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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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National Chief Matthew Coon Come made three statements at the Assembly of First Nations annual general assembly that set out some parameters for the future:
1. The rule of law recognizes Aboriginal rights and title - the Delgamuukw Supreme Court decision.
2. Businesses wanting to extract wealth from First Nation traditional lands will have to do business with those…
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In a magazine (that shall remain nameless) specializing in new ways of looking at life, there was an ad for a spiritual development workshop called Cry for A Vision.
"Join us for four and a half days on the land as we traverse the shadow and retrieve the light. Ceremonies and teachings are based on ancient shamanic wheels and keys. Set your intent for the coming year and…
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Senator Thelma Chalifoux is concerned that Metis-specific programs are being unfairly shut down and she plans to address the federal Liberal Party's national caucus on the issue.
Chalifoux, who is the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Aboriginal People, personally involved herself when she heard that the Prince George Awasisak Cultural Development Program in British…
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While newly-elected Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come travels across the country and beyond in the early days of his mandate, a six-member transition team is at work in Ottawa re-vamping the structure of the national First Nations political organization.
In his first month in office, Coon Come made stops in Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Northwest…
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An award-winning documentary telling the story of four Lakota families living on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South Dakota will be shown on PBS in November.
"Homeland" is a one-hour documentary which follows the families through three years of their lives as they try to overcome the challenges inherent in reservation life. On Pine Ridge, homelessness is at 30 per…
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Art Zoccole, a long time activist and leader in the Aboriginal HIV/AIDS movement, has been appointed as executive director of the Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network.
Zoccole has worked with HIV/AIDS organizations since 1993, and has been involved in several Aboriginal AIDS organizations, including Toronto-based 2-Spirited People of the First Nations, Healing Our Spirit B.C…
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A new program has been launched to bring culturally-relevant science education programs to Aboriginal communities across the country.
Actua, a national, non-profit organization that offers science programs, has received $50,000 from Shell Canada to offer the Shell Aboriginal Outreach Program. With the funds, Actua will look at what is already up and running and working…
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What's a school library without any books?
Phil Cesario and his co-workers at P.M. Associates Ltd. considered the dilemma of the new Sakastew School on Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, and came up with an answer: send the school nine crates of used books, and $3,000 worth of new ones.
P.M. Associates Ltd. is the Winnipeg project management company that oversaw the…
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For the first time in a 27 year history, the Native Theatre School (NTS) left its Toronto operations to establish a permanent summer program in the West.
The four-week program, dubbed a 'summer intensive' by artistic director Carol Greyeyes, was not only a resounding success. It has fulfilled the original mandate of Cree founder James Buller, who envisioned a truly…
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Eight Aboriginal students from across the country have been recognized by Xerox Canada, receiving scholarships through the company's Aboriginal Scholarship program. This year's winners were announced Sept. 12 at a press conference held at the provincial museum in Edmonton.
The scholarships, established in 1994, provide financial support for Aboriginal students enrolled in…
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Sixty-thousand people from 120 different communities took to the streets Sunday, Sept. 24, taking part in AIDS Walk Canada 2000.
For the first time since the annual walk was begun in 1995, this year's event included participating communities from all provinces and territories. Included among them were several Aboriginal communities.
Twenty-one Inuit communities…
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Right now in Canada, there are four Aboriginal people waiting to find compatible donors to provide them with bone marrow for a much needed transplant. One of them is Robert L'Hirondelle.
Robert is seven years old, and was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia four years ago. After undergoing two-and-a-half years of chemotherapy, Robert's cancer went into remission.…
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Aboriginal entrepreneur and business woman Leslie Loukianow is sharing her success story, taking part in a project designed to show young girls that opportunities exist for women to have careers in science and technology.
Loukianow's story is part of Against the Odds, a video highlighting the achievements of three Canadian women from diverse cultures and backgrounds who…
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James Welch, the Blackfeet-Gros Ventre author of Fools Crow, Winter in the Blood and Killing Custer, has once again produced a richly textured novel with vivid locales, nuanced characters and a fast-paced narrative. Like any good novelist, the Montana-based Welch uses the story of one man to illustrate the story of an entire society, in this case, a society undergoing massive…
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There is a lot to be found between the covers of Norman Hallendy's book, Inuksuit-Silent Messengers of the North, not the least of which are Hallendy's breathtaking photos of dozens of inuksuit, impressive stone constructs standing against the stark, beautiful backdrop of the Canadian Arctic.
Hallendy's biography describes him as an Arctic researcher, writer, photographer…