ARTICLES BY the Nation

Nation picks up more honours

The Nation has continued its winning streak by picking up two more awards from the Native American Journalists Association June 9 in Denver, Colorado. Steve Bonspiel won first place in the Best Editorial category for “The Spirit of the Mohawks,” which looked at the Mohawk fight with both levels of government ... read more ››

Chisasibi-Whapmagoostui outing begins in tragedy

The community of Chisasibi is in mourning after a local man suffered a heart attack while kayaking. Edward Tapiatic, a former head of the CRA’s traditional pursuits agency was part of a four-man team heading to Whapmagoostui, 200 kilometres away. He died after paddling a distance of about five kilometres. The ... read more ››

Special Tribute to Andrew Moar

The Nemaskau Eenouch and Eenou Nation has lost one of its most beloved and respected members in a sudden and tragic circumstance. Friend, councillor, mentor and Elder Andrew Moar died May 25, 2007. Many will each remember Andrew in their own unique and special way and how he touched our lives. ... read more ››

Wemindji wins eco-award

The community of Wemindji has been honoured with the Quebec government’s 10th annual Prix Phoénix de l’Environnement for their recycling program in the municipality category. Wemindji’s environmental administrator, Johnny Mark, accepted the award on behalf of the community from Environment Minister Line Beauchamp May 31 in Quebec City. “We were not ... read more ››

Declaration of kinship and cooperation among the Eeyou/Eenou of Eeyou Istchee and The Tataskweyak Cree Nation of Manitoba

We, the Cree people knowing that the Creator placed us here on Mother Earth as sovereign nations and seeking to live in peace, freedom and prosperity with all humanity in accordance with our own traditional laws are united in our sacred relationship with the land, air, water and resources of ... read more ››

Abitibiwinni fights for treaty rights

The First Nation community of Abitibiwinni in Northern Quebec has set up an intermittent blockade of Highway I 11 to raise awareness and support for their land claim. The Abitibiwinni are protesting their land allocation under Treaty 9, which they say is not being respected. The Abitibiwinni reserve is home to ... read more ››

AFN offers reward for info on murder of pregnant woman

A national appeal is being made for information concerning the killing of Kelly Morrisseau, a Gatineau woman who was seven months’ pregnant at the time of her murder. On June 7, National Chief Phil Fontaine, in a joint media conference with Crime Stoppers, the Gatineau Police Department, and members of the ... read more ››

Talleyman’s body recovered

Still reeling from four young deaths in a period of eight months, the tiny village of Nemaska lost a respected talleyman to a boating accident on May 25. Andrew Moar, 61, suffered a heart attack while paddling to shore after experiencing motor trouble. Moar was traveling with his wife Winnie ... read more ››

Mukash named to National Aboriginal Economic Board

Federal Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice has appointed Grand Chief Matthew Mukash to the National Aboriginal Economic Development Board. “I’m very excited about it,” said Mukash. “Minister Prentice mentioned it to me at a meeting sometime last fall that he’d be interested to have someone from the Cree Nation leadership on ... read more ››

National day of Action Planned for June 29th – Aboriginal leaders hope to bring concerns over land claims, social ills and poverty to the mainstream by blocking Canadian commerce

The 29th of June marks the ‘National Day of Action’ for Aboriginal people across Canada. Prominent Native leaders are fed up with the progress of land claims talks at the federal level and the overall abhorrent conditions of Aboriginal reserves and communities, and they want the rest of the country ... read more ››

Cree couture draws big money

A 200-year-old Cree costume was purchased for more than $550,000 at a New York auction by an art dealer who vows to return the “very important piece” of Canadian history to a museum in this country. The winning bid went beyond Sotheby’s pre-sale estimate of $400,000. The elaborately decorated outfit, fashioned from ... read more ››

Drop the pop gets big bucks

The Drop the Pop Challenge in all nine Cree communities can be officially deemed a success as the Voyageur Memorial Elementary School in Mistissini won $2,000 in a raffle to go towards the purchase of sports equipments and various products related to healthy living. The challenge, which took place between March ... read more ››

Dudley George vindicated

Dudley George’s soul can rest a little easier as the final report of the botched raid on peaceful Natives in the Ipperwash National Park on September 6, 1995, which ended in his death, spells out who was to blame; and George is not one of them. The Ontario and Canadian governments ... read more ››

Separate knife attacks strike fear

A pair of stabbing incidents has left a Nemaska man dead and another narrowly escaping with his life. A 20-year-old Nemaska man died after being stabbed in a fight May 17. Christopher Wapachee and a 16-year-old boy, who cannot be identified, got into an altercation for reasons that are not quite clear. Wapachee ... read more ››

McGill camp revs up elite student athletes – Innovative program pushes top performers to the next level

Aboriginal kids who excel in academics and in sport now have access to elite training techniques thanks to the McGill High Performance Camp run by former Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller, a Mohawk from Kahnawake. In its second year, the camp attracted 23 students aged 13-18 from across Canada, May 18-20. Horn-Miller was ... read more ››

The Nation recognized on QCNA cruise

Steve Bonspiel received national recognition with two nominations with the Canadian Association of Journalists for his articles “The Classroom in Crisis” and “Does the Punishment fit the Crime? ” in Toronto on May 26. The Hati M also won three awards at the Quebec Community Newspaper awards gala on a cruise boat in ... read more ››

CN launches legal attack on Mohawk activists

Canadian National Railway has launched a lawsuit against Mohawk protesters who blocked a major Ontario rail corridor for 30 hours last month, disrupting freight and passenger traffic. The land dispute protest near Deseronto that began in the early hours of April 20 delayed transports of freight worth $ 100 million between ... read more ››

Foster home sought: Quiet and good-natured 13-year-old Amy

Quiet and good-natured 13-year-old Amy, of Cree and Caucasian heritage, interacts well with the adults in her life, and is very nurturing towards younger children. She does not like school, however, and this is evident in her grades. Amy needs to be encouraged so as not to be late for ... read more ››

Goose hunt tragedy claims Mistissini man

Sadly, some will remember the 2007 goose hunt for a tragic accident that claimed the life of Mistissini resident Walter Gunner, 43, when he fell through the ice on Lac Albanel May 1. According to Mistissini Police Director Bradley Mianscum, Gunner and his wife, Margaret Blacksmith Gunner, were travelling to their ... read more ››

High-tech Native ID to stem fraud, says INAC

Canadian government officials are looking for a way to manufacture a new Native identity card to stem the rampant fraud non-natives commit when they use illegal cards to access benefits like health care and tax-free purchases usually reserved for status First Nations. Fraud and misuse of Indian status cards have been ... read more ››

Reaching for the sun – Cirque de Soleil pushes the envelope spectacular Kooza

If one could write the dictionary definition of Kooza, “awe-inspiring, death defying, fun” would accurately capture the essence of Cirque du Soleil’s latest show. Currently showing at the Old Port of Montreal until June 24, the Quebec troupe’s newest performance goes back to the basics – with a twist. The exploration of ... read more ››

Small is beautiful, says Chief Mark – Wemindji taking practical approach to wind farms

Wemindji is the latest community to throw its collective hat into the wind power ring with a cautious debut in the wind power industry, according to their chief. Two years ago the chief and council visited a wind power company based in Montreal called 3 Cl, which has completed numerous projects ... read more ››

First People’s Fest tackles sexual identity issues – Rez show honours Alanis Obomsawin

This year’s edition of the First People’s Festival is aiming to shed light on the often overlooked, sometimes shunned topic of homosexuality. The featured film Back to the Circle is about the affirmation of two-spirited people from both sexes. Baron Chief Moon is a biography that explores the way we look ... read more ››

Commons vote calls for residential schools apology

Members of the all political parties stood together in the House of Commons May 2 to call for an official government apology to residential school survivors. The Liberal motion passed 257-0. Despite full Conservative support for the motion, Tory Indian Affairs Minister Jim Prentice said a formal apology could be years away ... read more ››

Polar bear numbers rising: Inuit elders

Inuit elders are saying that more polar bears need to be hunted to control the population in Nunavut’s western Hudson Bay area. Elders and hunters from the territory’s Kivalliq region told the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board during public consultations April 24 in Arviat that they have noticed more encounters with polar ... read more ››

Suicide prevention program ineffective – survey

Health Canada is failing to curb the high aboriginal youth suicide rate, according to a survey of suicide prevention workers conducted earlier this year. The survey by Ekos Research Associates, submitted to Health Canada in March, consisted of telephone interviews between January and March by 34 people working in the field ... read more ››