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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.
Algonquins of the Pikwàkanagàn First Nation have joined with Innergex Renewable Energy Inc to stop further development of the Nodinosi prospective wind project located near Mattawa. The Nodinosi project was located in the townships of Phelps, Olrig and Mattawan of the Nipissing District. With a proposed installed capacity of approximately 150 MW, it was in the very early stages of development…
The Algonquins of Barriere Lake (ABL) filed a lawsuit against the government and their current and previous third-party managing companies, Hartel Financial Management Corp. and BDO Canada. The lawsuit for $30 million in damages claims that the government and managers have harmed the community “by mismanaging and withholding funds that were to be used for the benefit of the community and its…
Ontario Regional Chief Stan Beardy says Canada’s way of getting oil to market is in direct conflict with Indigenous rights and public safety. The statement comes after a second oil spill on Mattagami First Nation territory, the third CN derailment in northern Ontario in less than a month, and the second near the First Nation community within three weeks. While calls for cooperation between…
NAIG Might Head To Toronto
Canada’s most populous city might end up hosting the next North American Indigenous Games (NAIG).
That’s because only one association, the Aboriginal Sport and Wellness Council of Ontario (ASWCO), submitted a letter of intent to bid on hosting the 2017 NAIG.
The deadline to submit a letter of intent to the NAIG Council to host…
The national roundtable on murdered and missing Indigenous women held in Ottawa Feb. 27 resulted in little concrete action, but it has still given hope to one long-time activist.
“For the first time in any incident that I’m aware of have the police, the government, the social services agencies, have anyone recognized the pain and suffering encountered by the families,” said Muriel…
A war of words has erupted between the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations’ Interim Chief Kim Jonathan and high ranking members of the provincial government.
Jim Reiter, minister responsible for First Nations, Metis and Northern Affairs, is accusing Jonathan of “splitting hairs” over concerns that FSIN wasn’t included in discussions on a draft agreement for providing emergency…
B.C. storytellers Roy Henry Vickers and Robert “Lucky” Budd will be launching the third in a series of illustrated Northwest Coast legends on April 25.
Titled Orca Chief, it takes its place alongside their previous bestsellers Raven Brings the Light (2013) and Cloudwalker (2014).
For Vickers, already a renowned First Nations artist, the series has been a chance to merge his…
I was driving down the main street of Peterborough, Ont. when I saw it. It had been sitting there for years I’m told, a non-descript shop selling a wide set of accoutrements for those who enjoy smoking a variety of substances. I believe they are called head or bong shops.
I make no judgement on the recreational activity, but up until now, I never bothered to notice the actual name of…
The Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians said Senator Patrick Brazeau’s help is not welcome. They say “an accused abuser” isn’t fit to advocate for Indigenous women’s issues. Brazeau tweeted in late January he is “open to doing volunteer work on Aboriginal issues.” And he called for a national inquiry into missing and murdered aboriginal women. Brazeau is awaiting trial on sexual assault…
Crime on the Paul First Nation in Alberta is so prevalent that chief and council has drafted a bylaw to evict members from the community if charged with violent or drug crimes. The idea is to restore respect for community and for people, said Chief Casey Bird. He understands that the step is a drastic one, but a sexual assault against a six-year-old girl in the community in January prompted…
Chief Isadore Day of Serpent River First Nation sent an open letter to federal Parliamentarians in February asking that a motion and private members Bill be brought forward to make April 12 an annual day for a National Dialogue on Ending Racism in Canada.
Currently, there is “no national strategy to deal with this malady,” reads the letter. “All citizens and visitors to this land…
The Kativik School Board in northern Quebec is defending a decision to send four delegates to a conference on aboriginal education in Honolulu at a cost of $23,000, reports CBC. A local politician had accused the board of wasting taxpayers’ money, but the board shot back saying the trip is justified for the development of curriculum and culture/language work, and the complaint took the travel…
President Barack Obama has vetoed a bill that would lead to the construction of the Keystone XL 1,400 km pipeline that would bring oil from Alberta to join up with pipes in Nebraska that run to Texas. The pipeline has polarized positions, with Republicans and supporters saying it would create jobs, and Democrats and environmentalists saying it would contribute to carbon emissions and global…
The Canadian Press reports that a four-year program at Walpole Island and Kettle and Stony Point First Nations’ elementary schools has dramatically raised literacy rates. Once well behind provincial standards in reading and writing, students are exceeding those standards in some cases as of 2014. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin said he is impressed and hopes other reserves across Canada can…
It’s with a heavy heart that we report on such tragedy as the one that took the lives of two young children in a house fire on the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation in February. Aggravating an already horrible situation is the finger-pointing that has occurred in the aftermath. The tendency, of course, is to look for someone to blame for such a senseless loss. And that seems always to overshadow…