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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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Aboriginal leaders who worry the British Columbia treaty process is on shaky ground because of the NDP's woes got a harrowing new scenario to fret about over the summer.
It came in the form of the election readiness activities of the provincial Liberal party.
Widely seen as the government-in-waiting that will eventually replace the NDP in Victoria, the Liberals are…
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Heart of the Earth , a 13-part, half-hour television series that focuses on the diverse cultures of northern Saskatchewan, will be available for viewing in October. The series is expected to be aired both on Saskatchewan's Communications Network and on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. It will explore the people of northern Saskatchewan's ongoing relationship with the…
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Those who made it to the Forks had a great time at the Sept. 1 launch of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network - until the fireworks were set off.
Close to 6,000 people gathered in the Forks - a national historic site where the Red River meets the Assinaboine River in the downtown heart of the Manitoba capital - and watched an entertaining three-hour live stage show.…
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The Native Council of Canada in Alberta hosted a conference Sept. 11 to deal with problems resulting from the delay by First Nations and the federal government in implementing Bill C-31. About 60 delegates directly affected by the 1985 Indian Act amendments attended.
Doris Ronnenberg, president of the council, addressed the assembly regarding the group's 12-year battle to…
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The Ontario Trillium Foundation awards $20,000 each year to five "Caring Communities." These awards go to communities whose imagination and collaboration have led to specific and long-lasting achievements, especially in the face of limited resources and difficult situations. The Rainy River First Nations, in secluded northwestern Ontario, is one of these exemplary communities.…
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The Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans' Association is hoping to use its legal action against the government of Canada as a rallying point for First Nations veterans all across the country.
That was the intent of Keeping Our Strength, a three-day conference held in Winnipeg from Aug. 25 to 27.
Representatives from veterans' associations in Nova Scotia, the Yukon…
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The ceremonial reunification of the Huron Wendat confederacy in Sainte-Marie Park on Aug. 28 was in preparation for the highlight of a three-day homecoming reunion - a Feast of the Dead.
The descendants of the confederacy returned to the land known as Huronia from as far away as Alaska, Virginia, California, Michigan and Quebec. It was the first reunion of the Huron Wendat…
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When hundreds of descendants of the Huron Wendat confederacy gathered in Midland, Ont., it was for a homecoming that was three-and-a-half centuries in the making.
They reunited in their ancestral homeland on the southern shores of Georgian Bay on Aug. 28 after an absence of 350 years.
They came from far and wide, but from the moment they put their paddles in the…
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I'm sure this is a problem that exists everywhere in Canada, but because of my current geographical habitation, I can only speak on a local level.
Toronto is a very large and prosperous city, the largest in Canada in fact. And I've always prided myself on telling people from across Canada and around the world how metropolitan Toronto is and the fact that if you need…
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The influence that Hollywood has on teenagers is overwhelming to a point where people are fighting over Star Wars tickets, talking like Austin Powers and killing every good song that comes out of a soundtrack. The summer of 1999 was one season packed with blockbusters starring the best actors in Hollywood. This of course was the time when big movie promoters made the most loot…
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Dear Editor:
An unnatural, cold, ruthlessness is entering the innermost parts of Canadian hearts as they reveal a deep reluctance to show compassion in order to save the lives of the Chinese boat people caught at sea while they were being smuggled into British Columbia. Certain imprisonment or death awaits them in Communist China if they are sent back.
How can…
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Where I come from, voting in the white man's elections is taboo; only four people from Kahnawa:ke voted in the last federal election (and word is that they were non-Indians living on the reserve). The reason for this taboo is clear: as Iroquois people, we do not participate in the white man's government system because we are Rotinohshonni, not Canadian. But I have noticed a…
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Followers of the evolution of Aboriginal law noticed four highly significant words in an Ontario Superior Court decision handed down in late August.
Justice Romaine Pitt wrote in the Mushkegowuk decision that there's no doubt Aboriginal governments make up a "third order of government" in the Canadian governance system. Pitt cited the Coon Come decision (handed down in…
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After two days of grueling testimony in a Victoria courtroom, Art Thompson made an out-of-court settlement with lawyers representing former employees of the Alberni Indian Residential School (AIRS).
During the two days of testimony, the noted Nuu-chah-nulth artist described how he was "physically, sexually, and culturally assaulted" while a student at the notorious…
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Chiefs from 30 First Nations across southern Saskatchewan and southeastern Manitoba took a little more home from the Treaty 4 gathering than the traditional $5 bill, a handshake from a Mountie and a commemorative medallion.
They took home a plaque and a little piece of history. They signed an agreement-in-principle for Aboriginal self government, using Treaty 4 as a basis…