Volume 16, Issue 9

2009 Aboriginal Achievement Awards Recipients

Recognizing outstanding career achievements of First Nations, Inuit and Métis people in diverse occupations, the 2009 Aboriginal Achievement Awards were aired on Global TV March 21. The 16th annual awards ceremony gala was held in Winnipeg and hosted by Tina Keeper and Adam Beach. This year’s recipients are: 1.    The Rev. Stan ... read more ››

Cherished Bush Pilot Passes Away

The family of Guy Reigneau (Nemischtouan) would like to inform the Elders of the Cree community that he has passed away at 78. According to the family, Reigneau’s passing was peaceful and occurred on Saturday, February 28 at the Chibougamau Hospital. The funeral for Regineau was held on Friday, March 6, ... read more ››

Cree Nation Trust

I am writing in response to the January 30, 2009 article entitled “Nest egg cracks” (Nation, Vol. 16, Issue 6). First off, although I spoke with Will Nicholls on several occasions and provided him with a copy of the Trust’s presentation to the December Council Board meeting, I was never ... read more ››

Culturally Shocked!

While it might have been a class project for a group of Concordia University students, the Montreal public had the opportunity to take in some professional opinions on what it’s like to be a stranger in your own homeland. Packing the atrium of the Samuel Bronfman Building on March 3, students ... read more ››

Fond memories of a road trip

It was June 2000 when we set out on our journey to Toronto. Darren Stephen, Nolan Diamond, Travis Diamond, Fabian Hester and I travelled by float-plane to the Hydro station, where we piled into my little Ford station wagon. Fond memories of blasting Celine Dion and singing at the top ... read more ››

Funding for On-Reserve Schools a Political Matter, a Tory Note Suggests

According to the Globe and Mail, a note made public by an access-to-information request suggests that the Conservative government is politicizing decisions over which impoverished remote reserves get new elementary schools. This information was found in a note from an Indian Affairs official who works on the file. In further documents that ... read more ››

Guns, gear and vehicles

Though there might have been less rubbernecking around the big-ticket items at the event, the Hunting, Fishing and Camping show was alive and kicking this year. Between all of the firearms, dogs, imaginative recreational vehicles, product floggers and lovers of the outdoors, excitement would not have been a challenge anyway. Sure ... read more ››

Let The Games Begin

Only one kind of sports tournament normally takes place in a remote northern First Nation. I am referring to the hockey tournament. This mid-winter get-together is special and considered an important sporting and social event. The hockey tournament is a major community highlight that requires the participation of many community ... read more ››

Searching for Michael Ignatieff

As the recently installed leader of Canada’s Liberal Party and a likely future prime minister of the country, Michael Ignatieff continues to provoke questions about who he is, where he stands or even how he defines his own nationality. They are not easily answered. The self-described cosmopolitan seems to change ... read more ››

State of the First Nation’s Economy Released March 9

With the recession creeping into full swing in Canada, the Assembly of First Nations recently commissioned a major new study on The State of the First Nation Economy and the results have just been released. The study was prepared independently for the Assembly of First Nations by a panel of academics ... read more ››

Talking Regional Shop

The rumour mill swung into motion during the week of February 16 when Alfred Loon attended a supposed mayors’ meeting in Radisson, hosted by MBJ mayor Gérald Lemoyne. What was thought to be a secret mayors’ meeting that excluded many Cree communities turned out to be a brief get-together of the ... read more ››

Teen Murdered in Waskaganish

Tragically, the body of Tera Fay Grace Jolly was found in the basement of a home at 25 Smoky Hill in Waskaganish on Monday night around 9 pm. Jolly, who would have been 17 on March 4, had been reported missing on Saturday, February 28. Jolly’s body was discovered by the ... read more ››

The Rezolution’s sharper

I am admittedly a television junkie. I like to watch just about everything, except soap operas. They, I do declare, have a profound effect on the opposite sex’s opinion of life in general, at least in the early afternoon. When they are broadcast, nary a sound is heard or a ... read more ››

To be occupied…

A picture, it is often said, is worth a thousand words. It seems a logo can achieve the same thing. The logo represents an actual logo of the Quebec government. One can at least respect them for coming out of the closet. Last year, the Charest government announced that they ... read more ››