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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.
The Tsuu T’ina First Nation does not need legislation for chief and council to be fiscally accountable to their membership, say leaders. And no legislation will force the Treaty 7 First Nation in southern Alberta to open its financial records in their entirety to the federal government.
When the First Nations Financial Transparency Act became law July 29, Tsuu T’ina submitted 20 pages…
The Assembly of First Nations is at a critical point as an organization and not only around whom it will choose as its next leader, but also how the leadership contest is undertaken.
There is potential for divisiveness, said Trent University Professor David Newhouse, who lectures on Indigenous politics and Aboriginal governance.
“(The potential leader) needs to be able to bring…
It’s exhausting to keep fighting this same fight over and over. Can someone please send a memo to whoever now needs to be informed that using traditional Native headdresses as a fashion accessory is, in fact, an offensive appropriation of Native culture and spirituality?
New Zealand fashion designer Trelise Cooper prominently featured “Indian-style headdresses” in her recent “70s…
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is stubbornly refusing to call a national inquiry into the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women, refusing to see that we have a very serious problem here across Canada that desperately needs addressing. He should be held to account for gross incompetence and utter lack of leadership. He is wrong. He lacks vision. His view is dangerous and narrow.
…Grand chief advocated for treaty relationship
Two years ago, Grand Chief Dr. Stan Louttit sat in a duck blind in northern Ontario with his 20-year-old grandson Warren Hardisty.
“It wasn’t really hunting. It was education,” recalled Hardisty. “He shared his vision and dreams for our people. He spoke for hours and hours as we waited for some geese or ducks. I absorbed all I could…
A new agreement with the B.C. government will enable the
Kanaka Bar Indian Band to share revenue from the Kwoiek Creek Hydroelectric Project. The Kwoiek Creek Hydroelectric Project is a 49.9 mega-watt run-of-river project located 14 kilometres south of Lytton and west of Kanaka Bar on the lower reaches of Kwoiek Creek, a tributary to the Fraser River. The project includes a 71-…
Premier Christy Clark has asked to meet with BC First Nations
leaders and her cabinet in September. It will be the first such gathering since Clark became premier. “We’re working with the (First Nations) Leadership Council, and invitations are going to be going to all the chiefs in the province for Sept. 11 to be held in Vancouver,” said Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister…
Aboriginal Legal Services Toronto (ALST) is expanding its
Gladue report writing program with an additional $1 million in funding over two years from Legal Aid Ontario (LAO). Gladue reports detail the unique life circumstances of First Nation, Metis, and Inuit people and offer recommendations for sentencing given their circumstances. The funding will allow ALST to hire new caseworkers and…
The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB)
and Sodexo Canada have announced that this year’s recipient of the Award for Excellence in Aboriginal Relations is former Canadian diplomat and Fellow with the Arctic Institute of North America, Mary Simon. As Canada’s first Ambassador for Circumpolar Affairs, a lead negotiator for the creation of the Arctic Council, and former…
Take treaty rights seriously or suffer the consequences,
and in the case of Manitoba First Nations, that means restricting flows from the Lake St. Martin emergency outlet channel and not taking the weight of flood waters while other communities get protection. On July 11 in Winnipeg, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs said “It shouldn’t be 100 per cent losses in…
CBC News is in possession of a document that says the federal
government is preparing for court challenges of the Navigation Protection Act, the organization reported. The legislation was part of the controversial omnibus budget bill of 2013, changing significantly waterways used by First Nations people, among other users. In total, 98 per cent of rivers and lakes in Canada are now not…
Legal action has been taken against Canada
by four Alberta First Nations—Sucker Creek First Nation, Ermineskin Cree Nation, Kainai Nation (Blood Tribe) and the Tsuu T’ina Nation—on unsafe drinking water. “Potable water is a serious issue in Alberta as we cannot even drink water from pumps or natural springs,” said AFN Alberta Regional Chief Cameron Alexis. “This situation is unacceptable…
The National Association of Friendship Centres,
the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba and the Native Women’s Association of Canada will receive $1 million a year each over a five year period as part of the Partners for Engagement and Knowledge Exchange (PEKEs) grants which aim to promote better health for Aboriginal peoples under the Pathways to Health Equity for…
The Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, Assembly of First Nations
(AFN) and The Holmes Group celebrated on July 11 the completion of the “G’WIIGWAAMNAANIIN” (Building Homes & Building Skills) pilot project for housing and infrastructure. The community now has housing units built to First Nation Sustainable Development Standards (FNSDS) developed as part of the project to create safer,…
A resolution to mount an independent inquiry in Ontario into missing and murdered indigenous women (MMIW) was passed unanimously by Ontario First Nations leaders. Chief Kelly LaRocca of Scugog First Nation and Chief Georjann Morriseau of Fort William First Nation brought the resolution forward at the All Ontario Chiefs Assembly held in Toronto in June.
Before the deliberations on the…