Volume 8, Issue 2

Ancient Arctic Culture Comes to Life at the McCord

On a cold gray Montreal afternoon, there seem to be quite a few of those now, I was lucky enough to be dispatched by a certain editor to cover the latest show at the McCord Museum. Lost Visions, Forgotten Dreams – Life and Art of an Ancient Arctic People is ... read more ››

Community Spirit Soars as Waskaganish Road Opens

It was six in the morning on Tuesday December 5th when my alarm woke me up. I was hitching a ride with the Grand Chief Dr. Ted Moses to go to Waskaganish via Val d’Or. We would be stopping to pick up newly re-elected Member of Parliament Guy St. Julien ... read more ››

Crees Favour Liberals 18-1

Crees and Inuit favoured the Liberals 10-to-1 over the Bloc Québécois in the Nov. 27 election, according to federal voting records. The Cree vote was even more one-sided, favouring Liberal MP Guy St-Julien by a whopping 18-to-1 margin. The numbers were decisive in putting St-Julien over the top and into a new ... read more ››

Feds Move to “Update” Indian Act

Indian Affairs is trying once again to change the 134-year-old Indian Act. Federal Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault plans to introduce legislation to “update” the Indian Act soon. His department is now working on what will be called the Modern Governance Act, and says it will consult First Nations. “It’s either going to ... read more ››

Global Warming Means Skinnier Polar Bears

This fall, polar bears gathered on the western shores of the Hudson Bay, waiting for sea ice that once again would free them from land, allowing them to hunt seals. This timeless tableau on treeless salt marshes is changing. The “Lords of the Arctic,” North America’s largest land carnivores, are 10 ... read more ››

In the Spirit of Good Will

There is a lot of attention being paid these days to our First Nations communities and nearby traditional hunting and trapping areas. The fact is that most of the big mining and forestry companies are looking at these lands to make a profit. Many of our First Nations communities are ... read more ››

Inuit Say Warming Affects Hunting, Animals

While governments and scientists still debate climate change, the Inuit people on Banks Island in northern Canada are pointing to signs that the world is getting warmer. The evidence is in the land and ice that surrounds them, they said in a recent report in the Associated Press. The permafrost is thawing, ... read more ››

It’s That Time of Year Again

Well, it’s that time of year again, we’ve finished the Nation’s 7th birthday celebration (in dog year’s… 49). I think we’re getting a little older because we didn’t announce it to any fanfare. Tis the season for celebrating and don’t we know it, but let’s try to play it safe. ... read more ››

Let the Games Begin

Ahhh, tourney time in Vat d’Or again, good old VD will be swinging this year due to new talent from the baby boomer babies, fresh new talent galore. Them baby boomers all out cheering for their favourite son or daughter as they take on Eeyou’s finest broom bailers and hockey ... read more ››

Milk Capitalism

The 120 families that make up Callamarca mostly farm, cultivating potatoes, beans and grains. For over a decade, community members also have been selling milk to a state company in order to make a living. But that changed when the company was bought by a Peruvian division of Nestle. Nestle will ... read more ››

Native Youth Exploited on Canada’s Mean Streets

Activism changed Cherry Kingsley’s life for the better and now she wants other aboriginal youth like her to see how it can change their lives, too. Kingsley, 30, is a tireless advocate for the rights of children and youth who are exploited daily by Canada’s sex trade. For those youth, Kingsley ... read more ››

Premier Poorly Briefed at Cree Summit

Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard seemed poorly briefed and misinformed at a key summit with Crees Nov. 23. The summit was held as Crees and Quebec face a serious deadlock over forestry and other disputed issues. But Bouchard didn’t seem to know what was going on. “Bouchard wasn’t informed about what was really ... read more ››

School Committee Seconds Audit Call

The newly elected school committee in Whapmagoostui is calling on the Cree School Board to conduct a forensic audit of the community’s school. They are asking for a full review of all aspects of school operations, including teaching, administration and maintenance. The formal request was made in a letter to Gordon Blackned, ... read more ››

The Water is Ours

When a large U.S. corporation privatized water supplies in Bolivia and tripled water prices, the country’s 90-percent indigenous population exploded into action. The “water war” was the beginning of a new movement for indigenous autonomy. From the heights of the mountain called Alto Cochabamba you can see over the entire city ... read more ››