Category: News Updates

Boycott dropped: Cree Nation, Algonquins strike deal with Val d'Or

As the Truth and Reconciliation Commission delivered its final report in Ottawa Dec. 15, the Cree Nation Government and chiefs of three local Anishnabe and Algonquin communities were joining forces with the city of Val-d’Or in their own “historic” effort to fight abuse and promote healthy coexistence. The alliance resulted from ... read more ››

Fly the Healthy Skies – Cree Health Board's medical shuttle takes off

The population of Eeyou Istchee is roughly 17,500 – and according to Cree Health Board Director Bella Petawabano, between 7,000 and 8,000 Crees travel every year for healthcare reasons to destinations outside the Cree Nation. For that reason, on October 26, the CHB partnered with Air Creebec to launch a ... read more ››

Redesigning Cree Education at the Cree School Board Symposium

The Cree School Board regional education symposium kicked off two days after the federal election on Oct 21-22. And the symposium’s special guest – former Prime Minister Paul Martin – lamented the lack of attention for Aboriginal issues during the long campaign, noting that not one question in five campaign ... read more ››

New books profile different aspects of Indigenous issues in this country

The end of September brought the publication of two very different books about Indigenous issues in Canada. The first, Wab Kinew’s memoir, The Reason You Walk, is ultimately celebratory, and speaks to a wide audience of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people across Canada and the US. The second, Emmanuelle Walter’s Stolen ... read more ››

The Roundhouse Café is a warm place for Indigenous homeless in Montreal

Montreal’s Cabot Square stands at the corner of St. Catherine and Atwater streets, a gateway between the noise and chaos of the grimy downtown to the east, and the wealthy tree-lined streets of Westmount in the west. For decades, the park has been full of homeless people, many of them ... read more ››

Hockey Camp of Hope helps First Nations youth

“Bringing hope to our communities through the game of hockey.” This is the slogan for Brenden Biedermann’s Hockey Camp of Hope (HCH), a professional hockey camp founded by Biedermann and his friend David Cheechoo. The two both experienced first-hand the obstacles faced by First Nations youth growing up in difficult situations ... read more ››

Cree sniper overcomes life obstacles on way to QMJHL

Another athlete from Eeyou Istchee is making waves in the competitive hockey world. This time it’s 16-year-old Adam Cheezo, who was born in Mistissini and grew up in Eastmain. Cheezo was drafted by the Val-d’Or Foreurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League June 6 and recently cracked the team’s ... read more ››

How one man is fighting the James Bay Highway’s pothole epidemic

Photos from James Bay Highway Road Conditions Group Waskaganish’s Ryan Erless is no stranger to the James Bay Highway (JBH). He’s traveled up and down the 620 kilometres of the decaying two-lane road too many times to count. Like many Crees, Erless knows the highway’s most infamous potholes, cracks and bumps ... read more ››

Sequins store trashed in Nemaska break-in

Clarence Shecapio arrived to an unpleasant surprise when he opened the door to Sequins, the Nemaska convenience and grocery store he owns with his wife Cindy Coonishish. Sometime between midnight and 5 am on May 23, the back window was smashed and a variety of groceries and packaged goods were ... read more ››

Waswanipi launches free breakfast program

Michel Awashish and his friend Waka Hughes – affectionately known as Doctor Waka Waka – recently launched a free breakfast program for Waswanipi schoolchildren in association with the Breakfast Club of Canada. With the help of the local band council and community volunteers the two men have finally realized their dream ... read more ››

The Grand Chief responds to Quebec Bar Association report on Northern justice

At the end of January, the Quebec Bar Association released a report that detailed how above the 49th parallel the justice system was “failing” in just about every way because of a serious lack of infrastructure and resources. The report – “La justice dans le nord” – compared justice administration above ... read more ››

The 2015 Montreal International Auto Show

Automotive companies flexed their muscle cars at the 47th edition of the Montreal International Auto Show (MIAS) at the Palais des Congrès January 16-25. Naturally, the auto show dedicated two neon-lit gallery rooms to custom car junkies, luring them in with hot chicks draped over vintage cars featuring mind-blowing mods. Highlighting ... read more ››

Hunting camp burglaries are a growing problem

Last Thanksgiving Monday, Willie Ottereyes of Waswanipi enjoyed a feast at camp with his family before heading back to the community. Less than a week later, he wasn’t feeling so thankful – when he returned on the weekend he discovered burglars had looted his camp. Paul Dixon, Coordinator of the Waswanipi ... read more ››

Green energy for Great Whale and Wemindji

Doing away with their old diesel power plant, the community of Whapmagoostui / Kuujjuarapik will become the first northern Native community with a renewable energy off-grid hybrid power plant. Fueled by wind and biomass with an integrated battery storage system, it will also eventually power a greenhouse to produce fresh ... read more ››

Women challenge unelected, non-Native chief

Kari Cobiness, Helen Cobiness, Brittany Cobiness and AndreaCamp (from left) A recent Buffalo Point council meeting saw the arrest of four community members, including an 86-year-old Elder. The four are opposed to the unelected chief of the 140-member nation, and were arrested for breaking a court order that bans them from entering ... read more ››

Strongman Hugo Girard hoists healthy living in Nemaska

The Cree Nation of Nemaska may have the smallest population in Eeyou Istchee, but if Hugo Girard has his way, it will be home to the biggest biceps of the North. Girard, known for winning numerous international strongman competitions – including the title of “North America’s Strongest Man” in 2001 and ... read more ››

Heavy Mania

We might all know professional wrestling is mostly faked but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying the experience. The Romans understood the value of a spectacle and built the Colosseum to host their games. Usually, no one dies in today’s games and matches but they still trigger something inside us ... read more ››

Derby results and big fish stories

Throughout the summer months, Eeyou Istchee’s many fishing derbies are the talk of the towns as the Cree nation’s finest fishermen set out to compete against some of the fishing world’s big names. Last year’s winner of the Wemindji Fishing Derby, Jeremy Jolly, claimed the grand prize of a 2013 Dodge ... read more ››

Results from Chisasibi's Duncan Lake Fishing Derby

Chisasibi’s first Walleye fishing Derby made a splash this weekend, wrapping up on August 17 with big fish and bigger prizes. Organized by the Chisasibi Sports & Recreation Association and held at nearby Duncan Lake, the event attracted anglers from across Quebec. “It was our 1st Walleye fishing derby and we will ... read more ››

The annual Wabun Youth Gathering changes lives

Suicide prevention was one of the major themes covered in workshops during the eighth annual Wabun Youth Gathering heldfrom July 14 to 25 at the Eco Lodge in Elk Lake Ontario. Pictured are the Wabun Youth Senior participants who took part in the event. Jean Lemieux and Mike Archer of Wabun ... read more ››

Letter to the Editor: Current ten-year clause hurts Cree beneficiaries

Dear Editor of The Nation: We, as Cree beneficiaries and members of the Cree Nation of Chisasibi, are submitting a proposed resolution for a vote at the next Annual General Meeting of the Cree Nation Government. We are seeking your help in making Crees aware of the issue and generating supporting ... read more ››

Mistissini’s Third Annual Fitness Challenge offered chance to turn exercise into cash

It’s one thing to make fitness in the communities of the Cree Nation a priority. It’s another thing to make it competitive, which is what Mistissini’s Sports and Recreation Department attempted to do with its third annual Mistissini Fitness Challenge July 12-13. This year the competition featured over 40 adult competitors, ... read more ››

Chibougamau and Val-d’Or share their Aboriginal Day celebrations

National Aboriginal Day has become the time of the year in many communities to share Native pride, culture and traditions with the rest of the world and this was carried out in style for the northern communities of Chibougamau and Val-d’Or but in very different ways. Not wanting to compete with ... read more ››

Male role models break new ground in early childcare program

Faith-Lynn Ottereyes-Trapper with Delmer Hughboy It’s rare that men will teach young children at daycare centres and schools across the province. Many reasons are behind this, particularly that women are more likely to go into the field of education. There is also society’s entrenched view of women as a nurturer that is ... read more ››

Islands in question

The fate of offshore islands near the Wemindji portion of the James Bay coast will finally be voted on this coming March. Though the Crees and the Inuit came to an agreement with the federal government on jurisdiction over the territory last year, the deal has yet to be ratified in ... read more ››

“I just wanna ride my bicycle” Kwanah Sioui-Moar – downhill mountain biker

People use the expression “It’s like riding a bike” in reference to a task that’s easy to do, as if it’s almost second nature, one that seems to require no thought or skill whatsoever. Riding a bicycle may be a relatively easy thing to do next to, say, riding an ... read more ››