ARTICLES BY NATION

Police Net $800,000 Worth of Drugs and Booze

A joint police operation led by the Kativik Regional Police Force and including the Sûreté du Québec provincial police force, the RCMP, other native police forces, Canada Customs and Canada Post has resulted in the opening of more than 50 files in Nunavik and Nunavut and the seizure of 15 ... read more ››

Haida to Get Repatriated Remains

When the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago hands over the bones of 156 Haida people to a tribe in British Columbia in October, it will become one of only three major museums to extend the U.S. repatriation law outside the coun-try. “It’s huge,” said Karenne Wood, repatriation coordinator at ... read more ››

First Nations Caravan to Confront Liberal Government in Ottawa

Beginning on opposite ends of the country, caravans of First Nations leaders, citizens, and their supporters will travel to Ottawa, growing in number and strength as they go. The Western segment of the caravan, led by Chief Stewart Phillip, President of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, departed from Vancouver ... read more ››

Blockade Season at Grassy Narrows

The snow has barely disappeared from the trees she so desperately works to save, yet Judy Da Silva is already dreading the likelihood of spending another frigid Northwestern Ontario winter on the Grassy Narrows First Nation blockade. “We just finished winter, and I’m already worrying about the next one,” says ... read more ››

B.C. Natives Fight Fish Farms

Native groups opposed to west coast ocean fish farms are going to court to try to preserve what they say are their ancestral fishing grounds. “We’ve been at this for well over a decade,” Chief Bill Cranmer of the Namgis First Nation says. “And we keep being ignored. Now we ... read more ››

Official Opening of the Secretariat to the Cree Nation/Abitibi Temiscamingue Economic Alliance

It was a meeting of regional bigwigs in Val d’Or. On hand was Mayor of Val d’Or, Mr. Fernand Trahan; the Mayor of Rouyn-Noranda, Mr. Jean-Claude Beauchemin; the president of the CRDAT, Mrs. Diane Raymond; the minister of State for the Population, Regions and Native Affairs, Mr. Remy Trudel; and ... read more ››

Housing Crisis on Reserves Worsening

A critical shortage of adequate housing on native reserves across Canada is likely to worsen, despite $3.8-billion in federal funding spent on the problem over the past decade, Auditor-General Sheila Fraser says. “Many First Nations are facing a housing crisis,” Fraser said. “Unless action is taken quickly, the already unacceptable housing ... read more ››

Amnesty Group Urges Lubicon Settlement

Amnesty International is urging Prime Minister Jean Chretien to settle the longstanding Lubicon Cree land claim before he leaves office next February. Amnesty, which monitors human rights violations, said in a strongly worded report that Canada has failed to live up to its obligations towards the small northwestern Alberta band despite ... read more ››

Science Fair Winners

Badabin Eeyou School was proud to host the Cree School Board Regional Fair this year. Participants from Chisasibi, Mistissini, Waskaganish, Wemindji, Ouje-Bougoumou, Nemaska and Whapmagoostui competed for prizes on the 4th of March. In recognition of the effort put into each and every project, all participants received small gifts with their ... read more ››

Responses to the Letter on Encouraging Self Sufficiency By Way of Meaningful Self-Governance

Letter 1 First, I would like to encourage youths to write and express your concerns with your education in our communities. It is a healthy attitude to partake in your destiny especially something as important as education. As an elementary vice principal and a former high school teacher, I can understand ... read more ››

Kid Koala – Lifting Your Spirits

There is something really amazing about the ability to speak in volumes without saying a word. Eric San, a.k.a. Kid Koala, manages to achieve that with everything he does. A DJ by profession, he is a master scratcher on the turntable and now also a published author with his new ... read more ››

Cree Cirrhosis Gene Discovered

Researchers at Montreal’s Ste-Justine Hospital have determined the gene responsible for causing the specific type of cirrhosis that affects Cree people. The gene, named cirhin, took four years to isolate. “Because we couldn’t find the cause of the disease and we knew it was genetic, we looked for that,” says the ... read more ››

Five New Cop Stations

The Kativik Regional Police Force is pleased to announce the opening of five new police stations in Nunavik. The police station in Kangiqsualujjuaq was formally accepted on March 20, while the new police stations in Umiujaq, Puvirnituq, Akulivik and Quaqtaq were finished and formally accepted earlier in 2003. These new facilities ... read more ››

Are You a Starving Artist?

Canada Council for the Arts has money for you!! For all you struggling artists out there, no matter what form of expression you are engaged in, money is waiting. The Canada Council for the Arts (CCA) was established in 1957 to “foster and promote the study and enjoyment of, and the ... read more ››

Arrival of Youth Cheers Waskaganish

Brave young cancer victims arrive in Waskaganish March 5th,6th 2003 Our people had gathered down by the Rupert River waiting for the arrival of our special guests. From the vantage point of standing on the shoreline we would be able to see them coming from far off across the bay. The ... read more ››

Val d’Or No Place For Racism

In order to highlight the International Day for the elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Val d’Or Native Friendship Centre is inviting the population to participate in the Gabriel Commanda Walk as a sign of friendship among nations, under the theme “In Val d’Or, there is no place for racism.” For the ... read more ››

Weekend Violence Rocks Nunavik

Alcohol and drugs fueled an unusual level of interpersonal violence in Nunavik over the past weekend. In Kuujuaq, where 300 people had gathered for a regional hockey tournament, the Kativik Regional Police Force scrambled to deal with a larger-than-usual number of drunken individuals and many violent assaults. Due to an accident involving ... read more ››

Another Cree Woman’s Story

It makes me really sad to hear or to read these kinds of stories about women being abused by their husbands. I too, would like to share my own experience of an abusive relationship with my husband. As I look back through the days, the times that turned into years, ... read more ››

Crees Express Dismay Over ADQ Statements

The Cree leadership says a speech given in Montreal by Action Démocratique leader Mario Dumont Feb. 27 could jeopardize the relationship with the province. If elected, Dumont said he intends to push ahead with the Great Whale Project, without even a phone call to the Cree leaders. “We thought that the ... read more ››

Aboriginal Business Summit

Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault wants Natives to become good capitalists. All they have to lose is their shirts. “The time has come to remove the obstacles that keep Aboriginal people from seizing the opportunity to shape their own futures,” Nault said in an address Feb. 20 to the Aboriginal Business ... read more ››

Police Seize Illegal Alcohol in Kuujjuaq

The Kativik Regional Police Force seized three shipments of alcohol destined for Kangirsuk at Kuujjuaq airport Feb. 24. Police netted a total of 24 66-ounce bottles of hard spirits, two cases of kinsized beer, one 40-ounce bottle of Amaretto and one four-litre package of wine. The shipments were intended to arrive in ... read more ››

No Exclusive Access on Caniapiscau River

Quebec’s Minister Responsible for Wildlife and Parks says privatizing the Caniapiscau River is out of the question. Last month, the Nation reported Club Chambeau requested exclusive access to fish along the Caniapiscau River. The area is of primary interest to both the Cree and the Naskapi, meaning that it impacts on ... read more ››

AFN Chief Visits Grassy Narrows Blockade

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Matthew Coon Come was in Grassy Narrows First Nation (Ontario) Feb. 27 to show support for the road blockade and political action being taken by the community to protect their rights. The National Chief spent the day at the blockade and visited the community to ... read more ››

The Story Comes Out

The elders of Chisasibi have said that the time has come to tell their story. And the people of Chisasibi have responded. The long awaited double cd Voices of the Land tells the story of Chisasibi in a truly novel way, and it has finally been released to the public. Held ... read more ››

Paix Des Braves: One Year Later

Peace and Prosperity in Troubled Times: The “Paix des Braves” one Year Later, A Message to the Cree Peoples from Grand Chief Ted Moses It is now one year since the New Agreement with Quebec, come to be known as the Paix des Braves, was signed by Premier Landry on behalf ... read more ››

Rewrite Native Logging Rules: Judge

A New Brunswick court ruling has opened the door for natives to harvest Crown timber for personal use, and ordered the government to rewrite the laws to reflect native rights under a 200-year-old treaty. Provincial Court Judge Murray Cain found two Woodstock men not guilty of illegally harvesting timber on Crown ... read more ››