Volume 21, Issue 23

Artwork you can bank on: Tim Whiskeychan designs artwork for new $5 coin

Tim Whiskeychan has been celebrating traditional Cree culture through his art for years, but one of his recent pieces is guaranteed to be collector’s item. One of the Waskaganish artist’s designs has been selected to appear on $5 silver coins produced by the Royal Canadian Mint (RCM). The coin is the ... read more ››

Breaking the cycle of increasing STI rates

The Cree Health Board reports that the rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea among Cree youth aged 15-25 are seven and 11 times higher than that of the general population in the province According to Patrice Larivée, a Nurse Counselor on Sexual Health for the Cree Board of Health and Social Services ... read more ››

Getting ready for winter

The forest surrounding the lake near my cottage is dense with pine, birch and poplar trees. There are many kinds of brush, blueberry plants, mushrooms and plentiful wildlife. There’s lots of activity on the banks of the lake in September. I am also getting ready for the cold weather. I’m building ... read more ››

Inside the Grand Council's first nation-to-nation meeting with the new Quebec premier

When the provincial government switched from the Parti Québécois to the Quebec Liberal Party last April as Premier Philippe Couillard took over the helm, it gave the Cree the chance to put new issues on the table and form new partnerships. The Grand Chief greets Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard On September 3, ... read more ››

Jet set rez

Greetings from London! (UK please and thank you!) I’m actually en route for Paris as I write this; call me International Josh. I don’t know about you but I love to travel. I have never been to London and at 36, I regret not coming here earlier. There’s something about London ... read more ››

Kepa crash

A Kepa Transport truck heading southbound on the Laurentien Autoroute slammed into the pillar of an overpass early Monday morning on September 8 just outside of Saint-Jérôme. The driver reportedly suffered slight injuries. The truck, carrying particleboard, was traveling from Val-d’Or to Montreal when it ran off the highway and into the ... read more ››

Mistissini Derby Results

Anglers from across the province were shoving off on Lake Mistissini August 22-24 for the community’s 17th Annual Fishing Derby. The three-day event drew in over 325 participants from the Cree Nation and elsewhere. The top prize, a brand new Kingfisher boat, went to Gino Rivard from Chapais. Rivard placed ... read more ››

New community TV program profiles urban Aboriginals in Montreal

A new public access TV program will showcase Montreal Indigenous peoples and services offered to help them survive in the city. Beginning this September, Indigenous Power will be hosted by Nakuset, the Executive Director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM). Part of a Bell initiative to create community television, ... read more ››

New school opens in Attawapiskat

Attawapiskat elementary school students will attend a modern, brick-and-mortar school this year – something they haven’t done for more than a decade. The new Kattawapiskak Elementary School will include 16 regular classrooms, five nursery and kindergarten classrooms, and three special-needs classrooms. It will also include a classroom dedicated to teaching Cree ... read more ››

Public hearings on uranium development begin in Mistissini

Hearing the Cree legend of the giant skunk and the wolverine, many listeners might think the story is really about its conclusions: “and that’s why skunks are so small today,” or “that’s why James Bay has salt water.” But really, the story is about context. On September 4, the Bureau ... read more ››

Roundtable focus shifts to planning the Cree future after enormous consultation ends

Nian Matoush with David Suzuki and Adult Education teachers. Now that the Roundtable on Capacity Building has finished touring nine Cree communities, involving wide swaths of Cree society and receiving thousands of comments and suggestions on how to make the Eeyou Istchee better for its people, the question is, what happens ... read more ››

Strongman Hugo Girard hoists healthy living in Nemaska

The Cree Nation of Nemaska may have the smallest population in Eeyou Istchee, but if Hugo Girard has his way, it will be home to the biggest biceps of the North. Girard, known for winning numerous international strongman competitions – including the title of “North America’s Strongest Man” in 2001 and ... read more ››

This land is our land

I recently read yet another editorial in a national paper calling for a change to Aboriginal communities’ land rights – for their own good. The Conservative government has made a number of legislative moves in this direction, such as the First Nations Governance Act. Now some are lobbying the federal ... read more ››

William Phillip Shecapio and La Groupe Swiftrans address CSB bussing controversy

Bernard Caouette says he wants to set the record straight about the school bussing contract controversy that has shaken the Cree School Board. “One thing we got from the demonstration [at the Annual General Assembly] was that there was a lot of disinformation that came from somewhere,” he told the Nation ... read more ››