN. And that’s good news for the community and our loyal readers who cut out those stories of success of their relatives or a kid who is inspired by an article, one of those folks who reads this paper cover to cover each month like my uncle Raymond. We look forward to contributing to the 25^th anniversary edition in March but are happy and ready for some much needed rest and change. 

Funny story. We had been talking about getting out of the paper for years and during a trip to Japan to see family in 2018, were gifted a Daruma Doll by my cousin Marc and his wife Eriko. When gifted, the figure's eyes are both blank white. You then select a goal or wish for the year and paint in the left eye of the figure's two eyes with Chinese or Japanese ink. Once the desired goal is achieved, the right eye is filled in. It is a Buddhist thing. Our goal was to deal with the paper and have a plan get out before the end of 2018. Well, that little dude sat on my bookshelf, looking at me out of that one eye, guilting me for over three years. Well, silly us, we coloured in the right eye first. Eeeks! Cultural protocol out the window. Maybe that’s why it took us three years. 

Anyhow, come January 1^st, I’m colouring in that other eye. 
Merry Christmas everyone. All the best in 2022.

John Lagimodiere