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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Over the years, Jeremy Torrie has worn many hats. His bio on the Web site for his company, High Definition Pictures, lists him as a writer, editor, camera operator, director, producer and executive producer. But it was a co-producer's hat he wore on the set of Cowboys and Indians: The Killing of J.J. Harper.
The film, a made for TV movie about the 1988 shooting of Native…
Page 20
Attention artists-if you have ever thought about trying to find a market for your work outside our borders, there is a workshop coming to a community near you that you should think about attending.
The Export Marketing of Cultural Products and Services workshops are being held from coast to coast with eight dates and locations scheduled The first workshop took place in…
Page 19
It's an amazing thing when a young girl of 10 can take a personal tragedy, turn it around, and change it into something that benefits others. It's even more amazing when six years later, that same young girl is still dedicating herself to that very same cause.
That is the case with Iris Bonaise of Little Pine First Nation. When Iris was only 7, she lost her brother Denis…
Page 18
Sitting Bull, Crowfoot, Louis Riel and more
Great Chiefs
By Tony Hollihan
Lone Pine Publishing
320 pages (sc)
$14.95
The history books are full of the names of Aboriginal leaders and how they reacted when European explorers and settlers began to take over their lands.
From Sitting Bull to Crazy Horse, from Crowfoot to Louis Riel…
Page 17
Radio Most Active
Album-Ashley Robertson
Song-Living in Misery
Label-Frizzell House
M-u-s-i-c
Producer-Allen Frizzell
New to the country music scene is Winnipegger Ashley Robertson, whose new CD Ashley Robertson is impressing the people who make a difference in the music industry around the world-the fans.
Her single "Living in…
Page 16
MUSIC BIZ 101
Radio airplay is essential to the promotional campaign of any new release. As an independent artist with limited financial resources, it must be co-ordinated strategically to maximize listener exposure. Commercial radio is classified under major, medium and small markets.
Non-commercial radio stations include community radio, such as college and…
Page 16
The Urbane Indian
When Europeans first landed on these shores so many years ago, it has been estimated that there were approximately 100 million Native people waiting here to welcome them with local delicacies like tomatos, potatoes, tobacco and corn. And in the intervening 500-odd years, our effects on the land across the big pond known as the Atlantic is often thought…
Page 16
Medium Rare
The editorial writers at the Globe and Mail were clearly shocked and appalled when they published their Op-Ed pages in the Sept. 15 edition.
"What was Phil Fontaine thinking," they wrote, "when he sent a letter to an Ontario judge about the continuing case of two half-Native girls up for adoption?"
Surely, they sputtered, Fontaine must know "…
Page 15
NASIVVIK
Here are a few questions that have crossed the mind of every Aboriginal person in Canada at some time or other: When and how did our ancestral lands become the property of somebody else? By whose doctrine have we found ourselves to be somebody else's subjects, bereft of lands and resources, doomed to be tenants in our own lands?
In the nomadic times of our…
Page 15
Pro Bono
Dear Tuma:
I was involved in a car accident last year. There were no other cars involved and the cause of the accident was black ice. Is my insurance company supposed to cover all of my losses, including the time I have been off work or for my injuries?
No Car to Drive to Work in Nova Scotia
Dear No Car:
In Nova Scotia there is a…
Page 14
Criminal charges were filed against Metis activist John Melenchuk after he was arrested during a protest outside a community police station in Saskatoon on Aug. 29.
Just three days before two major inquiries into justice-related matters were set to begin, the vocal critic of the police, and of the province's justice system in general, was charged with mischief over $5,000…
Page 13
Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Gil Cardinal: Well, I think spirit. You know, just a good caring, kind spirit.
W: What is it that really makes you mad?
GC: I don't get mad. No, I don't know...What makes me mad? I don't know. When my cats kill birds and mice? That's the best I can do.
W: When are you happiest?
GC:…
Page 12
After years of allowing Native people to cross the Canada/U.S. border without paying duties and taxes on goods purchased, the government of Canada has now decided Native people do not have any border-crossing tax exemption rights.
"As of right now, there are no exemptions anywhere. And it's duty and taxes from the first dollar, unless of course somebody qualifies under…
Page 11
The Samson Cree Nation's attempt to call Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault and Prime Minister Jean Chretien as witnesses in a landmark billion dollar trust monies case against the Crown has been rejected by a Federal Court judge.
Justice Max M. Teitelbaum handed down his decision in late August. Samson Cree Nation lawyer James O'Reilly filed an appeal almost…
Page 9
As many as 20 Assembly of First Nations employees will be affected in some way by the planned re-structuring that will be implemented by new National Chief Phil Fontaine's transition team.
Sources say the plan includes reducing the number of directorships in the organization from 14 to seven. That means seven directors, each earning in the $90,000 range, will be let go,…