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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.
EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
If it were humanly possible, Windspeaker staff would cover every newsworthy event in all northern communities, including cultural celebrations, baseball games and important regional Indian and Metis council meetings. Information is power and it's Windspeaker's purpose to keep its audience informed of all newsworthy happenings in and around Alberta, and outside the…
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EDITORIAL
Is the Pope's visit secret? Are we being kept in the dark? It appears the answer is yes. Since the announcement of the Papal tour of Fort Simpson, the papal committee based in Ottawa has apparently "blanketed the area (NWT)" with information. Funny . . . neither we at Windspeaker nor the McKenzie Times, another Native newspaper based in Fort Simpson, have…
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The federal government will announce the new negotiator for the Lubicon Lake land claim within the next few weeks said Indian Affairs Minister Bill McKnight in Vancouver, Aug. 31.
However, the replacement of Roger Tasse, who stepped down from his position last month is not preventing the negotiations.
"We will come to the table any time. We can even use the Fulton…
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A quick end to the Lubicon dispute could be possible if OCO, and the Glenbow Museum board of directors used their economic and political clout to bring about negotiations, said Joan Ryan, a University of Calgary anthropologist.
"They could lean on the government and get this resolved in a week, but they're not interested, said Ryan at the monthly meeting of the Aboriginal…
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One of Alberta's original historic sites, significant to Native people, was officially declared a provincial historic resource by Culture Minister Dennis Anderson Sept. 1.
The Lac La Biche Mission, located 10 miles southwest of the townsite on the south shore of the lake, was recognized as an important part of Alberta's heritage after careful examination of its history and…
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A recent advertisement in Windspeaker for a Lac St. Anne symbol containing holy water, has upset the director of the Lac St. Anne Pilgrimage, Father Jacques Johnson.
"Such an enterprise is an abuse of the faith of the people and a travesty of some sacred Church practices," said Father Johnson in a letter to Windspeaker.
The advertisement ran for two weeks in August…
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Dr. Reinhild Rodrigues, newly appointed director of Native Student Services at the University of Alberta began her job on August 17.
Rodrigues, 42, has a doctorate in anthropology. Although her specialization was in East Africa, she has worked extensively with Canadian Natives and remarks that "most theories apply across the world" and has found many applications in her…
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The appointment of Bernard Valcourt as junior minister responsible for DIAND confirms a trend that has been growing for several months, says members of Aboriginal organizations in Ottawa.
Valcourt, already Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism, was appointed last week to the department responsibilities under senior minister Bill McKnight.
The appointment…
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The first Native youth conference will be held in conjunction with the winter Olympic games to be held in Calgary in February.
Approximately 55 Indian, Inuit and Metis teenagers from all parts of the country will attend the conference coordinated by WINSports (Western Indian Native Sports) Association.
The program will be funded by the federal department of Health…
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Fears that the Alberta government will introduce sales tax in the near future have forced the Indian Association of Alberta to conduct negotiations with the government to ensure a new provincial tax will not be levied against Treaty Indian people, says president Gregg Smith.
In an interview after the University of British Columbia Native law conference, Smith said that…
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Indian people are better qualified to form their own education system for their own children than government officials, says the regional director of Indian Affairs (DIAND).
Following a special signing ceremony at Fort Chipewyan Sept. 2, Dennis Wallace remarked, "we state openly and often that Indian people can better run education than we can."
The document was…
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The planned papal tour scheduled for Fort Simpsons Sept 20 is being marred by the "racist" attitude of papal officials, says the editor of a Northwest Territories Native newspaper.
Joe Mecredi, editor of the McKenzie Times, says the papal committee "removed" him from a meeting scheduled to inform local media of the upcoming visit.
"There is no information coming out…
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The proposed Kamloops Amendment to the Indian Act announced at the Native law conference in Vancouver is "going to make no difference at all," says a University of Saskatchewan law professor.
Speaking on the second day of the conference, Richard Bartlett said the amendment may help some bands in British Columbia where industrial parks and tourist attractions have already…
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The recent outbreak of tuberculosis at Little Buffalo and Cadotte Lake is a testimony to the inferior health and economic conditions among Alberta's underprivileged according to the medical consulting officer to the Peace River Health Unit, Dr. Graham Clarkson.
TB is nothing new to the affected communities which are about 100 km northeast of Peace River and have been noted…
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EDITORIAL
The proposed "Kamloops amendment" to the Indian Act has been greeted with jubilation by many of our leaders. The proposed amendment would allow Indian bands to levy property taxes on non-Indian businesses on reserves. Currently, the provincial governments tax these businesses but yet refuses to supply such amenities as sewer and water, to these businesses ?…