Windspeaker news briefs - August

THE SASKATCHEWAN INDIAN GAMING ASSOCIATION (SIGA)
has donated $50,000 to provide relief for the Kawacatoose First Nation, hit by a tornado on July 2. This brings the total of funds raised for the community to more than $62,000. The tornado flattened a dozen homes at Kawacatoose, located about an hour-and-a-half north of Regina. SIGA and the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations held a barbecue to collect donations of household items. They also raised $5,300, and Ochapawace First Nation donated $5,000. Pat Cooke, vice-president of Corporate Affairs with SIGA says the funds will help the rebuilding effort, but there is more to do for the victims.

NESCAMBIOUIT (1660-1727), WAR CHIEF
and spokesman of the Abenakis, was recognized by Canada as a man of national historic significance. A commemorative plaque by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada was unveiled at the Odanak Recreation and Leisure Centre July 3. The Odanak community is celebrating its 350th anniversary this year. “Nescambiouit is an Abenaki of great reputation. His exceptional qualities were recognized not only by his people, but by the King of France. It is therefore with respect that we pay homage to him today,” said Jim Prentice, minister of the Environment and minister responsible for Parks Canada. Abenaki war chief Nescambiouit displayed exceptional military and negotiating skills. He was renowned for his bravery and exploits on the battlefield, particularly during the conflicts between the French and British. His reputation and abilities as a diplomat made him a worthy representative of his nation, notably with Louis XIV, who received him at the French Court and sought his influence in maintaining an alliance with the Abenakis. “Commemorating First Nations history is a priority for our government. A significant figure in Abenaki history, Nescambiouit, along with other Aboriginal events, persons or places known for their national historic significance, form an important part of the cultural mosaic of Canada,” said Prentice.

MÉTIS NATIONAL COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Clément Chartier said the dismissal of a Manitoba Métis land claim case was disappointing, and the council will now seek to intervene in the appeal of the case to the Supreme Court of Canada. “The Métis Nation will not allow this decision to stand and the MNC will be taking active measures to prepare its intervenor application.” Launched in 1981 by the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) and several Métis families in the province, the case seeks compensation for the 1.4 million acres of land promised to Métis in the Manitoba Act, as negotiated by Louis Riel’s Provisional Government with Canada to allow for Manitoba’s entry into Confederation. In 2007, the Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench ruled Métis in Manitoba did not have a collective claim to the land, and that the Manitoba Act was not a treaty. The Court of Appeal has upheld that decision, and refused to rule on constitutional issues raised in the claim. Chartier said the decision did contain a number of positive findings that can be built upon in the appeal. “The decision overturned the lower court’s finding that Métis do not have Aboriginal title and it recognized that there is a fiduciary relationship between the Crown and Métis people,” said Chartier. The decision also recognized there was a great delay with respect to the implementation of allocations of land to the Métis, Chartier said, and mistakes were made in the allocation of lands to Metis children. “This fight has been going on for well over a century and the Métis Nation has no intention of backing down now,” said Chartier. “I am confident the Métis will find justice, and the promises made to our ancestors will be fulfilled.”

AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL TEAM LED BY
Dr. Scott Hamilton of Lakehead University’s Department of Anthropology is working with the Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation on the discovery of a 4,600-year-old burial site, which was found at the mouth of the Bug River, located on the south side of Big Trout Lake in northern Ontario. Last fall, a group of fishermen came across a skeleton at the site at a time when water levels were high, which caused the shoreline to erode and remains to become exposed. Because the skeleton was found mostly intact, it was possible for team members to determine the remains are those of an adult male, likely in his late 30s or early 40s, and measuring at roughly 5' 5" in height with an extremely robust and muscular build. This man would have lived during roughly the same period as when the Great Pyramids were being built in Egypt. It is not known how this individual died, though he appears to have been given a formal burial. Hamilton notes, a flat slab of granite is associated directly with the bones, and “It looks very much like a purposeful grave.” Red ochre was found on the man’s bones and nearby sediment. It is thought the color was added to his body before burial, a practice seen throughout the world, including prehistoric North America. The discovery could hold the key to how ancient First Peoples lived.