ARTICLES BY NATION

Chief Billy Diamond, PhD

Chief Billy Diamond was awarded an honourary doctor of laws degree by Carleton University at theinstitution’s 109th convocation on Nov. 16. The honourary doctorate is added to the long list of Billy Diamond’s other accomplishments. Named a Chevalier of the Ordre Nationale du Quebec in 1985, he was honoured with an AboriginalAchievement ... read more ››

Blocking the Spirit

“We have to stop making people ask for permission for everything they do. You have to give entrepreneurs freedom.” — R. Kungl Why are there not more businesses in the Cree communities? To begin to answer this question we interviewed Mr. Rolf Kungl, a consultant with the Haida Klootraining services, who has trained Native ... read more ››

Raising the Spirit

SOLUTION #1: MANIWAKI. This community north of Ottawa no longer requires its entrepreneurs to get a band resolution. The Band still regulates certain businesses, like transport, communications, anything that is potentially harmful to the community. But any standard business can get a licence. “People can start 20 restaurants if they want,” says ... read more ››

Nation Index

Number of Nation employees in 1993: 6Number of Nation employees in 1997: 15Average time for Chisasibi to run out of The Nation: 4 hoursAverage time for Wemindji to run out: 2 daysAverage number of phone calls to The Nation office in one day: 150Number of awards The Nation has received: ... read more ››

When Hell Froze Over: Raid

The race began in typical Nation style with an early morning call from an almost hysterical colleague saying something about a brief but violent scuffle, cops at the door at four in the morning and a flight cancellation. After statements were taken and bruises nursed, The Nation team was ready ... read more ››

Guilty Plea By Kitchen

Waswanipi’s Chief, John Kitchen, pled guilty to a charge of impaired driving at a hearing of the itinerant court on Sept. 20. He was sentenced to a mandatory fine of $300 plus a $30 surcharge and court expenses, according to Marie-Chantale Brassard, the prosecutor in the case. Kitchen also cannot drive a ... read more ››

Quebec Under The Microscope

British politicians are holding an inquiry into the status of human rights of the First Nations in the territory claimed by Quebec. Do the First Nations have the right to secede from an independent Quebec? This is what they are trying to discover. This is “the crux of the matter,” says Glenn ... read more ››

Crees Buy Lamborghini Building

Cree entities with offices in Montreal will soon have a stylish new home: the Lamborghini building. Cree entities in Montreal pay out over $230,000 to non-Cree landlords per year. With these costs in mind, a few years back the Grand Council received a mandate to put all Cree entities in ... read more ››

1st Aboriginal Film Awards

A documentary about how Native people have overcome pressures to give up their cultures has won four prizes at the first Aboriginal Film Awards. Storytellers of the Pacific: Identity picked up four awards at the gala awards banquet held in Edmonton in May. “We are celebrating these incredible triumphs of human spirit ... read more ››

Form Over Function

Fashion means many things to many people. A lot of times you must weigh against practicality and style. You try not to compromise either. There exists a paradox in the fashion world – to be in fashion, one must be out of fashion. The Nation brings you the 1st annual (Hunting/Fishing) ... read more ››

Cutest Girl found out

We brought you the Cutest Boy in the Cree Nation. Now, by popular demand, we bring you the Cutest Girl. The voting was enthusiastic and sundry a Cute Girl was nominated. But there was one who, above all others, received the most votes. Carole Kitchen of Waswanipi. Runners-up: Sarah Bearskin of Chisasibi, and ... read more ››

DEALING WITH SUICIDE

In Nemaska, if someone threatens or attempts suicide, some community members are now trained to intervene. A series of 2-day workshops are being held to teach people how to deal with the immediate risk of suicide. Community members learn how to calm the suicidal person, remove the immediate risk and help ... read more ››

Once Lost

In the recent year and a half, my life seems to have taken on a new path. Every day to day life experience carries a new meaning in which most people tend to ignore or not recognize. We seem to dwell on the past, totally forgetting what we have in ... read more ››

CREES TO FIGHT FORESTRY COMPANY

A Cree Band from Pukatawagan, Manitoba have said that they would rather burn the forest than to allow international logging company Recap Industries to cut it. Tensions remain high after recently a $700,000 machine was torched and a blockade followed stopping construction of the access logging road. The forest in question ... read more ››

Solar Power

Hydro officials are considering whether or not to have an independent inquiry into the Solar temple’s links to senior Hydro-Quebec employees. HQ Chairman Martineau said that he is currently looking at evidence and would wait for a report from the Quebec Auditor-General before he makes his final decision. A former ... read more ››

Supreme Court O.K.’s Hunting

In a recent case called R. v. Badger The Supreme Court of Canada rule that hunting on private land was acceptable in certain cases. The land must not be used for a purpose that interfered with hunting. For example if there was a farm or a house near or on ... read more ››

Chisasibi 2nd Annual Basketball Tournambnt Results

GIRLS Champions: Mistissini -$500 + Sweatshirts & medals Finalists: Wemindji Hawks -$250 + keychains Top scorer: Roberta Petawabano (73 points in 4 games) Mistissini M.V.P: Elizabeth Shashaweskum – Wemindji Best sportsmanship: Stephine Jolly – Nemaska BOYS Champions: Mistissini -$500 + sweatshirts & medals Finalists: Chisasibi Hurricanes -$250 + keychains Consolation: Wemindji -T-shirts Top Scorer: Jimmy Coon-Come (42 points in three ... read more ››

The Nation’s Vehicle Maintenance Tips

Oil your way to longer engine life Why should I change the oil in my car? It’s all too easy to forget that your car’s engine generates temperatures in excess of 200°G under normal operating conditions. If it’s a turbo, that’s more like 300°C! Oil prevents metal to metal contact and ... read more ››

Q & A

Q My owner’s manual says I need an API (American Petroleum Institute) service rating SF engine oil. All I can find is SG. Is that okay ? A Yes. The API service ratings proceed in alphabetical order, so SG is a higher standard than SF. Owner’s manuals typically say “use SF ... read more ››

Fat profits for Domtar

Domtar has announced a 400-per-cent increase in its profits for 1995 as compared to the previous year. The Montreal-based forestry company made $301 million last year, compared to $75 million in 1994. The company’s total sales rose 31 per cent last year, from $2.14 billion to $2.8 billion. Profits are soaring because ... read more ››

Inquiry into two Innu deaths

Public Security Minister Robert Perrault has launched a police investigation into the deaths of two Innu who might have been killed by game wardens in 1977. “It will be up to the police to decide whether these facts, these allegations, shed new light,” he told reporters. “We want to know what happened ... read more ››

Baby Robert

Many Nation readers responded to a recent article on baby Robert, who needed a foster home. We are pleased to inform you that as a result of these responses a foster home was found for him. Another loving home is needed for at least two years for Inuit twins Ronny and ... read more ››

Hydro-Cult Link Probed

More embarassment for Hydro-Quebec over the Order of the Solar Temple cult. Members of the cult were involved in two mass suicides in the last two years that claimed 69 lives in Quebec, France and Switzerland. Now come rumours that another mass suicide is planned in the Laurentians this summer. Police ... read more ››

Mortal Kombat in Kahnawake

Fans of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, mark April 26 on your Nation calendar. A bare-knuckles fighting contest called the Battlecade Extreme Combat Championship is coming to a rez near you. Competing for $50,000 in prizes, Cree kickboxer Melvin Murray (see The Nation, Dec. 15) and 10 other world-class martial artists will ... read more ››

Squabbling over Voisey Bay

Mining companies are squabbling over who will get control of the $4-billion-plus nickel deposit at Voisey Bay in Labrador, an ancestral burial spot for the Innu and Inuit peoples of the area. Inco Ltd., which controls 30 per cent of the world’s nickel production, finally succeeded with a $4.3-billion takeover of ... read more ››

Continuing the Healing: Recommendations

We have to continue with the process and we have to ensure that we let the Federal Government know that it is their responsibility and it has to be held accountable, including all the churches, the Anglican, the Roman Catholic and the Baptist Church. That the Federal Government and the ... read more ››