ARTICLES BY Amy German

A big “No” to niobium mining

As more voices join the movement to stop a niobium mining project on Kanehsatake territory, the pressure to put an end to the project is mounting amidst a great deal of suspicion and confusion. On June 30 about 40 protestors congregated in front of the Best Western Ville-Marie Hotel as Niocan ... read more ››

“Proud to Serve”

According to Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, June 28 will go down in the history books of the Cree nation as a day of pride and celebration as yet another dream, once conceived of by Cree Elders some 40 years ago, has finally been realized. The rainy June morning marked not ... read more ››

Battling the Eskan warriors

While Eska water products may line the shelves of stores throughout the province of Quebec, the Eaux Vives Water Company’s latest ad campaign has been leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of those at the Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre (NFC) over allegations of racism in both the French and ... read more ››

A woman on the go

In 2010, the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) was hit with a devastating blow – a $35,000 cut to its annual funding when the federal government terminated the Aboriginal Healing Foundation’s funding. Those precious dollars, about one third of the NWSM funding, went to pay for a wide variety of ... read more ››

The greatness of graduating

Though school might be out for the summer, for some Crees this spring marked school being out forever for them. While the Nation would like to congratulate everyone who graduated from their respective academic programs this spring, we caught up with a handful of post-secondary graduates to see what it felt ... read more ››

Running with Shannen’s dreams

The Shannen’s Dream campaign to end education apartheid for First Nations youth held a major launch on June 10 for a new report that will make its way to the United Nations later this year. The 84-page document is an alternate report, entitled Our Dreams Matter Too, that will be delivered ... read more ››

Entering Wemindji’s golden era

With the looming gold mining project on Wemindji territory getting closer to moving from the advanced exploration phase into becoming a full-fledged mine, one question that has been on the minds of many Crees is how to maximize the economic spinoffs from the project for those who live on the ... read more ››

Plugged in and beyond

When broadband finally hits Eeyou Istchee this fall, it won’t just mean that Crees will finally be able to run an iPhone or play Farmville at regular speed as a flood of new technologies geared at everything from online learning to medical diagnoses at a distance will finally be available ... read more ››

Without justice or juries

It has only been weeks since Jordan Wabasse was laid to rest in his home community of Webequie, Ontario and yet it may take years before he and the other six First Nations students, all of whom died while attending school in Thunder Bay, will get justice. On February 7, the ... read more ››

Down the yellow plastic road

The recent Symposium Mines Baie-James in Chibougamau not only brought out many of the companies looking to do business in Eeyou Istchee but also those who can offer products and solutions to many of the problems the mining industry faces, Terratech is one of these companies. Having recently set up shop ... read more ››

Showcasing the goods

As the province’s Plan Nord for development in the north is finally moving into the action phase, a handful of Cree business bigwigs have made some proactive moves, presenting what Cree business and a Cree workforce can do for the mining industry at a major international mining event. This year’s Canadian ... read more ››

First day on the job

As Parliament finally resumed on June 2 for the first time since the election, many shiny new MPs were making their way into the House of Commons as elected representatives to report for duty for the very first time. Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou MP Romeo Saganash was one of them. Just moments after exiting ... read more ››

Regaining control

While the fresh ink on the new framework agreement between the Grand Council of the Crees and the Province of Quebec may have finally dried, the work to create a Final Agreement within one year has just begun. On May 27, Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come and Premier Jean Charest finally ... read more ››

Washaw Sibi chooses change

As Washaw Sibi’s newly elected Chief, Pauline Hester knows the struggles of her own people intimately, which is why she feels she is the perfect person to take the reins at this point in time. Much like the rest of the Washaw Sibi people, Pauline Hester says that she is from ... read more ››

Resisting a Resist-A-Ball?

In the last year, a revolutionary new fitness-and-wellness program has been the foundation for hundreds of Cree women to lose an exponential amount of weight throughout Eeyou Istchee. The question is however, why is Theresa Ducharme’s Lemon Cree fitness program facing any resistance it all? The Resist-A-Ball program started in the spring ... read more ››

It’s all about the Plan

After years in the making, Quebec premier Jean Charest finally unveiled the Plan Nord for provincial development north of the 49th parallel on May 9 to many cheers as well as a few jeers from some of the First Nations that will be affected by the plan. Despite the concerns some ... read more ››

Spectacular, Sumptuous, Sensational Summertime

As the chill finally leaves the air and the days grow longer and brighter, one can’t help but ponder what will be the best way to take advantage of the upcoming summer months and where the best times are to be had. For those fortunate enough to get some downtime this ... read more ››

Remembering Kokum

Recently, Our Pink Thoughts website honoured Lydia Corston, a Moose Factory Cree who passed on earlier this year at the age of 89. Her granddaughter Marla Newhook recounted the role her grandmother (born Lydia Kapashesit in Rupert’s House) played in her family. “She was a very strong woman who had ... read more ››

Talking about winning

Cree history was made on May 2 as Romeo Saganash won the first Parliamentary seat ever to go to a James Bay Cree when he was elected to be the new New Democratic Party of Canada MP for the Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou. Saganash, who beat out Bloc Québécois incumbent Yvon Lévesque, said that ... read more ››

Feeding the north

After decades of shipping food to the north under the Food Mail Program, as of April 1, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada launched Nutrition North Canada, a new food subsidy program to get healthier food to the Canada’s most northern peoples. While the federal government is heralding the program as being ... read more ››

Earth Studies for Cree youth and beyond

While Cree children in the communities have the opportunity on a daily basis to learn from their own environment and their Elders who are there to pass on knowledge, they don’t often get to share their culture with youth from other provinces, states or countries. This is why the International School ... read more ››

Cree moms visit Kahnawake

It was supposed to be a Cree and Mohawk mothers’ conference in Kahnawake that had been designed as a special cultural exchange between moms from Wemindji and Kahnawake. But, it didn’t exactly work out that way. Affectionately named the “Creeference” by the Young Mothers’ Association of Wemindji, the local Wellness Centre ... read more ››

Uranium battle rages on

Ever since the November hearings in Mistissini and Chibougamau over whether or not Strateco Inc. will get the approval from the federal and provincial boards required to pursue their uranium mining exploration project, both sides have been awaiting a verdict with bated breath. Last November 23 the final hearing over Strateco’s ... read more ››

Policing handover

Over 35 years since it originally became a clause in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, the Eeyou Eenou Police Force finally became a reality on April 1, uniting all nine community police forces under one leadership. “This handover means a consolidation; we are taking over and putting in place ... read more ››

Building brighter futures for other Crees

It has been almost 40 years since Hydro-Québec began development in the north on traditional Cree territory, forever changing the lives of a people who once survived as nomads on lands that are now flooded to keep the energy mega-giant’s turbines spinning. The Cree of James Bay did not let this ... read more ››

Your vote, your choices

Our brother and sister First Nations on the Ontario side of the James Bay have four choices when they head to the ballot boxes for this latest of federal elections on May 2. Chief Norman Hardisty Jr. of the Moose Cree First Nation said, “For myself I look at the best ... read more ››