Volume 8, Issue 5

2001:Space Odyssey or Jurassic Michaud?

So here we are in 2001 and we haven’t established colonies on the moon. Science Fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke’s image of a future world in which an advanced computer named Hal goes a little funny in the old logic circuits and embarks on a minor killing spree hasn’t quite ... read more ››

Bob and Jane do Valentine’s Day

Bob’s Version of events He sent her flowers and the usual e-mail with exploding flowers and chocolate flavoured everything and she still refused to be his valentine. Geeze, Bob thinks. God. What does it take to make this lady happy enough to go out with me on the most hallowed of all ... read more ››

By the Light of the Moon

Last night I was in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Spain. While taking a long walk I marveled at the star-studded night sky. I love looking up at the night sky and get great comfort out of sitting back and staring up at the stars. Star gazing has ... read more ››

Decision to Sell Surprises Servinor Boss

Servinor boss Pierre Goyet was surprised and bewildered to bear the company would be sold. At a December 12 meeting, the executive body of the Cree Regional Authority ordered CREECO. to sell Servinor, its money-losing food distributor. The decision was unexpected for Pierre Goyet, who has been the company’s director-general since June ... read more ››

Indian Humour Belies the Stoic Stereotype

The following piece by Mark Trahant, a Shoshone-Bannock writer from Fort Hall, Idaho, is reprinted from the Native_News listserv (ishgooda@voyager.net). Flip through any 19th-century collection of American Indian portraits and you’ll see many images of stereotypical Native Americans: the serious expression of Sitting Bull; a warrior whose eyes avoid the camera, ... read more ››

Light Streaks Across Western Sky

A fireball lit up the skies of western South Dakota and Nebraska and of eastern Colorado late the night of Jan. 11, but authorities have not determined what it was, reported Associated Press and the Rapid City Journal. Some speculated that it was the Russian space station Mir, but this was ... read more ››

Mistissini Chief Resigns

In a surprise move, Mistissini Chief Kenny Loon resigned from his position on Jan. 18, citing family reasons and dissatisfaction from some community members. He made the announcement on the community radio station last Thursday afternoon, just before we went to press. He spoke for 15 minutes. The decision took the ... read more ››

Northbound Drugs Seized, Two Busted

Over 1,000 grams of marijuana and hash oil were seized from two men stopped Jan. 13 at Montreal’s Dorval Airport, say Kativik police. The men were at the airport to catch a flight to Inukjuak, where they work, said chief of police Brian Jones, of the Kativik Regional Police Force in ... read more ››

Surprise, Dismay Over Great Whale Plan

News of the talks to revive the Great Whale hydro-electric project is taking Crees by surprise. Few Cree officials or community members had heard of the hush-hush discussions until contacted by The Nation. Crees we spoke to opposed the proposed project and worried about the effects on Cree trappers, hunters and fishers. “It’s ... read more ››

Tammy Beauvais Native Fashion

Tammy Beauvais is a new designer on the scene, who owns her own company making unique clothing and accessories with an Aboriginal theme. I first came across Beauvais’s work at a Christmas office party. Since I had done some work for the Eastern Door, the Mohawk newspaper, I received an ... read more ››

Trappers to Feel Effects of Subsidy Cuts

Getting out to the trapline is going to be harder this year after transport subsidies to trapping and hunting families were slashed in half. The subsidy cut was decided by the James Bay Eeyou Corporation last summer after falling revenues at the compensation funds it manages. The trappers’ subsidy wasn’t the only ... read more ››

With Anger and Wisdom…Like Our Sacred Volcanoes

Ecuador: Where the cold whisper of the Andes is the guide for an encounter with your inner self,” claims the English-language ad hanging in the window of a travel agency. I am in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. We are almost at the equator line, but the weather is cool ... read more ››