ARTICLES BY Steve Bonspiel

Nemaska Woman Receives Bilateral Lung Transplant – After Lengthy Wait of Almost Six Years, Maggie Minister Can Breathe Easier

Maggie Minister and her family can rest a little easier -her quest for a new set of lungs is finally over. After almost six years of waiting for a bilateral lung transplant, she can start getting used to a new pair thanks to a recently deceased donor. Her story is one of ... read more ››

How Do You Say Pancreas in Cree? – School Board and Linguists Collaborate To Cree-ate New Words

Have you ever wondered how to say liver or pancreas in Cree? How about insulin? Those new terms will be in circulation within the next short while thanks to a program sponsored by the Cree Health Board. The resolution to invent new words was passed by the CHB with the recommendation ... read more ››

Cree Construction, H-Q Work on New Waskaganish Power Lines

Hydro-Quebec is finally living up to its promise in the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement by building new power lines into Waskaganish to ensure residents receive more reliable power. A $1.2 million slashing contract was given to Cree Construction and Development Company to clear brush and trees in and ... read more ››

Four Waswanipi Women Charged With Theft, Forgery in Caisse Populaire Scandal

Four former employees of the Waswanipi Caisse Populaire have been charged for stealing money from entities within the community, including two grocery stores, the day care centre, and the band office. Pauline Icebound, Josephine Happyjack-Gull, Cynthia Saganash, and Emily Gull-Happyjack were charged February 8 by Crown prosecutor Christian Leblanc with theft ... read more ››

Revenue Canada Will Tax Native Students’ Income – Cree Students Immune Under JBNQA

Native post-secondary students should be aware – some of them will have to start paying taxes on their income, possibly as early as 2006. Documents obtained by the Nation say that Revenue Canada will tax Aboriginal post-secondary education (PSE) students who make more than $ 16,000 in income as of the ... read more ››

Native Pride

A Native prophecy once said that our people would suffer unimaginably for a period of six generations. That we would see our land and our spirit stolen from us and that some of the original peoples of this earth would perish forever. It also said that only when the seventh generation ... read more ››

Family Grieves Over Waswanipi Man’s Mysterious Disappearance – Haven’t Heard from him in More Than Two Months, Fear the Worst

A Waswanipi family’s hope to see their loved one is slowly waning now that a full two months have passed since Andrew Shecapio was last seen. A prospector and father of two children, he was last seen November 25 at a bar in Villebois, 30 kilometres from Lasarre. According to Elizabeth Bosum, ... read more ››

Residential School – One Man’s Story

Some people know Paul Dixon as a Cree hunter and trapper. Others know him as a family man and protector of Cree rights. In this article we will talk about another aspect of the man – as a residential school survivor. “I remember getting on the bus the first time we ... read more ››

Ouje-Bougoumou’s Political Rules Challenged – Conflicts Between Traditional Law and Election Codes Leave OJ Resident Fuming

Anthony Hughboy has a valid point, the Cree-Naskapi Commission has ruled, when he says Ouje-Bougoumou’s election and membership laws are applied inconsistently. However, in a report issued November 23, the Commission says only the courts can settle the issue. The problem lies in the fact that Hughboy, who only became a ... read more ››

Innocence Lost

One of the saddest chapters in the history of the Cree Nation came to a partial close January 11, when Trevor Spencer was sentenced to 54 months in jail – which actually translates to 32 months after time already served is taken into consideration. Unfortunately, Khayden Otter-Rupert, the little boy he ... read more ››

Trevor Spencer Sentenced to 54 Months in Prison – Trial of Foster Father Who Assaulted Khayden Otter-Rupert Finally Ends

Khayden Otter can rest easy for the next 32 months – Trevor Spencer can’t hurt him behind bars. In a half-filled Waswanipi courtroom, Spencer was sentenced to four and a half years in a federal penitentiary – minus 22 months already served pending trial. Many Waswanipi residents, most of whom do not ... read more ››

Hunting in the ‘Grey’ Zone – Cree Fined for Following Game; Discovers Strange Grand Council Policy

Jimmy Cooper is beginning to wonder the meaning of being Cree in today’s world after a Val d’Or Court ruling found him guilty of hunting south of the 49th parallel – even though he had signed an agreement with the farmer who owned the land he was hunting on. Having grown up ... read more ››

You Give, I Give, We All Give For…What Exactly?

Christmas has come and gone and most people have been left with large credit card bills and for some, a bit of an empty feeling. The way in which the western world eats up the commercialism of the holiday season is nothing short of miraculous. Designer jeans, Rolex watches, a new this ... read more ››

Northwest Company Does It Again! – Chisasibi, Wemindji Stores Battle It Out For Diabetes Snowman Supremacy

With a ring of the cash register and a wipe of the brow, Northern Store workers wrapped up their fight against diabetes with a smile just in time for the New Year. As reported last year in the Nation, Northern Stores across Eeyou Istchee are in an annual battle in their ... read more ››

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (And keep an eye on the ceiling…)

‘Tis the season to be jolly. Ho ho ho and all that jazz. That is if you’re a Christian or an atheist celebrating Christmas for the great presents! I don’t know of any Jewish Crees out there but if there are, Happy Hanukkah! I’m writing this editorial with a bit of a heavy ... read more ››

Walking 100 Miles in One’s Moccasins – Over 500 People Participate in Month-long Walk Against Diabetes

One way to combat diabetes is to “walk it out of your life.” That’s according to the placard of one of the participants in November’s Eeyou Istchee-wide, 100-mile challenge in the fight against diabetes. Scott Langdon, who went double the distance, said that one of the best ways to beat this ... read more ››

More Resources Needed to Treat Mental Health Problems in Eeyou Istchee

The Cree Health Board is not doing enough to ensure one of the most pressing health issues in Eeyou Istchee – mental health – is properly addressed; especially after the alarming rash of suicides in recent months. But they are not the only ones to blame. The CHB’s 2003-2004 operating budget is ... read more ››

Waswanipi Divided Over Firing Range?

Some Waswanipi residents are firing back at SNC-Lavalin and their proposal to build an artillery range on residents’ traplines, but others are still undecided and at least one family has agreed to the project. SNC Technologies held an information session in Waswanipi and Chapais in early November. Their goal was to ... read more ››

Niskamoon Corporation: Working for you

For those of you who were wondering what the Niskamoon Corporation represents and how it affects you as a Cree person, we have the answers to your questions. The Niskamoon Agreement was signed recently between the Grand Council of the Crees, the Cree Regional Authority and the nine Cree communities, and ... read more ››

Larry Ross Fires Back – Chisasibi Police Feud Burns On

Larry Ross says his former boss is a liar. In a Nation interview to respond to allegations by former Chisasibi Police Chief Harry Snowboy, Ross he feels betrayed and that he never breached his oath of discretion as a police officer. “First of all I’m disappointed that Harry would outright lie ... read more ››

Wind Power Could Blow Away Hydroelectricity – Leaders Say Alternative Energy a Real Possibility for Eeyou Istchee

Hydro Quebec better watch out, the wind is blowing and it might just blow them off the map. A number of leaders have been flirting with the idea of bringing alternative energy sources – especially wind power – to Eeyou Istchee. Representatives from Waskaganish, Nemaska and Whapmagoostui attended the 20th annual Conference ... read more ››

Chisasibi Mother Works Through the Pain of Son’s Suicide – Says Family Support is the Key to Overcoming Grief

Suicide rates on Native reserves are more than three times the national average. September 10th of this year marked the second annual National Suicide Day. The Nation recently sat down with Chisasibi resident Sally Herodier to discuss what she and her family have gone through the last 15 months without ... read more ››

Paopao’s Pow Wow – Cree School Kids Invited to Ottawa by Renegades Football Coach

For kids who were watching their first live professional football game, they sure didn’t look out of place. Approximately 70 screaming and cheering youth from Mistissini descended on the city of Ottawa October 8-10 to attend an Ottawa Renegades CFL game. The trip included tours of the national capital and was ... read more ››

Grieving Husband Speaks – As Charges Are Finally Laid In Deadly 2003 Chisasibi Crash

The allegedly drunk driver of a car that crashed on its way back to Chisasibi, causing the deaths of three passengers, has only now been charged in the incident – over a year later. Irene Pepabano is charged with seven different counts, including three counts of operating a vehicle under the ... read more ››

Reverend Sealhunter Leaves Chisasibi on a One-Year Sabbatical – Job Stress Had Minister on Verge of Nervous Breakdown

Years of dealing with other people’s problems has led Chisasibi’s first Cree Minister, Jacob Sealhunter, to seek a temporary respite far away from home. “Sometimes the job was difficult especially if you’re serving the community that you grew up in,” Sealhunter told the Nation. “When there was a death in the ... read more ››

Snowboy Throws In the Towel – Former Chisasibi Police Chief Suspended, Reinstated, Finally Resigns

The truth, it seems, is not an easy thing to find. Harry Snowboy found that out in an all too painful way after being brought along with the proverbial carrot on the stick by the Chisasibi band council. After being suspended with pay for 10 months, and then reinstated, the former ... read more ››