Almost exactly 16 years ago at this very moment, I was being transformed.
A little spirit named @skawennahawi12 chose me to be her mother, and in that instant, my entire world changed forever.
Before you, I thought I understood strength. I thought I knew what it meant to be tough. But you taught me that real strength is something far more sacred. It is not hardness. It is not armour. Real strength is loving someone so deeply that their joy becomes your joy, their pain becomes your pain, and their dreams become stitched into your own spirit.
You were the first person to teach me that being a warrior is not about fighting harder than everyone else. Sometimes being a warrior means listening and standing quietly beside someone while they discover who they are. It means holding space while they struggle, stumble, rise, and grow into themselves.
For 16 years, I have had the absolute honour of watching you become.
And what a breathtaking thing that has been.
Watching you in the water, so fierce, so disciplined, so determined,has moved me in ways I cannot fully explain. Every game, every battle, every moment you chose to rise above pain, disappointment, injury, and doubt, I watched you become even stronger. But what inspires me most is not simply your resilience. It was the way you rose through it all and became a leader entirely in your own flavour and style. Unapologetically yourself. Quietly powerful. Fierce with heart.
The truth is… while I was raising you, you were also raising me.
Through loving you, I became the woman I was always meant to be.
You have given my life deeper meaning, deeper purpose, deeper love than I ever knew was possible. There are no words big enough for the gratitude I feel that Creation has allowed me to walk this life as your mother.
Happy 16th birthday, my beautiful warrior queen.
No matter how old you get, part of my heart will always belong to the little girl who transformed me simply by arriving here.
I love you beyond this lifetime. ❤️
What an incredible morning! 🤩 Huge shoutout to co-captains @skawennahawi12 and Naomi Jones for proudly representing the @capitalwave U16 National Champions on @ctvottawamorninglive today! 🏆✨
Thank you for celebrating this historic achievement and making these amazing young women feel like the true TV superstars they are! 🌟💙#waterpolo #indigenousathlete #kanienkehaka
What an awesome opportunity for the Co-Captains of @capitalwave U16 National Championship team to be interviewed and highlighted this morning on @ctvottawamorninglive Thank you so much for showcasing these amazing young ladies and thier team!
We need to wake up and start fighting for public education.
If we stay silent, the province will keep cutting until there’s nothing left. And what happens then? Families who can afford it will turn to private schools, while the public system is gutted for everyone else.
New cuts at the Ottawa-Carleton school board mean at least 97 fewer education workers supporting students and schools.
“There is nowhere left to cut.”
“When you cut the workers who support the system, the system weakens.”
“This is erosion, not efficiency.”
OSSTF/FEESO local leaders are saying what everyone in education already knows: chronic underfunding is hurting schools, students, and the people holding the system together.
Public education should not become a privilege only available to those who can pay for alternatives. We need to speak up before the damage becomes irreversible.
Full story at the Ottawa Sun.
Today, May 5, is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people. 🧡
On days like today, and on every day we acknowledge residential school survivors and the ongoing impacts of colonial violence, I ask Canadians to reflect.
What does it really mean to be Canadian?
Does it mean accepting that Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQI+ people go missing or are murdered at rates five to seven times higher than the national average?
Does it mean accepting that many of these cases are not properly investigated?
Can we call this the best country in the world when this crisis has existed for over five hundred years?
Today is not just about awareness. It is about accountability.
So I ask you one simple question.
Are you ready to fight to make Canada truly the best place on earth for everyone?
If your answer is yes, then May 5, and every day, must be a day you stand up, use your voice, use your privilege, and take action to make this country safe for all.
#MMIWG2S #May5 #NoMoreStolenSisters #IndigenousLivesMatter #TruthAndReconciliation EveryChildMatters
This past weekend, the @capitalwave U16 women’s water polo team made HISTORY — becoming the first team from Ontario to win a National Championship 🏆💥
Led by captains @skawennahawi12 and Naomi Jones, and guided by coaches Gabriel Cooper and @ilona.csepregi , these athletes battled through every game undefeated — pushing past fear, lifting each other up, and showing exactly what true teamwork looks like.
Watching my daughter chase and achieve dreams dreams like this? There’s nothing that compares to that kind of pride ❤️
Huge congratulations to our standout stars:
✨ Aline Borowic (MVG)
✨ Naomi Jones (Best Defender)
✨ Gabriel Cooper (Most Valuable Coach)
And shoutout to the other Capital Wave teams who headed to Vancouver and proved that water polo is not just alive in Ottawa — it’s thriving and getting stronger every day 🌊🔥
This is the kind of story that deserves a bigger spotlight 👀
@stefan_keyes@ctvottawamorninglive
We can’t wait to welcome Waneek Horn-Miller to deliver our Signature Summit Address, grounding the summit in story, truth, sport, and the hard conversations needed to build something different.
A Mohawk woman from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, Waneek’s journey does not begin or end with being an Olympic athlete. She has lived through violence, discrimination, and moments that shaped her understanding of what sport, identity, and belonging can mean.
As one of Canada’s few Indigenous Olympians, a former co-captain of Canada’s Olympic women’s water polo team, and a powerful voice in Indigenous sport and wellness, Waneek brings a perspective that sits at the heart of PowerShift.
It was an incredible honour to be invited to share my journey with the incredible teachers, coaches and staff of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. I was blown away by the school facilities, the investment in language, culture and academic and sport excellence. Their girls basketball team are three time state champions. I left a bit jelly of their sports facilities 🤣. A huge thank you to everyone in Cherokee territory for making my short but mighty visit a powerful one!
86 years ago, in a quiet Brooklyn neighbourhood, a Mohawk girl was born… and honestly, the world has not been calm since.
She showed up with a spark in her eye, her own kind of swagger, and just enough attitude to make it very clear she was not here to behave.
She grew into one of Turtle Island’s most outspoken Indigenous rights activists, challenging systems, breaking rules, and making sure nobody got too comfortable.
In her 86 years, she knows she is not everyone’s cup of tea… but let’s be real, she was never trying to be. She has never stayed quiet, never backed down, and has always said exactly what needed to be said, whether people were ready to hear it or not.
I am so lucky to call Kahn tinetha Horn my Ista. She raised us to think for ourselves, stand strong in our values, question everything, and fight. Not for what is easy, but for what is right… and preferably while looking a little unbothered doing it.
I have watched her stand her ground, even when it was just her and her kids beside her. And I have been lucky enough to have her right behind me when it was my turn.
Her advice has always been very simple and very her
We never fight just to fight, we fight until we win
And if you know her, you know she means it.
There are not enough words for how much I love you, Mom. Every day you are here, I am whole.
Happy 86th birthday ❤️
Now onto the next 20 years of laughs, adventures, and let’s be honest… a few more well-placed battles because you are definitely not done yet. Photo by @_redworks
