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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.
I swear, it happened just this way. I was at the Toronto airport on my way to the States to give yet another lecture. So there I was, standing in the line up, about to go through airport security. My shoes were off and I was just taking my buffalo horn belt off when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
It came from what appeared to be a non-Native woman of about 40. She was looking me over.
…
On the same day that Willie Blackwater was in Ottawa attending anniversary celebrations to mark the June 11, 2008 government apology to residential school survivors, he also participated in a ceremony recognizing the work undertaken by two former members of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
Claudette Dumont-Smith and Jane Brewin Morley announced their resignations in late January…
About 40,000 First Nations people have not been included in the latest Statistics Canada numbers that peg the country's Aboriginal population at 1.2 million.
"We question what the data is being used for," said Wahta Mohawk Chief Blaine Commandant.
The 200 people on the Wahta reserve, located 200 km north of Toronto, are among those not counted in the 2006 StatsCan census.
In…
About 40,000 First Nations people have not been included in the latest Statistics Canada numbers that peg the country's Aboriginal population at 1.2 million.
"We question what the data is being used for," said Wahta Mohawk Chief Blaine Commandant.
The 200 people on the Wahta reserve, located 200 km north of Toronto, are among those not counted in the 2006 StatsCan census.
In…
FORT MCMURRAY METIS LOCAL 1935
and the Nistawayou Association Friendship Centre have been accepted as members of the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) Board. Their Membership applications received unanimous approval from the presiding members at the June 3 general meeting.
CEMA is a nonprofit association based in Fort McMurray, Alta with a mandate is to study…
It was only two inches of hair cut from the head of a seven-year-old Aboriginal boy by a teaching assistant in Thunder Bay on April 16, but the significance of the act was so much more than just a school teacher stepping over the bounds of a student teacher relationship.
The fallout from the haircut became a lesson in cultural awareness, and the message sent was clear: Tampering with the…
It's been 20 years, and Sharon McIvor is still waging her court battle for equality for Aboriginal women and their children.
On June 5, just days after learning that Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) was not going to appeal the April 6 ruling of a lower court in British Columbia, McIvor filed leave to seek a decision from the Supreme Court of Canada.
The BC Court of Appeal…
The peal of church bells ringing throughout the country on June 11 marked more than the National Day of Reconciliation and a year since Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for Canada's part in residential schools.
It was also the recognition of an improving relationship between Christian churches and First Nations people.
With the Pope's statement of sorrow in April, the…
thelabradorian.ca
is reporting that the St. John's Supreme Court is holding the fate of 3,000 former residential school students in the palm of its hand. Three days of submissions have come and gone and the court is left to decide whether the students' claims of abuse and neglect will go forward as a class action suit or must go to court individually. Lawyers say their mostly Inuit and…
thelabradorian.ca
is reporting that the St. John's Supreme Court is holding the fate of 3,000 former residential school students in the palm of its hand. Three days of submissions have come and gone and the court is left to decide whether the students' claims of abuse and neglect will go forward as a class action suit or must go to court individually. Lawyers say their mostly Inuit and…
Dear Editor:
I read your editorial in the May edition of Windspeaker. I would like to tell you about our demonstration in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Womyn 4 Social Justice organized a demo in 2008. We called it Broken Records. We had everyone bring old l.p.records, and we broke them, and wrote on them, what we the people think of this terrible situation in Attawapiskat.
We had…
Dear Editor:
The Mohawk community of Akwesasne has remained peaceful since the border crossing on our traditional territory was closed more than two weeks ago. Since then, our community has kept six peace fires near the Canadian Customs Port of Entry on Kawehnoke (Cornwall Island). Our community maintains the Peace Fires and continues to seek a peaceful resolution to the bridge closure.…
Windspeaker would like to congratulate the men who have put their names forward in the race for national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. A list of the eligible candidates was released on June 17 and Shawn Atleo of British Columbia, John Beaucage of Ontario, Perry Bellegarde of Saskatchewan, Terrance Nelson of Manitoba and Bill Wilson of British Columbia will be on the campaign trail…
"Nehiyawak oma kiyanaw. We are Nehiyaw, Nehiyawak. We are the Plains Cree."
The old man telling the children gathered around him about their proud ancestry and the spirits who worked for them now leaned forward to check their faces for signs of understanding.
Some were asleep, others yawned. He sought out the boy who had caught his attention earlier. This child had luminous eyes.…
PETITION GATHERS SUPPORT
More than 1,800 people have signed an online petition to get former National Hockey League star Reggie Leach into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The petition can be found at www.petitiononline.com/TheRifle/petition.html
It was created by…