Volume 2, Issue 5

$15,000 for West Coast Outfitters

The Hudson and James Bay Cree Outfitters Association has received $15,000 from Ontario’s Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, reports Wawatay News. The money is the last installment of a $120,000 grant that first started flowing in 1990 when the association was created to help 14 Native goose camps attract tourists. ... read more ››

Canada bonds with Iraq

Canada is cozying up to the world’s most notorious human-rights abusers as a way of fighting a declaration on Native rights now being debated at the United Nations, says the Grand Council of the Crees. Canada is leading the charge against the declaration by saying it will give indigenous peoples too ... read more ››

From the GCCQ news desk: Energy debate

The Grand Council has announced that at present it will not participate in the debate announced by the Government of Quebec. The government, responding to an election promise, has set up a public debate on energy options. The problem with the debate is that the panels are made up of members ... read more ››

Hopes for Nunavik Assembly

The Inuit of Nunavik are galloping ahead toward a self-government deal with the Quebec government, reports Nunatsiaq News. The Inuit are refusing to talk sovereignty but other issues are still on the table. An agreement-in-principle is expected by the end of April. The Inuit in Nunavik want their entities consolidated under ... read more ››

If you are abused…

If you are abused: • Call the police if you have been assaulted. • Tell someone. Talk to a friend, a family member, a doctor or a counsellor. • Write down the details of the assault as soon as possible. • Develop a safety plan. Memorize emergency phone numbers and know where you ... read more ››

Inuit dying younger than 20 years ago, says new study

Disturbing figures compiled now for the first time show that Inuit of northern Quebec have a shorter life expectancy today than they did 20 years ago, due partly to a high number of suicides among the young people. If you’re an Inuk in northern Quebec aged 15 to 19, you’re 25 ... read more ››

Kashechewan goes dry

The Kashechewan First Nation has introduced a Peacekeepers Program to combat the overflow of alcohol entering into their community. The Peacekeepers, made up of community volunteers, will have authority to inspect anyone for alcohol in all luggage and vehicles that enter the community. Newly-elected Chief Oliver Wesley said he is pursuing this ... read more ››

Lasagna back in court

Mohawk Warrior Ron “lasagna” Cross is back in court, but this time on his own terms. Cross has filed a police ethics complaint against five SQ officers for a brutal beating he (allegedly) received at their hands on Sept. 26, 1990. That’s the day Mohawks evacuated the Treatment Centre in Kanehsatake ... read more ››

Mine fever sweeps North

Two massive new mining developments in northern Quebec will bring in $640 million of investment and create 4,600 jobs in the short-term, mostly for non-Natives. Metall Mining, based in Toronto, has announced it will spend $150 million on its Troilus mine, in the Mistissini Cree Territory. The mine will produce 10,000 ... read more ››

No rooms at the inn?

Larry House of Chisasibi has filed with the Quebec Human Rights Commission in Rouyn Noranda. His claim is against the Journey’s End Motel in Val d’Or. He claims discrimination was a factor when he was refused a room at the motel. House recounted that in December of ’94 after arriving into town ... read more ››

Playground Safety

Police say it’s likely the local coroner will hold an inquest into the death of a five-year girl on the playground of the Moose Factory Ministik School. Michelle Martin, a senior kindergarten student, died in an accident while playing on playground equipment the morning of Friday, Feb. 3- Michelle had just ... read more ››

Route du Nord: a tangled web

The Route de Nord was a Godsend to many. Benoit Bouchard, federal Minister of Transportation under the Brian Mulroney, got the feds to kick in 55 per cent of the funding to get this road built—a road Bouchard’s Lac St-Jean riding had apparently wanted for years. The road was especially sought ... read more ››

Scandal swamps PQ troops

An embarassing scandal has knocked the PQ government on its butt and got a cabinet minister turfed out of her job. Premier Jacques Parizeau got skewered in the National Assembly this month by opposition politicians accusing him of trying to influence a government-owned TV station’s coverage of the PQ sovereignty campaign. “This ... read more ››

Solidarity alliance elects Horn

Congratulations to Kahn-Tineta Horn on her recent election as president of the Canadian Alliance in Solidarity with Native People. The organization, setup in I960 and originally called the Indian-Eskimo Association, has 3,000 members across Canada. At its latest annual meeting, CASP members voted to support the rights of First Nations in ... read more ››

Speed demon found out

Police couldn’t catch up to Mistissini’s Kenny Gunner who powered his way to two first-place finishes in skidoo races in January. Kenny pushed his Polaris machine to a first-place win in the Ouje-Bougou-mou sno-cross professional class race on Jan. 21. He was headed for an easy win in the next day’s ... read more ››

Super “Bowl” results: Another Perspective

I must start by saying that I’m not a great football fan. I did get interested in last weekend’s match from another standpoint. I had read somewhere that a peculiar phenomenon occurred during the commercial breaks of major games: abnormally high peaks in the amount of sewer flow. Professional curiosity led me ... read more ››

Timmins medical scheme short on details

The health board in Moose Factory is reacting with caution to a proposal by the Timmins Hospital to deal with a serious shortage of doctors in the coastal communities of Muskegowuck. As good as the intentions are, the Weeneebayko Health Board is saying the proposal is short on details and leaves ... read more ››

Wabimeguil serious at last

Betty Albert Lincez a.k.a. Wabimeguil (which means White Feather) is an amazing artist. It’s unfortunate The Nation isn’t in colour so you could see the full glory of her work. I found her name for the first time on the Worldwide Web, a sort of computer bulletin board that is amazing. ... read more ››

What are you looking for?

Reading has always been a favourite pastime for me. I have tried to apply some of the good things I read in the many different situations where I needed guidance to see things in a positive light. When I hear people discribe a town or village as this way or ... read more ››