Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.
Established in 1983 to serve the needs of northern Alberta, Windspeaker became a national newspaper on its 10th anniversary in 1993.
The Ottawa Citizen reports that Olivier De Schutter, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, is telling Canada that it needs “to drop its ‘self-righteous’ attitude’” and start dealing with the issue of food insecurity. De Schutter took 11 days to uncover Canada’s dirty little secret, journeying to the county’s poor urban areas and remote Aboriginal communities. He said…
The Globe and mail has been musing about the competition Shawn A-in-chut Atleo might face in the upcoming election contest being held by the Assembly of First Nations in July in Toronto. Atleo announced May 24 that he will be seeking re-election to the top post, but the paper concludes the national chief may not face any contenders. But that may not be the case. Popular blogger and scholar Pam…
The Toronto Star has obtained monthly intelligence reports from Aboriginal policing that show the RCMP has been monitoring individuals and groups, including the Yinka Dene Alliance, that have been critical of Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Project. RCMP used “open source” information from social media to watch over “radical groups” (so labeled by Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver) warning of…
Ontario's Anishnabek Nation won’t wait for the federal government to improve education for its students. They are working on their own plan, which would include setting an education ministry with its own curriculum. The Anishinabek Nation represents 39 nations throughout the province. The plan would include setting up their own education ministry, with its own curriculum. “We have been…
Halfway River, Doig River, West Moberly and Prophet River First Nations, collectively known as Treaty 8 nations, have received confirmation that the proposed changes to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA), and the Fisheries Act, which are scheduled to come into force this summer, would apply to the proposed Site C power project on the Peace River. On May 9, the nations expressed…
Three Ojibwe teenagers from Sagkeeng First Nation... took top honors in Canada’s Got Talent in its debut season. Brandon and Dallas Courchene , who are brothers, and Vincent O’Laney were crowned the winners on May 14. Their act comprised of traditional dancing, tap, clogging and hip-hop. They called themselves Sagkeeng’s Finest, and come from a reserve near Fort Alexander, Man. The three are…
THE URBANE INDIAN
Once more, for the fourteenth time, I heard the call and I answered.
Germany, that far away land of schnitzel, white asparagus, and Indian enthusiasts, beckoned, and who was I to say no to any of those intriguing possibilities.
That is why I found myself in Jena (about an hour outside of Berlin), at a conference called FAKE IDENTITIES: Imposters, Conmen,…
Unless the Harper government comes up with more funding, the downsizing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission will be felt by Indian residential school survivors.
“We’re going to have less staff and just the same amount of work we’re going to have to do. I’m concerned it will impact survivors,” said Kimberly Murray, executive director with the TRC. “There are high expectations in…
Robert Doucette is confident that Metis Nation-Saskatchewan members will push their regional representatives hard enough to ensure that an overdue election for a new executive will take place.
“I believe that we will have quorum at the Métis Nation Legislative Assembly (MNLA) because Métis citizens want an election. I believe enough people have been telling their leaders to come to this…
As residential school survivors represented by a Calgary law firm wait for a judge’s decision, Chief Adjudicator Daniel Ish is trying to put their minds at ease.
“They shouldn’t be panicking …there’s a number of well-meaning parties overseeing this to make sure the right thing gets done,” he said.
A five-and-a-half-day hearing concluded May 11 with BC Supreme Court Justice Brenda…
A small camp called the Oshkimaadziig Unity Camp has been set up in Awenda Provincial Park at the site of an historical counsel rock.
The organizers of the camp are from communities involved in the Coldwater-Narrows Land Claim Settlement Agreement.
The settlement is reported to be the largest settlement offer in Canadian history at $307 million. Communities involved include Rama…
Influencing the world of scholarship
Book Review:
Finding A Way to the Heart: Feminist Writings on Aboriginal and Women’s History in Canada
University of Manitoba Press 2012
Edited by Robin Jarvis Brownlie and Valerie J. Korinek
Reviewed By Christine McFarlane
“Finding a Way to the Heart: Feminist Writings on Aboriginal and Women’s History in Canada” is…
Spencer waits
Aboriginal boxer Mary Spencer has long been considered a gold-medal favourite for Canada when women’s boxing makes its Olympic debut in London this summer. But a shocking first-round loss at this year’s world championships on May 14 in China has left Spencer wondering whether she will even get to participate in the London Olympics.
Spencer, a three-…
Sara Morrison was disappointed a new rule prevented her from participating in this year’s National Aboriginal Hockey Championships (NAHC).
Morrison, however, was still able to win a gold medal at the national tournament, which was staged May 7 to May 12 in Saskatoon.
Morrison was originally hoping to play for the Quebec-based Eastern Door and the North (EDN) squad at the national…
Angela Analok has seen first-hand the challenges of the north when it comes to access to nutritious, affordable food. Her dad’s family is from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut and two years ago she spent time there meeting family for the first time, familiarizing herself with the terrain, and immersing herself in the culture.
She grew up in the lower mainland of British Columbia so it came as a…