ARTICLES BY Amy German

Taking a Page from the Crees

Though the Crees as a whole may not feel like celebrities on a day-to-day basis, they are world famous for the development of the world’s first modern treaty, the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. This is why when other Indigenous groups have been faced with the outside world looking to ... read more ››

The Government Won’t Budge

Having declared a state of emergency with a desire to evacuate on March 28, the community of Attawapiskat is still living amid contamination from diesel fumes and Indian Affairs is thwarting their every attempt to leave. In mid-March, Indian and Northern Affairs decided to go ahead and tear down the old ... read more ››

Eelgrass Once More

Though it’s been a long time coming, the declining eelgrass growth in James Bay is finally being discussed once more in the House of Commons. In March 2008, Crees from Chisasibi, along with their Chief Roderick Pachano, spoke in the House about the dramatic decline of eelgrass growth within James Bay ... read more ››

Playing the Blame Game

Driving from Waswanipi recently, Brian Craik, the Cree Regional Authority’s Director of Federal Relations, noticed a few frontend loaders digging up a settling pond near Slam Creek. Last June, the road Craik was driving on had been washed out after a tailings pond at the defunct Opimiska copper mine burst under ... read more ››

Learning about the Environment

For as much as the land and environment within Eeyou Istchee has always been ultimately precious to the Crees, many of them have never considered the possibility of developing a career that is all about preserving this precious resource. This is why three years ago the Niskamoon Corporation created an internship ... read more ››

Standing Up Against Racism

Marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, First Nations came together with non-Natives in Chibougamau and in Val-d’Or to celebrate in solidarity. The city of Val-d’Or’s celebrations were triumphant this year according to the Friendship Centre’s Executive Director Édith Cloutier. In Val-d’Or the festivities began at the Friendship Centre ... read more ››

Poor planning by INAC affects children

Both the high school and elementary school in Attawapiskat are closed, the people are in a panic and Indian and Northern Affairs is not giving any answers. During the Ontario spring break, INAC decided that it was time to tear down the former J. R. Nakogee elementary school that had been ... read more ››

Slow Progress in Barriere Lake

The troubled community of Barriere Lake has headed back to federal court in another attempt to remove the third-party management system that Indian and Northern Affairs imposed on them back in 2006. The small Algonquin community of 450 is divided over this issue as one side with their leader, Casey Ratt, ... read more ››

Food for Thought

Though the vast majority of us don’t get all of our dietary advice from what we learn at trade shows, the recent Eat Well Expo and Living Green did have a lot to offer when it came to what’s hip and new in the land of nutrition. From delightful new delicacies ... read more ››

Trekking through the heartland

Making the journey from Whapmagoostui to Waskaganish on foot is not a feat to be taken lightly but it is a personal journey that a group of Crees has decided to turn into a month-long project. Part two of last year’s Journey Through Eeyou Istchee, “Journey of Hope, Embracing Life,” wellness ... read more ››

Don’t Let Them Get Away with It!

The fact that there are now 510 missing and/or murdered Aboriginal women in Canada since 1980 is still news to many but the message is slowly beginning to permeate throughout the general population. Change is happening albeit slowly. Beverly Jacobs, president of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC), spoke about ... read more ››

Exclusive turf

There is no secret about the fact that one way of improving your business is to have product exclusivity. But it’s a different ball game when that exclusivity prevents other businesses from obtaining entire product lines. This has been the case for several Mistissini Crees who have to go beyond a ... read more ››

Guns, gear and vehicles

Though there might have been less rubbernecking around the big-ticket items at the event, the Hunting, Fishing and Camping show was alive and kicking this year. Between all of the firearms, dogs, imaginative recreational vehicles, product floggers and lovers of the outdoors, excitement would not have been a challenge anyway. Sure ... read more ››

Culturally Shocked!

While it might have been a class project for a group of Concordia University students, the Montreal public had the opportunity to take in some professional opinions on what it’s like to be a stranger in your own homeland. Packing the atrium of the Samuel Bronfman Building on March 3, students ... read more ››

Talking Regional Shop

The rumour mill swung into motion during the week of February 16 when Alfred Loon attended a supposed mayors’ meeting in Radisson, hosted by MBJ mayor Gérald Lemoyne. What was thought to be a secret mayors’ meeting that excluded many Cree communities turned out to be a brief get-together of the ... read more ››

Taking Part in Olympic History

For the first time in Canadian history, Canada’s Aboriginals will not just be a token mention at the Olympic and Paralympics Games but a full-fledged partner and the official hosts as well. The Four Host First Nations (FHFN) for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games are the Lil’wat, the Musqueam, the ... read more ››

Constructing the Future

While it has always been said that two heads are better than one, imagine the potential of a few hundred heads gathered in Val d’Or for a two-day event that will focus on construction in Eeyou Istchee? The idea behind “Build With Vision,” the upcoming Cree construction conference on March 10-11, ... read more ››

Winds of Change

Over the decades, the Crees have had many natural-resource projects thrust upon their territory. For as much as the funds have been rolled out in compensation for the use – or rather destruction – of their traditional territory, one thing has been missing in the equation since the times of ... read more ››

Something to Celebrate

When an Aboriginal-related story hits the airwaves or the headlines, chances are that there’s usually a negative angle to it with Indigenous people once again facing a loss of rights or decimation at the hands of government, big business or both. But, what about those within Canada who have made a ... read more ››

Doing the right thing

Professional speaker Rick Osborne There is no doubt that in recent years in the Cree communities, gang and youth violence have been on the minds of many. Between general assemblies that have focussed entirely on wayward youth conduct and a rise in gang activity, there was no better time for the ... read more ››

Money for Nothin’

The sum of $1.4 billion is no doubt a hefty chunk of change. According to the Federal Ministry of Finance website, Canada already “invests’ over $10 billion annually on Aboriginal priorities in addition to the new funding announced in the 2009 budget. With the entire world in financial turmoil following the ... read more ››

Mr. Yes Man

“I don’t see any discrimination certainly in this budget,” said Patrick Brazeau, former Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal People and newly appointed senator. If his name sounds familiar it is because it has been splashed across the many national newspapers and television lately as the media have been quick ... read more ››

Out in the Cold

Canada’s Native Friendship Centres have found themselves left out in the cold once again with no new funding from this year’s federal budget. It would not however be such a big deal had they received any new money since 1998 or if their salaries were not based on a 1976 ... read more ››

Elephant steps for small feet

If there were only more Cree scientists there would be less of a gap when it comes to delivering medical services to the Cree communities, Hydro Quebec would see their tech employees mandate filled and young Crees would want to follow in the footsteps of those who blazed the trail ... read more ››

Going global with indigenous education

Language and cultural survival topped the agenda for the triennial World Indigenous Peoples Conference on Education, which was attended by Voyageur Memorial teacher Leon Déconti in Australia December 7-11. Thousands of delegates from across the globe attended this very special cultural and learning conference held on the luscious traditional lands of ... read more ››

Nest egg cracks

The Crees have not escaped the global financial meltdown. The Cree Nation Trust, created to manage the $1.1 billion transferred to the Crees last February by the federal government under the terms of the 20-year New Relationship Agreement with Canada, reported at the December Council Board meeting that the value ... read more ››