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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.
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The Canadian Aboriginal and Minority Supplier Council (CAMSC) announced the winners of its Business Achievements Awards in Toronto on Sept. 26. The awards celebrate Canadian companies that have made a great impact in Aboriginal and minority business development.
The Small Business of the Year Award will be given to Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation (WLON), an Aboriginal…
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While many people in northern Alberta are hoping to cash in on the booming oil and gas industry, Jerry Cunningham is building his business around another of the province's natural resources.
Cunningham is the owner of Cunningham Outfitting Ltd., which operates on the East Prairie Metis settlement offering guided hunts to clientele.
Starting an outfitting business…
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As many as 500 residential school survivors across Canada have recently received letters from the federal government telling them that their application for the $8,000 early payment has been rejected because the government cannot find records that prove they attended a residential school.
Since the early payment is only available to survivors who were 65 years old or…
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Willie Littlechild hopes to become the Assembly of First Nations' Alberta regional chief on Oct. 6. The retiring member of the United Nations permanent forum on Indigenous issues will face off against incumbent Jason Goodstriker and others rumored to be interested in the job.
Only two candidates for the position were confirmed as our publication deadline arrived on Sept.…
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Ontario chiefs have hit a wall in their efforts to assert a couple of treaty rights for First Nations people in the province.
The Ontario Health Premium (OHP) is collected by the federal government's Canada Revenue Agency as part of an agreement with the provincial Ministry of Finance.
Chris McCormick, deputy grand chief of the Association of Iroquois and Allied…
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Michelle Wootton has been busy the last couple of months trying to get her youngest boy registered with Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).
The James Bay Cree woman lives and works on the Penticton Indian Band territory in the British Columbia Interior. Like so many other First Nation people, she is wrestling with the complex process of gaining recognition of her…
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Lubicon Lake Indian Nation supporters in Stuttgart, Germany are knocking on the door of Dr. Dieter Zetsche, the chairman of the board of management m of DaimlerChrysler and head of the Mercedes car group.
Dr. Z, as he's called in the aggressive $250-million (US) North American media campaign to promote Chrysler sales and build confidence in the Chrysler product, is being…
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Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse sent out a letter to the 139 Ontario chiefs on Sept. 20 that warns that the Conservative Party of Canada government is not prepared to listen to First Nations as it moves forward with its "narrow agenda."
The letter, which was leaked to this publication without the regional chief's knowledge, was sent to Ontario chiefs a week after…
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Dear Editor:
I've been back to my community for eight years now. I grew up in the "white world" and the only lessons I got about Native culture were on CBC with shows like Indian Legends. I remember another show called The Rez and it gave me this insight that all Native communities were scenic landscapes with wise Elders, hopeful youth and a real sense of direction and…
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Dear Editor:
What bothers me about the Maher Arar case is not so much the incompetence, inaccuracy and violations of policy by the RCMP. A mistake can be understood. A mistake can be corrected. A mistake can be forgiven. What bothers me is the acquiescence by the RCMP, by the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, and by Foreign Affairs in the U.S./Syria kidnapping…
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Dear Editor:
Combed through the September Windspeaker and not one mention of Phil Fontaine or the Assembly of First Nations. Come to think of it, none of the other national Aboriginal organizations or their leaders either.
Yeehaw!
Almost as refreshing as a Parliamentary recess when we are spared the daily ramblings and puerile behavior of those "other…
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Dear Editor:
I've been incarcerated for the past eight months. I'm a 40-year-old Native Indian from Mnjikaning First Nation in Ontario. I'm also an epileptic. I've taken Epival and Rivotril for the past 20 to stabilize my disease. Since my incarceration I've been held at the American-owned Central North Correctional Centre in Penetanguishene, Ont. I've been denied my one…
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Dear Editor:
There is a widespread belief that there is an epidemic of FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome) in Aboriginal Canada. This is based on the assumption that large numbers of Aboriginal people in general, and Aboriginal women in particular, drink to excess. The problem is there are no systematic scientific studies to bear this out; specifically, there are no nationwide,…
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As one First Nation leader after another takes note of the federal government trend of moving away from constructive engagement and towards top-down authoritarian paternalism, we see, as Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said on Sept. 26, a pattern emerging. It's an old pattern; one that will not lead in a positive direction for Aboriginal peoples.
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John Snow was born Jan. 31, 1933 in a one-room cabin on the Stoney-Nakoda reserve in Morley, Alta., the fifth of 11 children born to Cora Bigstoney and Tom Snow.
Just days after his birth, he was given his Native name by his great-grandfather, hereditary Chief Jonas Goodstoney. He was named Intebeja Mani, or Walking Seal, after a creature that can adapt to all types of…