Volume 8, Issue 18

A Letter From Nault

On the eve of the Assembly of First Nations meetings in Halifax, Robert Nault, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, issued a letter addressed to all First Nation members. The letter, dated July 16, concerned the status of the First Nations Governance initiative. Minister Nault expressed that he is ... read more ››

Ain’t no Cure for Summer Time Blues

A long time ago, when I had a full head of hair, summertime was the time of the year. It was the time when a beautiful sunrise meant it was time to hit the sack after a long night walking mile after mile throughout our town of sleeping and worried ... read more ››

Alliances Form in Canada/US Lumber Dispute

The importance of the issue and the striking similarities between the First Nations in northern Quebec and northern Ontario compelled NAN to add its voice to the allegations raised by the Cree Petition to the United States to investigate the allegations of the illegal subsidies provided by Canada and its ... read more ››

Coon Come, Chiefs Challenge Nault

One year after his election as National Chief, Matthew Coon Come passed the toughest test of his leadership last week in Halifax. The annual general meeting of the Assembly of First Nations provided the opportunity for Coon Come’s detractors to challenge his ability to lead effectively, but the National Chief ... read more ››

Echoes From The Pow Wow

A Pow Wow can be a mix of spiritual ceremony and a stroll through a bazzar. There’s the food. A short sniff through the food grounds will leave your nose tingling. There’s salmon, caribou, moose, buffalo. (At one Pow Wow, a group of Hawaiian people had a whole pig in ... read more ››

Email For Dummies (Don’t set me started)

Email is an electronic message that is sent from one computer to another. You can send or receive messages from people that contain attachments such as pictures, documents and programs. Consider it a real-time mail service. No hassle and no waiting. Unlike regular mail, or “snail mail” as the cyber nerds ... read more ››

Everyday Could be the Beginning of a New Life….

I thought I might start my column this week by saying a nice phrase about the young people of today. The future is in our hands but try as we might; there is nothing we can do about it. Besides, why would we want to do that? There is so ... read more ››

I Don’t Miss The Bugs

For the past few days I have been enjoying the beginning of summer and its long days of sunshine and warm weather. It feels good to be outside and to be able to sit in the sun and enjoy the outdoors. Unfortunately, I have also been reminded that insects like ... read more ››

Inuit Moons Over Saturn?

A team of three astronomers, two of them Canadian, have recently discovered twelve moons around Saturn. There are now a total of 30 known moons that ring the planet, the most in the solar system. The suggestion has been made by Dr. JJ Kavelaars, an astronomer at McMaster University, to ... read more ››

Olympics Take A Slow Boat To China

Much to the disappointment of the city of Toronto, the International Olympic Committee has awarded the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing, China. The announcement was made in Moscow on Friday the 13th, an unlucky day for lobbyists from Toronto. Even though Beijing was considered the obvious frontrunner for a number ... read more ››

Quebec Government’s Violation of Law Costing Crees at least $105 Million a Year, They Say

The Crees of James Bay in Quebec (Eeyou Istchee) estimate that a minimum of $105,124,000 in subsidies are granted to Quebec logging companies every year because of the failure of the Quebec government to implement environmental and social provisions of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. They say this figure ... read more ››

South by Southwest

You’ve seen the movies about road trips but reality is never as wild and to tell the truth you wouldn’t want it to be. My brother Don was heading to Arizona to do his masters in international Aboriginal law and he needed someone to go along with him to keep ... read more ››