A report released on June 23 by the Canadian Council of Provincial Child and Youth Advocates, titled Aboriginal Children and Youth in Canada: Canada Must Do Better, has pointed to how Aboriginal children and youth are the most “important and […]
Archive for July, 2010
Too Much Of A Good Thing
There is only one real dessert in the Cree culture – and that is bannock. It is a baked mix of mostly flour and water with variations that sometimes add some sugar. To many, it might seem very bland but […]
Celebrating National Aboriginal Day in Montreal
It was a beautiful sunny day as a diverse group of people congregated at the entrance of the Montreal Botanical Garden on June 21, National Aboriginal Day. Most striking among the group were several Elders and youths dressed in traditional […]
Grand Chief Coon Come’s Statement
Wachiya. I am Matthew Coon Come. I am the Grand Chief of the James Bay Cree Nation in Eeyou Istchee. I am here today to make a personal statement, not as a political leader but rather as an Indigenous human […]
Truth and reconciling
First Nations, Métis and Inuit from across Canada convened, shared, prayed and made permanent records of the abuse that they suffered at the hands of the government-imposed Residential School System at the Truth and Reconciliation National (TRC) Event held in […]
Voices of opposition heard in Vermont
While Vermont moved quickly this past May to pass a bill that would see Hydro-Québec granted status as a renewable-energy source, no Crees had the opportunity to speak about the projects that have so deeply affected them in the state […]
Northern songbird
Meeting Elisapie Isaac is like hooking up with an old friend you haven’t seen for years. Within minutes, you are in deep conversation catching up on past events. As the electronic music pulsated over the speakers in the designer lounge […]
A journey of a lifetime
It was a rainy day and the thought of spending time with 19 children from Chisasibi was something I was looking forward to, especially knowing that we were going to Parc Safari, just south of Montreal. As I started thinking […]
Imposing elections
According to Tony Wawatie, a community representative from Barriere Lake, Minister Chuck Strahl and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) are imposing section 74 of the Indian Act electoral system on the community despite its desire to select […]
Suspicious minds part 2
In my last Rez Notes (Vol. 17, No. 16), I mentioned there were some people who were stranded for the last 50 years, surveyors left in the middle of nowhere to map out the great white north. Some of these […]