ARTICLES BY Alex Roslin

Waskaganish cop UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGED ASSAULT

A Waskaganish police officer is under investigation for allegedly assaulting a local resident. Christopher Stephen claims an off-duty local officer, Brian Hester, punched him in the face and kicked him in the leg outside the band office on January 14 or 15. Stephen says he had his injuries checked out at the ... read more ››

ElECTlON TURMOIL HAS TAKEN TOLL IN O.J.

The months of conflict in Ouje-Bougoumou over last July’s election for chief have taken their toll on the community, said embattled Chief Louise Wapachee in a statement last month. “This ordeal has caused hurt, confusion, relaying of wrong information, targeting of certain people and dissension among the people,” the chief said. The ... read more ››

Officials ignored AVALANCHE DANGER FOR THREE YEARS

The funeral for nine Inuit who lost their lives in an avalanche in Kangiqsualujjuaq took place last week, but a storm of questions remains about why the disaster happened and whether it could have been prevented. At 1:30 a.m. on New Year’s Day, an avalanche smashed through a wall of the ... read more ››

First Nations warned to hold out for better deal on residential schools

A Saskatchewan chief who signed an out-of-court settlement for residential-school abuse says his members have been cheated. Bryan McNabb, chief of the Gordon First Nation in Punnichy, Sask., said other First Nations should hold out for more money and not go for the quick buck. “I don’t think my people are being ... read more ››

Mistissini calls for free long-distance in James Bay

Cree opposition is growing to Télébec’s proposed hikes to phone bills in the North. Expect to see a $3 increase on your next phone bill, part of a $14.40 total increase Telebec has proposed between 1997 and 2002. Monthly phone bills will jump by 64 per cent over five years if ... read more ››

Head Start a no-start for First Nations

It sounded like a good idea at the time. The federal government would put $15 million into a Head Start program for First Nations reserves across Canada. Head Start is a pre-school program created in the U.S. to give disadvantaged inner-city kids under 6 a helping hand. They learn how to ... read more ››

HYDRO RESERVOIR LEVELS FALL TO RECORD LOWS

Hydro-Quebec is facing more bad news about the low level of water in its reservoirs in James Bay. By this spring, the reservoirs will be only 16-per-cent full, according to a report last week by Michel Morin, a journalist at French CBC TV. The water levels are so low Hydro may have ... read more ››

O.J. VOTES TO REHOLD ELECTION FOR CHIEF

Ouje-Bougoumou has put an end to several weeks of debate about last summer’s election for chief by deciding to hold a re-election. Residents voted for a new election by a 101-52 margin at a recent community assembly. A date wasn’t chosen as of press time. The decision put to a rest ... read more ››

No suspect in Chibougamau Hit

Has the biker war hit James Bay? That’s what police and many Crees are asking themselves after the death of Richard “Oiseau” Naud, 44, in a hail of gunfire the night of October 22 at his home in Chibougamau. Naud was in his living room with some companions (it’s not clear ... read more ››

End game in Orillia

by Ian AdamsThe Trudeau Papers McClelland & Stewart (tel.: 416-598-1114) Toronto, 1971,108 pp. The year is 1975, four years into the future. Two Soviet SS-9 nuclear missiles, each carrying a 50-megaton warhead, are accidentally launched from Russia in a strange CIA plot gone horribly wrong. They sail over the Arctic carrying 6,000 times ... read more ››

CTA chief knocks EM-1, forestry retreat But trappers pleased arout new funding deal

Cree Trappers’ Association president Edward Gilpin is a happy man. After years of funding troubles, which culminated in the layoff of its executive for two months last year, the CTA is close to inking a new funding deal that promises some stability. The deal, negotiated with help from the Grand Council ... read more ››

Feds couid freeze band funds: official

The federal government could withhold money from the Waskaganish band or freeze its funds because the band diverted money intended for housing renovations into covering its out-of-control deficit. The band got $1 million from the federal government in a 1997 deal on the express condition it goes to housing renovations. But ... read more ››

Waskaganish debt tops $6.3M

The Waskaganish band is over $6.3 million in the red, or $3,680 for each man,woman and child in the community. The debt exists because of high spending on“special projects.” Here’s where some of the money went: • the gravel pit ($1.14 million in debt) • inactive past projects ($1.16 million) • police ($582,000) • ... read more ››

It’s a Black and white issue

by Conrad Black & Co. The National Post (Vol. 1, No. 1 ) The National Post Company Don Mills, Ontario There’s been a lot of talk about Canada’s new “truly national newspaper,” brought to us by Conrad Black and friends. Was the newspaper going to be full of nutty right-wing propaganda? And what was ... read more ››

“We’re coming to the end of everything”

A year ago, Eloise Charet was living a peaceful existence in the mountains of British Columbia. Logging companies changed that life. Charet, 47, and her 12-year-old daughter joined others blocking a road in the forest to stop the loggers. Charet was arrested and promptly went on a hunger strike (she ... read more ››

From Hydro with love

Report of the Commission of Inquiry Into Hydro-Quebec’s purchase of electricity fromprivate producers by the Government of Quebec Montreal, 1997 Every government wants to spread a little money… er, joy to its good friends and party contributors. And the Liberals of Robert Bourassa were no different. This is the inside story ... read more ››

A Cree woman faces violence every day in one of the communities

A few months AGO we were informed about an incident in which a Cree woman was gravelysexually and physically abused in one of the communities. Her injuries were so seriousshe had to be med’evaced to a southern hospital for emergency treatment. Doctors hadnever heard of such a serious case of ... read more ››

Lead forestry plaintiff up on drug charges

Crees involved in the forestry court action were stunned at the news that the lead plaintiff, Mario Lord, was arrested on drug charges by the Sûreté du Québec in Chibougamau. Lord was arrested on June 30 just outside Chibougamau and later charged with possession of 40 grams of hash, violation of ... read more ››

HQ says controversial herbicide is safe

Hydro-Quebec sprayed tens of thousands of litres of a highly toxic plant-killing chemical which was a major component of Agent Orange at its facilities last year, The Nation has learned. The herbicide 2,4-D can cause cancer and other severe illnesses in people and animals, according to many studies. But Hydro says ... read more ››

Cree Co. $32M In The Red

Cree Co. Inc.’s fortunes took a nosedive last year as it declared a loss of $7.55 million, according to the company’s annual report for 1997/98. The huge loss sent the Cree-owned company’s accumulated deficit soaring to $31.7 million. Cree Regional Economic Enterprises Company, founded in 1982, saw its revenues rise from ... read more ››

Skeptical reaction to HQ joint venture

Hydro-Quebec’s offer of Cree co-ownership of the 1,280-megawatt Eastmain-Rupert hydro project was met with skepticism and suspicion in Mistissini and Waskaganish. Hydro’s top brass, including chairman André Caillé, spent the afternoon of Thurs., Sept. 10, in Mistissini answering questions and selling the proposed new project, with its pricetag of $2.2-$3 billion. The ... read more ››

Conflict-of-interest alleged in Park spat

A big chunk of Mistissini’s picturesque Elders’ Park will soon be sliced off and turned into a lot for a new house, if the band administration gets its way. Nearby residents are up in arms because the lot is going to none other than Thomas Neeposh, director-general of the band and ... read more ››

Raid founder passes on

The snowmobile-racing world suffered a great loss with the recent passing away of Richard Guay. Guay, a successful Lebel-sur-Quévillon businessman, was well-known in the Cree world as the founder of the Raid des Braves in 1991. The soon-to-be-legendary Raid was inspired by the Harricana snowmobile race, which was organized by Europeans. ... read more ››

Emotions high at meetings with HQ execs

Hydro-Quebec got a lesson to remember about the Cree point of view when its top executives traveled to Eastmain and Nemaska for the first time last month. Hydro chairman André Caillé and other utility officials visited the two communities to give details of their latest proposed hydro-electric project: a dam on ... read more ››

Violet Pachanos Elected Chief

Chisasibi has a new chief, Violet Pachanos. Pachanos took 309 out of the total 900 votes cast, or about a third, according to reports. We could not get the official results from the band office before press time. In second place was the incumbent chief, Charles Bobbish, with 247 votes, according ... read more ››

When you’re hot you’re hot

It took a few moments for the news to sink in when Clifford Coonishish-Coon won $130,224.90 playing Lotto 6/49. On a recent trip to St. Félicien, Clifford took a chance and bought his first-ever Lotto 6/49 ticket. The rest is James Bay gambling history. Clifford’s lucky streak wasn’t over yet. A couple of ... read more ››