Category: 2011 11 04

COTA emerges with new board

  According to a statement released by the Cree Outfitting and Tourism Association, a new board of directors has been elected as of late August at its most recent AGA held in Wemindji. COTA’s new board is as follows: Julie Ann Cooper, President; Joshua Iserhoff, Vice-President; Anna Bosum, Ouje-Bougoumou member; Redfern Mark-Stewart, ... read more ››

Residential schools not “genocide” according to John Duncan

  During the announcement for an installation to commemorate the survivors of the residential-school system, Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan stated that the residential-school system was not in fact an act of genocide but rather the product of an “education policy gone wrong”. According to the CBC, while Duncan admitted that had ... read more ››

Waswanipi signs predevelopment deal with Geomega Resources

  The community of Waswanipi, the Grand Council of the Crees and Geomega Resources gathered the media at the Sheraton Hotel in downtown Montreal on October 20 to announce and sign an exclusive predevelopment deal for a rare-earths mining project at Montviel, near Waswanipi. The development deal will see business and employment ... read more ››

Time to get back in shape

  We all know how people seem to be addicted to fast food. I recall those special times when my parents or family members would return from the south to our home in Attawapiskat with Kentucky Fried Chicken by the buckets. We would all gather around those buckets of pure heavenly ... read more ››

Life can turn on a dime

  On a beautiful Saturday afternoon on September 10, life was rolling out in typical fashion as we were doing odd jobs around the house, testing and replacing smoke detectors at our home in Orleans, and texting with my brother Eddie Pash about some words in our Cree language. What was to ... read more ››

Native images

  The 12th annual ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival took place in Toronto October 19-23 with great fanfare. The event, which promotes the latest Indigenous films, videos, radio and new media, began in 1998 and has become one of the most important Indigenous festivals in the world. It has provided ... read more ››

Experts in a culinary lifestyle

  It’s hard to summarize just what The Art of Living According to Joe Beef: A Cookbook of Sorts is in terms of a cookbook, for no other Montreal, or for that matter North American, book that has been published really compares. Put out by the team behind restaurants Joe Beef, Liverpool ... read more ››

Movin’ bodies

  In the year and a half since the Lemon Cree fitness programs first reared their head in the Cree communities, founder and instructor Theresa Ducharme said she has seen a lot of change. At the same time she wants to remind all of you that exercise is for everybody. “Some people ... read more ››

The disease remains the same

It is no secret that the instance of diabetes is significantly higher in Eeyou Istchee than in non-Aboriginal communities just miles away from Cree territory, but with the suffering so prevalent, why does this trend persist? This was something that the Nation discussed with Sol Awashish, the Chronic Disease Prevention Program ... read more ››

Marrying sports and studies

Alexander Hester, a sixteen year-old hockey player from Waskaganish, is off to a fast start this season. But that fast start has not only been on the ice, it has also been in the classroom. Hester is one of over 1200 young hockey players who are part of the Quebec ... read more ››

Musical recognition

On October 8, the Société de communication Atikamekw-Montagnais (SOCAM) and its spokesperson, Florent Vollant, hosted the first Teweikan Music Gala at the Cabaret du Capitole in Quebec City. This is the first time that an event like this was held to honour First Nations, Inuit and Métis musicians in Quebec ... read more ››

He got game

In this day and age, growing up in the world can get a bit dizzying with the speed things are moving and how connected everything is becoming. It is even more so, when growing up and balancing the responsibilities of Native tradition and culture with the hectic life of modern ... read more ››

Mayor, Host, Hizzonner

  I happened to be down in our favourite place to hangout on weekends, yes, Val-d’Or. And it just so happens that over a span of three weeks and three round trips, I had stayed in several hotels in the area and on each trip, I met Hizzonner, Mayor Fernand Trahan. ... read more ››

Individuality

A man once wrote those who control our knowledge of the past controls the present and therefore define the future. Within the Cree world we are subject to more than the tales and legends of our people. We are overwhelmed with tales, legends and histories that are not our own and ... read more ››