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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When Paul Martin was sworn in as Canada's 21st prime minister on Dec. 12, a long-awaited new era in Canada-First Nation relations arrived. Or at least that's the hope of Aboriginal leaders across the country.
Martin sent a powerful signal to the entire country when he asked Ojibway Elder Elmer Courchene to smudge him before he took the oath of office.
He sent…
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Dear Editor:
Hi: Well I think it is all about our leaders. How are the grass roots people gonna get help? By watching our leaders get fat and travel everywhere except to the homes in the communities they lead? Well, that's true! Cry and whine is all I hear.
I am a treaty Indian myself and proud of that fact! But a long time ago our ancestors negotiated our lives,…
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Dear Editor:
I am writing in response to the article entitled "Some Aboriginal Women gambling with their lives" (page 25, November edition).
I am very pleased to see gambling addiction included in addiction awareness week articles. The impact of compulsive gambling on communities has been denied for far too long.
It is important for families to understand…
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Dear Editor:
After the recent passage of Bill C-6 and the stay against bills C-7 and C-19, I am left to ponder the role of our current National Chief Phil Fontaine and whether he can deliver on his promise to be effective and inclusive.
During the election campaign for national chief this past summer, Mr. Fontaine declared that Matthew Coon Come's penchant for…
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Why is John Cummins still in caucus, Mr. Harper? It seems the Delta-South Richmond MP, the champion of that most oppressed of all creatures, the middle-aged white male, has said, in public, that we, Native people, should compensate Canadians of European descent for their work to civilize us. And he's still a member of the Canadian Alliance caucus?
We can only surmise that…
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The Search for self often found in solitude
There's a rather special hill just inside the boundaries of the Sarcee reserve. Looking at it you wouldn't think that this small weather beaten rise with its sparse grove of trees held any significance to anyone. Yet, it will always occupy a very warm spot in my heart and mind. It was here, not all that long ago, that this…
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Editorial
The initial victory by the Mohawk Indians of Quebec to have the broken-nosed false face mask removed from the Spirit Sings exhibition at the Glenbow museum sets the stage for other bands to reclaim their religious artefacts.
The display of everyday Native artefacts is permissible, because they educate the masses as to the culture and ingenuity of our…
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Aborigines say they will not be celebrating the bi-centenary of European settlement in Australia. Instead, they will mourn two centuries of contempt by the balanda (white man).
Roy Mirika, leader of the Arnhem Land people, says little has changed since his people were forced off their land and herded into European settlements. Today, he and other leaders still complain…
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Sen. Daniel Inouye has pleaded with Navajo and Hopi tribes to sit down and resolve their differences over a land dispute that had divided them for more than 100 years.
Inouye, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, said if President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were able to settle their differences, the two Indian nations should meet again…
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The Women's Centre here is still "going as strong as ever" despite recent financial difficulties that threatened to shut the doors.
"It (the centre) was going to be history four months ago" because the society was having difficulty meeting a $1,200 monthly mortgage payment, said present Debbie Calihoo of the Hinton Native Women's Society.
However, monies derived…
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The door is opening for Aboriginal people who need help from traditional medicine men when modern medical practices have failed to overcome physical and mental health problems.
The practice of referring patients to traditional healers is being encouraged by the Medical Services Branch (MSB) of Health and Welfare Canada, which is responsible for covering Treaty Indian…
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Building community unity towards a better economic future is the top priority for the new Sucker Creek tribal council, says recently elected Chief Donald Calliou.
Calliou was elected chief, along with eight council members for the 910 member band, located 35 km east of High Prairie.
"I have noticed that for a number of years now, our people have been drifting apart…
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The unique nature of the Native community necessitates the need for specialized mental health care for both children and families, says Murray Armstrong the author of a newly released report.
The report, Exploring the Circle, A Journey into Native Children's Mental Health, was commissioned in 1986 by Alberta Mental Services as part of a children's mental health project…
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Halifax N.S.
Former Sydney police chief John MacIntyre lied to an inquiry into Micmac Donald Marshall's wrongful 1971 murder conviction, says the officer who proved Marshall innocent.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Harry Wheaton testified he believed the former chief was racist and that he had tried to coverup his actions by removing a document from Marshall's file and slipping it…
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The Northwest Territories government boycotted the Olympic Torch relay after officials learned only a few Native runners would be participating in the run.
However, Bill Erasmus, president of the Dene Nation, said his group would not protest the relay, although they did support the Lubicon Lake Indian band's land claim against the federal government.
Chamber of…