Category: Editorials

Shooting the messenger

The hearings on Hydro-Quebec’s proposed Rupert River diversion, whether in the Cree communities or outside, are always of interest to the Nation staff. Those we couldn’t attend in person we listened to on JBCCS’s Cree Radio Network as did many Crees. We also went on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency ... read more ››

Celebrating Mother’s Day

Some people think this idea was originally conceived by Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War as a day to honour the inherent pacifism of mothers. In reality, the idea goes much further back. The ancient Greeks celebrated a festival as they practiced mother worship. Indeed many of us should ... read more ››

Jonathan Cheechoo – Aboriginal role model

San Jose Sharks right-winger Jonathan Cheechoo has finished the NHL regular season with a league-leading 56 goals, winning the Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy in the process. In doing so, he joins heady company. Philadelphia Flyers right-winger Reggie Leach was the last Aboriginal to score 50 goals, during the 1979-80 regular season. ... read more ››

The new NHL offers lessons far beyond hockey

With about a week to go before the playoffs, this National Hockey League season has been a revelation. Cynicism reigned supreme back in October as the players, badly outplayed by the owners in their contract dispute that wrecked an entire season, finally returned to the ice. But with new rules permitting ... read more ››

Jobber

Jobs. We all need them (unless you’re lucky enough to be rich), and, by extension, we also need the cash that comes with them. Getting used to the capitalist society that surrounds us as Native people has been difficult at times, but we’re getting there. Nations no longer hunt, trap, farm ... read more ››

Healing our youth through sport

Eeyou Istchee needs individuals like Gordon Hudson in Mistissini. Hudson puts in a tremendous amount of hard work and overtime as Mistissini’s Director of Youth Services with the Cree Health Board. But the best part is he also opens various activities up to all nine communities. I first met him at ... read more ››

Looking for a Cree Sheila Fraser

Weren’t those quite the heady days? Cast your mind back to when a former Grand Chief and his team of experts were selling the Paix des braves deal. Grandiose promises were made left and right, tossed out like coins before a beggar. They were snatched up as they caught the ... read more ››

Bittersweet Bay

It was kind of sad to hear this past week that the Hudson’s Bay Company had been sold to an American financier named Jerry Zucker. I had mixed feelings, as I am sure is the case for many Aboriginals. In the Cree communities, I remember some Cree Elders being incredibly loyal ... read more ››

Happy VD Day!

I remember being woken one Valentine’s Day morning with a “Happy VD, baby!” It was a bit of a shocker when accompanied by a significant other’s impish smile. My brain went from groggy to full red alert in .9 seconds flat. Upon getting some candy (never a good idea first thing ... read more ››

New government, old prejudice?

There are dark clouds on the immediate horizon for Canada’s First Nations with the increasingly likely election of a Conservative federal government under the leadership of Stephen Harper. Of all the parties in Parliament, the Conservatives have by far the most regressive, even repressive, approach to Natives. Harper’s top policy advisor is ... read more ››

Sharing in the challenges of 2006

On behalf of the Nation I would like to offer my deepest appreciation to each of the Cree leaders for the incredible efforts that you made in 2005 toward the advancement of the Cree Nation as a whole. The work that you have done expresses the Cree determination to expand the ... read more ››

All we need is…

There has been an alarming increase in violent episodes in Eeyou Istchee in recent months and it’s sad that some of it happened just in time for the holidays. An even sadder part is the shame and degradation that comes with being jumped or attacked for no reason. When these incidents ... read more ››

Growing up

The James Bay Cree Communications Society (JBCCS) recently completed its 23rd Annual General Assembly in Ouje-Bougoumou. One of the items discussed was the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Northern Quebec Services (CBC) and its relation with the society. JBCCS was incorporated in 1981 and its mandate was to provide communications services to ... read more ››

Vine Deloria Jr., 1933-2005

About five years ago, I headed south to be a part of the newly created Indigenous Program at the University of Arizona. As a part of my work there, I became the research/teaching assistant to Vine Deloria, Jr. He would come each winter to Tucson to escape the cold winters ... read more ››

Deadly Bureaucracy

This editorial might have been my obituary. A couple weeks ago, I nearly died from what two doctors said was the worst case of tonsillitis they’d ever seen. My throat was nearly closed. I couldn’t even swallow spit. My saliva, as a matter of fact, was keeping me awake. Anytime I ... read more ››

Back to School Blues

In this issue we talk about going back to school. Some students look forward to going back. I know I did. The chance to learn something new, hook up with old friends, make new ones and see another place than home was always something to look forward to. On the other ... read more ››

The Smoking Gun

When I first looked at the studies of mining contamination of the waters around Ouje-Bougoumou I was more than a little angry. Many of you, once you read the story, will feel equally shocked and outraged over what has been withheld from the Ouje-Bougoumou people. This information is the smoking ... read more ››

Hydro-Quebec Doesn’t Understand Cree Society – Report – Federal Review Slams Hydro-Quebec’s EM-1A and Rupert Diversion Environmental Impact Statement

Hydro-Quebec must be tiring of the federal review of the EM-1A and Rupert Diversion projects. The directives of the environmental impact statement said the utility must take into account “the ways of life of the local communities and the conditions that are essential for their preservation and development.” But a ... read more ››

Ramada: Where the Towels Are Worth More Than the Customers

It’s six in the morning and I am in Ottawa with insomnia. I am staying at the Ramada Plaza hotel located across from the casino in Hull. The room is nice enough, but the attitude and treatment I received upon checking in left much to be desired. It led to ... read more ››

Telling Your Stories

I have to reply to the editorial and story about Rezolution Pictures from last issue. I want to thank Will for his kind words and his encouragement. I also want to say that I wasn’t expecting any of it. Neil Diamond and I were up in Mistissini shooting the latest ... read more ››

Our Moving Pictures Tell Powerful Stories

Every now and then I seem to have no choice to toot a friend’s horn. In this case it is Ernest Webb and Neil Diamond, directors and producers for Rezolution Pictures. I would have to say that, outside of the people working in the Cree bureaucracy and the Cree School Board, ... read more ››

Elections are Opportunity for Nation Building

Sometimes it hurts to hear people still arguing over the Paix des Braves deal. I know it’s hard to let go when you feel an injustice has been done. But let’s look at the way it’s developed in the three-and-a-half years this agreement has been a part of our lives. I ... read more ››

Residential School Conference

I’m quite happy to see that there will be a regional residential school conference happening in Eeyou Istchee. Most people look at the problems associated with residential schools mainly as those that happened only to the students who attended these schools. The effects are considerably more far reaching, however. It is ... read more ››

It’s $70 Million Time

It’s another fiscal year and another $70 million is being pumped into the Cree economy through the Paix des braves Agreement. Even though there are a lot of happy faces in Eeyou Istchee, some have those smiles upside down. Part of the reason is that $2 million has been cut from ... read more ››

Lubicon Cree Burned by Oil

The story of the Lubicon Cree should almost feel like déjà vu to many Eeyou. They have never surrendered their traditional lands or signed any treaties. They were simply overlooked when the Canadian Treaty negotiators passed through the area in the final moments of the 19th century. Later they were ... read more ››

A Cree Enron?

A problem that has been going on for some time continues to bother me. Everyone in Eeyou Istchee has been talking about accountability and transparency but has anyone been doing anything about it? It’s a big question but one that we Crees need to answer. We say that foreign systems have ... read more ››