Volume 9, Issue 25

Blueberries: Forgottin Legacy

In James Bay, another blueberry season has come and gone. The real interesting fact is that the uses of blueberries continue well after our feeding frenzy is over. While blueberries do grow in Asia and Europe, it is the North American varieties, and more particular, the use of them by ... read more ››

Copper Rand Mine Plays Heavy Metal

New Hampshire geologist Christopher Covel says he feels “vindicated” by an interim report provincial on heavy metal contamination of fish in lakes near Ouje-Bougoumou. The study, titled “Metal, PCB, Dioxin and Furan Concentrations in Fish and Sediments from Four Lakes in Northern Quebec in 2001,” was prepared by Denis Laliberté and ... read more ››

MoCreebec: Part II

This is part one of a two part series in which the MoCreebec people tell their stories in their own words. Initially it was curiousity which brought me back to Moosonee and Moose factory. Just who were the MoCreebec people and what did they want? The answer in there own words ... read more ››

Native Adoptee

At first I thought it would be a breeze to write a piece on being adopted, then I sat myself down to try to write about it and realized it wasn’t as easy as I thought. I mean, the easy thing was that I was adopted and I had a ... read more ››

Our Forum to fame…

20 years of Mamauiitau have flashed by the screen on nearly every television in the Cree world and have left a lasting indelible impression on many people. From the time that it was first introduced and the faces of Emily, Diane, Diane, Bentley Charlotte and Ernie And Many others became ... read more ››

Point-Counterpoint

Recently we published an article about the fighting in Chibougamau. While no one has responded to our article a Cree was upset with a editorial about the situation in a Chibougamau paper. So we bring you a translation of the editorial, which appeared in French, and a reply to it ... read more ››

Pollution causes polar bear sex changes

Polar bears, Arctic foxes and Inuit peoples are under threat from man-made toxins such as polychlorinated byphenyls (PCBs) that build up in the food chain, reveals new research reported in the Independent newspaper of London, England. Environmental and animal groups are calling for a global ban on the production of the ... read more ››

The kids are all right!: Marcel Happyjack-Cree Nation Youth Grand Chief

There is no shortage of young people out there. Youth aged 29 and under represent 70 per cent of the Cree Nation and it has been said that First Nations youth are the fastest growing youth population in Canada. It is not a new concept that the youth of today ... read more ››

The lawyer industry

Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Robert Nault has threatened to walk away from as many as 30 stalled native claims and self-government negotiations, blaming the other side of the table — especially lawyers, writes Terrence Belford in a report for the Globe and Mail. “I am not in the business of ... read more ››

US cracks down on Native tobacco dealers

U.S. investigators call it a modern-day Prohibition. The only difference is, this time the hot commodity is cigarettes, not liquor. Law enforcement officials claim Western New York is a hotbed of cigarette smuggling, a centre for a new wave of illegal activity spurred by higher state taxes on cigarettes. In the ... read more ››

Where is Here?: Canada’s Maps and the Stories They Tell

“Because [I am] afraid of drowning.” This was the answer an Inuit elder gave when asked why he was so skilled at reading the weather. Like many of his people, he became skilled at reading the signs in the clouds and the changing bite and smell of a cold front. ... read more ››

Will on the grill: Puerto Rican Stew, Old Fashioned Chicken Soup, and more

During a recent trip I saw the first snowfall of the year in my home community of Mistissini, located in the Inland eastern James Bay area. It reminded me of the cold winter days and the food simmering away on a wood stove. The pots were always big as my ... read more ››