Category: News

Historic redress

Cree drummers gathered in a circle to pound out a traditional beat in Quebec’s National Assembly July 24 to mark the historic signing of the Agreement on Governance in Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory between the Crees and the Province of Quebec. Members of the Grand Council of the Crees, including ... read more ››

Accident or malice?

With a temporary truce only a few hours away, an act of either poor judgment or intentional violence almost turned deadly in the Nitaskinan region of the Mauricie Valley. As recounted in the last issue of the Nation, three Atikamekw communities in the Nataskinan region, angry over consistent resource exploitation on ... read more ››

Hit the Ice:

On July 22, production started in Aylmer, Ontario on a new reality television series focused on the development of young Aboriginal hockey players from across the country. “Hit the Ice”, which will air on APTN starting in January 2013, features young Aboriginal hockey hopefuls as they are put through the paces ... read more ››

Logging operations spark tensions

The company and the SQ are saying that they have a copy of a signed document from our main harvester allowing the cutting to happen,” said Norman Matchewan. “But our harvesters are here with us at the campsite, saying they never gave consent or signed any document.” The people of Barriere ... read more ››

Last-minute triumph

On July 11, Kathleen Wootton sat with bated breath, waiting for the last two polling stations to submit their results for the Cree School Board Chairperson elections. She trailed her fellow nominee Kenny Blacksmith by just three votes, with only Eastmain and Mistissini results to come. Eastmain’s totals came in: ... read more ››

Learning to teach

Sitting in coveted shade at the Kahnawake Powwow, they looked like a group of old friends, joking around as they ate Indian Tacos, making silly faces for the camera. But just a week before, most of these young Cree leaders had never met each other; the only distance that trumped ... read more ››

Are you label savvy?

A big part of being healthy is based on eating healthy. But in order to really eat healthy we need to understand what is in the food we eat so that we can make the right decisions when we fill the grocery cart. This may be easier said than done when ... read more ››

Cree traditional medicine travels well

Having experienced the power of Cree traditional healing first hand, Chisasibi’s Larry House was thrilled to share the positive impact of these practices this past June at the International Indigenous Development Research Conference in Auckland, New Zealand. House appeared at the June 27-30 conference on behalf of the Cree Board of ... read more ››

Echoes of a Proud Nation’s many colours

The 22nd edition of the Echoes of a Proud Nation Powwow went off, as usual, without a hitch despite the sweltering heat of the July 14-15 weekend. The drums were pulsating deep in the heart of Kahnawake as First Nations voices cried out in traditional song, bells jingled and many a ... read more ››

New land governance deal to take effect

By the time you read this, Quebec Premier Jean Charest is expected to have announced that a governance agreement to restore Cree land rights will have been reached with the Grand Council of the Cree. Since Bill 40, which created the Municipalité de Baie James (MBJ), was adopted by the Quebec ... read more ››

Uranium fallout

On June 6, in the middle of the public hearings held by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission to examine the request by Strateco Resources to begin “advanced” uranium exploration on Cree ancestral lands near Mistissini, Chisasibi Chief Davey Bobbish and the Chisasibi Band Council passed a resolution stating their opposition ... read more ››

Graduation at Northern College opens new opportunities

Students at Northern College in Moosonee, Ontario, celebrated their graduation from the Academic and Career Entrance (ACE), Personal Support Worker, and Social Service Worker programs. The ACE program is the school’s high school equivalency degree, which allows students who lack a high-school diploma to earn eligibility for many college and university ... read more ››

Children Needing Homes

A long-term foster home is being sought for siblings Nancy, four years old, and her infant brother Seth. Nancy is very active, imaginative and loves to play. She can be quite affectionate, eager to please and loves to be around people. She is in good health and has a good ... read more ››

Summer programming cut

It was not ideal timing. Just as schools let out for summer, the federal government decided to freeze funding for the Cultural Connections for Aboriginal Youth (CCAY) program at all friendship centres across Canada. According to Jeffrey Cyr, Executive Director of the National Association of Friendship Centres in Ottawa, the CCAY ... read more ››

Friendship centres “un-friended”

  In March, the Native Friendship Centre of Montreal (NFCM) made national headlines as its doors were about to close because the centre had lost its core funding and membership through the Regroupement des centres d’amitié autochtones du Québec (RCAAQ), the provincial branch under Canada’s Aboriginal Friendship Centre Program. Four months, later ... read more ››

Fighting for a fair share

Atikamekw First Nations in Quebec are increasingly angry over rampant resource exploitation of their traditional lands by outside companies that always appear to have the provincial government in their corner. The Atikamekw Nation launched a campaign June 26 to gain full recognition as a distinct nation with rights to the ancestral ... read more ››

Hut one, hut two

Six-a-side football is returning to Eeyou Istchee with the start of the inaugural season of the James Bay Abitibi Football League (JBAFL). The brainchild of James Bay Eagles coach Trevor Allen Monaghan, the JBAFL will be comprised of 20 teams spanning six divisions. The founding of the JBAFL and growth ... read more ››

Still here

  “The Indian as he has hitherto been is on the point of passing away,” states US President Theodore Roosevelt on Oct. 1, 1906. “It would be a veritable calamity if a vivid and truthful record of these conditions were not kept.” Those words appear in the foreword in The North American ... read more ››

Keep the linguistic balance

Parents and teachers at Mistissini’s Voyageur Memorial stood firm against a part of the new Cree School Board (CSB) plan that would have eliminated the school’s highly successful English reading program and potentially jeopardized high school students’ chances of graduating. The new plan, part of the CSB’s Cree Local School Improvement ... read more ››

Gearing up for a battle

“We’re going into a strong battle,” said Ugo Lapointe of le Coalition Pour que le Québec ait meilleure mine! (a.k.a. Québec meillure mine), about the recent decision by Mistissini’s Chief and Council to oppose the request by Strateco Resources’ request for advanced uranium exploration on the traditional lands of Mistissini ... read more ››

Straight from the top

  No other issue has reignited the Cree spirit to fight for the rights of the land than the debate over whether uranium exploration should be allowed on Cree territory near Mistissini in the last 20 years. It was in fact 20 years ago when a dedicated bunch of Crees led by ... read more ››

Launch day

  A special ceremony to inaugurate the Eastmain-1-A and Rupert Diversion project was held at the powerhouse on June 28. Many high-profile guests attended, including Premier Jean Charest and cabinet ministers Pierre Corbeil, Geoffrey Kelley and Clément Gignac, as well as Hydro-Québec president Thierry Vandal and the mayors of Chibougamau, Chapais and ... read more ››

Breaking ground for new school

  After years of wrangling and broken promises, residents of Attawapiskat gathered in glee on June 22 to watch the groundbreaking for their long overdue school. Dozens of residents stood, cheering or weeping, thank you signs dotting the crowd. The biggest honoree, mentioned in all speeches, was Shannen Koostachin, the student who, ... read more ››

Chibougamau hostel closing

The Chibougamau Eenou Friendship Centre will be ending its hostel service effective July 1. The hostel was one of the first services developed by the Friendship Centre in the early 1970s, and was largely funded by Health Canada until 1985. Never renewed or replaced, this lack of funding has led to ... read more ››

First Peoples Festival unveils line-up

On June 18, Land InSights president André Dudemaine announced the line-up of acts for the Montreal First Peoples Festival, July 31 to August 8. The First Peoples Festival will be showcasing the best of Aboriginal and First Nations performers, like internationally acclaimed Innu singer-songwriter Florent Vollant. Vollant’s show will take place on ... read more ››

Respect our Aboriginal youth

On June 11, the First Nation Child and Family Caring Society of Canada (FNCFCS) and the Indigenous Bar Association (IBA) organized the “Our Dreams Matter Too” national walk and letter-writing campaign in order to get the federal government to respect the future of Aboriginal youth. The event was necessary because of ... read more ››