Category: News

Women taking action

International Women’s Day is an event that brings to light many important issues concerning First Nations women. This year’s focus was on eliminating poverty in First Nations communities. “For us, March 8 is every day,” said Michèle Audette, president of the Quebec Native Women Inc. (QNW). “The QNW celebrates, works and ... read more ››

Amundsen icebreaker out of commission for the year

Icebreaker and research ship the Amundsen has been dry-docked for the rest of 2012 until crucial repairs are completed putting some experiments on hold. The decision to dry-dock the 33-year-old vessel was taken after a Transport Canada inspection found cracks on four of the six engines. The Coast Guard does not ... read more ››

Romeo Saganash pulls out of NDP leadership race

Citing a lack of financial support and competing demands on his time, Romeo Saganash, the first Indigenous person to ever run for a party leadership position, pulled his candidacy from the NDP leadership race to replace deceased leader Jack Layton. The Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou MP surprised the country by throwing his name into ... read more ››

Crees celebrate Paix des Braves anniversary

In a lavish gala held at the ballroom of the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City, past and present members of the Grand Council celebrated, alongside many Quebec political figures, the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Paix des Braves agreement. On February 8, the Crees played host to more than ... read more ››

“Unfair dismissal”

Waswanipi truck-driver Gary Cooper felt there was something wrong with his dismissal from the Cree Construction and Development Company (CCDC) in April 2009, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He says he was told he was being laid off due to a lack of work, but other workers ... read more ››

Car heaven

Once again the Montreal International Auto Show brought excitement with the latest and greatest in technology and innovation for this year. The 2012 edition saw integrated electronics and computer-controlled systems in almost all models. Blue-tooth systems for hands-free calls were also a common feature in all categories. As in previous years ... read more ››

Aboriginal hockey

Think for a moment about December, when Quebec’s Cree gather in Val d’Or for a hockey tournament that represents the Cree Nation’s largest gathering of the year. Now imagine a hockey tournament that not only brings together Quebec’s Cree, but thousands of members of First Nations from across Canada. Now imagine hockey ... read more ››

Cree Hockey News & Notes

James Bay Beavers The James Bay Beavers Pee-Wee CC participated in two tournaments in Quebec City during the month of February. At the 53rd Edition of the Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament, the Beavers struggled in early round games, as they were defeated 3-1 by the Montmorency Armada in their first ... read more ››

James Bay Eagles honour their best from 2011

The James Bay Eagles 6-A-Side football club recently held their off-season banquet dinner in Chisasibi. In addition to team players and coaches, representatives of Football Quebec were on hand for the special evening, which included the presentation of awards to Eagle players that demonstrated marked improvement, dedication and overall excellence ... read more ››

Hockey hero

As the NHL season enters the homestretch, the Nashville Predators hold a familiar place in the Western Conference standings, destined to again make the NHL playoffs and take a run at the club’s first Stanley Cup Championship. A major contributor to the Predators’ success this season is Jordin Tootoo. The 29-year-old ... read more ››

Top cop

Less than a year after being named the first-ever Chief of the Eeyou Eenou Police Force, Reggie Bobbish was given another honour for his work: Police Officer of the Year. Bobbish received the award in December 2011 at the Dialogue for Life Conference, where he was one of a handful of ... read more ››

Strength in cooperation

Allan Vicaire sat at the McCord Museum last month, watching a story unfold that he thought he knew, and learning how much of his own history he still has the opportunity to discover. The project coordinator of the McGill Aboriginal Sustainability Project (ASP), Vicaire is leading an initiative at McGill ... read more ››

Democracy denied

Inside Ottawa’s Old City Hall, Prime Minister Stephen Harper holds court. Nearly 300 chiefs attend but they’re skeptical about the timing. For decades, they’ve complained that federal policies are making “Attawapiskat” inevitable by excluding First Nations from the benefits of resource development from their own lands, isolating them behind walls ... read more ››

A gathering of nations

The Ottawa Convention Centre is always abuzz with activity. So close to the centres of power, you never know what sort of opportunities are there to be made. The 2012 edition of the Northern Lights Business and Cultural Showcase gave those opportunities a Native spin. Between February 1 and 4, hundreds ... read more ››

The state of our health

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That old saying best sums up the work done by the Cree Health Board (CHB). The 2010-2011 year was a busy one with the CHB’s progress and challenges laid out in their annual report. In the report’s introduction, Chairman James Bobbish ... read more ››

Political rumble

Taking their dust-ups from the political arena to the boxing ring, Liberal MP Justin Trudeau and Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau are set to duke it out for charity in March. While they first sparred over Twitter over a number of Aboriginal issues, such as Canada’s scandalous number of murdered and missing ... read more ››

Video contest for Quebec’s English-speaking youth

Are you an English-speaking Quebec high-school student between the ages of 13 and 18? If so, the Quebec Community Groups Network and CBC invites you to create a 2-3 minute video sharing what you feel represents your community, your roots, cultural heritage and identity for the My Quebec Roots Video ... read more ››

NDP leadership debate at Concordia University

On Wednesday, January 25, the NDP held a leadership debate in Montreal at Concordia University’s Oscar Peterson Concert Hall on its Loyola campus. However, a few faces were absent from the debate. Outrement NDP MP Thomas Mulcair and Ontario’s Paul Dewar could not attend because of previous engagements, while Abitibi-James Bay-Nunavik-Eeyou ... read more ››

More than a coach

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the standings, but the Cree Nation Bears Midget AA hockey team has had a lot of positives come from the current season, during which they have accumulated a record of 3-23-2. Yes, that record is good enough for last place in the Norbord Midget ... read more ››

Cree Hockey News & Notes

Mistissini Senior Hockey & Broomball Tournament The 25th edition of Mistissini’s Senior Hockey & Broomball Tournament took place January 12-15. A total of 18 hockey teams and eight broomball teams participated in the event. After winning their respective pools and semi-final match-ups it was the Wemindji Ice Stars and the Waswanipi Eagles ... read more ››

Love on the run

As February rolls around our attention always turns to the realm of red heart-shaped boxes and declarations of love in the name on Valentine’s Day. While chocolates are a nice gesture and a dozen red roses are the ultimate traditional gift of the season (though very hard to come by in ... read more ››

Looking for employment

It is no secret that the labour market has seen better days. There seem to be fewer and fewer jobs out there and competition is stiff. Whether you are thinking about re-entering the workforce, changing fields or getting your feet wet for the first time, everyone can benefit from a ... read more ››

Legally empowered

Hope for the future: that was the theme uniting the many speakers and dignitaries who gathered in Chisasibi to open the community’s new Justice Centre on January 24. Chisasibi is the third community to inaugurate a Justice Centre in the past year, beginning with Mistissini last January, along with Waswanipi and ... read more ››

More graduates needed

In September, Mistissini’s Voyageur Memorial School celebrated a milestone achievement: it saw its first two students – Geraldine Shecapio and Jessica Jolly – graduate since 2006. Both have gone on to study at CEGEP – Jolly in Val-d’Or and Shecapio in Gatineau. The celebration over the achievements of those students, though, ... read more ››

Fact-finding mission

Ever since Goldcorp arrived in the Cree territory to open up the Eleonore Mine Project there have been questions about their dealings in Guatemala. The Marlin goldmine in that country has been an object of controversy from day one and continues to this day. Residents of the Cree community of ... read more ››

Not quite historic

Prime Minister Stephen Harper billed the Crown-First Nations Gathering as a “historic event”. So did Shawn A-in-Chut Atleo of the Assembly of First Nations. The mainstream media might be forgiven for almost unanimously declaring this meeting to be “historic”. This one meeting would, according to both Atleo and Harper, “reset ... read more ››