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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All-star teams representing various regions of the country will make their way to Cornwall Island in April for the first-ever, officially sanctioned national championship of Native hockey.
Midget- and bantam-age players (born in the years 1984 to 1987) will represent their regions on all-star teams in the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association sanctioned tournament. Separate…
Page 19
The Breakfast of Champions has finally decided to honor one of the greatest athletes of all time.
Native American Jim Thorpe, who was an Olympic double gold medallist, as well as a pro baseball and football player, has made it to the cover of Wheaties; the popular cereal dubbed The Breakfast of Champions.
Canadians, however, will have to travel south of the border…
Page 18
Mention of rumors that he was thinking of stepping down got a chuckle from the national chief after the first day of the confederacy in Ottawa.
"I am enjoying myself. I find it very challenging," he said. "There are 80 First Nations. We are very diversified. We have different strategies and different approaches. The challenge is trying to find a middle ground. When we…
Page 17
Breach of Trust, a hard rocking group of four musicians, who are being compared to Rush and Pearl Jam, have burst onto the mainstream Canadian music scene after years of hard work.
But it was the Canadian Aboriginal people who came to honor them on Nov. 23.
Their second recording, "Songs For Dying Nations" earned honors for Best Songwriter, Best Group or Duo and…
Page 16
Organizers for the Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards held on Nov. 23 tried a change of venue this year. Instead of holding the ceremonies at Toronto's SkyDome, as was done for the past two years, this year's event was held at the new Casino Rama entertainment centre on the Mnjikaning First Nation in Ontario. Located about two hours at rush hour north of Toronto, this facility…
Page 11
After everyone expected them to be full of fire and gunpowder, some say the questions being recommended to the British Columbia Liberal government on treaty negotiating principles are weak and innocuous.
But the Native leadership isn't letting down its guard.
First Nations Summit representative Bill Wilson was outraged by the proposed questions.
"I think it…
Page 9
National Post editorial page editor Jonathan Kay may be the most unpopular person in Indian Country.
His piece in the Saturday, Dec. 8 edition has Native people all over the country fuming. Kay wrote "The case for assimilation," a lengthy editorial essay that concludes that First Nations should give up the fight for self-government and just blend into the mainstream. To…
Page 6
A special chiefs assembly is expected to be scheduled- probably in Winnipeg in February-to discuss what the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) will do now that the chiefs have rejected a plan that would allow the assembly to work with the government to change the Indian Act.
In a vote that was conducted behind closed doors at a Confederacy held in Ottawa in early December,…
Page 5
Dear Editor:
I just read the article about the APTN board's plans to restructure the news operation, and wanted you to know my thoughts. Good article, well written and good timing.
Two important points just don't add up: the Sept. 25 meeting that occurred with staff and senior management, and later, your conversation with APTN CEO-Ron Nadeau on Oct. 23. You say…
Page 5
Dear Editor:
In today's world and with the employment equity allowing Aboriginal people to claim their descent for opportunities, [this suggests] new Aboriginal recruits. It appears that almost anyone can claim to be Aboriginal.
I started asking people working in the federal and provincial public sector how they obtained their positions. Many had indicated they…
Page 5
There are three things in this world I would urge people never to be or do. The first two are unimportant, but the third definitely would include being a critic or reviewer in the Native artistic community. Because no matter what you may write, you can be sure somebody you know will not like it and make sure that you know they do not like it. Or they will never talk to you again…
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Meganumbe
Every year around this time we have to deal with turkey fat. We eat so much Christmas turkey, mashed potatoes and pie, so as not to have the ability to buckle our pants. Well, this year not only is there fat, but there are a lot of junk gifts that I'd like to give back, or throw away. I'd consider a trade for some of those micro-fibre waistbands they hand out at…
Page 4
It has been a short time since my little cousin, Eric, died in a car accident. As with many who have passed on in similar circumstances, he did not have to die.
Eric was a passenger in a van heading home after a party. The intoxicated driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled over. My cousin, who was not wearing his seat belt, was thrown from the van. He died…
Page 4
We got some help this month when some hard, verifiable financial information about the AFN was 'slipped under the door in a plain brown envelope.' Such leaks are the essence of journalism, because people in positions of power and influence will lie to us if they think they can get away with it. We've seen that. And without the kind of assistance we receive, there's no way we can…
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After a meeting of the board of directors in Winnipeg in early December, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network's 21-member board of directors has decided to let their news staff come up with a new look for news and public affairs programming.
Sources say the board rejected the plan of the man they retained to perform an analysis of the news and public affairs…