Assembly of First Nations Chiefs of New Brunswick released their plan “Restoring Hope for First Nations” in November outlining 10 ways to increase economic stability and meaningful employment for their people, but the chair in Native Studies at St. Thomas University said their plan is doomed to fail because it doesn’t address the root causes of First Nations poverty. Andrea Bear Nicholas said loss of culture is to blame for the social challenges facing Aboriginal people. “Our culture has been under assault since Europeans arrived here,” she said.

Senator Patrick Brazeau is again making headlines for all the wrong reasons, this time over the annual $20,000 housing allowance for claiming his principal residence is in Maniwaki, Que. Senators are entitled to the allowance if their principal residence is at least 100 km outside of Ottawa. Maniwaki is 130 km from the capital. But CTV News has uncovered that Brazeau is rarely seen in that region of the province. Brazeau rents a house in Gatineau with his girlfriend, but says he still lives at his father’s house in his hometown of Maniwaki when the Senate is not sitting.

The Government of Alberta has decided to extend its deadline for comment on reforms to consultation after Aboriginal leadership balked at the government’s proposed plan. Aboriginal Relations Minister Robin Campbell met with chiefs across the province on the issue of consultation regarding development on traditional lands. The chiefs say the proposed reforms give too much say to the government to decide when industry has done enough to include First Nation in their development plans. The chiefs say the reform plan will lead to more court battles.

Concerns are growing over the creation of a cheaper generic version of the powerful and highly-addictive pain medication OxyContin. The Anishinabek Nation believes the government of Canada has a moral and fiduciary responsibility to block pharmaceutical companies from making these alternative drugs. Oxy is destroying communities and families, said Northern Superior Regional Grand Chief Peter Collins. First Nations have urged the federal government to work with them in battling the drug in their communities.

Justice Bruce Cohen delivered his much-anticipated report on the collapse of the Fraser River sockeye fishery on Oct. 31, to muted applause from First Nations and environmentalists.

And though the province’s Conservatives immediately blasted him as “a timid man” and his inquiry an “abject failure,” the former B.C. Supreme Court judge minced no words.

The days were long and intense–and worth every minute.
“It was an extremely emotional day,” said Chef Ben Genaille, who led Aboriginal Culinary Team Canada at the World Culinary Olympics at Erfurt, Germany in October.

Filmmaker Alexus Young’s face transforms from anxious – the result of the week’s struggle with a noisy and insecure housing situation in one of Toronto’s poorest neighbourhoods – to a sly grin when Windspeaker approaches.

We had interviewed her at a policing conference several years before for an earlier article in this publication , but today the subject is filmmaking. In particular the Métis woman’s ImagiNATIVE film festival short film, “Where We Were Not Feeling Reserved.”

Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Ryan McMahon: Honesty. And money. Or. An honest friend with money. I like impromptu food binges and a broke friend can’t hit a burger joint with you on a whim unless you pay for that broke friend.

W: What is it that really makes you mad?
R.M.:  This could be a very long list—at the top of the list though is entitlement and ignorance. I run into these two things a lot as I travel around doing shows.

The Seventh Annual Aboriginal People’s Choice Awards, held as a component of the Manito Ahbee Festival, brought together the best of Canadian Indigenous Music in Manitoba last month.
Jacquie Black, manager of the awards held Nov. 1 and Nov. 2 in Winnipeg, said the awards are a true testament to the success and dedication of Indigenous people in the music industry.

“For the artists the awards are very important. They need to have recognition that they are heard. Music is their craft and a gift they are given,” said Black.

Original People Original Television: The Launching of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
Jennifer David
Published By: Debwe Communications Inc.
Pages: 214

Review by Christine McFarlane

“Original People: Original Television,” is a behind-the-scenes look at Aboriginal Canadian broadcasting, beginning with Robert Flaherty’s documentary Nanook of the North in 1922 to the creation and launch of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) in 1999.