ARTICLES BY Steve Bonspiel

Summer Is About To Get Even Hotter As Election Time Looms

It’s that time again folks, when you get to choose your new fearless leader and live with that decision, good or bad, for the next four years now. Yes it’s election time in Eeyou Istchee and at least two of the candidates have already announced their intent to run against the ... read more ››

Candidate for Grand Chief: Matthew Mukash – Mukash Pushes Sovereignty and the Economic Development to Support It

The race for the position as Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees is heating up once again and in this issue we will be talking to two candidates who hope to get elected and lead the people for the next four years. It is our aim for you, ... read more ››

Candidate for Grand Chief: Paul Gull

The race for the position as Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees is heating up once again and in this issue we will be talking to two candidates who hope to get elected and lead the people for the next four years. It is our aim for you, ... read more ››

Grand Council Negotiating Constitution With Ottawa

The Grand Council of the Crees is getting ready to assume control of their own destiny and create a constitution under which all Crees would live – and at the same time work towards a new relationship with the Canadian government that will see Ottawa deliver on past obligations under ... read more ››

CESO Appoints Its First Aboriginal Vice President

The Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO), the organization that aids small- and medium-sized businesses by providing financial expertise at little or no cost, has appointed its first Aboriginal Vice President for National Services. Robert (Bob) Dickson, a member of Lac Seul First Nation and a graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University, joined ... read more ››

Kahnawake Powwow’s 15-year Anniversary

It has been 15 years since Kahnawake Mohawks held their first Powwow and judging by this year’s turnout, the show only gets better with age. Year after year the spectacle – which was created to help heal the scars of the Oka crisis – seems to get bigger and better. That ... read more ››

Residential School Conference Works Towards Cree Solution

The goal of the Conference on Indian Residential Schools was clear for the roughly 120 people who attended in Mistissini June 15 and 16: find a way for victims to be properly compensated within a Cree framework. “The objective was to educate more people of the present status of the residential ... read more ››

Mistissini Teacher to Attend Harvard University

Mistissini’s Voyageur Memorial School may soon have a Harvard-educated teacher on staff. Teacher Kim Quinn has been accepted by the prestigious Ivy League school this fall. Quinn will be pursuing her Masters of Education in language and literacy with some heavy support from the Cree School Board. They agreed to pay ... read more ››

The Adopted Cree – Non-Native CBC Announcer Works and Lives in the Cree Language

Melissa Natachequan, 27, speaks three languages, English, French and Cree. There are many people in Eeyou Istchee who speak three languages, even more so who speak two, but the thing that makes her story so amazing is that Melissa doesn’t have an ounce of Cree blood in her. Born to a ... read more ››

‘Big Bear’ Garners MVP Award in UHL Playoffs

For those who were emotionally distraught over the loss of the NHL season this year, Chisasibi’s Brant “Big Bear” Blackned has provided some solace on the ice. Blackned won his second league title in two years with the Muskegon Fury of the United Hockey League. Best of all, Blackned was ... read more ››

Rezolution Pictures Scores Hat Trick at Film Fest

The 15th Annual Land Insights First People’s Fest – or at least what we’ve seen of it before press time – has been a great success and they owe that in large part to the Cree film company Rezolution Pictures and director Tracey Deer’s first solo effort, Mohawk Girls. The documentary, ... read more ››

Bringing Midwives Back to Eeyou Istchee

Christine Roy has been a midwife for 22 years and she hopes her expertise and the assistance of the Cree Health Board will bring midwifery back to Eeyou Istchee – and soon. “The job of a midwife is such rewarding work,” said Roy, who has delivered, in her estimation, 500 to ... read more ››

Tourism Conference Bridges Culture Gap – More Than 100 Attend Amos Festivities

They came, they saw, they schmoozed, and at the end of the day, the town of Amos and the Cree Nation were much closer to becoming partners in the development of Northern Quebec’s tourism industry. Hosted by the Secretariat to the Cree Nation Abitibi-Temiscamingue Economic Alliance, the tourism conference was attended ... read more ››

Fighting Disease in Our Communities

There are many ailments that affect Native people at much higher rates than they do the Canadian public. These include cancer, diabetes and some diseases that are unique to one Nation, like Cree-leukoencephalopathy and Cree leukoencephalitis. It’s an uphill battle fighting these diseases, but our health care professionals have answered the ... read more ››

Chisasibi Fights Cancer – Community, Health Professionals, Raise Money to Fight Deadly Disease

The people of Chisasibi have vowed to fight cancer and they took the first step towards that when doctors, nurses and locals got together to raise money and awareness for teenagers suffering from the disease. “The fundraiser was done for the On the Tip of the Toes Foundation that benefits teenagers ... read more ››

Midgets and Jugglers and Flares, oh my! – A Review of Cirque de Soleil’s Corteo

The Cirque de Soleil is always trying to reinvent itself while staying close enough to its roots so as not to be confused with other, lesser acts. And on Friday, May 13th, I tried my luck with their latest installment, Corteo. After leaning toward adult productions, the Cirque has come back ... read more ››

Education Starts at the Top

A letter to the editor of the Montreal newspaper Le Devoir has triggered an uproar in Mistissini. Published in early April, it bashed the system that schools the kids of Eeyou Istchee, and in particular the community of Mistissini. The surprising part is that it was the Mistissini School’s Principal, ... read more ››

Comex Officially Opposes Firing Range – But Province Misses Deadline for Approval

The Cree-Quebec Comité d’examen (Comex) is in danger of becoming irrelevant if the Provincial Administrator (PA) does not uphold its position against the proposed SNC Technologies firing range in Waswanipi – and soon. The delay to approve or nix the ballistics testing range is undermining the credibility and relevance of the ... read more ››

Isaac Mianscum: A New Cree Idol – Mistissini Singer Makes it to Third Round of Reality TV Competition

Singing is not something that just anyone can do. It takes talent, heart and a touch of spunk – qualities that Isaac Mianscum most surely possesses. The song that propelled the 24-year-old Mistissini sensation to the third round of this year’s Canadian Idol contest was “You Raise Me Up,” by Josh ... read more ››

My First Goose Break

The anticipation of shooting my first goose had me fidgeting in the car on the drive up to Paul Dixon’s trapline. It also gave me a lot of time to think. I wondered how many geese I’d bag. I was hoping for three, but I’d settle for one. During the eight-hour ... read more ››

Whapmagoostui Man’s Search for Non-Native Dad Ends – Father Had Already Passed Away, Finds Four New Brothers Instead

The anticipation was almost too much to bear. Whapmagoostui’s Philip Cooper was going to be meeting his brothers for the first time in his 36 years and you could tell how nervous he was. His hands were sweating profusely as he wondered how the three siblings – he had already ... read more ››

David Ahenakew: Protector of Native Values or Blithering Fool?

David Ahenakew, the former Assembly of First Nations Chief, is making headlines in a trial that has some Native people hanging their heads in shame. Ahenakew has been testifying in Saskatchewan court after being charged under the Criminal Code with spreading hatred against Jews. His off-the-cuff remarks were made when he ... read more ››

Chisasibi Kids Part of Video Pilot Project – Linguists Say Filming the Kids in Their Early Years Helps to Identify Discernible Patterns

In an innovative new study, children from Chisasibi are being videotaped as a way to improve the way the Cree language is taught and absorbed at the earliest levels. The project aims to capture on video the child’s most important learning years from ages one to six. After several years, the ... read more ››

When Cree Adopt Cree: The Adoption Story of Waskaganish’s Stacy Moses

Adoption is one of those topics that no one wants to talk about. When the word comes up, people tend to shy away from it. Stacy Moses, on the other hand, wants her story to be told to the Cree Nation. Stacy, now 32, was adopted at the age of 3 ... read more ››

Taima Wins Juno

Taima is flying high after bringing home the Juno award for Aboriginal Recording of the Year. Elisapie Isaac and Alain Auger make up the multiethnic duo that won the award for their self-titled debut album. It was presented at the annual Saturday night gala at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, on ... read more ››

School Board May Increase Funding – But Not Soon Enough for Chisasibi Woman

Chisasibi’s Elizabeth Rednose is disillusioned with the Cree School Board and what she refers to as “1981 funding levels” for students. She says financial restraints imposed on her as a 41-year-old post secondary student don’t reflect the current cost of living. Rednose will graduate this spring and hopes to find a ... read more ››