ARTICLES BY Alex Roslin

A conversation with Tony Hall

As First Nations people stand up and demand respect of their rights across the country, they are running into resistance not only from the government and developers. Their own leaders sometimes prove to be their biggest obstacles. Last summer’s confrontations at Gustafsen Lake and ipperwash Provincial Park saw First Nations leadership ... read more ››

Bumpy ride for Chisasibi’s new chief

Six months after being elected chief of Chisasibi, Charles Bobbish says the job is harder than he ever imagined. Bobbish is struggling to find ways to cope with alcohol abuse in the community and is pushing for more action by police and the band. At the same time, he has walked into ... read more ››

Chee-Bee questioned on overcharging

Chee-Bee Construction may lose its monopoly over housing contracts in Chisasibi after complaints of overcharging. The Chisasibi band was charged nearly $1.1 million by its own construction company to build foundations for 18 new homes in the community. That works out to $60,000 per unit. Questions have arisen because similar foundations in ... read more ››

Cree Construction on deadly ground

Cree Construction may get more than it bargained for as it embarks on a major road-construction project halfway around the world in the jungles of the Philippines. Experts on the Philippines say the road will snake through the middle of one of the world’s deadliest guerrilla wars, which pits three major ... read more ››

Racism complaints cost assembly: Crees seek united front on development

How to reconcile jobs with the environment? How to get Cree control over development so the hunting and trapping way of life can be preserved? Crees will be pondering those questions at a special assembly of the Cree Nation on forestry and other development projects, to be held in Ouje-Bougoumou Feb. ... read more ››

Interview with ABEL KITCHEN

Alex Roslin: You have followed the different questions people have raised over forestry in Waswanipi for a long time – the sawmill, clearcutting, the new road proposed by Domtar. What are your thoughts on these problems? Abel Kitchen: Many years ago when I was chief, we did a lot of these ... read more ››

Funds to be axed for drugs, tobacco?

Substance-abuse programs in hundreds of First Nations communities are in jeopardy amid reports that Ottawa is planning to eliminate funding for the Canada Drug Strategy and Tobacco Demand Reduction Strategy. On the chopping block are the internationally recognized Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse and National Addiction Awareness Week. The Canada Drug ... read more ››

Check in with a cheque in hand

Downtown Chibougamau’s only hotel has a new policy that has Cree patrons complaining of discrimination. Many Crees staying at the Hotel Chibougamau, also known as the Chibougamau Inn, report being asked for a $250 insurance deposit per room or a credit card number in case of damages. Willie Mitchell of Mistissini said ... read more ››

GOOSE HUNT UNDER THE GUN

The feds are cranking up the pressure on Crees to cut back on the goose hunt. The Canada Wildlife Service went on a tour of the Cree communities in January to meet with hunters to discuss an apparent decline in goose numbers. Wildlife authorities have already imposed a ban on all recreational ... read more ››

No MORE CBC IN BUSH

CBC North will go off the air in bush camps in Northern Quebec on March 31. Radio Canada International, which carries the CBC North shortwave signal, is being closed due to budget cutbacks at the CBC. That means CBC North will no longer reach Crees who are in the bush. “We will ... read more ››

Cree CEGEP finally in the works

Crees have talked for years about the idea of setting up their own CEGEP. Now the idea is finally going to become a reality. “We’ve always been talking about it,” said Clarence Tomatuk, deputy director-general of the Cree School Board. “I think more and more there is a need for it.” Tomatuk ... read more ››

Diabetes epidemic alarms health staff

A diabetes epidemic is spreading through the Cree communities because of poor diet, inadequate exercize and lack of information about the problem, warn health experts. The number of Crees with diabetes is 150 times greater today than it was 20 years ago and rising steadily. “Everybody I’ve talked to is diagnosing it ... read more ››

“Gift from the stars”: Quévillon booms

There is good news and bad news for the rabbits of the Lebel-sur-Quévillon area. The good news is that the rabbit population is multiplying. The bad news is that it’s multiplying because no one wants to eat them. Massive pollution from the forestry operations that are the backbone of Quévillon’s economy has ... read more ››

Native population to skyrocket

There’s going to be a heck of a lot more Natives around pretty soon. The First Nations population of Canada will rise by almost 50 per cent in the next 25 years, according to Statistics Canada. The increase is the result of falling infant mortality rates and rising life expectancy, says a ... read more ››

Separatists promise “unrelenting struggle”

A new separatist group has emerged that promises to “ostracize” opponents of Quebec sovereignty and use protest tactics such as “occupation” of stores that do not obey Quebec’s language law, Bill 101. The secretive group’s president says the movement is not terrorist, but warned that some activities could degenerate into violence. The ... read more ››

Hunters Didn’t Go Home Empty-Handed Cinch Class A Prize

The Chisasibi Hunters were in fine form as they powered their way undefeated to win the Class A Championships at this year’s Val d’Or tournament. A 9-2 win over the Waskaganish Wings set the pace on Friday. The next day it was the Waswanipi Chiefs’ turn to feel the pain, by ... read more ››

Wemindji to open bar, Checkpoint nixed

Wemindji residents in the mood to party will soon have an alternative to bootleggers and the Radisson bar scene–a “social club” owned and operated by the band council. Voters approved the establishment of a social club in a referendum on Nov. 17 by a margin of 137 to 45. In ... read more ››

Harris tightens the screws

Mike Harris has got them ducking for cover in Mushkegowuk. Ontario’s controversial new premier is moving fast to make life harder for First Nations people, says Mushkegowuk Grand Chief RoseAnne Archibald. “We’re wary of how his views are affecting his leadership,” said Archibald, who described Harris as “slightly racist.” During his election ... read more ››

New logging road angers Waswanipi

A lot of people in Waswanipi want to send a warning to Domtar. They say they’re ready to do what it takes to stop the giant forestry company’s bid to build a 59-km logging road into the virgin forests northwest of the community. “The battlefield has been chosen and the spear ... read more ››

96.3% say No in Cree referendum

Crees have sent an overwhelming message to the Parti Quebecois government. They want no part of the separatist project. Crees voted 96.3 per cent against allowing Quebec to take them and their territory out of Canada in the event of a Yes vote in the Oct 30 Quebec referendum. Despite the short ... read more ››

Tragedy in Eastmain

A young woman killed herself in Eastmain by burning down the police station where she was being held after threatening suicide. Gracie Bearskin of Chisasibi was taken to the police station the morning of Sunday, Oct. 15 after a night of partying with friends. Her companions became alarmed when Gracie, 21, ... read more ››

Tallymen question benefits of sawmill

Waswanipi trappers and community leaders remain deeply concerned about Chief John Kitchen’s $5.8-million sawmill project, according to a study done for the band’s forestry company. The 146-page review of the joint Waswanipi-Domtar project shows the community is divided over the benefits of the project, concerned about its effects on the environment ... read more ››

Wellness theme of women’s forum

Christine Sioui doesn’t have illusions that a single conference will solve the problem of violence against women. But she does think it will draw the issues into the open, and that’s an important step. “We don’t propose magic solutions,” says Sioui, who is organizing a conference on violence against Native women ... read more ››

Crees seek 19 amendments to gun law

An ancient tradition is under attack. Among the Cree people, a Chishayuu often leaves a special gun to a favourite grandchild as a remembrance on his death. Under the federal gun legislation now before the Senate, the Elder could be breaking the law. First of all, the new law provides for a ... read more ››

CTA funding woes may mean layoffs

Is the Cree Trappers’ Association dying a death of small cuts? Continuous funding cutbacks have left the CTA scrambling to make ends meet, contemplating layoffs and forced to eliminate some of its most popular programs. “It’s very, very tight right now,” said CTA secretary-treasurer Simeon Pash. “We may even have to ... read more ››

Solution to the border debate: F-18s

In 1991, a top separatist lawyer and policy-maker made a surprising statement. The First Nations and Quebecers “are going to have to talk together because they both, or all, have the right to self-determination,” said Daniel Turp, a law professor at the University of Montreal and top policy advisor to separatist ... read more ››