Volume 14, Issue 11

A first for Manitoba First Nations

Manitoba lawyer Doreen Redhead has become the first aboriginal woman to be appointed a judge in Manitoba. Attorney General Dave Chomiak said having a female aboriginal judge gives the courts a better reflection of the population of Manitoba. Redhead graduated from the University of Manitoba Law School in 1996. She has practiced ... read more ››

A journey to heal wounds and shed inhibitions – Mistissini’s Journey of Wellness celebrates 10th year

As CBC North journalist Roderick Rabbitskin has discovered, the journey to wellness requires continual travel. In the Nation last year, Rabbitskin revealed that a community member had repeatedly abused him as a child. During this year’s Wellness Week, held in Mistissini March 17-22, Rabbitskin spoke of that terrible ordeal for ... read more ››

Abenaki youth elected – Speaks Out

Alexis Wawanoloath is a political pioneer. At the tender age of 24, Wawanoloath is one of the youngest members to be elected in the March 26 provincial election… and he is the first Aboriginal to win office as a member of the Parti Québécois. Wawanoloath’s election represents a change in the ... read more ››

Chisasibi’s Beavers take it to the Limit – Nine to eleven-year-olds come within a goal of provincial glory

The Chisasibi Beavers were on fire in the third period of the provincial championships in Louiseville, Quebec, slamming in two goals to tie up an intense game against The Diplomats from Laurentian / Lanaudière. The Diplomats scored two early goals in the first period, but really started to feel the heat ... read more ››

Feds defy Kashechewan choice

Leaders of Kashechewan are demanding their troubled community be moved to a site within their traditional lands. The demand comes as they rejected a federal offer to relocate to Timmins, Ontario, which is 450 kilometres away. They fear that with spring break-up coming, the community could be evacuated again, or worse, ... read more ››

Former residential school students must decide on opt-out plan

The second phase of a national notification program has begun to alert former students of the Indian residential school system and their families that they must decide whether to stay in the legal settlement or remove themselves (opt out) from it by August 20, 2007. Notices will be distributed, published, ... read more ››

Goose fever in the cornfield

The lone goose flew overhead, its honk resounding clearly. I responded instinctively, crouching and calling. A neighbor reminded me that I was away from home, visiting a small suburban community outside of Ottawa, and that spring arrives earlier in the south. The neighbor, wondering what the ruckus was (my goose calling), ... read more ››

Katherine Ottereyes: Waswanipi has lost one of their own

Katherine Ottereyes July 25th 1946 – March 20th 2007 The sun was warm and bright on that spring morning when a loud noise directed my attention to a chickadee that had unfortunately flew directly into our kitchen window and now lay down on the balcony. I picked up the little being in ... read more ››

Military manual targets Natives as potential terrorists

Canada’s military has been embarrassed over a draft counterinsurgency manual that identified the Mohawk Warrior Society as a terrorist threat. A Globe and Mail report detailed strategies to defeat hypothetical insurgencies and noted that the Mohawk Warrior Society was involved in the 1990 Oka crisis in Quebec, which spawned a ... read more ››

More native children than ever being taken from families

On February 23, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (FNCFCS), along with the Assembly of First Nations, filed a human rights claim in the name of the 27,000 First Nations children currently in state care. First Nations leaders said the number of children taken from their parents is greater than ... read more ››

Nation wins 3 CCNA awards

The Nation took home three awards at the Canadian Community Newspaper Awards this year. The announcement was made on March 12. The awards are to be handed out in Winnipeg on May 11. This year’s showing is a slight improvement over last year, when Neil Diamond and the duo of Will ... read more ››

Organic food fair is a feast of discovery

With health and nutrition on the minds of just about everyone these days, we at the Nation decided to check out the Expo Sante Manger or what is quietly known in English as the Eat Well Expo, March 15 at the Palais des Congrès. Bearing in mind that a great deal ... read more ››

Put a cap on it

Young boys share many common fashion trends and wearing a cap probably tops them all. Most boys in the north consider wearing a hat as a normal part of the dress code. It is almost a necessity to wear a cap at one point in your life up here in ... read more ››

Time for a sober view of alcohol

The Mistissini Band Council’s recent decision to reject a Cage-aux-sports style resto-bar in the community is raising many questions. The first being, Why was it shot down so hastily? Calvin Blacksmith may or may not have been the right person to end the ban on alcohol sales in the community. He ... read more ››