Volume 7, Issue 14

Aboriginal Guide to Aboriginal Services in Montreal

We apologize to all those we missed such as the student services at the Cree School Board on 277 Duke Street. They have great facilities at their drop-in and don’t drop-out center. Computers are available, a kitchen and a library. A good place to relax. Students can contact them at ... read more ››

Cree Man Marching from Edmonton to Ottawa

A Cree man frustrated at the slow pace of compensation to survivors of residential schools has set out to march from Edmonton to Ottawa. Robert Desjarlais, 53, left the Alberta capital on April 24. He hopes to reach Parliament Hill in late June. v While walking along the highway outside ... read more ››

Five Candidates for Chair

Five candidates have stepped forward to contest the first-ever general election for chair of the Cree School Board. They are George Blacksmith, Kenny Blacksmith, Mabel Herodier, Luke MacLeod and Kathleen Wootton. The vote was June 1.

Health Veteran “Disgusted” by Health Board

A veteran health professional who worked for four years for the Nunavik Health Board says she was shocked by the lack of training and supervision provided for new Inuit health staff. Inuit health workers were often pushed aside and treated as mere tokens by non-Inuit staff, she said. And gobs of money ... read more ››

Just One More Resolution

Well, the holidays are over and a new millennium has started. The holidays for me, as with most people, were a time of sharing and gathering together with family and friends. It was a time of rest and celebration. I would like to say the feast put on in Mistissini was ... read more ››

Logging Fight Going to Supreme Court?

The Cree forestry battle looks like it’s going all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada. Cree officials last week had all but made up their minds to take the Cree forestry lawsuit to the country’s highest court, after the Quebec Court of Appeal overturned a ruling that found Quebec ... read more ››

Logging Protest Threatens to Escalate

A protest against logging by members of the New Post and Wahgoshig First Nations in northern Ontario is threatening to escalate. Community leaders predict a “serious confrontation” if Abitibi-Consolidated goes through with plans to breach a Native blockade set up to prevent clear-cutting by Abitibi loggers on traditional lands east of ... read more ››

Matthew Coon Come, National Chief?

Cree statesman, philosopher, honourary doctor and black belt Matthew Coon Come is expected to run for National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. A source close to Coon Come said he is talking seriously about running. Candidates are to announce officially in early June. Current National Chief Phil Fontaine’s term ... read more ››

Native People’s Identity Often Clouded

With the majestic flat Irons towering outside the University of Colorado’s humanities building, I recently sat in an auditorium waiting to be introduced as part of a media panel discussion. Before the panel began, a young indigenous student introduced the moderator — Shoba Rajgibal doctoral student from India. The young Osage ... read more ››

Nunavik Health Board is “Disconnected” – “It’s very, very far from Inuit People”: Inukjuak Mayor

When the Inuit signed the James Bay Agreement in 1975, they were promised their own health board. It was supposed to be run by the Inuit, for the Inuit. Twenty-five years later, a generation of Inuit who grew up with the Nunavik Health Board is growing alarmed about how it’s run. ... read more ››

Oblates, Anglicans Warn of Imminent Bankruptcy

The Catholic Oblate order says it’s on the verge of bankruptcy because of lawsuits related to residential schools. Meanwhile, the Anglican Church claims it will be bankrupted by next year unless the federal government agrees to save it from the spiralling costs of the residential-school lawsuits. Some 1,900 lawsuits filed against the ... read more ››

Un Rez Notes

Where is Neil Diamond? Oh where can he be? I was possessed by this tiny voice that told me that I should give ndiamon a break and write rez notes. Yes, what else could it be but some form of a paranormal experience. Neil is presently being worked to the bone. ... read more ››

Women2Women: Maggie’s Diary

We recently found a mysterious book on the 365 bus in downtown Montreal. It turned out to be a diary written by a young Cree woman living in Montreal, we’ll call her Maggie. We decided to publish the least scandalous parts of it to share with our readers. We thought we ... read more ››