ARTICLES BY the Nation

Quebec Inuit sign self-government agreement

A new deal signed December 5 between the Inuit of Nunavik and the federal government will see self-governance become reality for the Inuit. The Makivik Corporation met with both the federal and provincial governments at the National Assembly to formally endorse an agreement-in-principle on the creation of the Nunavik Regional Government. ... read more ››

The Christmas hunt

The battle ensued for the last Wii game in town. Angry, stressed parents and virtual golf addicts were jostling like NHL enforcers in a popular downtown store in Montreal, beating the heck out of each other in the name of peace, cheery spirits and goodwill to all mankind. The bout lasted ... read more ››

Cheechoo honoured for life of art

Shirley Cheechoo, Moose Factory’s celebrated film director, can now count a 2008 National Aboriginal Achievement Award among her accomplishments. The award recognizes Cheechoo’s life-long commitment to the arts. As an actor, writer, director and producer, Cheechoo has won top honours for her work at many film festivals, including San Francisco’s American ... read more ››

Being greener than your Christmas tree

With Christmas approaching, we are dreaming of all the wonderful things the season brings. We take time from our daily schedules and work to spend the holidays with our friends and families. The focus of our thoughts is on the importance of those around us, and the spiritual significance of ... read more ››

Louisa Diamond: March 29, 1921 to December 6, 2007

Great great grandmother Louisa Diamond was born in Rupert’s House on March 29, 1921, to Rosie Moar and adopted by Anderson Jolly. She was the eldest of nine children. She was raised on the land and schooled in Fort George where she learned to read and write Cree and English. On ... read more ››

Wreath of Hope

Christmas has arrived early this year in Mistissini as the Wreath of Hope campaign has already surpassed its fundraising goal of $25, 000 to help needy individuals and families in the community. “I know with the bake sale and the breakfast, I think we raised approximately $29,000 that day,” said Beverly ... read more ››

Chief David Masty, Sr. in Memorium

Former Whapmagoostui Chief David Masty Sr. has died after his snowmobile plunged through lake ice while on a hunting trip. Masty had been missing from his brother Robbie’s hunting camp, where he had been staying with his family, since the morning of November 28. The camp is approximately 100 km northeast ... read more ››

No summer hockey in Abitibi

During a board meeting October 30, Hockey Abitibi-Témiscamingue ruled the organization could ban any AAA players who played summer hockey. The minor hockey group has provided penalties up to and including suspensions for any players that participate in summer league competition before the winter season ended. This also includes participation any ... read more ››

Party Planning

Whether it’s a big bash or an intimate gathering with friends and family, the best way to organize social holiday events is to be a careful planner. If you are hosting the family for Christmas, charged with making a success out of office or children’s parties, look after the details ... read more ››

Diamond wins ‘Skag election

Steve Diamond is the new Chief of Waskaganish after beating out Simeon Trapper in the special election held November 19. Diamond received 372 votes, with Trapper receiving 133. Five ballots were rejected. Waskaganish expects to set an election date for Deputy Chief soon, as Diamond vacated his former post as the second-in-command ... read more ››

Chief Jimmy Mianscum – In Memorium

Former Chief of the “Doré Lake Crees,” Jimmy Mianscum died in Chibougamau November 5 after a lengthy illness. The Elder was the first, in the 1960s, to try to convince the Government of Canada of the Ouje-Bougoumou people’s right to a separate and permanent village. In an open letter to Ouje-Bougoumou ... read more ››

Two Mommys

Rezolution Pictures’ latest documentary, Mommy, Mommy, had its Montreal debut at the Image + Nation, Montreal International Queer Film Video Festival on November 18. The film follows the ups and downs of a lesbian couple as they struggle to adopt children in Quebec. The couple originally heard about the children ... read more ››

CNACA to show off Cree Arts and Crafts

Looking for a place to display your art? The Cree Native Arts and Crafts Association is currently collecting tamarack decoys, moose-hide products and spruce baskets for sale at the Salon des métiers d’art in Montreal, Dec. 6 to 17. With its first ever showing at the Salon, CNACA aims to increase ... read more ››

Rev. Annett’s lonely fight

The abuse and murder suffered by generations of Aboriginal children at residential school is the most horrific and blatant attempt to commit cultural genocide against Aboriginal peoples in Canada’s checkered history. It is a story everyone should be familiar with by now. Those children did not only suffer sexual, physical and ... read more ››

Air Creebec plane crash lands – Two pilots perish on Chibougamau runway; cause currently under investigation

Air Creebec staff are in mourning after a crash took the lives of two pilots during an ill-fated attempt to land at Chibougamau Airport October 25. It is still unclear at this time what caused the crash. Air Creebec President Albert Diamond would not speculate on possible causes until an investigation ... read more ››

‘Where are all the bodies?’ – Reverend Kevin Annett searches for the kids who never came home from residential school

For many years, Reverend Kevin Annett has been searching for answers in the vast coverup over what really happened in Canada’s residential school system. The biggest mystery concerns the final resting places of the children who were sent to residential school, but never returned. In 1992, when he arrived at St. ... read more ››

Breastfeeding Week

The first annual Breastfeeding Week kicked off in Eeyou Istchee in early October, and by all accounts it was a great learning experience. The Public Health Department, Nutritionists, Community Health Representatives, and Nurses in the nine communities held different activities to promote breastfeeding as part of the traditional Cree culture. Over ... read more ››

Melissa Pash honoured at CAMA

Chisasibi’s multi-talented musician Melissa Pash is this year’s winner of the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards’ Music Industry Award. The award is given to an individual making a significant, positive impact on Canadian Aboriginal music. Pash wasn’t expecting to win the award. She is very flattered, she says, but it doesn’t change ... read more ››

Survivors targeted by con artists

Residential school survivors have become choice targets for criminals looking to cash in on large government payouts. The vast majority of the people receiving payments expected to total an average amount of $28,000 are Elders. They are seen as more susceptible to physical, emotional, and financial abuse, say groups who are ... read more ››

Alouettes host Cree kids – Over 200 jubilant teens take off for space camp, Als game

For the second year in a row kids from Eeyou Istchee were invited to Montreal and Laval to take in an Alouettess game and to check out the Cosmodome Space Science Centre. They learned about zero gravity, the effects of space travel on the astronauts and by the looks on ... read more ››

Walking healthier path – Knowledge is power for Cree diabetics

With the diabetes epidemic approaching 20 per cent of the Cree population,Diabetes Awareness Month has taken on new meaning as almost no one in the communities can say that their lives remain untouched by the disease. In light of this, four Eeyou women who are living with the disease have ... read more ››

Ouje-Bougoumou elects female chief – Louise Wapachee gets job back after six years

Ouje-Bougoumou has bucked political convention by electing a female chief and the voters who supported Louise Wapachee October 9 are hoping to avoid a repeat of what happened six years ago. In 2001 Wapachee was also elected, but only lasted a month in the chief’s chair after an opposition group lobbied ... read more ››

Teachers’ union demands reforms – Cree School Board pleads poverty

A meeting recently in early October between the Northern Quebec Teacher’s Association and the NQTA’s Native Committee helped to formulate seven recommendations that, if implemented, could change the educational reality of the way Aboriginal children are taught in the north -and produce better test results and more highly qualified graduates. The ... read more ››

Hundreds of caribou drown in Caniapiscau River

More than 300 caribou have drowned while attempting to cross the Caniapiscau River near Limestone Falls. Barriers, erected on the east side of the river after 10,000 caribou drowned at the same site in 1984, failed to keep the animals from herding into the water on the west side October ... read more ››

UN studies Canada’s housing issues

Miloon Kothari, the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, is in Canada on an 11-day factfinding mission to assess how well Canada is faring when it comes to housing those who need it most. The UN Rapporteur has set four themes for his special mission: Women and ... read more ››

Vigil for Missing Native Women

The Native Women’s Association of Canada’s “Sisters in Spirit” staged Montreal’s first-ever candlelight vigil for murdered and missing aboriginal women in the city’s downtown October 4. CKUT Radio Native Solidarity News producer Irkar Beljaars, who helped organize the event, described the gathering as intimate, drawing 35 to 40 people. Ellen Gabriel of ... read more ››