Volume 2, Issue 15

Bloc upset over column

The Bloc Quebecois is flipping over a column in a Native newspaper which called Quebec’s separatist leaders “frogs” who should be hanged for treason. Gilbert Oskaboose’s column in the June issue of The First Perspective has the headline, “Bring Enough Rope!” “The frogs (separatist leaders) do a lot of yapping about ... read more ››

Blockade over fishing dispute

Blockade season is upon us. A group of Mi’gmaqs and their supporters are blockading a disputed fishing site on the northwest Miramichi River in New Brunswick. Dressed in combat fatigues, they claim to be armed with firearms, nerve gas and chemical explosives. The blockade was set up in response to a ... read more ››

Chief Seattle

In 1854, the “Great White Chief” in Washington made an offer for a large area of Indian land and promised a “reservation” for the Indian people, Chief Seattle’s reply, published here in full, has been described as the most beautiful and profound statement on the environment ever made, THIS EARTH ... read more ››

Death Star arrives in James Bay

It has been more than a decade since theWaskaganish Band Council asked me to install a satellite reception system in their community. That first primitive system marked the beginning of a communications revolution in remote communities across Canada. The preaching of Tammy and Jim Bakker as well as southern California lifestyles were ... read more ››

Holy blazes!

In one of the driest years on record, 57 forest fires have struck the James Bay area north of the Broadback River so far this season. Fifteen blazes have been put out and firefighters have contained or brought under control another 16. Twenty-eight other fires are being observed from a distance and pose ... read more ››

Innu women win court fight

Bill C-31 only helped a small minority of Native women regain their rights, leaving most in the cold. That’s the verdict of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, which last month awarded four Innu damages ranging from $3,000 to $ 12,000 after their Band Council discriminated against them. Marie-Jeanne Raphael says she ... read more ››

Luke MacLeod: There has to be a focus

Elections were recently held at the Cree School Board. The latest Chairman is Luke MacLeod. Also elected as the Vice-Chair is Lisa Petagumskum. The third member of the new executive is Robert Weistche. Luke MacLeod has been with the school board for a number of years. He served as a commissioner ... read more ››

Northern is “killing us”: Native stores

Kevin Hatt worked at the Northern Store in Whapmagoostui for two years. He saw how Northern works from the inside. He says management limited the amount of money in the safe so when people brought in their cheques, they couldn’t get cash. All they could get is credit to buy products ... read more ››

Price wars not our policy, says Northern

Northern Stores used to have a monopoly over Cree customers and their money. But those worry-free years for Northern are a thing of the past, a victim of the realities of the marketplace. Now for the first time Northern faces competition from Native businesses and it’s fighting back with everything it’s ... read more ››

Sport hunters face ban on moose hunt

In a dramatic reversal of position, the Coordinating Committee on Hunting, Trapping and Fishing has decided Quebec should ban sport hunting of moose by non-Natives in the southern James Bay Territory. After years of efforts by Crees, the committee agreed in a resolution in June that non-Natives should be barred from ... read more ››

SQ may charge driver in fatal accident near LG-2

Provincial police are investigating whether to lay charges against the driver of a van which spun out of control on the James Bay Highway near the LG-2 airport, killing one occupant. Teddy Swallow, 23, of Mistissini died of internal injuries while being driven from the Radisson hospital to the airport so ... read more ››

The Nation’s guide to Montreal’s sights, sounds and tastes

Now that we’ve all had our breakfast, after shopping and dropping and working up an appetite, it is time for lunch. Of course you’ve got your basic burger and fries but more on that later. I’ll give you some alternatives to work with first. I’ll start with smoked meat. A ... read more ››

The Promised Flower

To the men and women who, in different languages and on different paths, believe in a more human future and struggle to obtain it today. Brothers! There exists on this planet we call Earth and on the continent we call “American” a country which looks like someone bit a huge ... read more ››

The real deal – are we ready?

The next logical step in the development of today’s Cree Nation would be the formation of a Cree government. The Cree Nation has outgrown the Cree organizations created over the past 20 years since the signing of the JBNQA. Nine Cree local governments were created under the Cree-Naskapi Act and the ... read more ››

Whapmagoostui Gathering

The Whapmagoostui First Nation invites all to its Third Annual Traditional Gathering during the week of July 24 to 30 at the mouth of the Great Whale River. The theme of this year’s gathering is “Protecting Our Traditional Lands and Way of Life.” Local and visiting Elders and guest speakers will ... read more ››