Category: 2005-12-09

Growing up

The James Bay Cree Communications Society (JBCCS) recently completed its 23rd Annual General Assembly in Ouje-Bougoumou. One of the items discussed was the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – Northern Quebec Services (CBC) and its relation with the society. JBCCS was incorporated in 1981 and its mandate was to provide communications services to ... read more ››

Buck for a coffee?

What are you drinking today? Water, blood and juice were the basic thirst quenchers for many pre-contact communities around here, with the notable exception of the occasional pot of Labrador tea. Tea quickly gained a foothold in many a packsack, meechuwap and Hudson Bay Store in most of northern Canada. Tea ... read more ››

Chief involved in brawl

Eastmain’s newly elected Chief could be in serious trouble after being accused of attacking a Chisasibi man after a heated political discussion. Eastmain Chief Lloyd Mayappo and Chisasibi resident Lindy Moar were having a lively political debate at the l’Escale Motel in Val d’Or November 25 when things got out of ... read more ››

Chisasibi Anglicans move to ordain Deacons, Priests – Congregation wants more Crees to run local church

They just weren’t going to wait any longer. A group of Chisasibi Anglicans hoping to see more Cree priests and deacons in their church is forcing the archbishop’s hand. “It’s very important because it’s been a long time since any native people have been through the process that we’re going through ... read more ››

2005 Canadian Aboriginal Music Award Winners

• Best Female Artist: Tagaq CD: Sinaa Nunavut • Best Male Artist: Diga CD: Earth Is Crying Northwest Territories • Best Producer/ Engineer: Tagaq (Nunavut) CD: Sinaa Producer: Juan Hernandez Engineer: Jose “Triki” Trincado • Best Album Design: Oscar Poza & Montse CD: ... read more ››

Ottawa to give much-needed cash to Aboriginals

In what is being touted as a way to improve the lives of Canada’s Aboriginal people, Ottawa has ponied up $5 billion to take the first step. The 19 delegations at the first ministers meeting on aboriginal issues in late November, hammered out agreements for federal investments in Aboriginal housing, education, ... read more ››

Pepabano sentenced to 42 months in jail

Chisasibi resident Irene Pepabano has been sentenced to 42 months in jail for the July 2003 drunk-driving incident that took the lives of three of her passengers. She was sentenced in Chisasibi November 25. Since she was not in custody at the time, the 42 months does not include time served. Pepabano’s ... read more ››

Ottawa to give more money to residential school survivors

The federal government says it will spend up to $2 billion to compensate former residential school students. “It is an agreement for the ages,” said Phil Fontaine, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Fontaine was one of the first to go public years ago with his own story of sexual ... read more ››

Naskapi, Innu purchase railroad line

In an historic first, the Naskapi of Kawawachikamach and the Innu of Matimekush and Takuaikan Uashat mak Mani-Utenam have purchased a 217-kilometre portion of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway. The group, called Tshiuetin Rail Transportation Inc., bought the 50-year-old rail service from The Iron Ore Co. of Canada for ... read more ››

Cree models a hit at Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards

Guess what Cree Nation? You’re beautiful and you should flaunt it! That’s the message Whapmagoostui’s Sarah Meloche-Masty is sending to people all over Eeyou Istchee after her first modeling shoot was a huge success in Toronto for the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards – held November 25-27. “I didn’t know what to expect,” ... read more ››

An awesome spectacle at 2005 Aboriginal Awards

The Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards played to a proud and packed house in Toronto November 25. This was evident by the intensity that rippled through the audience when anyone spoke their native language – or when the hoop dancer did her thing, and flew like an eagle, prompting a spontaneous ... read more ››

Cree communications faces challenges at AGA

Finding new and stable sources of funding for Cree media in Eeyou Istchee was one of the many issues brought up November 22 in Ouje-Bougoumou at the Annual General Assembly of the James Bay Cree Communications Society. The JBCCS name isn’t one that will be around for much longer. At the ... read more ››

Christmas events 2005

Here are the events for the Christmas season. Some communities had not set dates for certain events therefore they are not published. Waskaganish: The Elders luncheon will be held at the Kanio Kashee lodge on December 7 at 3PM. The annual Christmas dinner, put on by the band council, will also be ... read more ››

The paths of our ancestors

My people on the James Bay coast have only been using motorized transportation for a few decades. A generation before mine, people had to use their own energy to get around on the land. It was luxury to own a team of dogs to pull a sled over the snow ... read more ››