Building bridges between Indigenous peoples and the immigrant community is becoming a priority as Canada welcomes more newcomers to the country.

Now that the Membertou First Nation is able to access money through the First Nations Finance Authority, it will be saving tens of thousands of dollars in bank charges.

“We have two large bank loans at regular banks at much higher rates and much shorter terms. With our borrowing capacity we’re able to borrow enough to pay off these bank loans. By doing that we’re able to save between $140,000 to $150,000 a month in carrying charges,” said Membertou Chief Terry Paul.

The Urbane Indian

There are four things in this country that all Native people will be asked or told at some point in their Aboriginal existence:  Do you have a spirit name? I love Tom King/Joseph Boyden/Sherman Alexie/A Tribe Called Red/Robbie Robertson. What the hell do you people want?  And finally, did you or someone in your family go to residential school?

Andrew (Shoon) Keewatin, Jr. admits he wasn’t surprised when his nine-year court battle against logging on Grassy Narrows First Nation’s traditional territories was defeated July 11 in the Supreme Court of Canada.

“It was the kind of decision I was expecting,” the trapper and hunter tells Windspeaker, his home full of furs harvested from his extensive traplines. But taking the Ontario government to court over its approval of forestry permits was a necessary tactic in his community’s long struggle for justice.

When B.C. First Nations formally launched a series of nine long-promised constitutional challenges to the federally-approved Enbridge Northern Gateway on July 14, they cited one single court case over and over.

As we head to press, the Assembly of First Nations is wrapping up Day Two of its assembly in Halifax, and while there wasn’t the spitting and hissing that marred the May meeting of the organization, tensions were heightened and loins girded for any sign of bullying and abuse.

Still, the business conducted July 15, particularly, was often mired in layer upon layer of confusion over procedure and process, and it began with what really should have been a simple task of choosing a month for the next election for national chief.