Volume 10, Issue 15

10th Anniversary of the Signing of the Inuit Land Claims Agreement

Sunday marked the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Nunavut land claims agreement. And while there were no official celebrations, Inuit leaders did pause to reflect on the progress made since 1993 -and on the challenges that lie ahead. Nunavut Tunngavik president Cathy Towtongie says the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement ... read more ››

Aboriginal Women in Prison

Aboriginal women make up 27% of inmates in federal prison. This is very alarming, but even more so when you consider Aboriginal people only make up 1.5% of Canada’s population. These inflated statistics are due in large part to inadequate social programs offered for those who need it most. Support groups ... read more ››

All Thumbs? Make It Green

Thinking of planting some trees or laying down some grass this year? We have a few suggestions from local experts. Doing so helps to avoid soil erosion. Soil erosion simply put is the process by which the nutrient rich topsoil is removed by wind or water. The result is that ... read more ››

Carol Morin – CBC Northbeat Star

Carol Morin is the Host of Northbeat. Part Cree, part Chipewyan, Morin grew up in Sedley, Saskatchewan. A native adoptee, she was one of the sixties scoop babies, taken from her family and home community of Sandy Bay in northern Saksatchewan. Morin says it was through her job that she met ... read more ››

Changing Tides on the Great James Bay

On a beautiful summer morning we are in our family freighter canoes skimming along over the water of the Attawapiskat River. We are heading out to spend the weekend on Akamiski Island. We are travelling with two boats. Most of my family, including myself, rides in Dad’s 22 foot canoe ... read more ››

Cree Want ‘Spiritual’ Meteorite Returned

Plains Cree are asking the Alberta Provincial Museum to return a 145-kilogram iron meteorite, which the Cree people call Papamihaw Asiniy. The ’flying rock’ is regarded as a sacred object. The meteorite is the third largest in Canada. Ron Mussieux, curator of geology at the Provincial Museum, thinks the asteroid fragment should ... read more ››

Happy Fathers Day

Mrs. John B. Dodd, of Washington, first proposed the idea of a “father’s day” in 1909. Mrs. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart. William Smart, a Civil War veteran, was widowed when his wife (Mrs. Dodd’s mother) died in childbirth with their sixth child. Times ... read more ››

High Tech Hunting

“Let’s see, now, the angle of the wall is perpendicular to the 22.5 degree offset at 221 degrees to the south… “I mumbled to myself. That Nimiq satellite, some distance off in the near space orbit, can’t be too hard to find with this 10 inch dish I was installing ... read more ››

Learning About Partnerships in Thunderbay

It was off to Thunderbay, Ontario, home of Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s musical sidekick and some guy from the Mighty Duck’s. No one there dared cheer for the Devil’s unless they wished for the more than likely physical demonstration of displeasure from the proud Thunderbayites. I was there as part of ... read more ››

Native Kill in Middle East Promoted

The United States Army announced recently that Lori Piestewa has been promoted posthumously from the rank of private first class to Army specialist. Piestewa, a 23-year-old Hopi mother of two young children, is believed to be the first Native American woman killed in combat while serving in the U.S. military and ... read more ››

Natives, Jews Must Fight Hatred Together, Conference Told

Shared experiences of oppression and racism bind Canada’s Jews and Native people in a common battle to fight hatred, the grand chief of Quebec’s northern Cree told a conference yesterday. “Part of a shared experience between Aboriginal Peoples and Jews is a history of oppression, of marginalization, and of struggling to ... read more ››

Pow Wow Trail Starts in Ottawa – Odawa Pow Wow

Odawa held their 27th annual Pow Wow from May 23rd to 25th in Ottawa. It was to be held at the Nepean Tent and Trailer Park, but Mother Nature had other plans and moved the gathering to a local skating arena. The move caused a two-hour delay on the Saturday ... read more ››

Shooting in Mistissini

There was a double shooting in Mistissini on Saturday, May 24th. The assailants, Clifford Joly 23, and Eric Meskino 19, unloaded a combined total of over 30 rounds. Various buildings in the community were shot during the rampage. One firefighter was injured. Both men are to be charged with criminal acts ... read more ››

Ten Days in New York

I arrived in New York on May 11th intent on experiencing everything I have ever heard about New York in the time I would be there. I had been there a few times before for meetings and interviews but never for this long. I had a little over two weeks. ... read more ››