Volume 9, Issue 18

A Canadian Heritage Moment

We all know that Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault and his Governance Act has been a topic of much discussion among the AFN chiefs. And deservedly so: without consultation with the chiefs it is just another piece of colonialism. National Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come is right to speak out ... read more ››

Echos Of a Proud Nation 2002

I love pow-wows and “Echos of a Proud Nation,” currently in it’s eleventh year, is the best in Quebec. Over 10,000 people attended this year’s Kahnawake pow-wow beside the St. Lawrence River. The site is beautiful and it feels strange that just over the river is the bustling city of ... read more ››

Fire in the Sky, Smoke on the Water, in Boston

Toronto’s smog was hidden by the smoke from forest fires in the James Bay region as were the skylines of New York, Montreal, Boston and a host of other southern communities. Nemaska evacuated its population except for a few brave souls who stayed behind to try to protect their town. Using ... read more ››

Governance Act Dominates AFN Conference

It is Thursday, and Chief Art Manuel is going home. He has just attended the Assembly of First Nations in Kahnawake, where an already tenuous relationship between Canada’s aboriginal people and the federal government was shaken to its very foundations. First was AFN National Chief Matthew Coon Come’s call for Indian Affairs ... read more ››

Like a rolling stone over Elvis

I thought that I had gone back in time to when people shook to the rocking beat of the Rolling Stones when my good friends the Chisasibi Rockers arrived in Whapmagoostui to perform at the famous Social Club. As young heads turned with a quizzical look on their post-pubescent peach-fuzzed ... read more ››

Pow Wow

We come together, the peoples, traveling miles of gravel and two lane blacktop. Heading down highways and interstates, Music playing, laughter, as miles fly by. Because the drum, will sound. The gourd clan will dance, and the people will enter the circle The dancers drive as they prepare, in their minds’ eyes, Seeing the steps, ... read more ››

Red sun, smoky skies on Sunday July 7th,

We all witnessed the exceptionally rare event of winds channeling smoke in a band from the northern fires to cover the skies of Montreal. Since I was part of solidarity with James Bay First Nations in 1968,1 remember the fires were predicted at that time by ecologists. It is well-established ... read more ››

The Naughty Squaw

Do you have a question that you are too shy to ask your mother? The Naughty Squaw will be your confidant. No topic is too embarrassing. Send your letters by fax to (514) 278-9914 or by e-mail to nation@beesum.ca Dear Naughty Squaw, After sex, my boyfriend always flings the used condom ... read more ››

The Second Class Citizens of the Governance Act

There was little room for consensus last week when the Assembly of First Nations convened in Kahnawake. AFN National Chief Matthew Coon Come wasted no time in lambasting the recently tabled First Nations Governance Act, claiming it ignores the priorities of First Nations, such as poverty and unemployment. Michelle Audette is likely ... read more ››

U.S. begins to repatriate Native artifacts…

The Democrat and Chronicle newspaper of Rochester, New York, reports on the bittersweet story of preserved wampum belts in the U.S. National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution. The paper recounts the experience of Rick Hill, who as a young Native activist in the early 1970s, wanted ... read more ››

Under The Northern Sky Memories of another time

Most First Nation elders I know like to be out on the land. They have followed a very traditional lifestyle from early on in their lives. It has been difficult for many elders to adjust to a different pace of life in our modern First Nation communities. I have talked ... read more ››

Will on the Grill

If I say I’m eating healthy then the immediate vision some people seem to get is of some poor S.O.B. sitting down and eating the most horrendous food you can imagine. I blame this on doctors and parents. That’s right, you read correctly. How many of us remember having to ... read more ››