Volume 15, Issue 26

“Savage”-gate?

Though he has since publicly apologized for the remark, many are still calling for the resignation of Vancouver Olympic Committee board member and McGill University Chancellor Richard Pound over a remark he made regarding Canadian Aboriginals in an August 9 interview with the French-language newspaper, La Presse. The remark was made ... read more ››

A burning issue

In the past few years, I have been able to spend more time at the cottage where I get to enjoy the use of a wood-burning stove. Starting a fire, gathering logs and splitting wood is a very familiar activity for me. I was raised around wood stoves in my ... read more ››

Barriere Lake: Out in the Cold

Remember a number of years back when Canada was shocked to learn of the charming Saskatoon tradition called the starlight tours? This practice, you might recall, was favourite of that city’s police officers, who would arrest Aboriginal men and drop them off outside city limits. In the middle of winter. After ... read more ››

Economic Downturn Means Tough Times for Aboriginal Kids

With the current global economic downturn, children will be “the hardest hit,” said renowned Canadian humanitarian Stephen Lewis, who is the United Nations’ special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. Addressing a crowd of 400 in Vancouver on October 20, Lewis pointed out that one million children in Canada are living below ... read more ››

Huron-Wendats Seek Big Bucks in Land Claim Settlement

The Huron-Wendat First Nation is seeking a large sum from both the federal and provincial governments in a claim settlement for a 24,000-sq.-km allotment of land that includes the cities of Trois-Rivieres and Quebec City as well as most of the Laurentides Wildlife Reserve and three Quebec provincial parks. Seeking a ... read more ››

Inuit Teenager Missing

Caitlin Nickerson, 14, went missing on October 20 from her Montreal high school. Nickerson was last seen at James Lyng High School in the southwest sector of Montreal, located at 5440 Notre-Dame West. Nickerson is 1,70 m (5’7”), weighs 63,5 kg (140 lbs), has brown hair and brown eyes, and ... read more ››

Monitoring sugar levels: As the number of Cree suffering from diabetes increases, so does the understanding of the disease

Did you know that there were 1,583 Cree living with diabetes as of July 1, 2007? Or that 100 Cree were diagnosed with diabetes over the past 12 months? That on average, one Cree is diagnosed with diabetes every 3.5 days or that 1 in 5 Cree adults has diabetes? Though ... read more ››

No Resolution: Barriere Lake Algonquins still not fazed by SQ attack

Four arrests and one hospitalization later, the people of Barriere Lake still cannot believe the brutality they faced at the hands of the Surete du Quebec when their barricade on Highway 117 was violently dismantled October 6. “We are still going to be making noise,” said Michael Thusky, a Barriere Lake ... read more ››

Scary bedtime stories

As the new millennium approached back in 1999, we still told scary stories to the kids, just to keep them in bed and hopefully not too scared to stay awake all night – but just enough to keep them quiet. Those bedtime stories were based on tales of old.Some came ... read more ››

Sexual Revolution: The CBHSSJB’s Chi kayeh program is geared at teaching healthy sexuality to high school students

Though it may not be apparent to them, high-school students within the Cree School Board are a few steps ahead of the rest of the province when it comes to getting comprehensive healthy sexuality education through the Chi kayeh program. Developed specifically to address the needs and cultural values of the ... read more ››

Truth and Reconciliation Commission at an Impasse

With the resignation of Justice Harry LaForme from the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission, internal conflicts have brought the commission to a halt. The commission released a statement on behalf of commissioners Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Brewin Morley saying they are “disappointed and saddened” to hear of LaForme’s decision ... read more ››

Vying to be the “biggest loser” in Chisasibi: Inspired by the reality show, Chisasibi’s recreation department is hosting its own weight-loss challenge

With diabetes on the rise in the Cree communities along with a whole host of other health complications relating to obesity, Chisasibi’s recreation technician Tommy Sam found inspiration from reality TV to help remedy the problem. For many seasons now, NBC’s “The Biggest Loser,” has chronicled the extreme weight loss of ... read more ››