Category: 2015 04 17

Whapmagoostui’s financial pain: Report harshly criticizes overspending

Whapmagoostui’s Band Office An internal report on Eeyou Istchee’s northernmost community is raising doubts about its approach to tackling a sizeable budget deficit. The Whapmagoostui audit draws a picture of a community that is redirecting Cree Nation Government funds to expensive capital projects that lack financial documentation. Whapmagoostui Chief Stanley George, however, ... read more ››

Taking food for granted

When is the last time you remember being hungry – and I mean really hungry – with nothing or very little to eat? I can recall often being hungry when I was young back home in Attawapiskat. We had a large family, food was costly because it had to be ... read more ››

Why Bill C-51 is a threat to Aboriginal rights

In January, the federal government tabled Bill C-51, the Anti-terrorism Act, 2015. The bill has generated widespread uncertainty and concern. It fails to safeguard the dignity, human rights and security of Indigenous peoples and individuals. It is inconsistent with good governance. The bill would allow federal judges to grant Canada’s spy ... read more ››

A Canadian Heritage Moment

We all know that Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault and his Governance Act has been a topic of much discussion among the AFN chiefs. And deservedly so: without consultation with the chiefs it is just another piece of colonialism. National Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come is right to speak out ... read more ››

Governance Act Dominates AFN Conference

It is Thursday, and Chief Art Manuel is going home. He has just attended the Assembly of First Nations in Kahnawake, where an already tenuous relationship between Canada’s aboriginal people and the federal government was shaken to its very foundations. First was AFN National Chief Matthew Coon Come’s call for Indian Affairs ... read more ››

U.S. begins to repatriate Native artifacts…

The Democrat and Chronicle newspaper of Rochester, New York, reports on the bittersweet story of preserved wampum belts in the U.S. National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution. The paper recounts the experience of Rick Hill, who as a young Native activist in the early 1970s, wanted ... read more ››

More Fish, healthier hearts Study says Cree should maintain traditional diet

While worries about toxic contamination of food fish continue to bedevil different Cree communities in Eeyou Istchee, a recently published study suggests that the health benefits of consuming wild fish far outweigh the risks. Published in the July issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study was lead by ... read more ››

Chief refused entry with eagle bonnet

U.S. authorities forbid a Canadian chief from entering the country with his traditional eagle feather warbonnet. Kainaiwa First Nation Chief Chris Shade was on his way to a Blackfoot Confederacy gathering in Montana. He provided documentation of his Indian status but wasn’t allowed through with the head dress. At the Sweet ... read more ››

“One Dead Indian” by Peter Edwards

One Dead Indian By Peter Edwards Published by Stoddard 2001 One Dead Indian is about the Ontario Premier, the OPP and the Ipperwash Crisis. The book takes you back to September 4, 1995, when Stoney Point Natives went into Ipperwash Park to reclaim an ancient and traditional burial ground. Within 72 hours ... read more ››

Cree Traditional Health Practices & Wellness

Watchia! I have been on board since May 13th, 2002 on a program formed as “Wellness and Traditional Cree Health Practices” on our regional health board. Some of you may or may not know that I have been involved in social service counseling, workshop facilitation and training on issues related ... read more ››

Canada’s Most Endangered Rivers

The Rupert and Kipawa Rivers deserves international attention according to Earthwild International Rupert Reverence, the environmental group composed of both Quebecers and Cree, are applauding the news of the nomination of the Rupert (and its neighbour, the Eastmain) and the Kipawa as the most endangered rivers in Canada by Earthwild ... read more ››

Badabineiyou students win awards

At the First People’s Festival 2002 in Montreal I came across some old friends from Whapmagoostui selling their pottery. They were the students of the Whapmagoostui Art Factory and had won an award or two. These students are looking forward to continuing and you can see the improvement and interest ... read more ››

Indian Act changes

The Canadian Press reports that Native bands across Canada will have to abide by minimum standards when they elect officials or spend money under proposed legislation to revamp the 126-year-old Indian Act. The bill would require Native bands to develop codes to spell out how they choose their leaders, run their ... read more ››

To What Extent Has Assimilation Taken Place in Cree Communities?

As an outsider looking inward into the Cree communities, there would seem to be more assimilation that has taken place over the last 400-500 years of colonization than is readily apparent to the people themselves. I say this as a person belonging to an ethnic minority in Canada for whom culture ... read more ››

Dr Taiaiake Alfred: A Matter of Justice.

This article appeared in June 2002 Focus on Women Magazine in the… focus on men, section Dr Taiaiake Alfred is founding director of the Indigenous Governance Program at University of Victoria. Born and raised in Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (near Montreal), he is widely known for his scholarly work on Native ... read more ››