Category: News

Young heart patient meets the Cake Boss

Mistissini’s Laykeshia Blacksmith was only 10 days old the first time she underwent an operation to replace the aortic valve of her heart. A second operation followed when she was three months old, and a third three months after that. Now 11, Laykeshia lives a normal life – for the most ... read more ››

Chisasibi fisher succumbs to hypothermia

A Chisasibi man perished in a boating accident while fishing on Wastawawmakw Lake September 24. Johnny Menarick was fishing with James Hill near kilometre 20 beach when an evening storm caught the men in rough waters. Their canoes capsized on their way back to shore. Both men were wearing lifejackets and ... read more ››

Conflict over moose organs

The Abitibi-Témiscamingue health agency recommended earlier this month that people refrain from eating moose organs, including the kidneys and liver. They claim that organ samples collected last fall had abnormally high cadmium content. Cadmium is a toxic metal that can accumulate in herbivorous animals. A press release from the Abitibi-Témiscamingue health agency admitted that the ... read more ››

Crees launch anti-uranium campaign

The Cree Nation Government reaffirmed its opposition to uranium development with the launch of #standagainsturanium October 7. The digital campaign is anchored by a website, www.standagainsturanium.com “This is another step in our campaign to ensure that our voices are heard and that our lands are protected,” said Grand Chief Matthew Coon ... read more ››

CSB Summer Literacy Camps grow in second year

The Cree School Board Summer Literacy Camp program really hit its stride this year with results topping last summer’s encouraging participation numbers. The camps, which were held in all nine communities, topped last year’s by bringing in a total of 464 campers, an increase of 50. Each child read an average ... read more ››

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor: First, thank you for publishing our family’s earlier “Letter to the Editor” on The Nation’s webpage on August 4, in which we presented our proposal for a resolution concerning section 3.2.7 of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA) or “the 10-year clause.” Secondly, thank you to my ... read more ››

Indigenous peoples gather for historic conference at UN

On September 22-23, the United Nations hosted the first World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WIPC). The two-day high-level plenary meeting gathered over a thousand Indigenous and non-Indigenous delegates from Indigenous communities, organizations and member states to discuss the rights of Indigenous peoples. “Together, let us recognize and celebrate the valuable and ... read more ››

Kepa crash

A Kepa Transport truck heading southbound on the Laurentien Autoroute slammed into the pillar of an overpass early Monday morning on September 8 just outside of Saint-Jérôme. The driver reportedly suffered slight injuries. The truck, carrying particleboard, was traveling from Val-d’Or to Montreal when it ran off the highway and into the ... read more ››

Roundtable focus shifts to planning the Cree future after enormous consultation ends

Nian Matoush with David Suzuki and Adult Education teachers. Now that the Roundtable on Capacity Building has finished touring nine Cree communities, involving wide swaths of Cree society and receiving thousands of comments and suggestions on how to make the Eeyou Istchee better for its people, the question is, what happens ... read more ››

William Phillip Shecapio and La Groupe Swiftrans address CSB bussing controversy

Bernard Caouette says he wants to set the record straight about the school bussing contract controversy that has shaken the Cree School Board. “One thing we got from the demonstration [at the Annual General Assembly] was that there was a lot of disinformation that came from somewhere,” he told the Nation ... read more ››

New school opens in Attawapiskat

Attawapiskat elementary school students will attend a modern, brick-and-mortar school this year – something they haven’t done for more than a decade. The new Kattawapiskak Elementary School will include 16 regular classrooms, five nursery and kindergarten classrooms, and three special-needs classrooms. It will also include a classroom dedicated to teaching Cree ... read more ››

Mistissini Derby Results

Anglers from across the province were shoving off on Lake Mistissini August 22-24 for the community’s 17th Annual Fishing Derby. The three-day event drew in over 325 participants from the Cree Nation and elsewhere. The top prize, a brand new Kingfisher boat, went to Gino Rivard from Chapais. Rivard placed ... read more ››

Desiree Petawabano discusses why she became a nurse

Having just graduated from Queen’s University with a degree in science and nursing this past spring at the age of 26, Mistissini’s Desiree Petawabano’s academic career is nowhere near over and she couldn’t be happier. Petawabano has already worked in the hospital in Chisasibi for two years. But she loves to ... read more ››

Dealing with the contentious 10-year clause

Jenna Newton at her convocation with her mother and grandparents. Jenna Newton is difficult to peg down for an interview. Aside from working up to 45 hours a week at three part-time jobs, she’s a full-time student, completing her teaching certificate and master’s in elementary education at San Francisco State University. A member ... read more ››

A small Anishinabek community picks a legal fight against a lumber giant

A small community of Anishinabek families in La Vérendrye wildlife reserve is fighting a David-and-Goliath court case against the huge forestry multinational Louisiana Pacific to stop continued deforestation on their territory. The community launched a court case August 18 to end decades of large-scale clear cutting of their forests. Community representatives ... read more ››

Resolutions from the 2014 Cree Nation Government Annual General Assembly

GRAND COUNCIL OF THE CREES (EEYOU ISTCHEE)/CREE NATION GOVERNMENT – Annual General Assembly 2014 Resolution 2014-10: Resolution Regarding Adoption and Implementation of Uniform Interpretation of 10-Year Clause in Section 3.2.7 of the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement to Promote Education of Cree Youth WHEREAS the rights that Cree beneficiaries enjoy under the ... read more ››

Crees reaffirm position on uranium

The Cree Nations of James Bay have reaffirmed their position on uranium mining in Eeyou Istchee. In a resolution passed August 6 at the Annual General Assembly in Waswanipi, the Cree government reiterated its commitment to ensuring that any land falling under the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement remains free ... read more ››

Waswanipi elections 2014 – Dates & Candidates

Band council elections in Waswanipi will be held August 29. Travel polls are scheduled for August 14 in Amos and Washaw Sibi. They will also be available August 15 in Val-d’Or. The advance poll in Waswanipi will be held August 19. Polls will be open from 9 am to 7 pm ... read more ››

Shecapio re-elected Mistissini chief

Mistissini’s controversial band council elections came to an end late last month with incumbent Richard Shecapio keeping his position as Chief, scraping by challenger Henry Mianscum in the July 24 run-off election with 52% of the vote. Another run-off election for the position of Deputy Chief ended with a new ... read more ››

Cree companies increase presence in Quebec’s first diamond mine

As Quebec’s first diamond mine gears up for operation, two Mistissini Cree companies are preparing for the roles that they will play in its labour force thanks to the priority orders laid out in the 2012 Mecheshoo Agreement. The agreement signed between the Grand Council of the Crees, the Cree Nation ... read more ››

Sol Awashish is on a mission to promote Miyupimaatisiiun

Sol Awashish is keeping up a tradition of a walk to promote a health message at the Annual General Assembly of the Crees. This year, the program officer at the Cree Health Board will begin walking from Chapais to Waswanipi August 2 to deliver a message about Miyupimaatisiiun, a grassroots plan ... read more ››

Val-d’Or Friendship Centre wins top honours

The Val-d’Or Native Friendship Centre received the 2014 National Award of Excellence earlier this month at the 43rd general annual assembly of the National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC). The award recognized the Val-d’Or centre’s outstanding performance in carrying out its mission, as well as the leadership association brought to urban ... read more ››

Mysterious vote count delays mar Mistissini elections

Usually, results from band council elections are made available in the hours following the closing of poll stations. But Mistissini voters had to wait almost two days to find out who was leading or elected in the first round of polling July 15. More than 27 hours after polls closed ... read more ››

Canoe brigade to head down the Broadback River

As the 40th Annual General Assembly of the Crees winds down in Waswanipi, about 16 youth and four guides will prepare for a canoe adventure down the Broadback River from Waswanipi to Waskaganish. The expedition is a project organized by the Grand Council’s Department of the Environment and Remedial Works and ... read more ››

Cree youth depart for Regina’s North American Indigenous Games

Almost 50 Cree athletes, coaches and staff travelled to Regina July 19 to for the 2014 North American Indigenous Games (NAIG). 2014 NAIG mascots Buffalo and Young Buffalo alongside Stan Bobb, Chair of Community Development Corporation show off the medals NAIG winners will receive in Regina The Cree last participated in the ... read more ››

Odjick faces his final fight

Aboriginal hockey star and feared NHL enforcer Gino Odjick revealed late June that a terminal illness might mean he only has weeks to live. Odjick disclosed his condition in an open letter to his fans posted on the official website of the Vancouver Canucks. “We have shared many great moments together ... read more ››