Volume 6, Issue 26

Correction

The CBC owns transmitters in two Cree communities, not six as reported in an article in the October 22 issue of The Nation. We’d also like to make a clarification. Those two communities, Waskaganish and Waswanipi, are planning to buy their own transmitters, with some assistance from the James Bay Cree ... read more ››

Cutting plans late all over Quebec

Forestry companies all over Quebec are at least six months late filing their cutting plans as required under Quebec law, acknowledge provincial officials. Many companies are 18 months overdue, including some logging in James Bay. The lack of cutting plans has some experts worried logging companies may take advantage of the lack ... read more ››

Good news in Mistissini search

Isaac Trapper and Abel Mark, a Mistissini elder, went up Mistissini Lake and a search was started after their wives reported to the police they were overdue. They had left Mistissini on November 2. The search for the two men started on Monday, November 8. Initial aerial searches turned up no ... read more ››

Gun incidents on rise in Mistissini

Gun safety is a big topic in Mistissini these days as firearms incidents have risen sharply. The latest occurred at 6:30 a.m. on November 6. According to Mistissini police, an argument occurred at a party and a man left. He went to his vehicle, took out a gun and fired in ... read more ››

I am often asked by friends, acquaintances and other interested parties what I like.

I am often asked by friends, acquaintances and other interested parties what I like. To enlighten them more I prefer to tell them, with gusto, of my dislikes. It don’t rhyme well but rap with me anyway. I don’t like cheese. Except in pizza, cheesecake and I forget what else. I don’t ... read more ››

It’s not too late

It’s a dirty crime when the state starts to legislate ignorant and ethnocentric laws. In short, I feel that Bill 65 is nothing short of a racist policy designed to take Native self-determination back into the dark ages. The bill is intended to centralize all Quebec government decisions involving First ... read more ››

New Day at the Health Board

After years of stalled negotiations, the Cree Health Board has made a breakthrough toward starting some serious talks with the Quebec government on underfunding and health reform. The two sides have agreed on the framework for negotiations that are to start later this month. The talks are intended to fulfill ... read more ››

Quebec too lax with loggers: ecologists

The Quebec government is too cozy with the forestry industry and lets it get away with too much, say environmentalists. Long delays in the filing of cutting plans are just the latest example. “They are too close to each other,” said Pierre Dubois, coordinator of the Coalition for Northern Virgin Forests. “We have ... read more ››

Recovery in boat accident

Thirty-six days after the tragic boat accident that claimed eight lives near Moose Factory, the search ended with the finding of Johnny Namagoose’s body. It was recovered on November 5 at around 9:15 a.m. “Our prayers have been answered,” said the Moose Factory search and rescue services in a press release. Norm ... read more ››

The old man who was left behind

Survival Story Told by John Blackned Many people in southern Iyiyuuschii still remember Richard Preston. As a young anthropologist, Preston came up to live with the Crees in the mid-1960s. He observed the Cree culture at work in the bush, and recorded many great stories, events, and the Elders and hunters of ... read more ››

We will remember

This is dedicated to my great-grandfather John Chookomolin who, with 23 other young Crees from Attawapiskat, went off to war in the summer of 1917. He never returned and until only a few years ago his family had never known his fate. I am giving him a voice with these ... read more ››