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Established in 1983 to serve the needs of northern Alberta, Windspeaker became a national newspaper on its 10th anniversary in 1993.
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"Since I have been incarcerated," wrote an Aboriginal inmate in a letter to Wawatay News in November 1997, "I participated in sacred ceremonies such as the sweatlodge, which is a very meaningful experience for me. I felt the healing power of this ceremony which left a great impression in my life, and I am determined to further my knowledge of Native heritage and culture once I…
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Dr. Cora J. Voyageur, a member of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., is undertaking a unique sociology research project at the University of Calgary.
Her study, First Nation Women and the Traditional Leadership Role, will involve interviewing female chiefs across Canada to find out how they think they're doing in what she says has been viewed as a…
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The Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel came to this city Oct. 27 and 28 to get public input into the effectiveness of the 22-year-old act. The panel conducted a roundtable for non-governmental organizations based on a consultation paper the Canadian Human Rights Commission released in July. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Anne McLellan announced the…
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The Mohawk Council of Kahnawake caused a few flutters in Ottawa and Quebec City in early November when Chief Davis Rice announced his community wants to exercise its sovereignty by creating the equivalent of an Antigua on the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Chief Davis Rice told reporters his council intended to become a presence in the world of off-shore international banking by…
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The adage of "first come, first served" seems to be taken literally by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. Only days before federal Finance Minister Paul Martin announced the federal government was projecting a multi-billion dollar surplus over the next decade, the Manitoba chiefs were in line to unveil a proposal for the federal and provincial governments to spend $3 billion over…
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The attitude and mind set of the present-day Euro-Canadians toward the Marshall decision only re-enforces the much older colonizer mind-set that brought genocide to many Indian people. The belief that "white is right" or somehow superior was presented more than 500 years ago to our ancestors by the Euro-Canadians, and things haven't changed much since then. It is a mind-set the…
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On the first true day of winter with temperatures that bottomed out at minus 3C, more than 100 people celebrated Louis Riel Day at the Provincial legislative buildings in Toronto. Métis citizens from across the homeland, including Métis Nation of Ontario (MNO)senators and Aboriginal youth, congregated in front of the government buildings, then marched, holding the MNO's…
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Justice Minister Anne McLellan released a report on Oct. 12 that concludes Canadian authorities followed proper procedure in the extradition of Leonard Peltier.
Peltier, an American Indian Movement member who was charged in the 1976 shooting of two FBI agents on the reservation at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, fled to Canada to escape prosecution. It has long been believed…
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Release from prison comes with conditions, but when convicted pedophile Arthur Henry Plint came before the National Parole Board, he had conditions of his own.
"I don't want to be released for another 45 days," Plint told the two-person panel. "I want to spend Christmas and my birthday here before I have to leave."
Plint was convicted on 36 counts of indecent…
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The president of the National Aboriginal Veterans Association (NAVA) says the group is poised to publicly sever all association with the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards Foundation (NAAF) after repeated attempts by the group to actively participate in the Aboriginal Veterans Scholarship Trust Fund were rebuffed by foundation founder and chairman John Kim Bell.
"He…
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Dear Editor:
The current dispute between the British Columbia government and the Native Indians over the logging of "Crown land" will probably end up in the courts. The first thing that the B.C. government will have to do is prove that it has the title to the "Crown land." This could be very difficult to prove, if not impossible.
Did the provincial government…
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Dear Editor:
Re: Windspeaker column by Taiaiake Alfred entitled "Playing the white man's game."
Irresponsible and cynical are words to describe Taiaiake's opinion about voting in provincial, federal, municipal or band elections.
The act of voting is a practical reality. In reality, MLAs, MPs and city and band councils make huge decisions that directly affect…
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Dear Editor:
I am writing this in response to the recent negative coverage of the Native Youth Movement in some local news reports. I feel it is time that the people of Penticton realize that wrong was done to the Native people 125 years ago and it still has a fierce effect on the Native people of today.
The Native Youth Movement Security Force has evolved for…
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Dear Editor:
Re: Lebret Junior Hockey, sports section, November 1999 issue.
I wish to offer a statement of correction in regards to the past history of the Saskatoon Rage as it relates to the Beardy's & Okemasis First Nation. In your story, you state that the Beardy's & Okemasis First Nation purchased the former Minot Top Guns in 1997. This is not the case.…
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Dear Editor:
Re: Native Suicide
Recently, Canadian media widely reported the suicide death of a 15-year-old Inuit male. Media reported the desolate social conditions experienced by Inuit teenagers and of the psychologically-constrained environment the Inuit are forced to live within.
The abnormally high rate of suicide by Inuit teens was attributed to the…