Volume 10, Issue 8

Aboriginal Business Summit

Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault wants Natives to become good capitalists. All they have to lose is their shirts. “The time has come to remove the obstacles that keep Aboriginal people from seizing the opportunity to shape their own futures,” Nault said in an address Feb. 20 to the Aboriginal Business ... read more ››

AFN Chief Visits Grassy Narrows Blockade

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Matthew Coon Come was in Grassy Narrows First Nation (Ontario) Feb. 27 to show support for the road blockade and political action being taken by the community to protect their rights. The National Chief spent the day at the blockade and visited the community to ... read more ››

Another Cree Woman’s Story

It makes me really sad to hear or to read these kinds of stories about women being abused by their husbands. I too, would like to share my own experience of an abusive relationship with my husband. As I look back through the days, the times that turned into years, ... read more ››

Becoming a Documentary Filmmaker – Part Four: Hitting the Festival Circuit

In most cases today, documentaries are made on videotape and screened for television on video. In some cases, a film print of a documentary is made for the festival circuit, as in the case of my NFB film Okimah. One of the reasons that film print was made was to ... read more ››

Crees Express Dismay Over ADQ Statements

The Cree leadership says a speech given in Montreal by Action Démocratique leader Mario Dumont Feb. 27 could jeopardize the relationship with the province. If elected, Dumont said he intends to push ahead with the Great Whale Project, without even a phone call to the Cree leaders. “We thought that the ... read more ››

Family Orchard

I had to deliver pictures to the local daycare to help my little girl with her family tree and it got me thinking. What of my family tree? I had done a lot of research on my paternal side and I wondered how to find out the tree on the ... read more ››

First Nations Pavilion

No matter what colour your skin is, or what religion you follow, education is important for all of us. In this day and age, education is the key not only for a good job, but also a brighter future. As native people, we are always striving to better ourselves in ... read more ››

I Feel Pretty, Oh So Pretty

It was brought to my attention the other day that some people might only talk to me because of the way I look. Which is funny on many levels to me, but it did remind me that, gasp, some people still judge others based on looks. This being said in ... read more ››

March Empowers Women in Vancouver

Valentine’s Day is a special occasion down here on the mean streets of Vancouver. For the last 12 years, various women in the Downtown Eastside, Vancouver’s skid row community ravaged by drugs, violence and poverty, have organized the Womens’ Memorial March in order to remember the women who have gone ... read more ››

Mohawk Revolution!

There is a Revolution going on in Kahnawake Mohawk territory. Not the kind that one would associate with violence, and guns, and an overthrown government, but more like a Revolution of the mind. Iris Montour is the editor, and co-founder of Revolution magazine. According to her, before Revolution, there was no outlet ... read more ››

Native Women’s Shelter Keeps Doors Open

There’s money for everyone in Quebec in the run-up to an election, it appears. Everyone except the 100 womens’ shelters in Quebec. Though studies have found them to be severly underfunded, they share a budget of $29 million. Last week, the Quebec government handed out $556 million to front line services, ... read more ››

No Exclusive Access on Caniapiscau River

Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Wildlife and Parks says privatizing the Caniapiscau River is out of the question. Last month, the Nation reported Club Chambeau requested exclusive access to fish along the Caniapiscau River. The area is of primary interest to both the Cree and the Naskapi, meaning that it impacts on ... read more ››

Police Seize Illegal Alcohol in Kuujjuaq

The Kativik Regional Police Force seized three shipments of alcohol destined for Kangirsuk at Kuujjuaq airport Feb. 24. Police netted a total of 24 66-ounce bottles of hard spirits, two cases of kinsized beer, one 40-ounce bottle of Amaretto and one four-litre package of wine. The shipments were intended to arrive in ... read more ››

The Great Darkness

Simon and Garfunkel wrote a song with the classic line, “Hello Darkness, my old friend.” To me, it means the inevitability of something that you may not want to encounter. But it’s there as a familiar spectre nonetheless. It was there lately when Mario Dumont, Leader of the ADQ (Action Démocratique ... read more ››

The Story Comes Out

The elders of Chisasibi have said that the time has come to tell their story. And the people of Chisasibi have responded. The long awaited double cd Voices of the Land tells the story of Chisasibi in a truly novel way, and it has finally been released to the public. Held ... read more ››

Waste Not Want Not

It is nine o’clock in the morning on a bright, beautiful, cloudless day in the middle of February. The temperature is about minus 30. As the day wears on it will warm up to minus 25 and then dip down again by evening. I am packing up my snowmachine for ... read more ››