Category: 2006-02-03

Happy VD Day!

I remember being woken one Valentine’s Day morning with a “Happy VD, baby!” It was a bit of a shocker when accompanied by a significant other’s impish smile. My brain went from groggy to full red alert in .9 seconds flat. Upon getting some candy (never a good idea first thing ... read more ››

Playing Stormy Weather

The weather was stormy. The waves were cresting, foaming over the rocks and hurled upwards to curve downwind out on the James Bay islands. The sea never looked worse from this angle, so I was glad I wasn’t out there in a canoe. I had drifted off course by 40 ... read more ››

Cree companies sign multi-million dollar deal with De Beers

Air Creebec has made a bold move on the west side of the James Bay coast, announcing a $10.3 million, three-year transportation contract with De Beers Canada to service the new Victor Mine Project near Attawapiskat. Fourteen jobs are to be created on the Air Creebec side, although it’s still too ... read more ››

Violent Christmas – Green activist charged

Freddie Jolly, an environmental activist and hunter-trapper from Nemaska, has been charged with armed assault and uttering death threats, according to the Sûreté du Québec. SQ spokesman Pierre Lavoie told the Nation that Jolly was charged after a Christmas Day party he had with two friends at his camp near kilometre ... read more ››

Bishop Lawrence visits Mistissini

Bishop Caleb Lawrence of the Moosonee Diocese was in Mistissini recently to help unite the various Christian churches and foster better relations among them. The various heads of the Baptist, Anglican and Pentecostal churches were “concerned about the way that the different churches don’t seem to be acting in supportive ways ... read more ››

Mistissini man pleads guilty to EM-1 killing

A bizarre murder case that saw an alleged murderer roam free in the community right up until he pled guilty in an Amos courtroom is finally over. Mistissini’s Emmanuel Blacksmith pled guilty January 12 to a reduced charge of manslaughter in the killing of 48-year-old Mario Fortin of Chicoutimi at the ... read more ››

Waswanipi teen sentenced in murder trial

A Waswanipi youth, who cannot be identified because of his age at the time of the crime, was sentenced to seven years in last year’s New Year’s Day slaying of 29-year-old Junior Morin in Val d’Or. On January 12, the male youth received the maximum sentence for youth in the matter ... read more ››

Amos Chamber of Commerce visits Eeyou Istchee

The Cree entertainment dollar is worth millions for neighbouring towns like Val d’Or and Chibougamau, so the town of Amos recently decided that a great way to attract their northern neighbours is to woo them in their own communities. During the week of January 16, eight members of the Amos Chamber ... read more ››

Jonathan Cheechoo talks to the Nation about the new NHL, Sweden and moose…

The Nation had a chance recently to talk with Jonathan Cheechoo, one of the NHL’s exciting young wingers. We sat down with the rising San Jose Sharks star at the Bell Centre in Montreal to get his view on many things and ask him questions about his stardom in Native ... read more ››

Cree youth meet and greet Cheechoo in Ottawa

They came, they saw, they cheered, and in the end they jumped into their vehicles for the long ride home to reflect on their encounter with a young Cree role model and the only Eenouch hockey player in the NHL. On January 12, over 100 youngsters and adults alike made the ... read more ››

Don’t spread the flu

I have been dealing with a bad flu for the past week and a half. It started with a slight cough that later turned into a continuous one, along with congestion, a runny nose, headaches and weakness. It is a real setback for me. Although I am feeling somewhat better, I ... read more ››