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.
Page 17
Eric Schweig doesn't see acting as his career. It's a hobby to him, something he does for fun.
Most recently Schweig was having his fun alongside Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett in director Ron Howard's new western, The Missing. Nice hobby.
"I play a bad guy, the head villain," Schweig said of his role as Chidin in the film. His character heads up a group of…
Page 16
MUSIC BIZ 101
Music videos can have a positive effect on CD sales. More and more, it is expected that a music video will accompany a CD release to add to the artist's visibility and exposure in the market place.
Much Music Television was launched in the early 1980s and became another avenue to expose an artist's image and talent. In this sense, the music video…
Page 16
THE URBANE INDIAN
Students at the University of Alberta noticed that Native society was in need of a new social organization, one that administers to the needs and wants of some of its wounded student body-Native men in pain.
The name of this new group is called S.A.W.-Survivors of Aboriginal Women-a much-needed support group with thousands of potential members.…
Page 16
NASIVVIK
In photographs from long ago, Inuit appear as red-cheeked, fit and healthy-looking people. Inuit then were physically vigorous and always looked the part. In traditional times, the Arctic environment was a holistic, natural gymnasium, and every aspect of life was, of necessity, a physical workout. The staple foods derived from Arctic wildlife, abundant in…
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PRO BONO
Dear Tuma:
The father of my child is contesting paternity despite having done two DNA tests, which concluded that he is 99.97 per cent likely the father. The maintenance he pays is $220 per month and this is only for the school year. There is no court order in place. He is very wealthy and recently retired. I cannot afford a lawyer and do not qualify for…
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MEDIUM RARE
Have you ever seen that show called Monster Garage, where a group of mechanics take a perfectly good vehicle, like a Corvette, and turn it into something weird, like a monster "mud racer," or a freaky lawn-mower?
I have a sneaking suspicion the folks running the Assembly of First Nations are avid fans of the show.
The host is some biker dude, a…
Page 15
A benefit concert held at Toronto's historic Massey Hall on Oct. 10 was supposed to raise money for the George family of Stoney Point, Ont. to fight a wrongful death lawsuit against the Ontario Provincial Police and former Ontario premier Mike Harris. Instead, it turned into a fundraiser for a new Aboriginal education fund.
The Harris government, which was in office…
Page 14
Two successive Progressive Conservative governments lasted 2,949 days without calling a public judicial inquiry into the killing of First Nation activist Dudley George, despite allegations that prominent members of their party-former premier Mike Harris in particular-shared some of the blame in the events that led to Dudley's death.
Newly elected Ontario Premier Dalton…
Page 13
Author Larry Loyie has published only one book, but it's a winner. As Long as the Rivers Flow, which recently won the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction, tells the story of his last summer before leaving his home and the traditional Cree life to go to residential school.
Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Larry Loyie: I…
Page 11
The minister who championed the First Nations governance act has admitted it probably won't pass in this incarnation of Parliament.
With his political future out of his control and in the hands of prime minister-in-waiting Paul Martin, the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Robert Nault, seemed resigned to taking a wait-and-see approach to a variety of…
Page 10
Israel "Izzy" Asper, founder of CanWest media, owners of the National Post and Global Television, passed away suddenly the day before he was scheduled to address the chiefs on the first day of the special assembly held in Squamish Nation, B.C. He was 71. Having turned to philanthropic interests after handing the reins of his media empire over to his children, Asper was going to…
Page 10
As he awaits the time when Prime Minister Jean Chretien departs and he finally moves into the highest political office in the land, Paul Martin has been meeting with First Nation leaders and saying that their issues will be a priority for him.
National Chief Phil Fontaine confirmed that he met with the future prime minister at the Assembly of First Nations' Ottawa…
Page 10
Vice-chief Rick Simon made no secret of his region's support for the financial institutions legislation (Bill C-19) and the Getting Results Agenda put forward by National Chief Phil Fontaine at the Assembly of First Nations special chiefs' gathering in Squamish Nation, B.C. in October.
But the AFN's Nova Scotia/Newfoundland vice-chief went further than that when he spoke…
Page 9
A benefit concert held at Toronto's historic Massey Hall on Oct. 10 was supposed to raise money for the George family of Stoney Point, Ont. to fight a wrongful death lawsuit against the Ontario Provincial Police and former Ontario premier Mike Harris. Instead, it turned into a fundraiser for a new Aboriginal education fund.
The Harris government, which was in office during…
Page 9
Two successive Progressive Conservative governments lasted 2,949 days without calling a public judicial inquiry into the killing of First Nation activist Dudley George, despite allegations that prominent members of their party-former premier Mike Harris in particular-shared some of the blame in the events that led to Dudley's death.
Newly elected Ontario Premier Dalton…