ARTICLES BY Alex Roslin

Miners Abuzz About Huge Gold Finds

Gold prospectors are packing their tin pans and flocking to Iyiyuuschii in hopes of finding the next Klondike and striking it rich. Mining activity has doubled in Cree lands in the last three years thanks to a new Quebec government program aimed at promoting the development of the “Middle-North.” Cree lands were ... read more ››

Quebec Wants to Double Size of Radisson – “They Want to Occupy the Territory,” Says HQ Union

The Quebec government wants to move ahead with plans to occupy Iiyiyuuschii by doubling the size of Radisson with extra Hydro-Quebec workers. But HQ and its employees already oppose the plan. The workers don’t want to live in the North and wonder why the idea is being promoted. “They want to occupy ... read more ››

RCMP Arms for Conflict with Native People

The RCMP is buying its own fleet of armoured vehicles just as a rise in conflicts with Native people has been predicted by Mountie intelligence officers. The fleet will include two Nyala RG-31 armoured vehicles to be purchased from South Africa, which often used similar vehicles to put down black uprisings ... read more ››

Senneterre Cree Youth Want Back In

The Senneterre Crees are coming home. After years of feeling like outsiders in the Cree Nation, they want back in. And no one is more gung-ho than Irene Mianscum. Irene knows all about home. At 24, she’s already lived in Waswanipi, Mistissini, Lac Simon and most recently Senneterre. But during all ... read more ››

Enter the Grand Chief

When I first heard Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come was a black belt, I was a little surprised. You don’t expect people in politics to be into martial arts. But Matthew isn’t your typical politician. The discipline and patience that sustained him through years of training in Karate would later ... read more ››

Bouchard Promises To Occupy North – “We Will Inevitably Have to Populate This Territory”

Premier Lucien Bouchard promised to plant the Quebec flag in Iiyuuschii and occupy the North during his historic first visit to James Bay this month. Bouchard was the first Quebec premier to visit a Cree community in 20 years. He came to Waswanipi for a meeting with Grand Chief Matthew Coon ... read more ››

Pickup Pays Price For Protest

What would a trip to Waswanipi be like without a little excitement over Paul Dixon’s pickup? Premier Bouchard was in town for a historic visit with the Cree chiefs and the grand opening of Waswanipi’s sawmill. But here was Paul hunched over the wheel of his truck deep in thought. ... read more ››

Lawyer Counsels Against Forestry Deals – Immediate Action Needed on Logging: Waswanipi Lawyer

The legal counsel of the Waswanipi band believes that private deals with forestry companies are “the modern version of the selling of Manhattan Island/’and recommends that tallymen should not sign them because they undermine Cree rights to their land. “The tallyman who has entered into such a deal virtually loses the ... read more ››

”We’re Still Poor”

When we decided to ask Crees from different walks of life what they thought of the new HQ river diversion idea, we immediately thought of Margaret Cromarty. As the Cree world has changed, she has remained a constant passionate voice reminding us about justice, equality and the other time-honoured principles that ... read more ››

Forest Fires Worse Than Usual This Year

It was supposed to be a relaxing fishing trip for some Waswanipi trappers. Suddenly, lightning hit a stand of trees just outside town. It didn’t take long for the dry trees to light up into a blaze, just a few kilometres away from the community’s new sawmill! To make matters worse, another ... read more ››

Forestry Deals Could Cost Tallymen

It’s a classic give-with-one-hand-take-with-the-other situation. Encouraged by their chief, tallymen in Waswanipi agreed to take money from forestry companies that were cutting their land. The money offered was no great sum, a pittance compared to the profits earned by the companies. But 20 years of clearcutting has left the land so ... read more ››

Mario Lord vs. Norbord

“Before our hunting ground was cut I felt like a millionaire. Now I feel like a shoeboy.” Mario Lord has lived in the bush since he was 8. At 29, he is now tallyman of the W-11B trapline. Mario says his trapline has changed since the days when his late grandfather ... read more ››

An Interview with Matthew Coon Come – Election Season

The rumours were flying for weeks, even months. Was Matthew Coon Come going to go for Ovide Mercredi’s job as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations? Ovide had announced he was going to step down when his term expired this summer. Matthew was touted by some as the ... read more ››

Three Views on Forestry

The debate continues about the deals between tallymen in Waswanipi and the forestry companies. Chief John Kitchen, who promoted the deals, says the tallymen have no choice. The land is being destroyed and the regional Cree leadership has failed to address the problem of forestry in other ways. The CTA ... read more ››

Plan Sounds Like a “Crock”: Wall St. Analyst

Four experts contacted by The Nation say Crees would be unwise to put millions into a vast recycling project proposed by Texas businessman Walter Childress. “It sounds like a crock,” said Leone Young, one of America’s top financial analysts specializing in waste-management. “My companies in this industry are losing their shirts. This ... read more ››

Walter Childress Inspired by Creator

Walter Childress, the man who wants Crees to invest up to $27 million in his U.S. recycling project, was inspired by the Creator to pursue his grandiose project, says a close associate. Childress remains secretive about himself, his company and his project, but one of his associates spoke with The Nation ... read more ››

Chisasibi Gets $1.8M for Airport – But Still no Air Ambulance, Electricity, Building

It may have gone unnoticed in the rest of the country, but the federal government’s very first election goodie apparently went to the Crees. A 17-year wait for Chisasibi finally came to an end on April 22 when the feds pledged $1.8 million to give the community’s airstrip a much-needed facelift. ... read more ››

OPP Guilty As Charged In Shooting

Judge Hugh Fraser accused an Ontario Provincial Police officer of “concocting” excuses and found him guilty of negligence causing death in the shooting of a Chippewa protester in 1995. Dudley George, 30, was killed by a machine gun bullet during an assault by 50 OPP riot-squad and tactical-unit officers on a ... read more ››

Donohue Plans 94-Km Logging Road

It was unthinkable 10 years ago, but loggers now have their eyes on the most northern commercially viable trees in Iyiyuuschii. Montreal-based Donohue is reaching out to the end of the treeline with a new forestry road in the Waswanipi territory. The company wants to start work on a new 94-kilometre logging ... read more ››

RCMP Probes Judge Rejean Paul

Judge Rejean Paul, chairman of the Cree-Naskapi Commission and the man responsible for keeping Cree politics honest, is now under investigation himself by the RCMP, according to the office of Federal Judicial Affairs in Ottawa. Judicial Commissioner Guy Goulard said he received allegations of irregularities in Judge Paul’s expense accounts and ... read more ››

Cree Hockey Enters Third Period

The future of the two Cree Nation hockey teams was being decided at a meeting in Chibougamau as we went to press this issue. The future looks bright. But not enough to wear shades. Both teams are now in a fragile position as second-class citizens in Quebec’s hockey world. This year ... read more ››

Crees Cautioned to Stay Away From Plan

The recycling business is filled with ambitious entrepreneurs trying to make a fast buck off unwary investors, says a top U.S. waste-management executive. “There’s lots of people in Wall Street who wished they never invested in it,” he said. “That’s why they look for people like the Crees and municipalities to ... read more ››

Texas Tycoon Appeals to Crees for Megabucks – Brother, Can You Spare $27 Million?

A Texas entrepreneur is promising Crees millions in profits if they invest in a recycling megaproject he is promoting. Entrepreneur Walter Childress and Cree leaders were both tight-lipped about details of the plan and how much money Crees may invest from their compensation funds. We have learned the investment may be anywhere ... read more ››

Two-Game Suspension “A Joke”: Chief

Val d’Or minor hockey coach Yvanhoé Bélisle has been suspended for two games for making racist comments against Native youth. The punishment drew an outcry from Crees who said it’s not enough. Chief Bosum said the decision sends a message that racism is okay. “I think it’s a joke. I think ... read more ››

James Bay, We Have a Problem

It sure gets crazy around here in The Nation office sometimes. We were hot on the trail of NASA last week, when suddenly we found ourselves asking the question: Just how safe are the dams? Have you ever wondered what you would do if one of the dams broke? Is there ... read more ››

150 Call on Wemindji Chief to Resign

One hundred and fifty Wemindji residents have signed a letter asking Chief Walter Hughboy to resign because the band is “out of control.” “We, members of the First Nation of Wemindji, know for a fact that you don’t have the credibility both internally and externally as a leader,” says the letter. “You ... read more ››