March 4 Justice

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See all of the Rank Comix cartoons for 2012

There is a new threat to First Nations people: A new strain of bacterial infection linked to meningitis and pneumonia. Type B Haemophilus influenzae had been eradicated by the 1990s through vaccine programs, but by 2006, Dr. Marina Ulanova of Lakehead University’s Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) in Thunder Bay, Ont., noticed a Type A strain hitting First Nations people hard. Ulanova’s research team is trying to learn more about the strain to create a vaccine before the bacterial infection gets out of control.

Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation is heading to court. The federal government said the band received too much funding for a building project and allege the extra money was diverted to other areas, including paying off the nation’s line of credit. A statement of claim was entered by the federal government on June 15 which said the $4.6 million in over-funding was used “for purposes other than they were intended for,” said Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan. The allegations have not been proven in court. The community is about 800 km north of Winnipeg.

The conservative think tank C.D. Howe Institute is reporting that Aboriginal people who live in cities are just as happy as other Canadians. The institute’s report is based on data from the 2009 Urban Aboriginal Peoples Study by Environics, in which more than half of 1.2 million Aboriginal people reported living in the urban setting. The survey asked 2,614 Aboriginal people living in 11 cities the question “Are you happy with your life.” The average happiness score was 2.5 out of three. More than half (57.8 per cent) said they were “very happy”.

Caption: From left to right: Dan Smoke; Andrew Bolter (executive director of Community Legal Assistance Sarnia); Mary Lou Smoke, and Jeff Plain (Baamsedaa Coordinator/Community Legal Worker).

The Algonquin First Nation took a stand against logging company Resolute Forest Products when it learned the company began logging in sensitive moose habitat and sacred areas of the nation’s traditional territory at Barriere Lake without warning or consultation. Band members were soon in a standoff with Sûreté du Québec officers, who were asserting that members of the First Nation were blocking access to the freeway. Police warned the members they could be punished under the Quebec Highway Safety Code.

Outcasts of River Falls:
Published By Coteau Books for Kids
Written By Jacqueline Guest
242 Pages
Book Review By Christine McFarlane

Imagine growing up in a well-to-do home but because of a family death, having to move away from what you have always known to Alberta to live with an aunt you have never met. Now imagine learning that your familial roots are not what you were led to believe.

Discovering Totem Poles: A Traveler’s Guide

Written By Aldona Jonaitis
Douglas & McIntyre Publishers Inc.

Book Review By Christine McFarlane

“Discovering Totem Poles: A Traveler’s Guide” is the first guidebook to focus on the complex and fascinating histories of the specific totem poles visitors encounter in Seattle, Victoria, Vancouver, Alert Bay, Prince Rupert, Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) Ketchikan, Sitka and Juneau.

Ontario chiefs are looking for a “more aggressive” style of leadership.

“Times are changing in Canada and Ontario and … I’ve been advocating to the chiefs we need to be a lot more aggressive, we need to be a lot more vocal to make sure that we are being counted,” said Stan Beardy, newly elected regional chief for the Assembly of First Nations.

Sean and Heather McCormick, a brother and sister Métis team from Winnipeg, are passionate about Aboriginal handcrafted products. Their passion has become a business and their business is selling high quality mukluks and moccasins worldwide.

It was an interest plucked from their mother’s Métis background, which set them up with a passion for the past.

And how did they happen to target mukluks and moccasins; footwear that Aboriginal people have been wearing since the mists of time?