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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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The Burnt Church First Nation is going up against the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), exercising what it sees as its treaty right by issuing band fishing licences and drafting its own fishery act and management plan.
James Ward is a member of the Burnt Church First Nation and has worked to develop the policies under which the band plans to run and regulate its…
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After 11 years of preparation, a case brought by the Samson and Ermineskin bands against the federal government opened in Federal Court in Calgary April 28. The bands are accusing the federal government of financial mismanagement of their money, including royalties paid on oil and gas extracted from reserve lands. Dating back some 50 years, the total damages being sought by the…
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Dear Editor:
When President Clinton told a group of Native Americans last March that they "got a bad deal," I wonder if he was including Leonard Peltier, a Native American unjustly incarcerated for the last 24 years. President Clinton, who in recent months visited two Indian reservations, has for years been the focus of a campaign to free Peltier. As President Clinton's…
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In this life, we sometimes come across many different things in our experiences that annoy us all to hell. I humbly offer up these incidents and occurrences as examples of the inconsiderate nature of reality-as they pertain to yours truly, for what its worth (like anybody cares).
1. I hate it when people do not signal when they change lanes, both on the highway and in the…
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The cover story in Time Magazine this past month focused on what it termed the "struggle over Native rights." My interest was piqued, but I didn't expect much, because I know Time caters to those simple-minded and white-of-shoe Canadians who can't understand things that are too complicated. I wasn't disappointed in my low expectations.
The Time story turned out to be a…
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As the dignitaries gathered to mark the beginning of the Nisga'a adventure in self governance on May 11, the federal Indian Affairs minister "welcomed" the Nisga'a people "to the Canadian family."
Politics, of course, kept him from saying, "Welcome to the family of self governing nations," even though that was the goal the Nisga'a people set out to achieve more than a…
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The Stoney tribal administration for the Bearspaw, Chiniki and Wesley bands has been chafing under a third-party management system imposed on them by the Department of Indian Affairs in 1997 because of a financial deficit ($5.6 million against total revenues of $50 million) and concern about the provision of basic services to tribal members. Now that the Stoneys are showing a…
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No editorials or columns were written about it in national mainstream newspapers.
There were no political or public affairs talk shows that took up the question or looked for an explanation.
There was nothing - nothing but silence.
When Cheryl Soucy launched a heated attack on Marji Pratt-Turo in front of the Saskatoon provincial court building on May 3, the…
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Thundering applause momentarily drowned out Nisga'a president Joe Gosnell as he told hundreds of celebrants gathered in Gitwinksihlkw that their hard-won treaty has now taken effect, ending more than a century under the Indian Act.
"We are no longer wards of the state; we are no longer wards of the government," Gosnell said, pausing to be heard over the crowd's approval.…
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Charges laid against six Metis men under the province's Wildlife Act were dismissed on April 28 when provincial court Judge Don Waurynchuk ruled the men were exercising their Aboriginal right to hunt.
Dan LaFrance, John Grant Howse, Leonel Courchaine, Frederick Laboucane, Ronald Monsen and John Pratt expect the province to appeal the case, but they were delighted by the…
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A few months ago, I got a stranger than usual telephone call at my office in Victoria. My usual friendly Mohawk "Kwe Kwe!" greeting was met on the other end of the line with a few seconds of silence, and then some muffled grunts and a bunch of funny clicking noises. I always chalk this kind of thing up to another old white guy from the Reform Party (sorry, I mean the CRAParty)…
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A poignant moment at the Indigenous Bar Association's annual meeting in Edmonton on March 17:
Revered educator James sakej Henderson, the research director for the University of Saskatchewan's Native Law Centre - the beginning of the road for so many Aboriginal lawyers in this country - posed a question of University of Alberta law professor Dale Gibson.
'Would you…
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For centuries Aboriginal people have used art as an important tool in expressing identity. On Aug. 9, 1999, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development invited all new, emerging and professional artists of Aboriginal ancestry to submit their original artwork for the National Aboriginal Day poster competition. They received almost 200 submissions in the Celebrating…
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Troy Rupert knows life on the street is tough and usually leads to life behind bars.
He's been there. He got out of that world and now he makes his living by making it easier for others to get out of the trap of crime and punishment. His Winnipeg Native Alliance has been helping young Native people in that city since the early 1990s.
Rob Pappin, from the Enoch Cree…
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On May 20, 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a unanimous decision confirming the right of off reserve Indian band members to vote for chief and council. The Supreme Court suspended the implementation of this declaration for a period of 18 months. At this time the court gave all First Nations time to adjust to their new election rules and regulations and the government…