Volume 22, Issue 23

“I love my land”

When I first read Abel Jolly’s affidavit in the Mario Lord forestry court case, I was a little stunned to realize something that has always stared me in the face. You might say I couldn’t see the forest for the lack of trees. I realized what is happening to the Crees ... read more ››

Cast your ballot

The Harper government passed the so-called Fair Elections Act last spring, just in time for this federal election. It’s anything but fair. Introduced in February 2014 by then-minister for democratic reform Pierre Poilievre, the new law requires potential voters to show two pieces of ID to cast a ballot. In ... read more ››

Cree camps deliver literacy achievements

Back for a third year to prevent summer learning loss for the children of Eeyou Istchee, the Frontier College and Cree School Board Summer Literacy Camps have even stronger results to present after a summer of reading, writing and fun-based learning for kids in nine of the Cree communities. According to ... read more ››

Dorothy Grant blends Haida culture into her fashion designs

For over 30 years, Dorothy Grant has created extraordinary fashion designs that meld Haida art with contemporary trends. Her new creations include a light-blue, silk evening gown with eagle prints and a smart, black suit with a wolf design embroidered on the lapels. Grant said that many of buyers over the years ... read more ››

Footwear artisans Creenisgaa win acclaim by staying true to their roots

A good pair of boots wouldn’t normally take you from British Columbia all the way to New York City, but the success of Creenisgaa footwear has been whisking First Nations designers Linda Lavallee and Patrick Stewart across the continent for half a decade. Since 2010, Lavallee of BC’s Nisga’a First Nation ... read more ››

Hockey Camp of Hope helps First Nations youth

“Bringing hope to our communities through the game of hockey.” This is the slogan for Brenden Biedermann’s Hockey Camp of Hope (HCH), a professional hockey camp founded by Biedermann and his friend David Cheechoo. The two both experienced first-hand the obstacles faced by First Nations youth growing up in difficult situations ... read more ››

Inuit designs gain ground in the global marketplace

Coveted in the north for their exquisite designs, Inuit-made sealskin goods and parkas have a deserved reputation for quality and warmth. Created by the Makavik Corporation with the help of Victoria Okpik from Quaqtaq, Nunavik Creations produces traditional Inuit-designed parkas, luxurious fur coats and sophisticated accessories for an international market. Makavik recruited ... read more ››

Listen to that song playing on the radio.

Listen to that song playing on the radio. What’s it about? Pick out a book on the shelf. What’s it about? That movie you’re watching. What’s it about. Pick up that newspaper. What’s the story about? Chances are they are about love. Okay, maybe not the newspaper story. It’s probably ... read more ››

Mary Wabano

With the passing of Mary Wabano in Attawapiskat recently, the traditional Cree way of living has also slipped away. Mary, who was 98 years of age, was born in the James Bay lowlands in 1901 when the James Bay Crees were still living a nomadic way of life. Her husband ... read more ››

Mistissini hosts the first David Mianscum Memorial Fishing Derby

Mistissini’s David Mianscum was a respected hunter, trapper, fisher and guide. Though he died last October 27, his memory now lives on in the David Mianscum Memorial Fishing Derby, which had its first edition over the Labour Day weekend. The goal, in part, was to remember Mianscum by being out ... read more ››

New OJ Chief Curtis Bosum picks up the torch

It’s been a whirlwind year for the newly elected Chief of Oujé-Bougoumou, Curtis Bosum. The victor in the August 26 runoff election against Anthony Hughboy, Bosum started 2015 as a band councillor before resigning to run Oujé-Bougoumou Enterprise as CEO. Now he’s starting his third job this year: leading a ... read more ››

Paranoia Can Kill

Twenty-four years ago in early December, Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash, a Miq’maq from Nova Scotia, was kidnapped from a Denver, Colorado, home, driven to the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and shot in the back of the head. Her body lay in a shallow ditch for three months until it was ... read more ››

Playing games

I come from a video-game generation. I was 12 when I played my first home video-game console. My family was not able to afford such luxuries as video games when we were very young. It wasn’t until the early 1990s when our family could afford extras. I can remember spending hours ... read more ››

Provincial Report Rips Forestry Policies

Logging companies are out of control, and the government lacks the resources to do much about it, say the Quebec government’s own forestry bureaucrats. In a scathing report from Quebec’s Natural Resources Ministry, the bureaucrats admit they don’t know if logging companies are cutting sustainably, and they lack information on what’s ... read more ››

Run Josh run!

by Joshua Iserhoff I love this quote from one of the best movies of all time, Forrest Gump: “My momma always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’” How profound is that?! Life isn’t fair at times, but that’s okay. Life goes on. It ... read more ››

Small Game, the Roots of Hunting

I was riding into work with my boss the other day talking about how nice the bush looked with its many different fall colours. We had just driven through a fair-sized mud puddle in his four-wheel drive Dodge diesel work-mobile when we saw two partridge strolling down the road in ... read more ››

Specialized sex education will remain despite Quebec plan

Social media lit up with debate following an August 30 Twitter post by Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come calling the Quebec government’s plan to impose a “no-exceptions” sex-education curriculum at some of its schools “disgusting.” But many of those responding to Coon Come seemed to be missing the implication of ... read more ››

www.apocalypse.com?

Hello. Can you hear me? I am sitting here talking into a microphone. Actually, into a computer. And that computer is typing whatever I am saying. I know. I’m lazy. My punishment for sloth will probably be that I will be sitting here emailing a love letter New Year’s Eve at 11:59:59, ... read more ››