Category: 2006-11-10

No deal: letter was wrong

In our last issue, the Nation published a letter to the editor from Leonard Matthews. In the letter, Matthews claimed that the Grand Council had completed negotiations with the Canadian government. It was also claimed that after approval by the federal cabinet this new agreement would be worth $4.3 billion ... read more ››

Sugaring off

I switched on the news the other night and beheld a glimpse of our possible future, one right out of the film Escape from New York. Yes, I’m talking about a futuristic Orwellian state, in which someone else can tell you what to eat, for health’s sake. The future, apparently, ... read more ››

Waswanipi sawmill closed – again

Domtar deal blamed for putting 80 people out of work The crisis in Quebec’s forest industry has hit the Waswanipi sawmill. The mill officially suspended operations for the third time in its history on September 21 due to a sagging lumber market and poor economic outlook for the year, according to ... read more ››

Cree youth go to Montreal, watch football game, see penguins, eat, try zero gravity, get their van stolen, never get cranky, and love every minute of it

Over 200 Cree youth more used to seeing ptarmigan, caribou and beaver got up close and personal with a few new species recently, including penguins, alligators – and Alouettes. A caravan of three full school buses left Mistissini October 19 for a Canadian Football League match in Montreal in an ... read more ››

Labour and Natives make friends

One of Quebec’s largest trade union centrals is teaming up with the Regroupement des centres d’amitie Autochtones du Québec, which represents Native Friendship Centres in the province. The Confederation des Syndicats Nationaux, or the CSN, made the announcement during the First Nations Socioeconomic Forum in Mashteuiatsh on October 26. The CSN, which ... read more ››

Raining ducks in Waswanipi

The ducks have landed. At least 25 black ducks were found in and around the communities of Waskaganish and Waswanipi October 26. And contrary to rumours making the rounds of the community, bird flu had nothing to do with it. “I was on patrol around the community at 11:30 pm when I ... read more ››

Inuit win rights to offshore islands

The Inuit of Northern Quebec have signed a deal with the Canadian government that will see them take ownership of 80 per cent of all islands off the north coast of Quebec. The 15 Nunavik communities ratified the deal, called the Northern Quebec Inuit Land Claims Agreement, or NILCA. Support for ... read more ››

Conservatives urged to honour Kelowna

Former Prime Minister Paul Martin has not given up on the Kelowna Accord. Bolstered by strong support from the Bloc Québécois and Jack Layton’s NDP, Martin is hoping to compel the Conservative government to revisit the $5.1 billion agreement, signed to provide much-needed aid to Aboriginals for infrastructure, health and ... read more ››

Mistissini woman sentenced for manslaughter

Linda Shecapio will be out of prison in four years or less. The Mistissini resident was sentenced to eight years in prison October 23 for the killing of a teenager from Chisasibi in 2004. But because time served while awaiting trial is treated as double, the two years Shecapio has already ... read more ››

Chisasibi resident winning the fight against Diabetes

Chisasibi’s Sarah Louttit, 52, has had diabetes since 1991. At least, that’s when she was diagnosed during a stay at a treatment centre in the Gaspe town of Maria. Until then, she never thought about the disease and admitted that she knew very little. “I was in denial at first,” the ... read more ››

Diabetes special

When it comes to the reality of diabetes in the North, Chisasibi physician Darlene Kitty has her thumb on the pulse of the problem. In fact, at the time of our interview Dr. Kitty could give the exact number of diabetes sufferers in Eeyou Istchee: “Of the nine villages up here ... read more ››

An aboriginal history of diabetes

Though diabetes was virtually unheard of in Northern communities 50 years ago, today the disease is at epidemic proportions. One person who studies this phenomenon is Dr. Stanley Vollant, who heads up the Aboriginal Health program at the University of Ottawa and is an aboriginal health advocate. He says the ... read more ››

Walking the talk against diabetes

To address the North’s ever growing rate of diabetes, the community of Mistissini will host the very first Cree Regional Conference on Diabetes November 28-30. “It’s like that old expression that it takes a village to raise a child,” says Solomon Awashish, a Cree Health Board program officer for prevention of ... read more ››

A NEW BEGINNING IN MAEUSHTEUIATSH?

The community of Maeushteuiatsh played host last week to an unprecedented gathering of Quebec’s Aboriginal nations and the provincial and federal governments, as well as a number of opposition politicians and leaders in education, the labour movement, and industry. A number of key themes were discussed: culture, education, economy, employment, ... read more ››

Take only what you need

I try to spend as much time in the woods as I can. The feeling of being surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of the forest brings back my childhood on the James Bay coast. Every memory I have of being in the wilderness with my family, friends or ... read more ››