Category: News

Rex Murphy clueless on Aboriginal issues

This is a response to an op-ed that Rex Murphy published in the National Post on October 19, 2013. Not surprisingly, like so many other white commentators on Aboriginal issues, noted climate change denier Rex Murphy conjures up an entirely fictional vision of Canadian-Aboriginal relations in which racism no longer exists, not ... read more ››

Eeyou Istchee’s most powerful business entities merged into the Cree Development Corporation

Over the coming months there will be massive change to Eeyou Istchee’s economic structure. Twelve years after the signing of the Paix des Braves, the Grand Council of the Crees has announced that the implementation of a major component of the agreement will go ahead in 2014: the establishment of ... read more ››

RCMP social media campaign targets the missing and murdered

The RCMP is collaborating with Native groups on a social media awareness campaign to invite public help in resolving cases of missing and murdered Aboriginal women. The Assembly of First Nations and the Native Women’s Association of Canada are cooperating in the campaign. “It’s to raise awareness and to make sure ... read more ››

Dolly Parton contributes to Manitoba youth literacy

Country music superstar Dolly Parton is opening the door to lifelong learning for Manitoba’s First Nations children one book at a time as part of her literacy foundation, Dolly’s Imagination Library. As an advocate for children’s literacy, Parton has teamed up with Karen Davis, an early childhood education worker from Manitoba’s ... read more ››

Facebook and you

The Cree world is increasingly one that exists online, especially in social media. It’s a great way to connect families and communities but its drawbacks are growing. The impersonal nature of sites like Facebook is leading to incidents of character assassination and cyberbullying. Many people using this form of communication fail ... read more ››

Conservatives ignore violence against Aboriginal women

Aboriginal people across Canada are in an uproar over the federal government’s recent decision to dismiss recommendations from the United Nations to develop a comprehensive national review to end violence against Aboriginal women. The recommendations were suggested after the UN conducted its periodic review of Canada’s human rights record, which happens ... read more ››

Quebec in question: Scholars attack province’s colonial history

“When we first talked about this event,” said scholar David Austin, addressing an over-capacity crowd at Montreal’s Concordia University, “it was, at least to my mind, going to be a small discussion. I think we can thank Madame Pauline Marois for the fabulous turnout.” If ever there was a fruitful time ... read more ››

Cree leaders and Jamesien mayors start organizing new regional government

Bill Namagoose The first meeting of the Governance Implementation Committee for a New Regional Government September 19 was history in the making. Mandated by the Agreement on Governance in Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory, the committee is responsible for ensuring the regional government is operational by January 1, 2014, and makes a ... read more ››

International Embarrassment

The son of a soldier, I grew up as an army brat on several Canadian Forces bases. In my teens at CFB Petawawa, I knew many of the soldiers who went to Cyprus, where some 29,000 Canadians served between 1964 and 1993 as part of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping ... read more ››

Chisasibi hosts healing event for residential school survivors

The healing starts at home. Inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings last spring, a Chisasibi committee organized a home-grown program September 5-8 to help local residential school survivors confront and heal the pain of their childhood ordeal. The committee ran groups at the local auditorium and the event culminated ... read more ››

Toronto the not so good

Toronto has a lot going for it. Canada’s largest city rightly considers itself the cultural, entertainment and financial capital of Canada. Officially, the city is proud of its cultural diversity, but increasingly, that pride is being questioned by Aboriginal Peoples across Canada. One of the early warning signs was the way ... read more ››

Bigfoot sighting near Wemindji causes a stir

Photo by Melvin Georgekish The frenzied reaction by the cryptozoology blogosphere came close to crashing the global internet network in late August after a Cree hunter claimed to have seen a pair of the mythical Bigfoot (Bigfeet? – ed) while driving along a forested area near Wemindji. Melvin Georgekish knew something was fishy when ... read more ››

Hotel du Fort closing its doors

Renowned as a classy, independent boutique establishment, Montreal’s Hotel du Fort identified its mission to provide clients with a “home away from home” for the past 21 years. Sadly, the hotel has announced it will close its doors November 1 after dedicated service to many celebrity guests over the years, including ... read more ››

New police cadet program to engage with teenagers

The Eeyou Eenou Police Force (EEPF) is accepting candidates for a new cadet program that could get underway this fall. The pilot project will initially focus on the communities of Whapamagoostui, Eastmain and Oujé-Bougoumou. The program is the brainchild of EEPF managers, who want to diminish the teenage idleness that can ... read more ››

Archeological dig breaks new ground

An archaeological team began a two-week excavation in late August on a Waskaganish site that is believed to contain artifacts up to 7,000 years old. The Saunders Goose Pond site was identified last summer after local resident Christopher Wesley found rough stone blades and arrowheads there. The site claims historical significance ... read more ››

Geographer “discovers” Cree territory

The “discovery” of seven waterfalls along the Again River in the Hudson Bay Lowlands by Canadian geographer Adam Shoalts was met with the confusion and disdain of some members of Moose Cree First Nation in August. Shoalts received considerable praise from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for being the first to ... read more ››

Confronting racism in social and traditional media

It seems to be happening everywhere. Whether in anonymous attacks on Twitter and in website comments, in semi-public forums like Facebook, or in signed letters and columns in mainstream newspapers, public expressions of anti-Aboriginal racism are appearing on a more regular basis. It’s gotten so bad that most people think ... read more ››

Values? More like a crass election strategy

Living in Montreal, I’ve often gazed up the defining geographical feature of this city, Mount Royal, and wondered why in this day and age it should be topped by an illuminated Christian cross that is paid for by all residents here, no matter our religious faith or lack thereof. This attitude ... read more ››

Anti-violence walkers march on Wemindji AGA

A group of about 30 people on a march to publicize their message of anti-violence in Eeyou Istchee arrived at the Annual General Assembly in Wemindji August 8 in an effort raise awareness of the growing problem. Organized by the Cree Women of Eeyou Istchee Association (CWEIA), the participants walked ... read more ››

Strateco denied safeguard order

The Grand Council of the Crees (GCC) welcomed an interim judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec earlier this month that denied Strateco Resources Inc.’s request for a safeguard order in relation to the Matoush uranium project. Strateco had claimed that it was unable to pay the current maintenance expenses of ... read more ››

Premiers support inquiry into missing and murdered women

The pressure to uncover the truth is building. On July 24, the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) proposed a national inquiry into the tragedy of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in an effort to investigate over 600 cases of our missing and murdered women between 2005 and 2010. NWAC made the ... read more ››

Mohawk artist Gage John Lazare will exhibit his work at the Louvre in Paris

Gage John Lazare Gage John Lazare is not your typical First Nations artist recreating traditional themes and motifs, instead he’s a post-modern rebel. From a very young age, Lazare felt destined to pick up a paintbrush. “I always wanted to be an artist – I guess from the minute I was born,” ... read more ››

Forewarned is forearmed

For some reason, people were shocked when Google admitted in a US courtroom last week that, effectively, no one should expect privacy when sending a message via Gmail, the Net giant’s hugely popular web-based email provider. Let’s face it: as a series of revelations over the past several months have made ... read more ››

Mohawks and Mi’gmaq team up for education

The Mohawk community of Kahnawake and the Mi’gmaq community of Listuguj are embarking on a historic partnership by launching the First Nations Regional Adult Education Centre (FNRAEC), Quebec’s first English-language adult education centre geared toward Aboriginal students. Opening in September, the FNRAEC will offer quality education while paying tribute to First ... read more ››

Police attack goes viral

A screengrab from a video allegedly showing Norbert Mestenapeo being beaten by SQ officers A YouTube video posted in July appears to expose a case of police brutality against an Innu man in eastern Quebec. The victim in the video, 24-year-old Norman Mestenapeo of Unamen Shipu (La Romaine), claims to have ... read more ››

The first annual Cree Women golf benefit hits a hole in one

It was a golf tournament, a gala event, a Crystal Shawanda concert and a special night to honour a young Cree girl. The Cree Women of Eeyou Istchee Association (CWEIA) hosted its first charity golf tournament in Val-d’Or July 18 at the Belvedere Golf Club to launch a new charity cause ... read more ››