ARTICLES BY Alison Blackduck

Native Leaders Set Stage for Disaster

I left last week’s Assembly of First Nations National Fisheries Strategy Conference in Halifax in the same mood I left Esgenoopetitj (Burnt Church) last September – tired, frustrated and discouraged. It’s not that I don’t care about aboriginal and treaty rights. My frustration stems from watching the AFN try to micromanage ... read more ››

Native Youth Exploited on Canada’s Mean Streets

Activism changed Cherry Kingsley’s life for the better and now she wants other aboriginal youth like her to see how it can change their lives, too. Kingsley, 30, is a tireless advocate for the rights of children and youth who are exploited daily by Canada’s sex trade. For those youth, Kingsley ... read more ››

Burnt Church

Lobster season is officially over for the Mi’kmaq of Esgenoôpetitj (Burnt Church) First Nation, but their struggle with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans continues. “We closed the lobster fishery on October 7 and went straight into salmon fishing,” hereditary chief Lloyd Augustine explained in a telephone interview, “And already we’ve ... read more ››

DFO Breaks the Peace

Whenever a Mi’kmaq lobster trap is seized or a Mi’kmaq boat is capsized by the federal fisheries department, the waves don’t stop at the shores of Miramichi Bay. One day after former Ontario Premier Bob Rae was appointed to mediate the violent dispute over treaty rights between the Mi’kmaq of Esgenoôpetitj ... read more ››