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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.
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Times are tough in the Arctic. The military bugged out, the oil and gas business dried up, so the Inuvialuit Development Corporation came to realize the only way to survive was to dramatically change the way it did business.
The year 1993 was a good one for the corporation, the Inuvialuit management company which attempts to fulfil the business goals set out in the…
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Former leader accused of being police informant
The American Indian Movement is not what it once was.
The feisty organization of Native Americans who took up arms at Wounded
Knee is now caught up in internal strife and charges that one of its former leaders, Vernon Bellecourt, is a police informer.
Members of the American movement held a public trial…
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Dreamspeakers Festival director Loro Carmen said Edmonton council's vote to not increase the festival's funds leaves her little choice but to lobby against specific aldermen in next year's civil election.
"We'll certainly be working on council and I have personally made a commitment to unseat some council members," Carmen said.
Carmen has taken off the kid gloves…
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The case was an interesting one said the judge. But then he found the two treaty Indians on trial guilty of selling tax-free U.S. cigarettes and the May 6 court proceeding became a little frightening as well.
"When he said guilty, I didn't know what to expect after that," said George Poitras, 57, of the Peepeekiss Band of Saskatchewan. "My eldest daughter had to leave."…
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The time has come for all the Crees of North America to join and work together as confederates, said Opaskwayak Cree Nation general manager, Jim Smith, on announcing a conference to the end.
Smith is hoping The Gathering, planned for July 18 to 24 and hosted in Opaskwayak, will set the stage for the development of a Cree Confederacy. This confederacy will be instrumental…
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Aboriginals in Quebec should have no fear of being stranded by the federal government if the province decides to separate, said Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin.
Native people - with their territory - have the option to remain a part of Canada if they don't want to be included as part of an independent Quebec, he said.
Irwin made the remarks in Quebec City, May 18…
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Ovide Mercredi, Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations has gone on record as being clearly opposed to any self-government plans on a national-provincial basis.
Without constitutional protection there will be no guarantee any deals on self-government will stand up in court, he warned.
Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin told the group there must be legal…
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Organizers for a conference on impaired driving were disappointed at the lack of Native representation.
The conference organized for Alberta students by People Against Impaired Driving and Research and Education on Impaired Driving was held April 21 to 24, in Edmonton. Drawing on previous attendance, the conference, called Accept the Challenge IV, included several…
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Indians called the camera the "face-puller." They distrusted the "white man's mystery box," and regarded it with a mixture of curiosity, hostility and fear.
Now, the photographers and their subjects are the focus of The Face Pullers: Photographing Native Canadians 1871-939 (Fifth House, 184 pp, $29.95) by Brock Silversides.
His book, packed with 192 pictures, is…
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Keeper'n Me
By Richard Wagamese
Paperback, $13.95, 214 pages
Published by Doubleday
Former Windspeaker columnist Richard Wagamese has turned a spiritual quest into a moving, highly readable story in his first novel, Keeper'n Me.
Part autobiography and part fiction, the tale of Garnet Raven's reconnection to his family and culture is a tale of…
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The young Inuk working at his dad's gift shop-video rental outlet in Iqaluit had bags under his eyes and his voice was practically gone. He had the flu and should've
been home in bed instead of serving the white-haired gentleman with the British accent looking for a polar bear carving.
But the 18-year-old pleasantly helped him, making small talk as he rang up the…
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The message is clear. Aboriginal First Nations and communities in Canada, and around the world, are actively shaping the size, strength and use of their economic power. The ripple effects of this force are only beginning to be felt.
This message was heard again and again in Toronto by participants in Open For Business: Doing Business With Aboriginal Canada.
The…
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It was a beautiful Easter weekend and the Skydome was abuzz with the sounds
of thousands upon thousands of people enjoying the first-ever Toronto International Powwow. People of all nations were bustling around shopping at all the Native arts and crafts booth, or watching the dancing and drumming taking place on the field. To these powwow-jaded eyes it looked like people…
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The third annual National Youth Conference, held in Edmonton April 26 to 29, was the largest ever, but organizers look to continued growth in 1995.
Dennis Arcand, conference founder, co-ordinator and chairman, is planning to invite American youths to the next conference, and sees that, and greater Metis participation, leading to further growth.
Just under 900…
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A Syncrude employee's efforts in promoting Aboriginal employment in the province was officially recognized during an annual award ceremony in this city recently.
James Carbery is Syncrude's senior adviser for Aboriginal development in Fort McMurray. His work with Aboriginal leaders and communities in the area was recognized by the Alberta chapter of the Interprovincial…