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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.
Blasphemy
Author: Sherman Alexie
Published By: Grove Press
Pages: 465
Review by Christine Smith
Author Sherman Alexie never fails to make you laugh when you read one of his books. Blasphemy is an anthology of 15 of his classics, such as “War Dances,” “The Toughest Indian in the…
The first university to apologize to Indian residential school students will house the National Research Centre, which will tell the story of Indian residential school survivors.
The statement of apology and reconciliation issued by University of Manitoba President Dr. David Barnard was one factor in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s decision to award the research centre to the…
Three weeks after states of emergency were declared on the Siksika First Nation and Stoney Nakoda Nations, impacted community members have received $4.5 million in help from the provincial government. Flooding caused by torrential downpours and overflowing river banks left communities devastated.
With 25 local governments, including Tsuu T’ina First Nation and the cities of Calgary and…
One of Canada’s largest cities is the first to proclaim a “Year of Reconciliation” in an effort to mend its “bitter” relationship with the Aboriginal community.
The reconciliation year in Vancouver began on National Aboriginal Day, June 21, and will run until June 20, 2014.
In a summit that took place downtown on June 20, Mayor Gregor Robertson presented Kwagiulth chief, Dr.…
Citing new reasons, but coming to the same conclusion, the Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld the decision rendered by two lower courts that found Métis harvester Garry Hirsekorn guilty of hunting in southern Alberta without a license.
In a decision rendered July 4, Justice Marina Paperny stated, “… The trial judge (and) the appeal judge … both concluded that no Métis community had a…
The Yale First Nation is entitled by virtue of their collective rights and title to enjoy the area known as the 5 mile fishery, reads a press release entitled the Stó:lo people reject Canada and BC decision to give exclusive title of 5 Mile Fishery to Yale First Nation.” But if Yale’s treaty is ratified, it will grant Yale constitutionally-protected authority to “gate-keep an area that has for…
As with most good cons, the required element of greed was present in many of the victims of Michael Joseph Sisson, 38, who carried on a scam in Saskatchewan for six years, separating almost $54,000 from the pockets of people over that period of time. The “chief scam”, as it became known, was also successful, said Crown prosecutor Robin Ritter, because it capitalized on the belief that First…
Rank Comix for July 2013
Treaty caravan led by AMC
Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs was joined by other Aboriginal leaders on a 10-day motorcycle tour of First Nations across the prairies on what was dubbed the Treaty Freedom Caravan and Ride. The tour, covering more than 4,000 km, was to raise awareness of treaty…
Five years ago on June 11, 2008, a rare “sorry” was uttered from the lips of the Prime Minister of Canada. Sorry for Canada’s part in creating the residential school system, said Stephen Harper. Sorry for Canada’s policy of assimilation, which “was wrong, has caused great harm, and has no place in our country.” Sorry that Indian children were forcibly removed from their communities and their…
Though the Saskatchewan Aboriginal Women’s Circle Corporation was part of the seven years of talks that went into Bill S-2, the Family Homes on Reserves and Matrimonial Interests or Rights Act, the group isn’t sure the new law will accomplish what it sets out to do. That’s because their input didn’t much make it into the Bill, said Judy Hughes, president of the SAWCC. The act provides rules…
The United Church of Canada is joining the Native Women’s Association of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations in calling for the Canadian government to convene a national inquiry into missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls in Canada. And they want it as soon as possible. In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Nora Sanders, General Secretary of the General Council wrote, “…
The mining industry can anticipate conflict with First Nations in the Ring of Fire region of Ontario if companies play by “old rules” and attempt to impose their will on communities, said Phil Fontaine, former Assembly of First Nations national chief. “Resource interests should strive to negotiate with First Nations up front instead of the way it was done in the past, as an afterthought,”…
The Parti Quebecois government's new bill on mining had angered First Nations. They said the Bill contravenes their rights and completely ignores issues relating to territory and resources. “The Canadian Constitution recognises the rights of the Aboriginal peoples. Whether it likes it or not, the provincial government must comply with it and fulfil its obligations,” said Chief Ghislain Picard…
Over the course of 26 days starting June 21, National Aboriginal Day, representatives of First Nations communities in Ontario are planning to walk the 1,200-kilometre distance around Georgian Bay to raise awareness of decreasing water levels. The Spirit Lake Water Walk – or Mnidoo Gaamining Bimooseyang, as it is called in Anishinabemowin – will start on Beausoleil First Nation territory in…
The launch of Parliament’s Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women was applauded as a rare show of political consensus, drawing unanimous all-party support on Feb. 27.
Since then, it has met every Thursday evening, adopting a three-step framework–studying root causes of violence, front-line services, and prevention–and has heard from federal departments, police, and the…