Volume 13, Issue 18

Aglukark’s Earth is Blood Red

Musician, activist and public speaker Susan Aglukark has just signed with the Winnipeg-based Aboriginal record label Arbor Records, which on Aug. 8 will release her sixth album, Blood Red Earth. Aglukark, who sings in a melange of Inuktitut and English, has sold over 400,000 albums in Canada to date. She will ... read more ››

Canada’s double-cross at the UN

The Canadian government’s recent vote against the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was a surprise move and is one that will cost Canada dearly. Perhaps I better explain my thinking. Canada has a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. It was awarded one because of its stances ... read more ››

Fontaine reelected as AFN Chief

To no one’s surprise, incumbent National Chief Phil Fontaine has been reelected to lead the Assembly of First Nations in an election on July 12. Fontaine defeated B.C.’s Bill Wilson by a 373 to 117 vote, capturing 76 per cent of the 490 votes cast for another three-year term. During the ... read more ››

From the mean streets to the recording studio – Hip Hopper Daybi’s future looks bright

“He may be a man of humble origins, but for rapper, award-winning producer, emcee, director, editor, and graphic designer Daybi, things are just beginning to heat up. The Nation caught up with him earlier this year to see what kinds of hot projects he has on the burner, what it ... read more ››

Innu announce plans to sue Hydro-Québec – Seek $11 billion in damages from Crown Corporation, governments

The 4,000-strong Pessamit Innu community has filed an $11 billion lawsuit against Hydro-Québec for “total devastation of culture and way of life.” The Innu, led by Chief Raphael Picard, are outraged at the slow pace of negotiations for compensation after losing access to much of their traditional homeland caused by the ... read more ››

Manitau’s traditional inspiration – Richard Bosum looks to music to pass on Cree culture

From singers to dancers, to painters and sculptors, musical talent is in abundance in Eeyou Istchee. One of the more famous musical duos in Cree territory is Richard Bosum and Kenny Mianscum, also known as Manitau. “I got my first guitar way back in my teens,” Richard Bosum, 42, told the ... read more ››

Mukash out of hospital

“I’m back in the swing of things, I’m slowly going back to work,” Cree Grand Chief Matthew Mukash said after a recent two-week stay in a Montreal hospital. His health is now fine, he claimed, despite the extended hospital stay for internal bleeding due to an ulcer. “I know that people ... read more ››

Music to my ears

The beat goes on throughout the night, the spirits have been sated by loving subjects, songs that have been passed on for millennia, thoughts that have rung out for generations, tradition remains unbroken… Then one day, thousands of years after the first primal beats of the chest, Ed Sullivan brought out ... read more ››

We all need our space

I never had a lot of privacy when I was growing up. Privacy wasn’t always possible in a crowded three-bedroom home with eight siblings and two parents. Sufficient and adequate housing on First Nations is a problem. People are happy merely to find any place to call a home for their ... read more ››