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.
A pair of Aboriginal fastball teams that had some close finishes in recent years were finally able to get over the hump and celebrate national championships.
The Kinbasket Development Corporation (KDC) Braves from Invermere, B.C. won the men’s title at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships, which concluded Aug. 1 in Winnipeg.
And Regina-based Aboriginal Memorial Incorporated…
Artist—Damien Cheecham
Song—It's Just a Dream
Album—Damien Cheecham (2010)
Label—Independent
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Perhaps Damien Cheecham approaches his music writing with this philosophy as his self-titled album release is chock full of songs that all work just fine and make for enjoyable listening from beginning to end. Some music styles never die in Indian…
Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
J.R.: Honesty. Usually people that are honest carry a healthy self esteem as well. It’s a two for one.
W: What is it that really makes you mad?
J.R.: When people defeat themselves. It’s sad when I come witness to a person who stops themselves before they even get started in perusing their dreams and goals. Excuses…
DEAR AUNTIE
Dear Auntie:
The deadline for the Common Experience Payment is almost here. For the past year I’ve been trying to get my dad to apply. He spent a lot of time in residential school, and he should get the money that is owing to him. But he refuses to take part. He said he doesn’t want anything to do with it, and he won’t talk about that time of his life. He just waves…
THE URBANE INDIAN
Drew Hayden Taylor
Being an Elder is not easy. Not that I know personally, but I’ve heard rumors. It’s both a vocation and a dedication. It’s a position that requires you to be smart. You also have to be empathic. A good sense of humor also helps, as well as excellent communication skills.
These are the differences between somebody who is an Elder,…
Nearly two months after the shooting death of a child in a First Nations reserve at Hobbema, Alta., band leaders, community members, local RCMP and the province are working together to bring an end to the epidemic of gang violence that has rocked the community.
“Our task is to create a safer community and to reduce gang violence,” said Samson Cree band councillor and spokesperson Koren…
Internationally-acclaimed director Robert Lepage chose to stage his 2011 production of William Shakespeare’s classic play The Tempest this July at the outdoor amphitheatre in charming Wendake, home of the Huron-Wendat nation.
Lepage is a world-class playwright, actor, and film and stage director, one of Canada’s most honored theatre artists, whose work includes producing Richard Wagner’…
A recent international conference in Winnipeg accused police forces across Canada of continuing racism against Indigenous people.
Native people are more often killed or abused by police officers than are others in Canada, presenters said, but police actions are more often than not chalked up to ‘bad apples’ on the force instead of symptoms of systemic problems within police ranks.
…A DECISION ON AUG. 18 BY THE
Ontario Superior Court of Justice upholds the treaty rights of First Nation citizens in Grassy Narrows First Nation. Keewatin v. MNR determined that the province does not have jurisdiction to interfere with the First Nations’ inherent right to their land and that any negotiations with the nation are a federal responsibility, said the Chiefs…
Ontario wants to improve its child welfare services for Aboriginal children. So, the Ontario Ministry of Children and Youth Services hired former Anishinabek Nation Grand Council John Beaucage as Aboriginal advisor to the minister of children and youth.
In his capacity as advisor, Beaucage wrote a report on Aboriginal child welfare in the province.
Beaucage said that through his…
The Dene Nation has grown by one with the inclusion of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation of Fort Chipewyan, Alta.
Dene National Chief Bill Erasmus said the addition is in keeping with what was once before. He said Athabasca Chipewyan was a part of the Dene Nation before borders were drawn in 1905 dividing Alberta and the Northwest Territories. He also noted that many members of the…
A ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada underscores that the Métis are a people with a distinct identity and culture. And, insists Jason Madden, legal counsel for the Métis National Council (MNC), “the Metis have the right to decide who they are themselves and to make those distinctions and to exclude individuals who are registered as Indians.”
The Cunningham v. Alberta case went before…
A recent federal judge’s decision is a welcomed step in the fight to protect the woodland caribou and First Nation rights in northeastern Alberta.
At the crux of the matter is the lack of action since 2007 under the Species at Risk Act when the woodland caribou became listed as a threatened species.
The federal minister of environment was required at that time to prepare a…
ON AUG. 30 A COURT SAID THE
suspension of Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Grand Chief Guy Lonechild was unlawful and the non-confidence vote the organization had planned for Sept. 1 could not go ahead. Lonechild had been under siege since a conviction in March on drunk driving charges. Complaints came from some chiefs in the FSIN that Lonechild failed to…
Well, in case you missed it, the table is being set for a leadership challenge at the Assembly of First Nations. It was evident at this summer’s chiefs gathering in New Brunswick, with all the fine speeches being made by a certain ‘also ran,’ who we suspect will take another stab at securing the top post of the chiefs’ organization next July, and now we’ve seen the first very public shot…