Tag: First Nations

Don't be fooled by hate

Recently, I have heard a lot of comments on the fact that we are welcoming many refugees from Syria. This topic is very popular in coffee shops and any other place where people meet throughout Canada. Sadly, I hear a lot of mean comments and even hatred from people and ... read more ››

Bring them Home

When then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized to the First Nations Peoples in 2008 for the residential school system, I cast doubt on the sincerity of his words. I still feel that way given the many harmful pieces of legislation his government imposed on us without any consultation. Now we know that, ... read more ››

Anti-poverty projects take shape and Provincial funding begins to flow following Val-d’Or crisis

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard is quickly making good on his promise to fund projects in Val-d’Or in the wake of the crisis sparked by allegations of abuse by marginalized Native women against Surêté du Québec officers in the northern city. “It’s all good news,” said Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre director Edith ... read more ››

What the federal election means for First Nations

by Xavier Kataquapit Now that he is in power, the big question is what a majority Liberal government headed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will really mean for First Nations across the country. The good news is that out of 18 Indigenous candidates the Liberals put forth, eight won seats. The ... read more ››

Election 2015: Hope defeats fear and division

For the most part, First Nations issues received little attention in this campaign cycle. Candidates focused largely on Canada’s middle class and inconsequential, inflammatory topics, like whether to allow a woman to wear a niqab during her citizenship ceremony. No questions were asked on Aboriginal topics over the five leaders’ debates, ... 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 ››

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 ››

Where did Aboriginal Affairs put that missing $1-billion?

News that Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) failed to spend $1-billion budgeted for First Nations services over the last five years didn’t catch Quebec’s Indigenous organizations by surprise. After all, barely more than two weeks before the news broke in early June, the 40-year-old organization Quebec Native Women ... read more ››

Montreal protest march brings new meaning to Valentine’s Day

Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, a grassroots Montreal campaign, shifted the focus of Valentine’s Day away from flowers and Hallmark cards this year to address the mistreatment, violence and disappearance of Native women across the country. Hundreds of supporters braved -30 temperatures during a march from Cabot Square down ... read more ››

The Grand Chief discusses the Stand Against Uranium campaign

On October 7, the Grand Council of the Crees launched the web-based StandAgainstUranium.com campaign to inform people in Eeyou Istchee and the world about the Cree’s firm stance against uranium exploration on their traditional territory. The campaign addresses the risks associated with uranium mining and shares opinions, photos and videos to ... read more ››

Romeo Saganash petitions Harper government to abide by UN Declaration

It’s an effort to end systemic discrimination against Indigenous peoples in Canada. Romeo Saganash, NDP MP for Abitibi-Baie James-Nunavik-Eeyou, has launched a petition to force the Canadian government to implement and abide by the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). After introducing a private member’s bill, C-469, Saganash ... read more ››

‘Skag Airport to Reopen

The Waskaganish airport has been closed since September 15 and is set to reopen again on October 16, if all goes well. It is undergoing a range of improvements, such as refilling the gravel runway, taxiway and apron, restoring the access road to the airport and replacing the signs. The ... read more ››

Bigfoot in Chisasibi: Myth or Reality?

There have been many sightings of a sasquatch-like being around the community of Chisasibi lately. It all started when one man noticed huge footprints down by the beach. The next thing you knew everyone was claiming to have seen Bigfoot. According to some elders, he (or she) is said to have loved ... read more ››

Learning To Recognize Autism

They didn’t notice anything different about their baby boy until he was almost two years old. His speech patterns were not developing and he rarely tried to say “Mommy” or “Daddy.” He never joined his older sister in play and he didn’t answer when his name was called. At first his ... read more ››

Where is Here?: Canada’s Maps and the Stories They Tell

“Because [I am] afraid of drowning.” This was the answer an Inuit elder gave when asked why he was so skilled at reading the weather. Like many of his people, he became skilled at reading the signs in the clouds and the changing bite and smell of a cold front. ... read more ››

Under The Northern Sky Too Cold to Forget

Snowstorms are [ust another part of life during the winter season in my home community of Attawapiskat on the James Bay coast. I have many memories as a young boy playing in the snow outside our front door in the middle of a blizzard with my young brothers. Most of ... read more ››

What is the New Economy? A Youth Perspective

I am a 24-year-old youth who loves talking economic development in Eeyou/Eenou Estchee, as a beneficiary of the Cree lands of our Eeyou/Eenou Estchee. What does the new economy mean to us, the Crees of Quebec? Well, here is one point of view I think we should pay close attention to. ... read more ››

Sustainable Development Moot At McGill

It was a contentious Moot (an assembly where people debate certain issues in a structured manner) at McGill on sustainable development in the James Bay. First year law students were lucky enough to see a panel consisting of Romeo Saganash of the Grand Council, Claude Demers of Hydro-Quebec, Phil Raphals ... read more ››

A strong case against bio-piracy: Traditional remedies should not be patentable

A recent wire story reveals what may become the next hot global trade issue. Some 600 Indian tribes in Brazil have asked their government to protect them from “bio-piracy,” that is, attempts by corporations to patent or copyright traditional aboriginal knowledge, from potions and herbal remedies to exotic plant extracts. “We ... read more ››

Healing and Protecting our Sacred Mother Earth

The traditional Hopi spiritual elders say that we have not learned our lessons in the past from our use of technology. Technology is now having a world of its own. We are using technology to accumulate wealth and power. We are now using technology for the wrong reasons. Technology is ... read more ››

At the Grammys

Best Native American Music Album Bless The People – Harmonized Peyote Songs by Verdell Primeaux & Johnny Mike [Canyon Records]

Happy Birthday Ouje-Bougoumou

Ouje-Bougoumou has just celebrated its tenth anniversary. The model community on the shores of Lac Opemisca marked the occasion with a week-long series of events and festivities that ran from Jan. 20-27. Though not even a teenager yet, Ouje-Bougoumou has already established an impressive list of achievements during its brief lifetime. ... read more ››

Message to P.E.T.A. From Indian Country

Mitukuye Oyasin (For All My Relations), is something the Lakota say when finishing a prayer, it exemplifies our peoples understanding of the Sacred Circle of Life on this Earth we consider our Grandmother. Our understanding tells us that all life on Earth is inter-related and deserving of respect. For this ... read more ››

Quebec Forestry Deal Trashed

Quebec’s proposed forestry agreement provoked frustration and defiance from Crees during community meetings this month. The meetings were held in five communities affected by forestry to discuss the province’s final offer to Crees, which was made just before the holidays. “The overall message Cree delegates heard is that lyiyuuschii is not for ... read more ››

How to be a Superstar

Man, was I surprised to see Neil Diamond and Wernie Ebb jump out the plane and onto the frozen tarmac. They immediately shivered in the arctic winds and disappeared into the circa 1950’s hangar after a few soul greetings and handshakes. Little did I know that they were going to ... read more ››

You’ve Heard of ‘Where’s Waldo”? Well it’s Time to Play: Where’s Nauldo?

Since his appointment a year ago, the Minister of Indian Affairs, Robert Nault, has been conspicuously absent from places one would expect to see a man of his position: Saskatoon (where police dump Natives outside town in winter), Caldwell First Nation, Burnt Church, the Ipperwash Vigil on September 6th, the ... read more ››