Volume 17, Issue 6

Diabetes hitting Aboriginal women harder

According to a new long-term study conducted by the University of Saskatchewan, diabetes is hitting Aboriginal women harder than was originally thought. Though it has been documented in recent years that Aboriginal Canadians had the highest diabetes rates of anyone in the country, the new study points at how the incidence ... read more ››

Dig and run

When, early last December, Dr. Isabelle Gingras and 19 other specialists and general practitioners who work at the Sept-Îles Hospital Centre threatened to quit en masse over a proposed uranium mine near the North Shore city, the province’s political, media and medical establishment were indignant. They’re holding the population of Sept-Îles ... read more ››

Higher Learning

With the resources available for Crees to pursue training or post-secondary education, there is no time like to present to invest in one’s education. From the business world to careers in health, tourism or child care, employment opportunities abound for the Crees, particularly when it comes to skilled workers possessing certificates ... read more ››

Hunting Violations?

Five Cree hunters from Chisasibi were fined approximately $300 by the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) for offences under a Municipality of James Bay (MBJ) bylaw regarding “peace and good order” in December 2009 and early January. This new bylaw restricts the use of firearms within two kilometers of an airport and ... read more ››

Inspiration from a Holy Land

A delegation of 36 people from Northern Quebec boarded an Air France flight last November 20 for a historic educational tour of Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, and a bonus visit to Paris on the returning flight home. The trip was organized by Reverend Enoch Hall, who is the minister ... read more ››

Islands in question

The fate of offshore islands near the Wemindji portion of the James Bay coast will finally be voted on this coming March. Though the Crees and the Inuit came to an agreement with the federal government on jurisdiction over the territory last year, the deal has yet to be ratified in ... read more ››

It’s a pandemic

It’s really quite amazing how Quebec was freaking out over diabetes a few years ago when the Quebec population hit a diabetes infection rate of 3 per cent. Quebec, the other provinces and the federal government had been quietly ignoring the diabetes pandemic for ages. The stopgap measures show their assistance ... read more ››

Looking Back At Lakitusaki

I received a card recently from mom and dad with a little memento.  It was a photo of a young boy with thick, oversized glasses and short, black flat hair looking back at the photographer.  As I peered into this young boys eyes I realized that I was looking back ... read more ››

Mistissini steps up for Haiti

Even in Mistissini, the earthquake that devastated Haiti January 12 struck close to home. Voyageur Memorial School principal Judith Michel hails from Haiti as do local nurse Peggy Solon and Roberto Vilmé, who works at the Cree School Board head office. All three are still waiting for news about immediate ... read more ››

Mohawk girl sings at Bruins-Senators game

Eleven-year-old Kwahara:ni Jacobs of Kahnawake took her first step along what could be the road to stardom January 19 when she belted out the U.S. national anthem at the Senators-Bruins game at TD Gardens in Boston. According to the girl’s mother, Layne Myiow, Kwahara:ni has had a great deal of time ... read more ››

Oh where has my little dog gone?

What’s furry, likes to lick anything, has claws and is really faithful? Of course it’s man’s best friend, the dog. Why do dogs merit page four of this fabulous magazine, one may ask? Because something mysterious is afoot (I really mean apaw) in some communities in the north, something so ... read more ››

Ontario demotes Native affairs ministry

First Nations leaders in Ontario have slammed the provincial government for apparently demoting Aboriginal issues in a recent cabinet shuffle. Last week, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty took the Aboriginal Affairs Ministry away from its dedicated minister, Brad Duguid, and placed it under the power of a minister already fully occupied with ... read more ››

Selling the Plan Nord to the Crees

Natural Resources Minister Nathalie Normandeau brought a clear-cut message to Mistissini January 11: billions of dollars of heavy industrial development is coming to Eeyou Istchee. Left unsaid but certainly understood was that the Crees can either jump on board or get out of the way, but either way the environment ... read more ››

The highs and lows of the Val d'Or hockey and broomball tournament

I wish to share my appreciation of the 29th Annual C.R.E.E. Senior Hockey and Broomball Tournament held in Val d’Or December 10-13 and, at the same time, add some of my criticisms, hoping they will be received in a constructive way. First, I want to say that my husband and I ... read more ››