Volume 7, Issue 17

A Story of Hardship When John Was Young…

This is a story from when I was young. I said to my father, “I am very hungry.” I thought I would not be able to reach the tent, the way I felt. My father would ask me, “Do you want to eat?” I answered him, “Yes.” He told me, ... read more ››

AFN Should Ponder Tecumseh’s Vision

It’s election season again in Indian Country. Here come the promises, policies and posturing of all the would-be Indian chiefs. We’ve seen it so many times before the election bubble gets pumped with hot air all Spring and in the middle of July, bursts in that debauched festival of hypocrisy ... read more ››

Graduation 2000

Graduation from high school and elementary school in Attawapiskat this year is taking place despite a more or less chaotic situation. The chaos comes as a direct result of an environmental disaster that has closed the J.R. Nakogee Elementary School and disrupted the regular schedule at Vezina Secondary School. For weeks ... read more ››

Guarded Optimism After Leaders’ Summit

Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard is promising to unblock the impasse in relations with the Crees after his first meeting with Grand Chief Ted Moses. Bouchard said he would release $18.6 million in long-awaited funds for Cree community projects that have been in limbo since last year. Bouchard and Moses also agreed to ... read more ››

Hash Use High

There are a lot of midnight tokers in the land of the midnight sun. The majority of Inuit men aged under 45 are regular hash smokers, as well as a quarter of older men, according to a story in La Presse, citing a 1997 report from the Nunavik Health Board. About one-third ... read more ››

Health Boss Resigns Amid Criticisms

In a surprise move, Jean Dupuis has resigned from his position as chairman of the Nunavik Health Board. The sudden move came after a series of articles in The Nation about the miserable state of health care and social services in the Inuit communities of Quebec. In Dupuis’s place, the board of ... read more ››

Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Justice

Chief Leonard George hobbled onto the stage dragging one foot in a cast. He told us that the Elders in his village said the reason he broke his ankle was the Creator wanted him to catch up on some much-needed sleep. He had just returned from another grueling round of ... read more ››

My work here is done. I think.

My work here is done. I think. The sun is up. Finally. The entire publication is up on the wall, ready for the printer. Ready for our reading public. I hope they like it. What can I tell you that you don’t already know. I’ve been away working, playing, thinking of things ... read more ››

Still no Compensation for Fire Losses

Crees who lost snowmobiles, four-wheelers and motor boats in a fire in a Chibougamau repair shop are filing a claim to recover their losses. Mistissini Crees alone lost about $50,000 when a fire burned the Sports Plein-Air Gagnon store to the ground on July 4,1999. Two Crees say they lost motor boats ... read more ››

The Cree Voice – Inside and Outside the Community

On May 19, I accompanied a student from my grade 6 class to a mock Parliament at the National Assembly in Quebec City. Her name is Angeline Sam. She was democratically elected by her class peers as their representative. We went to Quebec to participate in a project aimed at ... read more ››

Unconditional Discharge for Freddy Jolly

Nemaska tallyman Freddy Jolly is declaring victory in his two-year legal battle with the Quebec wildlife department. Jolly’s lawyer entered a guilty plea to the charge of violating the federal Migratory Birds Act. Then, in a May 30 decision, a judge granted Jolly an unconditional discharge. The sentence means Jolly won’t have a ... read more ››