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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Music Biz 101
The music industry is fiercely competitive. As such, music marketing plans include promotional activities to publicize your music to your target audience and to get your product in the hands of these music buyers.
It may come as a surprise to some that an artist is considered a product, much like the actual CD they have produced. We only have to look…
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Pro Bono
Dear Tuma:
When is it illegal for an abortion? Why?
Curious
Dear Curious:
It is not illegal to have an abortion. In 1969, abortion was made legal through amendments to the Criminal Code. The Criminal Code used to have a lengthy procedure and restrictions on how, where and who could perform an abortion. The case of R v. Morgentaler in…
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Medium Rare
I've just watched some really good television. It's got a strong plot, good characters, a surprising hero, a mysterious villain, lots of dramatic tension and-best of all-it's real. That's right. Reality TV!
Who produces the show? CBC? CTV? APTN? Are you daft? It's CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel. That's right-CPAC. Surprised? Even people who work…
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The Urbane Indian
I just got back from L.A. ( I love saying that) where one of my plays, The Buz' Gem Blues, opened (I love saying that too). While there, I learned two important things, the first being that NBC has finally shot what they call "a showcase of a pilot" for an Aboriginal sitcom.
For the last several years, the powers that be at NBC have been shaking…
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The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) Confederacy was scheduled for May 6 to 8, but finished ahead of time on the second evening.
Addressing about 200 people, National Chief Matthew Coon Come broached the subject of Bill C-7, saying the First Nations governance act "hangs like a shadow over all our confederacies and assemblies," but said the chiefs had other important work…
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The lack of respect shown for Indigenous people in uniform is not a uniquely Canadian problem.
First Nations armed forces members returned home from war to Canada to face discrimination, receiving lower benefits than their non-Native comrades. And they've had to engage in long sessions of cut-throat negotiations with Canadian officials for just a fraction of what they…
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The regional supervising coroner for southwestern Ontario has decided not to call a coroner's inquest into the death of Dudley George.
George was killed by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer, Acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane, during a protest Sept. 6, 1995 at Ipperwash Provincial Park.
Coroner Thomas Wilson informed Pierre George, Dudley's brother, of his decision in…
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Connie Perron's $400-million claim against the federal government for rights lost as a result of Bill C-31 was restructured by an Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge. The details of Justice Colin L. Campbell's decision were released May 9.
Perron and her lawyer, Mary Eberts, were seeking to have the case certified as a class action, so that all people who allege their…
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Iqaluit, Nunavut
The efforts of two women to protect and promote traditional Inuit languages were officially recognized recently, when they received the first-ever Inuktitut/Inuinnaqtun Language Awards.
Gwen Ohokak of Cambridge Bay received the Inuinnaqtun Language Award for her efforts to develop the first Inuinnaqtun dictionary, while the Inuktitut Language Award…
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Campaign for national chief officially begins
Prospective candidates for the position of Assembly of First Nations national chief have until midnight June 11 to get the paperwork in to electoral officer Bob Johnson to be on the ballot this July in Edmonton.
The spending limit for a campaign, as set out in the 1990 version of the Assembly of First Nations' charter,…
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Lawyers acting for the federal Crown will introduce a story published in Windspeaker's April edition as evidence in Victor Buffalo versus the Queen, the landmark oil and gas case launched by the Samson Cree Nation.
Samson sources claim the move by the Crown is part of a strategy to convince Justice Max Teitelbaum that Samson lawyers are wasting the court's time with a…
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When Marilyn Buffalo, a member and employee of Alberta's Samson Cree Nation, revealed that her council had spent, as of February, $50 million in its legal fight against the federal Crown in an oil and gas trust monies lawsuit, some were shocked by the amount.
Samson lawyer James O'Reilly says there's a lot to be shocked about in this case, but that dollar figure is far…
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Paul Martin, the man who most people think will be Canada's next prime minister, dropped a bombshell on Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault on May 3 in Edmonton during a televised Liberal leadership debate.
Martin said he would not implement Bill C-7, Nault's First Nations governance act (FNGA), describing it a "severely poisoned" piece of legislation.
Deputy…
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Strong and disparate feelings were roused by the recent sentencing of an Ecuadorian shaman and his son on charges that stemmed from the death of a 71-year-old woman who took part in a healing ceremony the men were conducting.
The issues raised by the case against Juan and Edgar Uyunkar divided First Nation communities across the country and particularly on the Wikwemikong…
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Two Ecuadorian healers, who faced criminal charges for their part in the death of a 71-year-old Wikwemikong woman in 2001, were in court on April 24.
After determined plea-bargaining involving the Ontario Crown attorney, the federal Crown attorney and three defence lawyers, Juan and Edgar Uyunkar pled guilty to administering a noxious substance and trafficking in a…