ARTICLES BY Donald Nicholls

Vine Deloria Jr., 1933-2005

About five years ago, I headed south to be a part of the newly created Indigenous Program at the University of Arizona. As a part of my work there, I became the research/teaching assistant to Vine Deloria, Jr. He would come each winter to Tucson to escape the cold winters ... read more ››

Eight Days in Geneva

In which The Nation’s intrepid reporter gets bogged down in acronyms, lost luggage and expensive taxicabs. We grow up thinking of the United Nations as a magnanimous body representing justice and equality, one that protects our fundamental human rights when governments fail to do so. The first image we see is ... read more ››

Mark Petawabano 1985-2003

You could tell that Mark Petawabano, though only 18, had left his mark on the Cree Nation. Buses came from Wemindji, Waskaganish, Waswanipi and O.J., with many others just driving in June 12 to say goodbye to Mark. The arena was filled to capacity as mourners paid their respects to ... read more ››

Ten Days in New York

I arrived in New York on May 11th intent on experiencing everything I have ever heard about New York in the time I would be there. I had been there a few times before for meetings and interviews but never for this long. I had a little over two weeks. ... read more ››

The Value of Our Ways

We know that traditional knowledge of Aboriginal peoples predates science and modern thinking by hundreds of years but let’s look at some comparisons to judge the value of our knowledge. What about the field of medicine? Did you know that the vast majority of medication on the market comes from Aboriginal ... read more ››

The Story of Cochiti Lake

Cochiti Lake is located on the Cochiti Pueblo Reservation between Alberquerque, Santa Fe and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The reservoir is heralded as the tenth largest manmade lake in the world. While attending the Building Native Nations: Environment, Natural Resources and Governance Conference last week, I had the privilege of ... read more ››

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Justice

Chief Leonard George hobbled onto the stage dragging one foot in a cast. He told us that the Elders in his village said the reason he broke his ankle was the Creator wanted him to catch up on some much-needed sleep. He had just returned from another grueling round of ... read more ››

Kia Ora

A trip of a life-time to the Fifth World Indigenous Youth Conference in Waitanga, New Zealand Kia Ora (hello). It was hard to imagine that here we were at the Fifth World Indigenous Youth Conference. It was only a short while ago I remember being on the Mistissini Youth Council when ... read more ››

Reclaiming Our Destiny

On the weekend of January 31, McGill University held the first conference to discuss the recent Report of the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples, when i first heard about this conference I was excited at the prospect of hearing the opinions of speakers who were chosen from across Canada. What I ... read more ››

The First Aboriginal Law Moot Kawaskimhon A Great Success

The first ever aboriginal law moot court was held in Toronto late last month. Because this was an aboriginal moot it was given a native name, “Kawaskimhon” which means, “Speaking with knowledge.” It was also opened with a prayer by an elder who talked of respect for the Earth and ... read more ››