ARTICLES BY Will Nicholls

We Need More Federal Paternalism…Everywhere

Yes, that’s right I think we need more of that old time Federal paternalism and I think the role of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs should be expanded. Poor old Nault is increasingly coming under fire for his role in putting the Aboriginal community of Pikangikum under third party ... read more ››

Visiting Cree Country

The Indigenous Initiative for Peace (IIP) visited the Cree recently. The IIP said it was an honour to meet with the Cree nations in Quebec to look at the Cree situation on traditional lands and the impact of resource exploitation. Colombian Senator Francisco Rojas Birry thanked the Crees for their ... read more ››

First Peoples’ Festival 2001

This is the eleventh year that Terres en Vue or Lands In Sight has hosted the First Peoples Festival. The Festival looks at Aboriginal films, art, music and culture from across the country. You will see traditional influences as well as western in the shows put on by Lands In ... read more ››

A Tale of Four Towns

It’s the Cree community that’s the most northern-most, but it’s more than that. It’s the town that has more than one name. Yes, we visited Great Whale, or Whapmagoostui, or Post-de-la-baliene, or Kuujuaraapik. It makes no difference what you call this town because every name is legitimate. It is the ... read more ››

Nation Interview: Chief David Masty

Chief Masty has been the Cree Chief Whapmagoostui for a year and 8 months. He has served as a board member for the Board of Compensation and the Grand Council/CRA. How do you find it being the chief of the northern-most Cree community? I feel honoured to have been given that responsibility ... read more ››

Nation Interview: Lukassie Inukpuk

Inukpuk is the mayor of Kujuaraapik. He has a beautiful camp just outside of the community that we visited to talk with him informally. He took us up on a hill to show us where his family used to live in the traditional way. There was no sign of their ... read more ››

Nation Interview: Alec Tuckatuck

Tuckatuck is the president of the Sakkuq Land Holding Corporation. He is also a ranger for the Canadian Armed Forces helping to keep the true north strong and free. What are your duties in the Rangers? We’re an eye and an ear for Canadian defense. We keep an eye on unusual activities ... read more ››

Nation Interview: Deputy Grand Chief Matthew Mukash

Deputy Grand Chief Mukash was one of the instrumental people involved the campaign to save the Great Whale River from hydro-electric development back in the early nineties. He is also a past chief of Whapmagoostui. What are some of your earliest memories of Whapmagoostui? The place was practically barren of buildings. There ... read more ››

Are you Listening?

There’s a story I recently read. It goes something like this: The company I worked for had an employee-suggestion competition; the entire staff was to submit entries that would save money for the firm. The winner was a man in my department who suggested we post corporate memos on bulletin boards, instead ... read more ››

Reforms to Employment Insurance

It was a mistake to take such a short time to make a new Aboriginal strategy for Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) says Gil Terrance, coordinator of the Chiefs Committee on Human resources Development Agreements. It’s a mistake that Terrance doesn’t want to see First Nations make again. He says ... read more ››

A Journalist and a Friend

Sometimes it seems like only yesterday that I met Alex Roslin for the first time. We were just starting up the Nation in those days. Our first issue hadn’t even come out. It was the classic start-up that you’re always warned about by people. No business plan, no grants, just ... read more ››

Straight on Track

I had a chance to see a young eleven year old Cree in action at the Molson Centre at the end of April. Nathaniel Bosum is one of the few Crees to enter into the motocross racing world. It was his first race of the year and one he said ... read more ››

Tears in my Poutine

The tear gas has finally cleared and our vision of what the free trade of the Americas means to Aboriginal People’s is still misty. When asked a question by National Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, our esteemed Canadian Prime Minister Jean Poutine (as President Bush calls him) gave the standard political ... read more ››

Strawberry Anyone?

While on the Wellness journey I shared a Legend with a friend. He said I should share it with everyone as it doesn’t negate Christianity but adds to it. I will write as I remember it. In the beginning the Creator made the earth, animals and plants. He created First Man ... read more ››

Journeys

For a number of years now there have been Wellness Journeys happening in Eeyou Istchee. While the Nation has been on hand to see people off or arriving, we’ve never been on one. This winter I decided it was time that we participated in a Wellness Journey. I wanted to ... read more ››

Mishtapew Gala

The festivities started at 5:50 p.m. with a champagne cocktail hour, a time to shmooze and see who was there. The meet and greet was well done and had a nice relaxed air except for some fool rushing around trying to make sure that all the interviews would fall into ... read more ››

Aboriginal Equality and All That

In early January, University of Toronto law professor Patrick Macklem released a book called Indigenous Difference and the Constitution of Canada. This book talks about the legacy of European colonization in Canada and says that the Aboriginal Peoples in Canada have a unique constitutional relationship with the State. As an ... read more ››

A Mayan in Cree Country

Alfredo Caxaj is a Mayan who headed into the bright snows of Eeyou Istchee, far from the jungles his ancestors came from. He traveled northwards to give workshops to the Crees about festivals and putting them on. I had a chance to sit down with Alfredo before he went into ... read more ››

Warrior Artists

Fort Marion in Florida saw some 70 Native prisoners far from home arrive in the spring of 1875. The U.S. Government took what they considered the leading warriors and chiefs as a way of keeping “Indian unrest” to a minimum. The decision came after the Red River War, when most settlers ... read more ››

Reporting: Speech from the Throne

I never realized what dirty, no-good, slow moving S.O.B.’s the Aboriginal leadership was until I picked up the Gazette on Monday January 29th. I learnt through the good writings of journalist Joan Brydan that the Federal Government of Canada was “exasperated by the snail’s pace of treaty negotiations” and that ... read more ››

Montreal’s AutoShow 2001

Once again the Olympic Stadium was the place of choice for the Montreal Auto Show 2001. No one so much as whispered a word about the time the show was canceled due to snow caving in the roof. It was obvious that this wasn’t a problem for the 90,000 or ... read more ››

Dialysis Clinic Brings Crees Home

The big moment has finally arrived and was celebrated on January 22, 2001 when a kidney dialysis clinic was officially opened in the Chibougoumou hospital. No longer would Crees have to go to Montreal for dialysis treatments. Unfortunately the Nation couldn’t make it to the ceremonies marking the arrival of ... read more ››

White Knights Never Die Out

This year I went back home to Mistissini for the holidays. My brother, Don, was the kind soul who picked up Neil, Lynn and myself for that long ride home from Montreal. I wasn’t that talkative, slept a lot and occasionally thought about various things. I thought about the idea of ... read more ››

Happy Holidays from the PQ

Here’s hoping that the Holidays find you and yours well. I also hope that in this season of caring and giving you had a chance to give of yourselves. It’s important to help others at this time of year. Hopefully, you won’t be taking a page from the Parti Québécois when they ... read more ››

It’s That Time of Year Again

Well, it’s that time of year again, we’ve finished the Nation’s 7th birthday celebration (in dog year’s… 49). I think we’re getting a little older because we didn’t announce it to any fanfare. Tis the season for celebrating and don’t we know it, but let’s try to play it safe. ... read more ››

Community Spirit Soars as Waskaganish Road Opens

It was six in the morning on Tuesday December 5th when my alarm woke me up. I was hitching a ride with the Grand Chief Dr. Ted Moses to go to Waskaganish via Val d’Or. We would be stopping to pick up newly re-elected Member of Parliament Guy St. Julien ... read more ››