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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.
Page 19
NASIVVIK
The recently announced creation and marketing of an Inuk Barbie doll has triggered some questions within me. It has also reminded me of the vivid, plain, uncomplimentary descriptions of Inuit women by a series of Qallunaat (white) explorers who first encountered Inuit in their natural "uncivilized" state.
From the raw, unadorned impressions of Inuit women…
Page 19
PRO BONO
Dear Tuma:
I am a 65-year-old grandmother who lost her status through marriage. My son and I regained status in 1985 (under Bill C-31), but now my grandchildren do not have status. I am thinking of adopting them so they can have status and preserve their rights to medical care and education. The parents will still take care of them and raise them, but I…
Page 19
THE URBANE INDIAN
On July 12, an official Ontario inquiry into the death of Native protester Dudley George opened. Dudley was an unassuming Ojibway man who was better with a joke than with a political manifesto. From what I understand, he was not the type of man who made a regular habit of upsetting the status quo or rocking the political boat. He was more interested in…
Page 18
Emergency plans are like having insurance-preparing them isn't seen as being priority until you find yourself needing them.
Last summer, many First Nation communities in B.C. learned firsthand the importance of having emergency plans in place. The province experienced its worst year ever for forest fires. By the end of the summer more than 2,500 wildfires had been…
Page 17
Keith Maracle has been working in construction all his life and has been inspecting houses in First Nation communities for close to 25 years. He's well aware of the problems that exist with on-reserve housing, and he and other inspectors have joined together to try and make improvements.
Maracle is a Mohawk of the Bay of Quinte and is technical building advisor for the…
Page 16
Emergency plans are like having insurance-preparing them isn't seen as being priority until you find yourself needing them.
Last summer, many First Nation communities in B.C. learned firsthand the importance of having emergency plans in place. The province experienced its worst year ever for forest fires. By the end of the summer more than 2,500 wildfires had been…
Page 15
Chief and council of the Fort Nelson First Nation are offering $100,000 for information that leads to a conviction in the 1997 murder of Loretta Capot-Blanc.
The decision to increase the reward (it was originally set at $10,000, then $20,000) comes after a visit from Native Women's Association of Canada (NWAC) president Kukdookaa Terri Brown. She stopped in Fort Nelson…
Page 15
On Aug. 14, Kathy King dedicated a garden to the memory of murdered women, those whose remains were found on Robert Pickton's pig farm in Port Coquitlam, B.C. and those whose lifeless bodies were callously dispatched to the fields and ditches surrounding Edmonton, Kathy's daughter among them. Cara King was found dead in a canola field in September 1997. Kathy wears Cara's…
Page 12
Three national Aboriginal leaders were invited to the provincial premiers' preparatory session on health issues on July 28. Two others were not.
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Phil Fontaine, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK) President Jose Kusugak and the Metis National Council (MNC) President Clement Chartier were invited. Native Women's Association of Canada…
Page 11
Another Andy is setting up shop in the Indian Affairs minister's office.
When Prime Minister Paul Martin revealed his new cabinet on July 20, Andy Mitchell was shuffled out of Indian Affairs to become the new minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, leaving Andy Scott to become the Indian Affairs minister.
Scott, the former Chretien-era solicitor general who…
Page 9
A program developed by members of the Assembly of First Nations' youth council is designed to help young Aboriginal people deal head on with the damages of the past.
It's called CEPS-Cultural, Economic, Political and Social-and it's intended to create a healthier next generation.
Wesley Hardisty, 23, explained the program to Windspeaker during an interview at the…
Page 9
A proxy from British Columbia squared off with the national chief on July 21 over the role being played by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) in the compensation process for survivors of Indian residential schools.
The debate resulted in a public promise from Phil Fontaine to seek a "full and open apology from the prime minister" for Canada's residential school system and…
Page 8
Many Assembly of First Nations meetings end with not enough chiefs present to attain quorum. When it happened in Charlottetown, several chiefs felt the need to chastise their colleagues. Sowalie Chief Doug Kelly, also a member of the First Nations Summit executive task force, suggested that having a quorum is not the only way to do business.
He said the Summit gets around…
Page 8
The Assembly of First Nations' habit of not playing by its own rules has caused trouble again, this time in Charlottetown at its annual general meeting held July 19 to 22.
Only two of the more than 60 resolutions filed by chiefs concerned with a variety of pressing matters were dealt with over the course of four days. A golf tournament was fit into the schedule, however,…
Page 5
Dear Editor:
For years now there has been a suicide epidemic devastating our northern communities. The last estimate of successful suicides is well over 200. I believe without proper support or resources, suicides will continue and this will be utterly shameful for Canadians as a whole.
I believe this issue has everything to do with an underlying worldview and…