Volume 20, Issue 24

Conservatives ignore violence against Aboriginal women

Aboriginal people across Canada are in an uproar over the federal government’s recent decision to dismiss recommendations from the United Nations to develop a comprehensive national review to end violence against Aboriginal women. The recommendations were suggested after the UN conducted its periodic review of Canada’s human rights record, which happens ... read more ››

Cree leaders and Jamesien mayors start organizing new regional government

Bill Namagoose The first meeting of the Governance Implementation Committee for a New Regional Government September 19 was history in the making. Mandated by the Agreement on Governance in Eeyou Istchee James Bay Territory, the committee is responsible for ensuring the regional government is operational by January 1, 2014, and makes a ... read more ››

CWEIA assembly focuses on ending violence & aggression

The Cree Women of Eeyou Istchee Association held their sixth Annual General Assembly in Mistissini September 20-22. The event made an important step by involving men in the struggle to stop violence against women. Led by Wayne Rabbitskin, a group of Cree male Nishiiyuu walkers made their way from Chisasibi to ... read more ››

Debate over the Charter of Quebec Values heats up

Everywhere you go, you are bound to encounter people going head-to-head or seeing eye-to-eye on the PQ government’s proposed Charter of Quebec Values. The debate between those for and against it is causing a firestorm the likes of which Quebecers have not been seen since the 1995 referendum debate. The PQ ... read more ››

Eastmain honours its partners at annual golf tourney

Chief Edward Gilpin said Eastmain “wanted to show its appreciation to people who contributed, through the years, to the development of the community.” It did so by inviting people to Mont-Tremblant for a round of golf and a gala on September 12. The sombre clouds and rain early in the day ... read more ››

Grand Chief Coon Come visits southern Africa

The opportunity to share Indigenous values and histories arose when a chiefdom in Zambia, looking to improve the living conditions of its people, enlisted the help of Eeyou Istchee’s Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come. At the invitation of Zambian Chief Munokayla Mukuni, Coon Come travelled to Livingstone, Zambia and attended the ... read more ››

Grassroots organizations to build database on missing and murdered women

Boldly going where the federal government cowardly refuses to visit, two grassroots organizations intend to build their own database of missing and murdered Aboriginal women in Canada. The groups – Families of Sisters in Spirit and No More Silence – decided to create an information resource independent of government funding and ... read more ››

Harvest Moon

Neil Young’s classic song Harvest Moon plays on the local radio, wafting through the halls and rooms of most homes, their doors wide open to welcome the warmth of a late fall season that most people call Indian Summer. This usually happens after September 21, when the day and night ... read more ››

International Embarrassment

The son of a soldier, I grew up as an army brat on several Canadian Forces bases. In my teens at CFB Petawawa, I knew many of the soldiers who went to Cyprus, where some 29,000 Canadians served between 1964 and 1993 as part of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping ... read more ››

McGill University holds annual powwow

The sun was out in full force on September 20 beating down on McGill University. It was a perfect day for McGill’s 12th Annual Powwow on the lower campus fields giving students and passersby a chance to experience First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultures. Young and old alike participated in the ... read more ››

Montreal’s Comiccon 2013 is all about being your hero

In past incarnations it may have appeared as a marginal convention for comic-book nerds, but now the annual Comiccon exhibition is a mainstream cultural event, drawing major celebrities to promote the latest comic-related games, films, costumes and literature. This year, there was an inexhaustible choice of fan experiences available, from celebrity ... read more ››

Quebec in question: Scholars attack province’s colonial history

“When we first talked about this event,” said scholar David Austin, addressing an over-capacity crowd at Montreal’s Concordia University, “it was, at least to my mind, going to be a small discussion. I think we can thank Madame Pauline Marois for the fabulous turnout.” If ever there was a fruitful time ... read more ››

Trees: a life giving resource

I love wood or mistik. I must be part beaver or amisk because I am always wrapped up in projects where wood is the main ingredient. Trees, of course, are an enormous contributor to our life on this planet and my people have great respect for these tough and often towering ... read more ››