Volume 15, Issue 12

Assessing accountability: INAC introduces a new audit clause to keep First Nations in check

On March 31, Indian and Northern Affairs minister Chuck Strahl announced First Nations communities across Canada would be subject to a new audit clause which will be added to all 2008-09 funding arrangements, much to the dismay of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador (AFNQL). When asked if ... read more ››

Call for contributions to healing quilt

Alice Olsen Williams is asking people to send her quilt blocks. She is creating a quilt to help Native communities across Canada heal from the devastating effects of residential schools. “Each block is to be about what you want to express regarding residential schools. It can be about what you experienced, ... read more ››

Chicomputerimish

How can I type in Cree on my computer? How do I install the Cree typing tools on my new computer? How can I convert from Cree syllables to Cree roman orthography and vice-versa? Responses to these frequently asked questions can now be found in the form of training videos available ... read more ››

Covered by Love: Philanthropic endeavour creates quilts to warm hearts and bodies

Hundreds of men, women and children living below the poverty line in 16 countries are a little warmer these days thanks to the Quebec Native Women‚’s Ministries in Chapais and their Covered by Love project. It was started in 2004 when six women got together to make quilts from recycled materials ... read more ››

Cree leaders appointed to oversee $1.4 billion

Mathew Coon-Come, Billy Diamond, Ted Moses, Albert Diamond, Tania Pash, Robert Kanatewat and Philip Awashish have been named as the members of the Cree Trust. The Cree Trust will oversee the administration of the $1.4 billion transferred from the federal government following the signing of the New Relationship Agreement with the ... read more ››

Decriminalizing the Indian

Our people have always had some sort of stigmatism, such as lazy drunken Indians, welfare recipients, and burdens to society. And this is often used as an excuse to garner more moolah from taxpayers to wrong rights and this becomes the state of mind for many who are familiar to ... read more ››

Digging up the past: Residential school tribunal uses pressure tactics to locate mass graves

The heat has been turned up on Ottawa and the Catholic, Anglican and United churches as a new group, called the International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada (IHRTGC), has been launched as a response to the approximately 50,000 missing children’s bodies from the dark days of the Indian ... read more ››

Les Grands Prix du Tourisme quebecois Desjardins 2008

It was another first for the small community of Mistissini. The Grands Prix du tourisme quebecois Desjardins 2008 came to town on April 3. Guest speakers included Andy Baribeau, councillor for the Cree Nation of Mistissini, Doris Thomassin, president of James Bay Tourism, Sherman Herodier, president of Eeyou Istchee Tourism, ... read more ››

Savouring the drink: The annual Wine and Spirits show offers a variety of tasty beverages

With literally thousands of choices of libation to sample from, the Montreal Wine and Spirits Show at the Palais de Congres (March 27-30) was about enough to send any reviewer’s head reeling long into the night and perhaps for days afterwards. Between the 230 different exhibitors and the 2000+ products they ... read more ››

Seeking recognition: NDP pushing Canada to sign the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

On Monday, April 7, seven months after it was introduced and the rest of the world signed on, the New Democratic Party managed to get the United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples before the House of Commons, a declaration the Conservative government is refusing to sign. Three NDP ... read more ››

To save a life

Survival was a difficult reality of life for my people, the James Bay Cree, over the centuries. Even after the arrival of Europeans to the James Bay coast, people still relied on skill, traditional knowledge and a great deal of luck in order to survive in the wilderness. There were ... read more ››

UN Declaration Adopted

There are those who talk about the benefits of a minority government. Usually you don’t see the benefits as one of the problems is that they aren’t around that long. Just look at poor Joe Clark who lasted nine months less a day as Canada’s Prime Minister. Clark’s Finance Minister John ... read more ››

Unleaded shots: Cree Health Board campaigns to get hunters to use non-toxic shells

Just as Crees throughout Eeyou Istchee are gearing up to hit the bush for the 2008 goose break, a lot of talk has surrounded the use of lead shotgun shells despite the fact that they have been outlawed for over a decade. The Cree Health Board (CHB) contacted the Nation recently ... read more ››

Wemindji Radio Boosts Signal

CHPH 99.7 FM Wemindji is increasing its directional ERP signal to 14,000 watts. The improved transmission frequency will reach over 125 kilometres of the vast territory throughout the Cree Nation of Wemindji. RTS Canada will act as project manager in CHPH’s overhaul, which includes the addition of new studios to the station. “Our ... read more ››