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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.
Two agreements negotiated over a 20-year period have moved the Sioux Valley Dakota Nation into a position of self-governance. The First Nation is the first on the prairies to achieve this status.
“To me, it’s obviously about getting out from the Indian Act. It allows us now… to focus on the priorities set by the community,” said Chief Vincent Tacan.
Other First Nations have opted…
WOLF SONGS & FIRE CHATS
I’ve spent the bulk of my lifetime engaged in the process of learning. When life circumstances forced me to leave school at 16, I became very serious about remaining open to new discoveries.
For the longest time, books were my university. I’ve also benefited immensely from the presence of amazing and powerful teachers who gave me spiritual, cultural…
THE URBANE INDIAN
Let me share with you several tales of trans-cultural gifts.
In my journeys to far off lands, I have given and received many gifts. Sometimes I have proudly given one or two of my books as gifts. Occasionally it would be a unique Native themed t-shirt somebody took a fancy to, or something as unique as wild rice I had specifically brought for just such a situation…
Edward Dennis vividly remembers the northern winter day that four of his fellow students attempted to escape the abuse and starvation of Lejac Indian Residential School in Fraser Lake, B.C. Only one of his classmates survived.
“They were running away from Lejac,” he said. “One of them turned around at Piper’s Glen. He could hear (the other) three fall through the ice.”
Standing…
A dispute over development gets physical
Read more: http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/dispute-over-development-gets-physical
A week-long trip to southern Alberta and participation at the annual Feast to Remember the Children of the Red Deer Industrial School netted four more pieces to add to a unique Witness Blanket.
For Rosy Steinhauer, project coordinator for western Canada, the sandstone block from the industrial school’s foundation and the brick from the boys’ residence are particularly poignant.
“…
Creative Subversions: Whiteness, Indigeneity and the National Imaginary
Written By Margot Francis
Published By UBC Press
224 Pages
When you think of Canada and the nationalist image it presents to the world, are there certain images that come to mind? And with these images have you ever thought…
The president of the University of Lethbridge believes several universities in Canada and Mexico will have considerably increased relationships thanks to an Aboriginal partnership they have.
Dr. Mike Mahon, the president of the Lethbridge university, is confident numerous initiatives will result from a meeting held at his school in late June.
The meeting, which included officials…
Broader social issues part of inquiry into child’s death
Final submissions were given in August during the inquiry that is examining how the child welfare system failed to protect Phoenix Sinclair, who was abused and beaten to death at the age of five by her mother and mother's boyfriend. Phoenix had spent most of her life in foster care or with family friends and was…
Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Leemai Lafontaine: I value friends who are honest. Nothing is better than a dose of the truth when you really need it.
W: What is it that really makes you mad?
L.L.: When people complain about their situation, but do nothing to change it.
W: When are you at your happiest?
L.L.: I’m happiest when…
Alberta Grand Chiefs met Aug. 16 to discuss the province’s Policy on Consultation with First Nations on Land and Natural Resource Management. It is the latest proposal in the ongoing commitment of First Nations, industry, municipal and other stakeholders to engage with Alberta in the multi-year review process, reads a press statement. The chiefs are conducting an analysis of the document,…
Toronto home was the site of a colorful and lively protest Aug. 25 by demonstrators who wanted to draw attention to mercury levels in waters around Grassy Narrows First Nation. The protesters were playing musical instruments, but Wynne missed the show. She was out of town for the weekend. Grassy Narrows has been contaminated with mercury since 1962.
A local paper mill put about 10…
American researcher Christine Stark says Native women from communities in Canada, including Thunder Bay, are being trafficked on ships in Duluth harbour. Stark was one of five women who interviewed 105 Native trafficked women in Minnesota for the report “Garden of Truth: The Prostitution and Trafficking of Native Women in Minnesota.” Stark talked with Jody Porter of the CBC, saying “The women…
Eric Robinson, Deputy Premier of Manitoba, who is also the province’s Aboriginal Affairs minister, is facing a human rights complaint for an email remark made last November about “do-good white people.” The complaint comes from a Winnipeg women’s shelter, which was planning a burlesque show at a store called The Foxy Shoppe to raise money for Osborne House. Manitoba’s special adviser on…
Wolf Songs and Fire Chats
I became a grandfather last November. I’d been one for a lot longer. I just hadn’t known about it. See, when I was in my early twenties I’d fathered a son. The girl and I could not be together. I was wild, reckless, already a roaring and unpredictable drunk. She was a family person, anchored, calm and contained. When she was asked to choose her family over me…