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.
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Dear Editor:
Re: Sweetgrass burning ban
The ban on smoking tobacco products in Alberta's jails is a commendable policy from a public health point of view. It recognizes the well-documented dangers of second-hand cigarette smoke on all concerned-inmates, correctional officers and administrators.
Second-hand cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals,…
Page 5
Dear Editor:
Re: Sweetgrass burning ban
The ban on smoking tobacco products in Alberta's jails is a commendable policy from a public health point of view. It recognizes the well-documented dangers of second-hand cigarette smoke on all concerned-inmates, correctional officers and administrators.
Second-hand cigarette smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals,…
Page 11
A new language policy introduced by the Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network (APTN) has Inuktitut speakers steaming mad.
The policy would have films shown on APTN dubbed into English, French and one or more Aboriginal language other than the Aboriginal language used to produce the work.
Many prominent Inuit have voiced strong criticism of the policy in recent…
Page 11
A new language policy introduced by the Aboriginal Peoples' Television Network (APTN) has Inuktitut speakers steaming mad.
The policy would have films shown on APTN dubbed into English, French and one or more Aboriginal language other than the Aboriginal language used to produce the work.
Many prominent Inuit have voiced strong criticism of the policy in recent…
Page 5
The grumbling is getting louder across the country. It started with the throne speech. It got louder and more noticeable after the federal budget was revealed last month. And it's gaining strength. We're hearing it from most corners of the country and we're pretty sure a lot of people in Ottawa are hearing it too.
Prime Minister Paul Martin raised expectations last April…
Page 5
The grumbling is getting louder across the country. It started with the throne speech. It got louder and more noticeable after the federal budget was revealed last month. And it's gaining strength. We're hearing it from most corners of the country and we're pretty sure a lot of people in Ottawa are hearing it too.
Prime Minister Paul Martin raised expectations last April…
Page 20
There are no Indian cliches in this comic strip; you won't see the noble savage clad in buckskin and feathers with his hair blowing in the wind.
Instead, Lynn Johnston, the creator of For Better or For Worse, invented the realistic yet fictional Ojibway village of Mtigwaki to show life as it is in the far north, where children love cookies and families live in houses…
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NASIVVIK
Canada's Constitution recognizes three collectivities of Aboriginal people by name-Indian, Inuit, and Metis. Each of these names has a history, a fractured regard by others, and a present-day political correctness. Political correctness is not always respected and sometimes even deliberately assaulted, so it seems worthwhile to look at the integrity of these…
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Pro Bono
Dear Tuma:
Recently, my home was broken into and they caught the young punks that did it. I was hoping to go to court and see them get jail time but the judge said that they were young offenders and needed rehabilitation. Why do we coddle these punks who know we will give them a slap on the wrist when they do wrong. I say "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a…
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Let me run a theory by you, one dealing with Aboriginal time perceptions. And Elders. But first, some background.
If I've heard my mother say it once, I've heard her say it a thousand times ... things are sure bad in the world today. Maybe true, maybe not. Personally I don't think things were much better in the 1930s during the Depression or at any other time. The world…
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Dear Buffalo Spirit:
Thank you for your bold stand in speaking out about borrowing cultures that are not of our own backgrounds or upbringing. In particular the use of the medicine wheel in coastal tribes.
I worked for a First Nation organization in British Columbia as an employment counsellor where the medicine wheel was in prominent use and promoted by one who…
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When Cree Elder Walter Bonaise was a child growing up at Cutknife in Saskatchewan he had two dreams-to fly in a plane and to be a teacher.
Since then there have been many plane rides and the man who describes himself as "self-taught" has educated many people. He has lectured and performed, sharing his Cree music and spirituality with community groups and schools in five…
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Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Terrance Houle: Probably humor ... if they can make me laugh, then they're all right.
W: What is it that really makes you mad?
T.H: Probably politics.
W: When are you happiest?
T.H: When I'm hanging out with my little girl.
W: What one word best describes you when you are at…
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Apprentice to the Mystery is the newest album from Eekwol, a.k.a Lindsay Knight, a hip hop artist from Muskoday First Nation in Saskatchewan. She has been writing and performing for the past eight years, but people are now beginning to stand up and take notice. She performed at SkyDome in Toronto during the Canadian Aboriginal Festival in November, and the video for Too Sick,…
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As children poured out of the big yellow school buses that carried them to the SkyDome Nov. 26, many craned their necks and pointed skyward to the spectacle of the CN Tower that loomed large nearby. This was going to be an exciting day.
Inside the famed building, home to the Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and major league baseball's…