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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.
Rare mineral clays found in the traditional territories of the Heiltsuk First Nation, about 400 kms north of Vancouver, can fight bacterial infections in hospitals, scientist at the University of British Columbia have found. About 10,000 years ago, near the end of the last Ice Age, a 400,000 tonne deposit of the clay was formed over a five-acre granite basin. The First Nations have used the…
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is currently touring Going Home Star, a brand new production that finds its subject matter in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
This intriguing blend of European art form and Aboriginal narrative is the first of its kind for the ballet world. For many years, the late Elder Mary Richard, as a board member for the RWB, prodded Artistic Director Andre Lewis…
Indigenous languages in Canada are dying. Of the 60 languages that exist across the country, nearly all were declared endangered—some of them critically—well over a decade ago by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, and most still maintain that status.
Census data from 2011 also show a decline in the numbers of fluent speakers of the majority of…
Aboriginal people are the poorest of the poor, Toronto-based community organizer Mike Balkwill was told by Chief Shining Turtle of Whitefish River First Nation.
The Ojibway community of 600 near Manitoulin Island was Balkwill’s first stop on his northeastern Ontario tour to meet with people living in poverty and with service providers.
Balkwill is the organizer for a campaign…
Cree artist, captured prairie life
Allen Sapp’s paintings depict hardworking men in moccasins through the seasons, while his women wear head scarves and fry choke cherries or boil potatoes over open fires.
Even the most urbane of prairie people cannot fail to feel a pang of nostalgia looking at them.
The man who once painted mountains and wild animals he’d…
The capital city of Nunavut is gearing up to host a portion of this year’s Arctic Winter Games.
The majority of the Games, which run from March 6 to March 11, will be staged in Nuuk, Greenland.
But since there are no suitable rinks to stage the hockey competition in Greenland, Games’ organizers opted to move the hockey portion of the event to Iqaluit, Nunavut’s largest city.…
New BC Aboriginal Awards
Aboriginal youth athletes in British Columbia now have a new achievement to strive for. The Aboriginal Sport Recreation and Physical Activity Partners Council and the Province of B.C. have joined forces to establish a new awards program.
A total of 12 Premier’s Awards for Aboriginal Youth Excellence in Sports will be handed out annually,…
Suicide epidemic needs to be addressed
Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler issued a call to action to the governments of Ontario and Canada to establish a special emergency task force to address the growing suicide epidemic across NAN First Nations. Several NAN First Nations were thrown into crisis this Christmas season following the suicides of a 10-year-…
Province’s plan on education not working
A 50-page report from Auditor General Norm Ricard says that despite years of effort, the provincial government still has not identified the barriers Aboriginal students face in finishing Grade 12.
The high-school graduation gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in Manitoba has worsened, despite new…
January 26, 2016
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal has ruled that First Nations children and families living on reserve and in the Yukon are denied child and family services equal to what other Canadians receive.
In a 182-page ruling released Tuesday morning, the CHRT said, “As race and/or national or ethnic origin is a factor in those adverse impacts, the Panel concluded First…
The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is hoping it can capitalize on an acceptance speech delivered by Leonardo DiCaprio at the recent Golden Globes and bring its unique style of TV to the United States.
“We’re talking to the cable companies now and satellite distributers in the U.S. It’s still at the negotiation stage with them,” said Jean La Rose, CEO with APTN. “This…
Mason Mantla is no stranger to the camera. It is part of the work he does with kids in his job with the Tlicho Community Action Research Team.
So when the opportunity arose to get behind the camera for the “home-grown grassroots” Dead North Film Festival, he couldn’t pass it up.
“And I just wanted to make a horror film!” he said.
The Dead North Film Festival runs from Feb…
A few years ago, Brittany LeBorgne, 31, was about to give up on her dream of becoming an actress. It was a dream she kept alive since she was a five-year-old girl, playing dress up and performing for large imaginary audiences.
Fighting her self-doubt during what she calls her “Debbie-Downer period,” she decided to give it another shot after the then TV pilot series Mohawk Girls…
A dedicated group of protesters are hoping they can accomplish what legal action has failed to do: shut down BC Hydro’s construction of the Site C dam on the Peace River.
A rotating group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous members of the Treaty 8 Stewards of the Land say they will remain at the historic Rocky Mountain Fort Camp, the height of where clearcutting has already begun for the…
Jasmine, from New Brunswick, stood up at a recent open forum, hosted by the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples in Edmonton Jan. 14, and gently chided Alberta for not having a CAP affiliate.
“It’s been a culture shock. The disparities between the Aboriginals we have in the east as opposed to here in the west. Right away my daughter and I noticed the homelessness. It’s so rampant here. It’s…