ARTICLES BY M.J. Milloy

Save the Whales – DFO and Natives Cooperate on Belugas

Northern aboriginal groups and the Canadian federal government are joining together to save the endangered beluga whale. Earlier this month in Kuujjuaq, representatives of the Makivik Corporation, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), Nunavut and local hunter and trappers met in the first gathering of the Nunavik Belulga Recovery ... read more ››

Cree School Board wins big: Supreme Court of Canada refuses Federal Gov’t appeal

Thanks to something Canada’s top court would not do, top Cree leaders are declaring victory in a long-running dispute with Ottawa. On Oct 25, the Supreme Court refused to hear the federal government’s request to appeal a Sept, 2001 Quebec Superior Court decision on the implementation of the James Bay and ... read more ››

Smokes on the water High taxis revive the Mohawk cigarette trade

“The only reason people are making a big deal out of it is because the government ‘aint gettin’ their cut,” the Mohawk teenager says bluntly, referring to the shelves of cheap, aboriginally-produced cigarettes for sale in his Kahnawake smoke-shack. The teenager – who won’t give his name, nor allow pictures in ... read more ››

Genetic Sleuths attack mystery of Cree Disease

An historic meeting this week in Montreal promises that future generations of Cree will have more control over their health. “A lot of parents wanted to know why it was happening,” Annie Bearskin says of the Cree disease, which took her granddaughter’s life in 1998. “Right now, they’re very happy with ... read more ››

Presence Autochtone

Back in the long, hot summer of 1990, Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel’s face was a regular feature on nightly newscasts as she became the symbol of Kanesatake’s resistance to the siege by Quebec police. Now, 12 years later, it will be her art on display as she headlines the visual arts segment ... read more ››

That B.C. Referendum

Canada’s top pollster called the process “amateurish and one-sided” and one journalist called it “a repugnant, arrogant and demeaning attack on aboriginal people,” but the BC government has pushed ahead with its promise to hold an eight-question referendum on the province’s treaty process. Only 34.5 per cent of the province’s eligible ... read more ››

Somewhere in Cree Territory

February, 2005. It was just before dawn when Rupert Lameboy yanked the start on his snowmobile, and the sound of the awakening engine, half sick goose, half nasty chainsaw ripped through the Northern bush. As the machine warmed up, he stowed his backpack under the seat, and after double-checking everything, rode the ... read more ››

Charge of the PQ dim parade

Much ink will be spilled in the next couple of weeks over the words of wisdom handed down from the Supreme Court on the legality of Quebec’s drive for independence. However, it is the rhetoric coming out of the blockade at Listuguj that is providing a more illuminating look at the ... read more ››