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 number of weeks ago, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty shuffled his cabinet, moving the very capable Michael Bryant, minister of Aboriginal Affairs, up the food chain to Economic Development.
The former attorney general of the province had been appointed the first ever minister of the newly created Aboriginal portfolio in October of 2007. Less than a year!
Since nature (and politics…
Indian residential school survivors will have to wait longer than initially anticipated before they can make presentations for seats on the 10-member Indian Residential Schools Survivor Committee.
With the resignation of Chief Commissioner Justice Harry LaForme throwing a wrench into the Truth and Reconciliation process, the IRS Survivor Committee has also been overrun with applications.…
After five weeks of sound bites and political fights, the people have spoken, and what they've said is pretty much the same thing as they said in 2006: Stephen Harper and the Conservatives warrant no more than minority power in a federal government.
This leaves many pundits now asking the question: Was the 2008 election, held Oct. 14, worth the time and money it took to get the same…
Most people wouldn't take such a positive view having been charged with a number of offences, including property damage and illegal harvesting of timber, but Chief Dean Sayers isn't most people.
He sees the charges he's now facing as historic, and an opportunity for his community, the Batchewana First Nation, to deal with concerns over provincial harvesting practices and seek clarity of…
After only six months as the chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Justice Harry LaForme has cited "many hurdles and obstacles (that) could not and cannot be overcome" and resigned his position effective Oct. 20.
"I don't think anybody expected (his) resignation. Most people were expecting it would get sorted out that the commissioners would agree among themselves on a single…
From a small town potluck in La Ronge, Sask. to a march on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Oct. 4 communities across Canada found their own ways of honouring the lives of hundreds of Aboriginal women who have gone missing or been murdered.
Since 2005, the annual "Sisters in Spirit" vigil, organized by the Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC), has grown steadily from the 11 cities,…
FRIENDS AND FAMILY ARE MOURNING
the passing of Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Regional Chief Len Tomah Sr. of Woodstock First Nation, NB, who succumbed to cancer on Oct. 13. In a tribute from the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations, Chief Tomah was described as persistent and enthusiastic. He was a founding member of the organization, helping to draft the terms of reference in…
JOHN RALSTON SAUL,
the consort of the former governor general of Canada, Adrienne Clarkson, who made it her personal mission to visit as many Aboriginal communities across Canada as humanly possible during her service, has released a new book entitled "A Fair Country: Telling Truths about Canada." In the book, Saul suggests that Canada is a Metis nation influenced in philosophy by the…
Tansi Windspeaker:
In response to the article in your October 2008 issue 'March For Change' Aboriginal protest on Education in Edmonton.
On the front page are pictures of Aboriginal youth carrying signs. I wonder if they understand what the protest was really about? "Canada must invest in First Nation Education."
Who is being represented in the 'We' in 'We need access to Canada'…
It's tough to get attention when billions of dollars are being spent to bail out banks around the world and the stock market at home is heading south faster than a goose in winter and Joe-average Canadian is fretting about the rot that is about to set into the tidy little nest egg he's built in his home equity.
Who could expect Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine to…
Next month marks the 123rd anniversary of the death of Louis Riel, (126 years in Nov. 2011) the martyr who gave identity to Métis people.
Born on Oct. 22, 1844, Riel's role as the undisputed spiritual and political head of the Métis was set by religious parents and authorities who recognized his brilliance at an early age. His father Louis Riel and mother Julie Lagimodiere were both…
The Northwest Community College (NWCC) has elected Irene Sequin to Chair their Board of Governors, marking this as the first time in the college's history that the post will be held by a First Nations person. Sequin is a Gitwinksihlkw resident and long time college supporter.
Sequin is a graduate of NWCC's First Nations Public Administration Program, and the education administrator, and…
Thunder Bay, the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario, also has a significant First Nations' population nearby. So, when fall hits the area, so too does the call for students to leave home and go to school. This life-changing step can be particularly challenging for students who come from smaller, more remote communities to settle in the city.
A special activity to welcome…
There have been numerous ongoing reports pointing out that the state of Aboriginals health in Canada is sub par when compared to the general populace. One institution is making efforts to ensure that Aboriginal health makes a 180, and declines no further.
The Canadian Medical Foundation (CMF) has expressed a strong concern towards what they refer to as "inequalities of the health status…
For brothers Shavez (17) and Shaden (15) Meeches, along with students at Portage Collegiate Institute, $50 a month is a nice bonus for attending regularly and getting their homework done. But the extra cash in their pockets doesn't mean a big change to what the boys have already been doing.
"I need to get an education. That's important," said Shaden, a 15-year old grade 11 student.
…