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.
Three men running for the position of national chief for the Assembly of First Nations is a far cry from the eight – four men and four women – who jumped into the race in 2012.
“The political climate is too extreme,” said Grassy Narrows First Nation Chief Simon Fobister. “There’s a lot of mixed emotions across the board so it would have been challenging for anyone to enter into that…
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde is hoping to go from being the Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for Saskatchewan to heading the organization. It will be Bellegarde’s second run at the position.
Bellegarde was the first candidate to officially declare his intentions to take over the AFN’s top job. Bellegarde challenged Shawn Atleo in 2009,…
Brian Bowman may not have been elected on the strength of his Métis heritage, but Winnipeg’s first Indigenous mayor has made it clear that the Aboriginal population is a priority to him.
A week after being sworn in to run the city that boasts the largest urban Aboriginal population in the country, Bowman not only appointed a new chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, who shares a “key…
A newly released series of reports on sex trafficking in Canada has found that Indigenous women and girls are especially vulnerable to the sex trade.
The Native Women’s Association of Canada reviewed studies from 1982 to 2011of Indigenous women or youth in the sex industry and found colonial history, which included residential schools, and poor socio-economic conditions matched the risk…
Serving as interim national chief for the Assembly of First Nations since July, Ghislain Picard has decided to try to make the position his for the next term.
The Innu leader is one of three people vying to head the AFN in what many consider a pivotal point for the organization following Shawn Atleo’s sudden resignation in May.
“I’m very much affected by how our house has been…
Leon Jourdain says he is the candidate who has been given the nod by the grassroots.
“My grandchildren, everybody’s grandchildren, those people I look to on the ground level, are saying, ‘You need to run. You’re on the ground all the time. We tell you about our issues,’” said Jourdain. “All the information I have is shaped by the people on the ground.”
He adds that he was…
A verdict delivered by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal within the next six months could find Canada in a unique position: the first country to be held liable for contemporary mistreatment of children.
“Many of these things that have happened in Canada and worldwide have been about wayward policies of governments that have happened in the past. But this case has the potential of…
THE URBANE INDIAN
Once again, an august row of educated, privileged white men and women are sitting in judgement on the fate of Canada’s Native people. I am talking about the Supreme Court of this country. The question being debated, should a row of educated, privileged white men and women sit in judgement on the fate of Canada’s Native people?
Recently, the conviction of an…
Guest Column
By Senator Sandra Lovelace Nicholas
It is with a heavy heart that I am writing about the ongoing tragedy of murdered and missing Aboriginal women, a national epidemic of violence that persists in devastating ever more families each year.
The dreadful cases of Bernice Rich, Loretta Saunders and Tina Fontaine – to name a few…
We’d like to take this space to send our thoughts and prayers out to Rinelle Harper and her family. Many of us at Windspeaker have children, grandchildren Rinelle’s age and our hearts exploded in pain when we heard of the assault on her. We can only imagine the nightmare she is living. The brutality endured by this 16-year-old child should make the blood boil in every Canadian. Let us…
Mike McKenzie, chief of the Uashat mak Mani-utenam, reminded Prime Minister Stephen Harper that Innu Nation “is an indispensable partner when it comes to hydroelectric, forestry and mining resources.” McKenzie said “In all development, First Nations must be consulted and accommodated. The time when only economic arguments justified the completion of projects is over. The people, especially…
Penticton Indian Band has signed a non-binding letter of interest with Kaneh Bosm BioTechnology Inc.
Pentictonwesternnews.com reports the Penticton Indian Band has signed a non-binding letter of interest with Kaneh Bosm BioTechnology Inc., to investigate the cultivation of medical marijuana in its territory. The process now is to talk with community members, do a feasibility study and examine costs of environmental assessments, and if all that is positive, move on to a community referendum.…
The online news source durhamregion.com reports that a judge considering the case of a First Nation mother seeking alternative treatment of their child’s cancer questioned whether forcing chemotherapy would be “imposing our world view on First Nations.” The mother of the girl wants to take her daughter to the U.S. for treatment that involves herbal medicines and a changed diet. “Who am I to…
APTN National News reports Aboriginal Affairs is “playing politics” with project funding in the millions of dollars for First Nations organizations and reporter Jorge Barrera said the Assembly of First Nations executive is planning a “counter-attack”. Minister Bernard Valcourt is said to be sitting on 14 proposals from the AFN, well past the department’s own April 1 promised deadline for a…
The OPP and the Nishnawbe-Aski Police successful intercepted illegal prescription pills destined for the First Nation community of Attawapiskat. On Sept. 28, the Nishnawbe-Aski Police Drug Unit, Attawapiskat Detachment members, along with the assistance of the Ontario Provincial Police Drug Enforcement Unit seized Oxycodone prescription pills with an estimated street value of $17,500 dollars.…