Volume 5, Issue 5

A Job Well Done By All

It’s Day 16 or so of the Ice Storm Crisis. Thousands of people are still without power in some areas.You might have noticed you’re getting one issue of The Nation on top of another. This is because ourproduction office was without power for most of the time, but we’re back ... read more ››

Apologies to “Les Renards”

Last October, I wrote an article in The Nation about the Cree Nation Bears tournament where I said the “Cree Nation Bears” were the “first Cree hockey team to join a structured league.” Well, well, history caught up with me and I am writing today to apologize to THE TRUE FIRST ... read more ››

Be the power!

Native people in Arizona are busy fighting off corporate buzzards, religious nuts and governmentsluggos who are trying to take their land. Under seige is the area of Big Mountain, home to the Dineh and Hopi peoples in northeast Arizona. Learn more about their story at an evening organized by Indigenous Peoples International ... read more ››

Cambior disaster “preventable”

The Cambior cyanide disaster in Guyana was a “preventable accident,” according to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency document deposed at Quebec Superior Court. Cambior has demanded a permanent injunction against a Montreal group that is helping the thousands of mostly Native victims of the mass cyanide spill. In its defense, the group ... read more ››

Chill, bloods and ofays

A truly wild pair of books came our way not too long ago, the Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang. In total, it’s 1,700 pages of all the English slang ever used in America spanning the last 300 years, divided into three backbreaking volumes. The last volume covers words beginning P ... read more ››

cree@large (January 1, 1998)

Friend and foe know him as “Sonny.” Others, or professional acquaintances, not aware ofhis usually sunny disposition, may remember him as Sidney Orr, Sidney Snowboy or even Sidney OrrSnowboy. Sonny’s life reflects his many names. He’s been, at one time or another and in no particularorder: an athlete, a baker, a ... read more ››

Daishowa SLAPP slapped

David Suzuki has lent his voice to support the Lubicon Lake Crees. “The boreal forest in Alberta has been essentially given away to companies like Mitsubishi and Daishowa for $1.40 per ton of pulp which on the market will bring $900,” said Suzuki. “We have this ludicrous situation of a multinational company ... read more ››

Entrepreneurial Series Part Five The Ultimate Entrepreneurial Resource Guide

The Wave of The Future – Entrenpreneurship Aboriginal companies are a dynamic and growing presence in Canada’s economy. There are over 20,000 Aboriginal businesses in Canada, active in every sector of the economy. Are you ready to be part of this team? No doubt about it, you got what it takes. Just do it! These ... read more ››

Getting Ready for Valentine’s Day

This year, show your honey how much you love him/her by serving these heart-smart recipes at acandlelight dinner for two. Low-Fat Lasagna Ingredients: 1/2 lb lean ground beef 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp pepper 1 Tbsp flour Breadcrumbs 1 Tbsp mL olive oil 1/2 onion, chopped 18 oz. can crushed tomatoes 1 tsp oregano Juice of 1/2 lemon 1/2 ... read more ››

Hydro ignored lessons of the past

Premier Bouchard and Hydro-Quebec say the Ice Storm Disaster was impossible to foresee and prepare for. But we did get a warning. A wild storm lashed into the Lanaudiere region east of Montreal at the same time last year, the beginning of January. The 1997 storm dropped 50 mm of frozen ... read more ››

Racing updates

CCMQ News from the racing world. The crowd in Mistissini saw an action-packed program at the community’s Sno-Cross/Cross-Coun-try Camoplast Championship. For two days, racers competed on a course where a lack of snow made the going sluggish. Two “spectacular” accidents slowed the program the first day, reported Le Sentinelle of Chibougamau. Mistissini ... read more ››

Reaching Out Crees send relief mission to South Shore

Cree communities in James Bay are working hand-in-hand with non-Native towns in the North to sendhelp to Montreal-area residents hit by the ice storm. Hundreds of volunteers came forward in Mistissini to chop trees into firewood, load it onto trucks fortransport to the south, donate their own winter wood supplies and ... read more ››

Sports drinks: yes OR no?

Sports drinks like Gatorade are as harmless as they are useless. At least that’s what Dr.Francois Peronnet, of the physical education dept, at the University of Montreal, believes.Athletes engaging in exceptional and sustained physical effort, like Ironman triathletes, mayneed a sodium supplement, he says, but sports drinks are made mostly ... read more ››

Was aging HQ network the weak link?

Hydro-Quebec and Premier Lucien Bouchard are under the gun for the handling (or mishandling) of the Storm of the Century. The Nation has obtained information that suggests Hydro-Quebec’s power system may have disintegrated so quickly because it was propped up by aging, outdated towers, some so old they should have been ... read more ››

Water debate warms up

Opposition is growing to Quebec’s plan of selling water to the U.S. A coalition of unions, environmentalists and other groups denounced a recent symposium organized bythe Quebec government on making money off water. They say the government is hiding what it’s doingand stifling public debate. On the table is the idea of ... read more ››

We must be one of the luckiest nations in the entire universe.

We must be one of the luckiest nations in the entire universe. At least in terms of health care andwhatever else we enjoy for free. But that doesn’t mean these services should… for lack of a betterword… suck the way they do. I’m sure you’ve heard and probably have a ... read more ››

What colour is your snowmobile?

A strange letter arrived at Polaris Canada headquarters in Winnipeg. An anonymous Chibougamau resident was writing to complain of “a problem” atthe local Polaris franchise, which was taken over by the Ouje-Bougoumou First Nation. The resident described him/herself as a “fans” of Polaris for “a good dozen years until the Indians ... read more ››

What is your resolution for 1998?

George L. Diamond “This year I’m not quitting anything. I’m just going to do more things.That’s my resolution.” Freddie Jolly “Not to feast too much.” (gained 16 pounds over the holidays!) Terry Beauregard “Stop smoking and taking care of my health. Exercise.” Gertie Murdoch “Save a tree, Scrap the Nation.” George Trapper “Stop smoking.” (Smoked ... read more ››

Your Horrorscope

Aquarius (Jan 20-Feb 18) Happy Birthday Aquarius. According to astral charts everything should be hunky-dory. But hey, let’s get real. You’re dealing with Thelma & Louise here and things are not always what they seem. Still scratching your frontal lobe for any sensation? Wondering why Santa left you a piece ... read more ››