ARTICLES BY Alex Roslin

Hydro would be easy to bomb, says Union

When Hydro-Quebec gave its security guards vastly expanded powers of arrest and investigation, the utility said it needed to guard against a growing threat of terrorism. But a union of Hydro’s own workers says security hasn’t been beefed up at major Hydro installations at all. In fact, the union says ... read more ››

Wapistan, Ron Irwin at AGA

The Grand Council/CRA Annual General Assembly in Eastmain is going to have some distinguished guests—Wapistan and Ron Irwin. Wapistan (a.k.a. Lawrence Martin) won a Juno for his album, Lawrence Martin Is Wapistan. Ron is of course the federal Indian Affairs Minister. The assembly is happening Aug. 23 to 25. The Cree ... read more ››

The Nation does Wemindji

Residents of Wemindji just celebrated the 35th anniversary of the move of their village from Old Factory Island to its present location. Celebrations continued until Aug. 7 on the island and in the new community. The Nation’s William Nicholls, Neil Diamond and Alex Roslin were on hand to witness the festivities ... read more ››

Operation liberation: Crees take troubled kids out of problem-plagued Val d’Or youth centre

They were the cutest kids in the world. It’s not what you might expect from Cree kids in a centre for troubled youth in Val d’Or. But that’s what we found—half a dozen of the sweetest, most open-hearted, curious and funny kids you could meet. They were each there for their ... read more ››

Forestry hurting moose: wildlife official

A top official in Quebec’s wildlife department says he shares the Crees’ concern about falling moose numbers in northern Quebec. “I agree with the Crees on this topic,” said Denis Vandal, chief of the Nouveau-Quebec department in Quebec’s Ministry of Environment and Wildlife (which recently replaced the MLCP). Vandal said forestry and ... read more ››

Hydro wrangles with Sirros

Sparks are flying between Hydro-Quebec and Natural Resources Minister Christos Sirros. The utility and Sirros are waging an embarassing public battle over how to deal with a scandal involving a former aide to Premier Robert Bourassa. Mario Bertrand, who was Bourassa’ chief of staff, sits on the board of directors of ... read more ››

The ice is broken

After 14 years as a Peacekeeper in Waskaganish, Jim Hester has seen some painful things. Two years ago, a girl came forward and reported that she was abused by her father. But she was so afraid of being alone with a male police officer that she couldn’t tell her story to ... read more ››

Unions complain of harassment by renegade Hydro cops

Native people, ecologists and human-rights groups aren’t the only ones worrying about Hydro-Quebec’s secretive new police force. Now the utility’s own employees are getting a taste of the tactics of the “Surete d’Hydro-Quebec,” and they don’t like what they see. Hydro-Quebec’s 210-person police squad has extensive new powers to investigate, interrogate ... read more ››

Moving in on Muskuchii

There used to be a lot of moose on Muskuchii Mountain. Now there are few, if any. And local trappers know who is to blame: Normick Perron, the company that’s been logging in the area for the past eight years. “The mountain is very valuable to natives and for trappers. It’s ... read more ››

Grim picture at the Cree-Naskapi Commission

Robert Kanatewat knows the laws governing the Crees better than most. As Commissioner of the Cree-Naskapi Commission, his job is to monitor whether Canada and Quebec have honoured the commitments they made in the Cree-Naskapi Act. He also keeps an eye on the promises made in the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement. ... read more ››

Action Needed on Moose Crisis, says Chief

Quebec should restrict forestry operations and sports hunting by non-natives to reverse a dramatic fall in moose numbers in the Cree Territory, says the Chief of the Waswanipi First Nation. “It’s almost a crisis,” said Chief John Kitchen. “Something has to be done now.” The moose population in the southern part of ... read more ››

Banquet celebrates centre’s 20th b-day

After 16 years in the same building, the Native Friendship Centre of Val d’Or is finally getting a new home. The centre’s new building was publicly launched at a $125-a-plate fundraising banquet attended by 300 people on June 22. The banquet was also held to celebrate the Val d’Or centre’s 20th ... read more ››

Nunavut in Nunavik?

If negotiations go well, the Inuit of Nunavik may one day be Canada’s fourth territory. “The goal is to achieve something like Nunavut,” says Paul Bussieres, coordinator of Makivik Corp.’s self-government talks with the Quebec government. Although the Inuit have been discussing self-government for years, it was only last May that ... read more ››

Mystery at Makivik

Almost from the day of Makivik Corp.’s latest election, we at The Nation tried to reach the new President, Simeonie Nalukturuk, to interview him. We called his secretaries and assistants nearly every day for two months, only to be told Nalukturuk was always busy, in meetings or on the road. Who ... read more ››

Ban Sports Hunting and Forestry, Quebec Told: Quebec wants to Restrict Moose Hunt

Something is reducing moose numbers in the southern James Bay Territory and the Quebec government thinks it has an answer. It wants to ban Cree hunting of moose. “That’s what they’re hinting at,” says Rene Dion, a biologist at the Cree Regional Authority. Dion attended a meeting of trappers in Waswanipi ... read more ››

People Ready To Take Action

If Quebec doesn’t stop handing out clearcutting permits to forestry companies, Crees in Waswanipi and other southern communities will take action themselves to save their traplines, says Sam Gull, a Cree youth from Waswanipi. “People are ready to take it into their own hands,” says Sam. Sam was involved in a ... read more ››

SM-3 Vote “Invalid”

The SQ has dismantled an Innu blockade on the access road to the SM-3 work site. The raid occurred just hours after Innu went to the polls to vote on a compensation agreement for the SM-3 hydro-project. The Innu of Mani-Utenam split down the middle in the referendum, with 53 per ... read more ››

Crees Signed Away Their Rights, Says David Cliche

Crees signed away their aboriginal rights and can’t secede from an independent Quebec, says a top PQ official. “We believe Crees have no right to secede from Quebec or Canada,” said David Cliche, who is the official liaison of the Parti Quebecois with First Nations. Cliche told The Nation that Crees have ... read more ››

Crees Have “Legal Right To Resist” Sovereignty: PQ Politician Threatens Natives With Police

Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come described a Parti Quebecois politician as “ridiculous” and “fascist” for suggesting that aboriginal people who don’t respect an independent Quebec would be dealt with swiftly and harshly by police and the courts. Jacques Brassard, the PQ MNA for Lac-St-Jean, warned in a recent Globe and Mail ... read more ››

Hot Summer at Oka

Get ready for another hot summer. In recent weeks Mohawks have come closer to violent confrontation with police than any time since the heated summer of 1990. The Mohawks of Kanehsatake provoked the ire of the Quebec government and police when they started work on expanding their cemetery near the Oka golf ... read more ››

Innu set up blockade to stop SM-3

Innu traditionalists say they are putting their lives on the line to stop SM-3. “We will be exercising our legitimate Right to defend our Land as well as our Right to self-determination on that Land we call Nitassinan says the traditionalist Coalition For Nitassinan. “Our action wishes to provoke a profound questioning ... read more ››

Learn French, Immigrants Told

Immigrants to an independent Quebec will have to learn French before they get their citizenship, suggests the Mouvement national des Quebecois. “When we separate from Canada, it’s French that will be the only official language of Quebec,” said the group’s president, Louise Laurin. With 200,000 members, the MNQ is one of ... read more ››

Diary of a Wahm on Goose Break

The first time I saw a flock of geese land on our pond, I was lying under a huge block of snow. I was carrying the snow to our blind when I heard someone say, “Get down.” I knew what I had to do. I got down. I was lying on ... read more ››

“Take a hike”: Lameboy to Ottawa

George Lameboy is getting a laugh out of the government. “They’re funny people,” he says. Lameboy has been told by the government that he has to get a fishing license to take tourists out fishing for Greenland cod. “They are good comedians. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans didn’t give a ... read more ››

Comte Claims He’s Seen Cree “Cleavage”

La Presse is at it again. The newspaper printed a lengthy opinion piece on April 27 that breaks new ground in the popular Quebec pastime of native-bashing. The article in question was written by “media consultant” Henri L. Comte, and is entitled: “Bipolarization of Cree society: radicals in the north, moderates in ... read more ››

Pauktuutit Ten Years After

The Inuit Women’s Association, Pauktuutit, has a big job to do. Many social issues like housing and justice get dumped into its lap because other large Inuit organizations tend to deal more with issues like land claims and development. “We deal with the rest,” says Helen Levecque, who is Pauktuutit’s ... read more ››