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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.
Even the stage crew behind the scenes at the Miss Indian World 2006 contest wanted Canada's Violet John to win. On April 28, at the Gathering of Nations Powwow held in Albequerque, New Mexico, she did.
"Backstage during the talent part of the pageant, they noticed how polite my mom, Rosa, and I were," recalled 21-year-old John. "We were really quiet-maybe just a little overwhelmed.…
Montreal's First Peoples' Festival 2006, organized by Land InSights/ Terre En Vues, will spotlight Aboriginal culture through an impressive variety of art exhibits, films and literary events. It will take place in two separate parts this year.
The festival will first hold its visual arts segment from May 25 to June 8 followed by the outdoor segment on June 21 to 25.
This year's…
See the spirit, the beauty of the song, the beat; it does something to you. . . in powwow the drum has always brought our people together. It brings unity to our people. . . where people are sitting together at the same drum, singing the same songs, being able to feel the same beat.
That drum is so vital, so very important to our people.
We try to look at balance in everything…
Powwow dances and the songs that accompany them reflect a long history that we have been celebrating since time began. Each dance portrays an activity that was significant in the life of early First Nations communities. While some are restricted to ceremonial and sacred occasions, many can be shared publicly. Some originate with the prairie tribes, while others are credited to other North…
The beautiful and brilliant dance outfits that are featured at powwows throughout North America have a very personal story to tell. Each piece of the regalia signifies something unique and special to the dancer and may be a treasured heirloom passed down through the generations.
Often contemporary influences on the dancer's life are combined with traditional attire.
"Dance…
What is the difference between a good song and a bad song? Is there a difference? What is the difference between a contemporary song and an original song?
I am a dancer so I can speak only from a dancer's point of view, but I remember being around the drum, close to the drum, not from the dance floor, but right there beside everyone getting ready to sing the next song. You never know…
Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Angela DeMontigny: Trustworthiness.
W: What is it that really makes you mad?
A.D.: People being unkind, disrespectful or harmful to each other.
W: When are you at your happiest?
A.D.: When I’m surrounded by people I love, helping others, when I’m creating and when I’m at one with spirit and the universe in…
MARCH 31 MARKED THE 50th
anniversary of the right to vote for First Nations. “This is an important milestone and a cause for reflection,” said Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl. The Diefenbaker government amended the Canada Elections Act in 1960. The law received Royal Assent on March 31, 1960, and the law came into effect July 1 of that year. “Canada has…
The existence of Minamata disease (methyl mercury poisoning), with symptoms that include tremors, clumsiness, loss of balance, blurred vision, speech impairment and slowed mental response, is not acknowledged in this country.
Health Canada consistently refuses to accept that it has occurred, even in Canada’s worst-hit communities of Asubpeeschoseewagong (Grassy Narrows) and Wabaseemoong…
Father Freddy Valdivia begins Sunday Mass the same way he does every week in the St. Paul’s Parish in Brocket, Alta.
“Welcome everyone. I hope you are all well,” he says from behind the pulpit in the modest church on the Piikani reserve. It’s 10 a.m. and his congregation is made up of entire families, most from the reserve, and all First Nations people.
“I have been sick this…
“Survivors and their families are at the heart of all the work we do at the TRC,” said Commissioner Marie Wilson in explaining the design of the newly opened office space in Winnipeg, which includes a prominent survivors’ gathering room.
About 250 people attended the opening ceremonies of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s new location on the corner of Portage and Main. The…
Over the years, Canada has seen many Aboriginal leaders who have made a difference at the local, regional or national level, but few, if any, have made as marked an impact at all three levels, as well as on the international stage, as George Manuel.
Manuel was born on Feb. 21, 1921, a member of the Shuswap Nation of the Neskonlith Indian Band in British Columbia. He attended Kamloops…
When internationally acclaimed Aboriginal film-maker Loretta Todd launched the Aboriginal Media Lab (AML) on Feb. 22, she screened a 1930s Hollywood movie called The Silent Enemy, a film that gives a fictionalized account of traditional life in Northern Canada. It featured an all-Aboriginal cast.
The film was accompanied by contemporary live fusion Native music, composed and performed…
Opening for blues legend B.B. King was something musician Brock Stonefish never dreamed possible. It was only until it happened on March 11 at a sold-out show at the Mohican North Star Casino and Bingo in Wisconsin that he believed in it all.
"I can't even put it into words how I felt opening for B.B. King," said Stonefish, 21, "It's bigger than anything I could imagine. He is one of my…
Dear Tuma:
My First Nation hasn't had a meeting in over a year now. They aren't accountable to us members in any way, shape or form. Our chief and council are elected by Customary Election Regulation. I want to know how I can shut down the band office and make them accountable. I read it on the news all the time about First Nation members shutting down band offices, therefore I want to…