ARTICLES BY Will Nicholls

Will on the Grill: two recipes from Brome Lac Duck Festival

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a Will on the Grill but when I heard about the Brome Lac Duck Festival I knew it was time. After all the best duck is the one you get yourself. But a close second would have to be the Brome Lac ... read more ››

Will on the Grill

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a Will on the Grill but when I heard about the Brome Lac Duck Festival I knew it was time. After all the best duck is the one you get yourself. But a close second would have to be the Brome Lac ... read more ››

Who let out the parents?

It’s hard growing up. It never stops and some days it doesn’t seem to get any easier as you go along. After the none-too-carefree days of childhood you gather more and more responsibilities. It starts with school and when that ends you must look for some way of making a ... read more ››

Education with rewards: After just one year, Dabwetamun Academy proves its Christian-based curriculum is winning hearts and minds

Crees and schools run by Christian orders go a long way back. All the way back to Moose Factory or La Tuque for prime examples of the residential-school policies. This is why it was hard to look at the Dabwetamun Academy without having a concern. The concerns were groundless to say ... read more ››

There’s black gold in them white fields

I love places like Whapmagoustui. It is so far North that many of the traditional Cree ways are still intact and practiced. People are friendly and welcoming and there is not as much suspicion of the outsiders. Generosity and sharing are practiced on great scales. A recent Grand Council/Cree Regional Authority Annual ... read more ››

The times are a’changing

The Cree days of darkness imposed on us by Hydro-Quebec appear to be sliding into the past. Their electricity has made our homes and, now, some Cree lives brighter. A number of years ago I wrote an article entitled “Inside The Evil Empire,” a tongue-in-cheek attempt at being the Cree version ... read more ››

One way or another?

They say in government the left hand often doesn’t know what the right hand is doing. The analogy describes situations in which one part of the government will do something that contradicts another department’s policies or statements. This is the case with permanent placement orders authorized under the Youth Protection Act ... read more ››

Interview with Henry Mianscum

Henry Mianscum is the director of Cree Human Resources Development (CHRD) for the Cree Regional Authority, a position he has held for almost seven years. The Nation: The first job fair was held in Chisasibi and the second was held inland in Mistissini. Mianscum: Yes, we’re hoping to continue that idea of ... read more ››

The meaning of bullshit

I know I will get more than one comment on this editorial but it seems to me there is a lot of B.S. in and around the Cree territory. Some of it is noticed and commented on while other forms seem to go unnoticed as the bullsh*t works its magic. So ... read more ››

Rabbit Hole

Shortly after midnight on June 15, a loud explosion woke up many Nemaska residents. The blast came from a house at 4 Rabbit Trail. As you can see by the photos the damage was extensive. The cause turned out to be a propane explosion. Five teenagers, between the ages of 13 ... read more ››

Drawing a new map: The Grand Council is against changing the current electoral map

The political landscape of Eeyou Istchee may be in for another change. The Commission de la representation electorale du Quebec is looking at changing the Ungava electoral map. The Grand Council of the Crees made a presentation to the commission in Montreal on June 12, as to how the revision of ... read more ››

It’s time to implement the Declaration

Politics is one of the most amazing and confusing things human beings ever invented. The world political stage vis-a-vis the United Nations on September 13, 2007 voted overwhelmingly for the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It’s a document that was in the making for over 30 years. A ... read more ››

Les Grands Prix du Tourisme quebecois Desjardins 2008

It was another first for the small community of Mistissini. The Grands Prix du tourisme quebecois Desjardins 2008 came to town on April 3. Guest speakers included Andy Baribeau, councillor for the Cree Nation of Mistissini, Doris Thomassin, president of James Bay Tourism, Sherman Herodier, president of Eeyou Istchee Tourism, ... read more ››

Politics, Racism and Corporate Prisoners

In this issue we have photos showing anti-racism and the progress that has been made in northern Quebec in the Val d’Or region. Unfortunately we also have photos of what I would describe as selective racism as well. I am referring to the sentencing of a chief, four band councillors and ... read more ››

Working together: Val d’Or Friendship Centre fights to eliminate racism

The Native Friendship Centre of Val d’Or doesn’t do things in a small way. It looked at racial discrimination eight years ago and decided to do something about it. It’s a process that has grown from a march to a week-long schedule of activities. As Friendship Centre president Jacqueline Kistabish said, ... read more ››

$1.4 billion deal signed: Cree Nation celebrates the final implementation of the JBNQA

Many may say it’s been a long time coming but Crees are pretty much looking at the final implementation of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA). Signed in 1975 the JBNQA was considered the first modern treaty. However, it was never fully implemented and this led to numerous ... read more ››

Colonization to decolonization

Most First Nations are intimately versed in the realities of colonization. The outcries we heard from many First Nations about Canada’s refusal to sign the UN declaration of Indigenous Peoples seemed to be a continuation of the colonial roots of Canada. I have to admit that I am confused given ... read more ››

The White Ribbon Campaign

The Cree campaign to end violence against women may have been conceived as a two-week effort last fall, but many Cree men are saying it should last 12 months of the year. It all started when Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff met with the Cree Women of Eeyou Istchee, who challenged ... read more ››

Proposed solutions to vandalism and violence: Mistissini takes steps to deal with youth crisis

Mistissini is actively working to curb youth violence and vandalism. At a community meeting on January 23 these two issues were the hot topics of the evening. A look at just the Cree School Board shows how much vandalism costs this community of fewer than 4,000 people. In 2007, it cost ... read more ››

Faster than a speeding bullet

Well, Christmas time is hitting Eeyou Istchee and all the gang here would like to wish you and yours the best for the holidays. I hope you all find what you want under the tree this year (unless of course it’s too big to bring into the house). I have always ... read more ››

All for one and one for all: The Northern business community looks to work together

December 5 saw the Fifth Annual Cree Nation/Abitibi-Temiscamingue Business Exchange Day held by the Secretariat to the Cree Nation Abitibi-Temiscamingue Economic Alliance. If you think that’s a mouthful, it was also an eyeful to see all the networking going on. You could almost feel the money moving as participants gathered to ... read more ››

The silent crime of child poverty

In 1989, an unusual thing happened in Canada’s House of Commons. Members briefly forgot about party lines and unanimously voted to eliminate child poverty by the year 2000. In retrospect, perhaps it is little surprise that, almost eight years after that deadline came and went, there has been no change in ... read more ››

Federal fun and games

Just when you thought an election was around the corner, politics can show you that life isn’t as predictable as you might have hoped. I know if you were the Liberals a while ago you weren’t hoping for a trip to the polls as much as Stephen Harper, et al. With ... read more ››

Political games may yet undo our deal

Money in the bank? Not yet. Even though we voted by the tune of 90 per cent to accept a new relationship agreement with the federal government, one that will see $ I.4 billion in compensation paid out over 20 years, events in the Canadian capital could still derail the deal. That’s ... read more ››

Economic Development Conference: Part Two – ‘Crees are not that kind of girl!’

All 93 delegates agreed that 10 years was too long a time to have another Cree Economic Conference. The last one was in 1997 and had only 36 delegates in attendance. Times have changed, however. Communities realize they need to be proactive in economic development. And it’s more complicated than simply ... read more ››

The Last Explorer

Snoopy, of Peanuts fame, couldn’t have put it better when he started off his master opus with, “It was a dark and stormy night.” That pretty much covered the two days I was on the set of Rezolution Pictures’ latest documentary, The Last Explorer. When I arrived it was raining and ... read more ››