Volume 1, Issue 14

Action Needed on Moose Crisis, says Chief

Quebec should restrict forestry operations and sports hunting by non-natives to reverse a dramatic fall in moose numbers in the Cree Territory, says the Chief of the Waswanipi First Nation. “It’s almost a crisis,” said Chief John Kitchen. “Something has to be done now.” The moose population in the southern part of ... read more ››

Banquet celebrates centre’s 20th b-day

After 16 years in the same building, the Native Friendship Centre of Val d’Or is finally getting a new home. The centre’s new building was publicly launched at a $125-a-plate fundraising banquet attended by 300 people on June 22. The banquet was also held to celebrate the Val d’Or centre’s 20th ... read more ››

Belcher Islands people fight to be heard

The Sanikiluaq Inuit of the Belcher Islands are trying to get their voices heard in hearings into the proposed Great Whale River Project. At the moment they have no official representation at the hearings despite the serious impacts of Great Whale and other hydro-projects on their way of life. “It is ... read more ››

Hey, ho, we won’t go

Mohawks of Akwesasne say they won’t go along if Quebec separates from Canada. “They can take their own land, but they can’t take ours,” one Akwesasne Mohawk, Russell Roundpoint, told Canadian Press in July. “We have had enough hard times with Quebec and we’re not going to be a pan of ... read more ››

Innu to sign SM-3 deal

The chief of the Uashat-Maliotenam Innu First Nation, Elie-Jacques Jourdain, has announced he will sign a compensation deal with Hydro-Quebec on the SM-3 hydro-project. Chief Jourdain refuses to specify exactly when he will sign the agreement, according to an article in La Presse. For a few weeks, the Band Council has ... read more ››

Inuit Face Housing Crunch

The Inuit people are facing a major housing crisis, says the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. At least 5,000 new houses are needed to meet the shortfall just in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, says a report from the Inuit Tapirisat. No one knows how many extra houses are needed in northern ... read more ››

Making Music Behind Bars

A group of native prisoners in Saskatchewan is trying to make sure native youth don’t make the same mistakes they made. In an innovative project, 10 inmates of Saskatchewan’s Prince Albert Penitentiary have recorded a 45-minute, 12-track cassette tape of powwow music with a message of hope for young people. The ... read more ››

Mohawk hassled by the law

Kahn-Tineta Horn can’t get a break. Hounded for four years by the courts and the SQ, the Mohawk traditionalist now has to go to court again to defend herself against charges of obstructing and assaulting two SQ officers. Horn was acquitted of the charges May 25, but the Crown has decided ... read more ››

Mystery at Makivik

Almost from the day of Makivik Corp.’s latest election, we at The Nation tried to reach the new President, Simeonie Nalukturuk, to interview him. We called his secretaries and assistants nearly every day for two months, only to be told Nalukturuk was always busy, in meetings or on the road. Who ... read more ››

No To Casino, Yes To Norton

Kahnawake Mohawks went to the polls on July 2 and the results were a big surprise to many observers. Kahnawake voted down a project to build a $154-million casino, but at the same time re-elected the casino’s biggest supporter, Joe Norton, as Grand Chief. The vote on the casino was very ... read more ››

Nunavut in Nunavik?

If negotiations go well, the Inuit of Nunavik may one day be Canada’s fourth territory. “The goal is to achieve something like Nunavut,” says Paul Bussieres, coordinator of Makivik Corp.’s self-government talks with the Quebec government. Although the Inuit have been discussing self-government for years, it was only last May that ... read more ››

Peltier case to be reopened?

Leonard Peltier may still have his day in court. After 18 years of stalling, the Canadian government has agreed to officially reevaluate its 1976 extradition of Peltier to the United States, where he has been imprisoned ever since on murder charges. Peltier was accused of killing two FBI agents in a ... read more ››

Shades of the Buffalo Jump

I’ve always wondered how the Plains First Nations felt when they started to notice the buffalo disappearing. To see your source of food and well-being deliberately being killed off. Finding rotting carcasses with only choice portions taken. Wanton slaughter, they called it, even back then when it was happening. We all ... read more ››

The Magnificent Life

Many know him on the Mistissini reserve. After having worked there for 22 years, he is a familiar face to more than one. Mr. Pierre Le Meur, originally from Bretagne in the west of France, arrived on Canadian soil in 1951. He climbed to the top of the map of ... read more ››

The path of the heart is…

Since arriving from James Bay, I have turned over many times in my head all the teachings I’ve learned. Some of the best lessons were ones I initially fought the most. My name is Stephane Wuttune. I am 25 and a Plains Cree (my friends always say “plain cree”) from the ... read more ››

Turn on Power Of The North

Finally, a film that gives you the voices of the Cree elders, the people of Quebec, the rhetoric of the politicians, the Crees and non-Crees, the desire of Hydro-Quebec to build the Great Whale project and a chance to listen to Cree youth express their concerns about an uncertain future. More ... read more ››

Unforgettable Trip to Mistissini

In February 28 a group of students and I, led by our two teachers, Patrick Monturo and Nil Gagne, started our journey from Chicoutimi to the reserve of Mistissini. For nearly a week we experienced everyday life with two native families. We stayed in beautiful tipis surrounded by the lovely winter ... read more ››

We live in a democracy, or do we?

It’s the eve of the elections for National Chief at the Assembly of First Nations. But I can’t participate. Neither can you. The Chiefs of the various nations vote the National Chief in during a conference. There are about 600 or so nations across Canada. That’s 600 votes out of ... read more ››

Whapmagoostui Reaffirms its resolve

When Matthew Mukash got the news that he had been elected to another term as Chief, he was waiting by the Great Whale River. The continuation of the fight against Hydro-Quebec’s proposed Great Whale River Project was one of his main platforms in seeking re-election. The election saw more people turning ... read more ››

Why we’re against SM-3

On February 24, three days after a big loss for the Liberal Party in a provincial by-election in the riding of Bonaventure, Premier Johnson gave the green light to the Sainte-Marguerite-3 hydro-project on the North Shore of the St-Lawrence River. Earlier that day, Hydro-Quebec announced that its energy demand forecasts ... read more ››