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.
Cheryl Whiskeyjack would like to be shocked by recently-released figures that 741 children or teens, who had been brought to the attention of child welfare services in a variety of ways, died in Alberta from 1999 to June 2013.
“They’re new numbers to the public, but we’ve been working in this system for a while and whenever there’s been a death in care, especially when it effects our…
Despite facing a barrage of criticism from Prime Minister Stephen Harper government, Sun News Network and energy companies operating in the oil sands, Neil Young’s week-long cross-country tour raised more than $500,000 for a First Nation’s fight against the industrial development.
Dubbed “Honour the Treaties,” the 68-year-old Canadian rocker’s tour saw him play to packed audiences in…
“Outrage was the reaction,” Lubicon Lake Nation spokesman Garrett Tomlinson told Windspeaker, “but there wasn’t a lot of surprise.”
That was his response to a sweeping six-month court order issued Dec. 16 against a community blockade camp against sour gas drilling by Calgary-based Penn West Petroleum Ltd., which had only qualified and applied for a week-long injunction, Tomlinson said…
The Assembly of First Nations has stepped up its efforts to bring about changes to the Non-Insured Health Benefit program.
“I don’t know how many resolutions we’ve had at the AFN chiefs assemblies calling for improvement of access for non-insured but looking at statistics, looking at our results, the gap is getting wider between First Nations people that depend on non-insured and the…
THE URBANE INDIAN
Several years ago in Toronto there used to be a quite clever and original Native theatre ensemble called The Turtle Gals. One of their first shows was a collective production called The Scrubbing Project.
The title was a reference to an unfortunate practice that occasionally occurred decades ago in the Aboriginal community. In this society, dominated and…
WOLF SONGS & FIRE CHATS
Here, in Cowichan Valley, B.C., in this wide verdant valley, the Strait of Georgia undulates in close proximity and the elegant fingers that become big bays poke into the ribs of Vancouver Island. Great rivers and streams tumble out of the highlands where salmon run each year. The forests are rich and thick. Framed by mountains, the Cowichan might seem a…
Oshie cracks U.S. team
While Carey Price will be doing his best to prevent goals for the Canadian men’s Olympic hockey team, another Native player will be trying to score as many goals as possible for his side.
T.J. Oshie, who is part Ojibwe, will suit up for the American team in Sochi. Oshie is a 27-year-old forward with the St. Louis Blues. He’s in his sixth…
Nunavut to hold inquest into suicides
Padma Suramala, a registered nurse and Nunavut’s chief coroner, has called for an inquest into the overwhelmingly high rate of suicide in the territory, after 45 people took their own lives in 2013 — the highest number of annual suicides since the territory’s creation in 1999. Suramala announced the inquest at a news conference on…
The $3 million recently allocated by the provincial government to meet First Nations and Metis education goals, established by a joint task force on Aboriginal education, will be equalled in 2014-2015.
“In the new fiscal year there will be a new $3 million in place … certainly recognizing that the joint task force talked about an ongoing response and that will absolutely be part of the…
Veteran comedian explored racial divide
Fans of comedian Charlie Hill wished him a good journey into the spirit world and imagined the impact of his razor-wit on ‘the other side’.
“Nelson Mandela has a front row seat at Charlie’s first stand-up show in heaven” posted one Facebook supporter, while another claimed “God is slapping his knee at Charlie’s jokes as we speak.”
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Native actor and comedian Charlie Hill has passed away on Monday December 30, 2013 morning following a lengthy battle with lymphoma. Charlie Hill was 62 years old.
Some previous Windspeaker articles on Charlie Hill:
Something to think about as Canada digs up our bones
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Survivors of St. Anne’s Residential School were in provincial court in Toronto on Dec. 17 for the first day of a two-day hearing. They want the federal government to hand over documents from a five-year investigation conducted by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
The investigation, begun in 1994, was the result of complaints from former students of physical and sexual abuse by…
Always ensure tape is rolling when a politician is speaking. It’s one of the first things they teach young journalists when they are training, and thank goodness reporter Sara Norman of News1130 took heed, because she has provided us a clear look at the hard heart of this Canadian government. A very hard heart indeed.
Just before Christmas, Norman reported that James Moore, federal…
The people of West Hill United Church in Toronto are acting to hold the government accountable for upholding the treaties on their behalf.
“We’re all treaty people,” said Minister Gretta Vosper as she prepared to leave on Nov. 26 in a caravan headed for Ottawa with four members of the congregation, Ruth Gill, Steve Watson, Morlan Rees and Dorothy Hirlehey.
“The First Nations…
Rodney Hill has officially expanded his ownership responsibilities on the Canadian lacrosse scene.
Hill will continue to be the owner of the Ohsweken Demons, members of the Canadian Lacrosse League, also known as CLax, which is gearing up for its third season starting in February.
Hill, an Ohsweken entrepreneur, is also now a co-owner of the fledgling circuit. He owns 50 per cent…