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.
Page 7
In Oklahoma and Arizona, direct attacks are being made upon the use and teaching of American (Indian) tongues and such languages as Spanish, while lobbying is taking place to amend the United States constitution to make English the only legal language for government purposes. Some argue that this campaign is a part of the anti-immigrant and anti-minority sentiment being…
Page 6
The Alliance Party was the first to play the race card. They did it as soon as they nailed down the central plank in their Aboriginal policy: "the rules must be the same for all." Treating people who are not the same as though they are and applying the same rules to people who are different results in discrimination. As Justice Murray Sinclair put it in the report of the Manitoba…
Page 6
There is a growing realization that sport and recreation plays an integral role in community development. Up until recently, we all knew that effective sport and recreation programming in communities was the answer to a whole range of social problems. Because we knew that, there was no need to pursue the matter any further. So let the sport and recreation professionals in the…
Page 5
Dear Editor:
As one of your white middle-class settler subscribers, I would like to tell you how much I appreciate your coverage of Saskatchewan news. I don't know how you handle letters to the editor, but I am so incensed about the recent release of Steven Kummerfield and the mainstream news coverage, I must put pen to paper.
Regarding Pamela George and the release…
Page 5
Dear Editor:
I have just received the October issue of Windspeaker, and I would have to say that, as a Canadian soldier presently serving overseas in Bosnia, I am appalled at the way the Canadian flag was treated in Vancouver. I am Plains Cree from Cowessess First Nations in Saskatchewan, and I have been proudly serving in the military for 22 years. While I do support the…
Page 5
Dear Editor:
I want to thank William G. Lindsay for his tribute to the memory of Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his legacy with respect to First Nations peoples. I also want to thank Windspeaker for carrying the full text of this moving and important commentary.
The content of Mr. Lindsay's tribute serves as a reminder of the negligent silences of many media outlets, but…
Page 2
Several Alberta bands have been fighting for the legal right to unlimited control of their membership lists. They argue it is a matter of self determination, though their critics accuse them of trying to keep others from sharing in the oil wealth the bands possess.
In the Corbiere case, however, the Alberta chiefs and the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations say…
Page 2
Alberta chiefs and National Chief Matthew Coon Come demanded more time, but the Supreme Court of Canada refused. The Corbiere decision went into effect on Nov. 20.
Earlier in the month, the Alberta chiefs held an emergency meeting to discuss the implications of the court's decision to extend voting rights to off-reserve residents, and made it clear they resented the…
Page 3
Serious accusations of incompetence or dishonesty were leveled at the board of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) when the acting provincial auditor submitted his report on Nov. 15.
Auditor Fred Wendel suspects that more than $2 million has been mis-spent by the board. Gaming Minister Doreen Hamilton responded to the audit by firing the 16-member board en…
Page 3
A Supreme Court of Canada decision handed down Nov. 9 in favor of non-Natives holding 99-year leases on 40 prime acres belonging to the Musqueam band will stall British Columbia treaty land negotiations and set back relations between Natives and non-Natives for years.
So says Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, who complains the court is…
Page 1
Aboriginal leaders in all parts of the country are using strong words to describe how they feel about the positions taken on Indian Affairs issues by Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day.
#Aboriginal issues were not in the spotlight for the first couple of weeks of the campaign, but remarks made by the Alliance leader in Kamloops, B.C. on Nov. 15 started a process that…
Page 4
With Remembrance Day just past, it is only fitting that we remember our soldiers who fought in the great wars. They went off nearly two million strong. Men and women from all parts of our wonderful country, a country we call Canada. Of these two million, thousands were Native people who joined the armed forces to fight in this foreign war in Europe and other places.
Many…
Page 4
The Canadian Alliance thinks it can ride ignorance, hate and resentment all the way to the top of the Canadian government structure.
We can't think of any other explanation for the positions the party takes on Aboriginal issues. They say they respect treaty and Aboriginal rights, then they say everybody's equal. Alberta Chief John Snow nailed it when he said that "equality…
Page 7
The members of the Burnt Church First Nation believe they have scored a victory in the battle for recognition of their treaty right to fish.
"I guess the victory, you could say, is we exercised our management plan from start to finish regardless of the amount of coercion or enforcement, if you will, by the federal government," said James Ward, a key figure for Burnt Church…
Page 3
Police officers from just across Canada attended a national policing conference in Regina from Oct. 12 to 15 that focused on improving relationships with Aboriginal people.
Called "Building One Fire," the conference focused on giving police officers a better understanding of the factors that frequently bring them into conflict with Native, Metis and Inuit people.
…