ARTICLES BY Steve Bonspiel

Khayden Comes Home – After Seven Months and Two Surgeries, Three Year-Old Boy is Back from Montreal Hospital

The three-year old boy that brought the Cree Nation together after he suffered a horrible assault is back in Eeyou Istchee, safe and sound. Khayden Otter-Rupert touched down on an AirCreebec flight from Montreal to Chibougamau August 19 to a jubilant crowd of 25 well-wishers who turned out to greet him. The ... read more ››

Tragedy Strikes Chisasibi – Teenage Girl Commits Suicide

The community of Chisasibi was shocked recently by a terrible tragedy when a 13-year-old girl took her own life. Lorraine Snowboy was found just after midnight in her basement on the night of August 3. She had hung herself. Chisasibi Police officers Jane Fireman and Barry Duff answered the call. “The officers ... read more ››

Inaugural Mistissini Golf Classic Exceeds Expectations

Chibougamau was invaded by Crees recently, yet surprisingly there were no dangerous incidents, despite the fact that they were all wielding clubs. The Cree Nation of Mistissini held their first annual Mistissini Golf Classic July 29 at the club de golf Chibougamau. It was a huge success by all accounts as ... read more ››

Cultural Healing Behind Bars – Mohawk Inmate Incorporating Traditional Aspects into Prison Life

When people think of prison, they tend only to focus on its negative aspects. Sometimes, however, there are positive things that can come out of being incarcerated for long periods of time. A 12-member Native Brotherhood at the Ste. Anne des Plaines minimum security institution, which includes eight Natives and four ... read more ››

Fundraisers Dangled Cheechoo’s Name – But NHL Star Wasn’t Available For Gala Event

A fundraising effort for the Eenouch AA midget hockey team in Waswanipi turned ugly recently when it was discovered that the invited guest wasn’t even aware of his required presence at the gala. The Eenouch won their league championship this past year and were looking to celebrate their successful season with ... read more ››

The Trials and Tribulations of EM-1 – Mary Ann Blacksmith Finds the Days Long but the Money Good

Imagine working 35 days straight away from your home and family. Then when your time is up, you only get 10 days to spend with your loved ones until you head back for another long and lonely month of hard work. This is the reality of the workers at the ... read more ››

Working at EM-1 and Loving it – Work Camp May be Abraham Salt’s Best Chance

There are a lot of job opportunities for Crees at the EM-1 hydroelectric plant near Nemaska. Abraham Salt, 50, was one of those Crees who took advantage of the chance offered to him at EM-1 when he became a Dish Pit Boss at cafeteria number two. The Nation recently had ... read more ››

Seven Eenouch Fail to ‘Make the Cut’ – Hockey Reality Show to Air on CBC This Fall

Last month seven guys from Eeyou Istchee traveled to Ottawa and Montreal to prove that no matter how big your goals are, they are always worth shooting for. Brothers Cliff and Eric Benac, Robbie Metabie Jr., Ernie Trapper and Benjamin Neeposh, all from the Mistissini Trappers, along with Waswanipi’s Christopher Cooper, ... read more ››

Squatters: A Growing Problem in Eeyou Istchee

Squatters are like moss; they appear in places where they’re least wanted. The problem with squatters in Eeyou Istchee has reached epidemic proportions of late, and the Grand Council of the Crees has called on the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) to set guidelines for dealing with illegal cabins. The hunters ... read more ››

Obedjiwan Gets Short End of Forestry Stick

The Paix des Braves agreement has made the Cree Nation prosperous in many respects, but may be indirectly responsible for impoverishing the forest industry of the Attikamek of Obedjiwan. Last year, Waswanipi put in a request to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), for 70,000 cubic metres of wood. This request ... read more ››

Mistissini Grad Wins Prestigious Award

Samantha Coonishish of Mistissini is this year’s winner of Quebec’s Lieutenant Governor’s award, given to those who have excelled in academics. Quebec Lieutenant Governor Lise Thibault made the presentation to the recent graduate of Mistissini’s Voyageur Memorial School during a ceremony in Quebec City. The award represents excellence and dedication and ... read more ››

Tembec Hopes to Harvest Halo by Courting Crees

Tembec, the international forestry conglomerate based in Temiscaming, is appealing to Crees for help in gaining certification with the Forest Stewardship Council of Canada (FSC). Certification is important for the company because it would enable them to sell their timber at a higher price to large multinational retailers such as ... read more ››

Forestry Companies Ignoring New Rules? – Overlap Between Paix des Braves And Forestry Agreement Produces Conflicts

The Grand Council of the Crees says many forestry companies are still not respecting logging guidelines established under the Paix des Braves agreement. Under the agreement signed with Quebec in February 2002, one per cent of each tallyman’s trapline is protected from cutting. Another 25 per cent of the harvestable land ... read more ››

Khayden Celebrates Third Birthday in Style

It’s not often that a three-year-old gets 100 people out to his birthday party. But when your name is Khayden Otter-Rupert and just making another birthday is an inspiration, people pay attention. The turnout at the party at Hotel du Fort in Montreal May 23 was more than expected, admitted Khayden’s ... read more ››

The Lost Cree of Washaw Sibi – The Tenth Cree Community of Eeyou Istchee Finds Its Identity

Imagine slowly losing your language, your culture and your identity. Imagine being assimilated by your Native cousins. Imagine living on land you used to have title to, but where you are now considered “squatters.” This is the reality of the Washaw Sibi people. They have been fighting for land to call ... read more ››

The Smell of Goose is in the Air…

This time of year represents a fresh new beginning and a rejuvenation of sorts. It also represents an important time in the lives of everyone in Eeyou Istchee. Goose Break, as numerous people have told me, is a time to reflect, a time to share, and a time for the community ... read more ››

Nemaska Woman Waiting For Lung Transplant

Life is hard. Taking care of the bills, cleaning the house, raising the children: at the end of the day, it all adds up and can be very stressful. Maggie Minister, 48, of Nemaska, is dealing with a much more serious situation of life and death. She is currently trying to ... read more ››

Chapais Area Could Drown In Pig Manure

Crees oppose hog farm project that would produce waste equaling a city of 100,000. From mines, to damming, to logging, people in Eeyou Istchee have had their fair share of corporate development. The town of Chapais is now trying to add a pig farm to that long list of projects done ... read more ››

Media Maverick: Boyce Richardson

The self-proclaimed “media maverick” is at it again. Boyce Richardson launched his latest novel, Memoirs of a Media Maverick, at the Double Hook Book Shop in Montreal on March 30. In front of an audience of 25 people, Richardson spoke about his book and made a few of them laugh in ... read more ››

Firefighters Museum Saves Bit of Eeyou Istchee – St-]erome’s Michel Muzzey Has a Passion Like No Other For His Job

Michel Muzzey, 41, has been involved in firefighting in one way or another for 24 years. His passion for the job has become so strong, he had to share it with other people. That’s why he decided to open his firefighter’s museum, La Galerie du Pompier du Nord. A number ... read more ››

Telebec Hiring Crees

The Quebec-based telecommunications company Telebec has embarked on a new relationship with the people of Eeyou Istchee. The recent hiring of David Coonishish in Chisasibi and Luke Mianscum in Mistissini for Telebec’s business and residential installation and repair team represents a change in the industry’s practices when dealing with the ... read more ››

The Hatfields & The McCoys: Mohawk Style

In mid-January, Native police officers from 18 different reserves across Quebec arrived in Kanesatake Mohawk Territory for a classified operation. In the process, the Police Chief, Tracy Cross, was demoted for being too lax in crime fighting and replaced by former Kanesatake Police Chief Terry Isaac. Dissidents arrived and barricaded ... read more ››

Khayden Otter: Bringing a Nation Together

Violence has become so common in our society that when it happens, no one bats an eyelash. That is until it happens to an innocent two-and-a-half-year-old baby boy. The disgusting feeling people in Eeyou Istchee have in their stomachs is the disbelief that something like this could happen so close to ... read more ››

Chisasibi Woman Walks for Diabetes – North West Company Doing Their Part in Fight Against Disease

Until last December, the furthest Shirley Chiskamush had traveled had been to Montreal. But to join the fight against diabetes, the 35-year-old Chisasibi woman flew all the way to Hawaii to participate in the Honolulu Marathon to raise money for diabetes research. “I felt very happy [to be a part of ... read more ››

Wemindji Leading the Fight Against Diabetes

Native people are affected by diabetes on a much larger scale than Caucasians, according to the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA). For that reason, it is of the utmost importance that we, as Native people, fight diabetes in our everyday lives, especially in Eeyou Istchee where the disease has become an ... read more ››

Grand Council Blasts AFN Budget Numbers

The Grand Council is criticizing this year’s budget request of the Assembly of First Nations as seriously flawed. In September, AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine presented a pre-budget submission to the House of Commons for $1.7 billion. But according to Grand Council officials, the numbers don’t add up. “They portray the AFN ... read more ››