The Nation Timeline part 2

Jan. 24, 2003: Cree legal eagles join bigger flock – James Bay Cree lawyers Mainville & Associates sign up with Montreal’s Gowling Lafleur Henderson LLP

Feb. 7, 2003: SNC-Lavalin to build artillery test site in Cree territory – Non-Native James Bay mayors approve testing of 105mm shells for Canadian army and NATO; trappers opposed
Feb. 21, 2003: Paix des Braves: one year later – “Economic benefits are beginning to come to the Cree communities,” writes Nemaska Chief George Wapachee
March 7, 2003: The great darkness – Action Démocratique du Québec party leader Mario Dumont in favour of hydroelectric projects
March 21, 2003: Waskaganish areas protected – Province will limit development and industrial activity in five environmentally and culturally sensitive areas
April 5, 2003: New training centre for Crees – $18.3M, 4,000-square-metre Vocational Training Centre coming to Waswanipi
April 19, 2003: MacLeod sees bright future for Cree Construction – Company president stresses importance of community projects over short-term “boom” of hydro projects
May 2, 2003: Official opening of the secretariat to the Cree Nation/Abitibi-Temiscamingue Economic Alliance – Forging friendly and lucrative links in the North
May 16, 2003: Cree and Inuit sign historic agreement – Deal confirms overlapping areas of use in the offshore area in James Bay and Hudson Bay
May 30, 2003: Air Creebec, above and beyond – Successful, Cree-controlled, benevolent airline turns 20
June 13, 2003: Cree want “spiritual” meteorite returned – Alberta Provincial Museum denies Plains Cree request to return 145-kilo iron “flying rock,” aka “Papamihaw Asiniy”
June 27, 2003: Rouyn Noranda welcomes Crees – Mayor Jean-Claude Beauchemin invites Crees to study, shop, eat, party
July 11, 2003: Cree social work pioneers earn first (and perhaps last) university degrees – With graduation of 41 students in Val d’Or, Native-oriented curriculum ends
July 25, 2003: Coon Come loses re-election bid – Former National Chief Phil Fontaine returns
Aug. 8, 2003: Who is Phil Fontaine? “In the early ’90s…[he] was one of the few leaders who would dare admit to the sexual and physical suffering he endured” in residential schools.
Aug. 22, 2003: Mianscum: Chairman of the board – Mistissini’s William Mianscum will lead Cree School Board; aims to double graduation rate by 2007
Sept. 5, 2003: Robert Weistche – against all odds – Recently re-elected Waskaganish Chief deemed a maverick for opposition to Paix des Braves
Sept. 19, 2003: Charest to go for Great Whale River? – Despite election promise, Quebec Premier’s talks with Makivik Corp. suggest he might give a dam
Oct. 3, 2003: Wildlife Officers graduate – First Cree Nation conservation group complete Paix des Braves-funded program, will be stationed across nine communities
Oct. 17, 2003: Cree film a huge success in T.O. – Rezolution Pictures’ Paix des Braves doc, One More River, praised at Environmental Film and Video Festival
Oct. 31, 2003: Cree community recognized – Washaw Sibi defined as off-reserve Crees who might not return to territory
Nov. 14, 2003: Petro friends celebrate partnership – Beesum Petroleum and Cree Energy merge to become Petronor
Dec. 12, 2003: Grand Council blasts AFN budget numbers – GCC wonders whether funding request figures are pulled out of thin air
Dec. 26, 2003: Paying it forward – “We thought we should bless other people since God blessed us so much,” says Ouje-Bougoumou woman of recent benevolent trip to impoverished African countries
Jan. 9, 2004: Four questions for National Chief Phil Fontaine – Response to recent controversial AFN budget submission: “This is an attempt to rebuild the organization.”
Jan. 23, 2004: Cree police trapped in besieged Mohawk community – Cree and other Native officers held hostage by protestors in Kanesatake police compound
Feb. 6, 2004: MoCreebec takes on the JBNQA – One provision says Crees lose rights after decade out of territory
Feb. 20, 2004: Katejun Coonishish: The ice man cometh – Ouje-Bougoumou teen regularly defeats men twice his age at snowmobile and motocross racing
March 5, 2004: Khayden Otter: Bringing a Nation together – Crees send prayers and cash to Otter and Rupert families following severe beating of two-year-old boy
March 19, 2004: Education alarm – Mistissini seeks answers to high drop-out rate in public meeting
April 2, 2004: Val d’Or marchers take anti-racism battle to the streets – Anti-racism declaration presented to business owners on International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
April 16, 2004: A special eulogy for Walter Hughboy 1946-2004: “Never before has one man done so much for his community.”
May 14, 2004: Blood, sweat and tears – Tension thick as Chiefs discuss division of Paix des Braves $70M pie
May 14, 2004: Feeding the body and the spirit – Traditional foods to be served at Chisasibi Hospital: “It’s about time we acknowledged our own people’s wisdom,” says Eric House.
May 28, 2004: I apologize, you apologize, let’s all apologize – “Fontaine has to start mending fences if he wishes to rebuild credibility with the chiefs and the bands,” says editorial.
June 11, 2004: Crees ready to establish national police force – “Policing is an icon, a symbol of sovereignty and control over your territory,” says GCC executive director Bill Namagoose.
June 25, 2004: Forestry companies ignoring new rules? – Overlap between Paix des Braves and forestry agreement produces conflicts
July 9, 2004: Mistissini grad wins prestigious award – Samantha Coonishish wins Quebec’s Lieutenant Governor’s Award for academic excellence
July 23, 2004: Cree company launches hip Native sitcom – Rezolution Pictures’ Moose TV promises to be “newer hipper” North of 60
Aug. 6, 2004: EM1: The new way of dam-building – Under Paix des Braves, Cree consent and 10 per cent Cree workforce characterize Eastmain project
Aug. 20, 2004: Maamowedow reclaims Fort George – Over 3,000 Crees assemble at traditional Chisasibi summer gathering place
Sept. 3, 2004: Khayden comes home – Seven months and two surgeries later, three-year-old Otter-Rupert returns to Chibougamau
Sept. 17, 2004: New Cree lexicon published – New editions of northern and southern lexicon released by Cree School Board
Oct. 1, 2004: Waswanipi residents get to gab, gab, gab – Rapidly expanding community joins Mistissini in receiving cell-phone service
Oct. 15, 2004: Nathaniel Bosum: A champion in the making – Moto-cross prodigy excels at sports and school
Oct. 29, 2004: Cree’s eligibility challenged in Hawaiian election – Calgary-born Cree denied right to run in U.S. election, despite Jay Treaty
Nov. 12, 2004: Wind power could blow away hydroelectricity – Leaders see alternative energy as possible solution to plague of hydro dam proposals
Nov. 26, 2004: Cree Telecom to have health benefits – High-speed internet, fibre optics, jobs, tele-education and tele-health services promised
Dec. 10, 2004: Nisakmoon Corporation: working for you – Latest Cree-Hydro agreement results in amalgamation of administrative corporations, for increased efficiency
Dec. 24, 2004: Cree business success! – Phoebe Blacksmith, founder of Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro, wins Gold Award for New Business of the Year at Ottawa Business Achievement Awards
Jan. 7, 2005: The spirit of hockey! – Holidays bring unpaid Chibougamau hockey players together for a fun fundraising exhibition game, NHL be damned
Jan. 21, 2005: Trevor Spencer sentenced to 54 months in prison – Trial of foster father who assaulted Khayden Otter-Rupert ends
Feb. 4, 2005: Ouje-Bougoumou’s political rules challenged – Conflicts between Traditional Law and Election Codes leave OJ’s Anthony Hughboy fuming
Feb. 18, 2005: Family grieves over Waswanipi man’s mysterious disappearance – Two months pass since last sighting of Andrew Shecapio
March 4, 2005: A Cree Enron? – Concern for CreeCo shareholders, and the Cree insurance fund, is expressed in an editorial
March 18, 2005: How do you say pancreas in Cree? – School board and linguists collaborate to “Cree-ate” new words
April 1, 2005: Are you ready for the end of the world? April Fool’s editorial instills fear about the impending apocalypse in 2012
April 15, 2005: In loving memory of the late Billy Blacksmith – Elder eulogized after perishing in a fire in his cabin at Perch
April 29, 2005: When Cree adopt Cree – Waskaganish’s Stacy Moses speaks out about the conflicted emotions she felt after learning that she’d been adopted from Piapot, SK
May 13, 2005: Mistissini girls are national hockey champs! – Team Eastern Door and North finally defeats Ontario South in Aboriginal Hockey Championships
May 27, 2005: Chisasibi fights cancer – Heads are shaved, $8,000 is raised for On the Tip of the Toes Foundation
June 10, 2005: U.S. Senator probes O-J mine contamination – New Hampshire’s John Sununu raises issue of heavy metal toxins with Premier Charest
June 24, 2005: Moses honoured with second doctorate – Ted Moses rewarded for Aboriginal rights work at UN, vows to continue serving Cree Nation with dignity and compassion
July 8, 2005: Residential school conference works towards Cree solution – Conference aims to organize compensation and resolve post-residential-school trauma
July 22, 2005: Grand Council negotiating constitution with Ottawa – Bill Nagamoose credits federal negotiator Raymond Chretien as driving force behind new federal attitude
Aug. 5, 2005: Hydro-Québec doesn’t understand Cree society; report – Federal review slams EM-1A and Rupert diversion environmental impact statement
Aug. 19, 2005: Poisoned – Long-awaited provincial study proves mining has turned Ouje-Bougoumou waterways into “a toxic soup,” cover-up suspected
Sept. 2, 2005: Washaw Sibi Cree walk to new home – 115-km trek from Amos to old campground is latest step in group’s fight for recognition as 10th Cree community
Sept. 16, 2005: Mistissini launches English Pre-K – Half-French, half-Cree school days a success for four-year-olds at Voyageur Memorial School
Sept. 30, 2005: A new leader for Eeyou Istchee – Matthew Mukash elected Grand Chief, Ted Moses’s nine-year administration comes to a close
Oct. 14, 2005: The People of MoCreebec speak out – So-called “outsiders” battle provincial and federal governments, fight for voting rights and recognition
Oct. 28, 2005: Mukash and Iserhoff sworn in – New era begins as Grand Chief and Deputy Grand Chief assume leadership
Nov. 11, 2005: Kashechewan evacuated, promised new community – Feds promise 50 new houses a year for a decade in response to Third-World-style water crisis
Nov. 25, 2005: American concern grows over O-J contaminants – Sununu enters Rezolution doc Heavy Metal: A Mining Disaster in Northern Quebec in New Hampshire film fest
Dec. 9, 2005: Chisasibi Anglicans move to ordain deacons, priests – Congregations wants more Crees to run local church, force archbishop’s hand
Dec. 23, 2005: Grand Council Celebrates 30 years of JBQNA – Special tribute to agreement’s chief negotiators at annual Chirstmas dinner
Jan. 6, 2006: The weatherman’s blues – Rez notes reflects on global warming during a rainy January
Jan. 20, 2006: New government, old prejudice – Editorial expresses fears over impending victory of Stephen Harper’s Conservative party in federal election
Feb. 3, 2006: Jonathan Cheechoo talks to the Nation about the new NHL, Sweden and moose – Cree hockey player an “exciting young winger” with the San Jose Sharks
Feb. 17, 2006: La Tuque residential school razed – Demolition is closure for hundreds of Cree who were abducted and subjected to abuses as children
March 3, 2006: In memory of Matthew Coon Come Sr. – Elder and grandfather of former Cree Grand Chief/AFN leader dies at age 114
March 17, 2006: Healing our youth through sport – Editorial commends Mistissini’s Gordon Hudson, of the Cree Health Board, for his work with Cree kids
March 31, 2006: Chishienuu Chiskutamaachwin; Elders wisdom – Mistissini program passes on traditional knowledge and skills
April 14, 2006: Grand Chief meets with Premier Charest – Mukash confirms that Great Whale is off the table, EM-1A project depends on environmental impact assessment
April 28, 2006: Pulling strings with Grand Chief Matthew Mukash – Mukash’s priorities are establishing confidence and trust within government, firm but friendly relations with province and feds
May 26, 2006: CRA and Quebec sign cultural deal – Arts, heritage, language, archeology and cultural facilities to benefit from half-a-million-dollar development fund
June 9, 2006: The Nation takes Quebec by storm! – Magazine wins seven Quebec Community Newspaper Association awards
June 23, 2006: Does the punishment fit the crime? – Lenient sentencing in epidemic of sexual assault cases stems from 1999 Supreme Court ruling, say police
July 7, 2006: Air Creebec wins medi-vac contract – Airline to transport sick to Montreal hospitals, hopes to attract more Cree pilots, serve more communities with medical needs
July 21, 2006: Manitau’s traditional inspiration – Cree duo Richard Bosum and Kenny Mianscum look to music to pass on culture
Aug. 4, 2006: Former Native Alliance leader founds new off-reserve group – Guillaume Carle will lead umbrella group The Confederation of Aboriginal Peoples
Aug, 18, 2006: Three chiefs denounce Rupert River diversion – Nemaska, Chisasibi and Waskaganish chiefs question validity of EM-1 and its affiliated referenda
Sept. 1, 2006: Gordon Blackned elected new CSB chairman – More Cree teachers and Cree regime could help student success rate, says Blackned
Sept. 15, 2006: A Cree Pathway to southern schools – Montreal CEGEP introduces integration program specifically for Crees
Sept. 29, 2006: Cree trappers look to a diminished future – Resignation is the tone of conference with Hydro: “Nobody will survive trapping anymore. It’s finished,” says one tallyman.
Oct. 13, 2006: The classroom in crisis – Mistissini’s school system deals with racism, high drop-out rates and cultural survival
Oct. 27, 2006: Just us – Incarceration rate for Native people 10 times higher than that of Canada’s general population; Public Safety Minister denies discrimination
Nov. 10, 2006: Diabetes special – “Our bodies were built for survival and refined sugars were never part of that plan,” says Chisasibi physician Darlene Kitty
Nov. 24, 2006: Sleight of hand – 2001 law gives James Bay Municipality right to “manage” Category 2 and 3 lands, Grand Council learns
Dec. 8, 2006: Rupert diversion gets green light – COMEX rules that the EM-1A project is viable
Jan. 5, 2007: Feds green light Rupert diversion – Unhappy chiefs push wind power as alternative to hydroelectric project, Hydro-Québec only mildly interested
Jan. 19, 2007: Rupert River goes to gallows – Sierra Club and Chisasibi chief fear for community’s safety during construction and warn of high mercury levels on land to be flooded
Feb. 16, 2007: Coonishish burns up the snow in racing circuit – Ouje-Bougoumou’s Katejun Coonishish ranks second in World Power Sports Racing
March 2, 2007: Beleaguered Kashechewan weighs future – Report recommends moving community in wake of evacuations, E.coli, mould and subsequent spike in suicides
March 16, 2007: First Cree Idol crowned – Attawapiskat’s Karen Sutherland wins second shot at Canadian Idol
March 30, 2007: “We will build a Great Whale” – The ADQ’s Mario Dumont vows return of hydroelectric project if his party wins upcoming provincial election
April 27, 2007: Rupert River fight continues – Montreal’s Échofête event another effort to stop hydroelectric project
May 11, 2007: Wemindji taking practical approach to wind farms – Grand Council supports Chief Rodney Mark’s plan; “Not a mega-project,” he says
May 25, 2007: Goose break 2007 finds greatly varied conditions across Eeyou Istchee – Communities report weird weather, ponder impact of global warming on hunt
June 8, 2007: Mukash named to National Aboriginal Economic Development Board – “It’s time [the federal government] uses Aboriginal people to advise them,” says Grand Chief
July 6, 2007: NDP leader supports Aboriginal Day of Action – Jack Layton discusses his party’s championing of a range of Native rights on Wawatay Radio Timmins
July 20, 2007: MBJ project would dam Waswanipi River – Grand Council wasn’t consulted by James Bay Municipality on $50-million project
Aug. 3, 2007: Unanimous consent – History made in $1.4-billion Cree-Canada agreement to establish self-government
Aug. 17, 2007: Kashechewan stays put – Liberals, who had offered community $500M to relocate, say new Tory government’s $200M clean-up plan not in residents’ best interest
Aug. 31, 2007: Gangs in Eeyou Istchee; what is to be done? – Report crime to police, chiefs and The Nation, and be better parents, editorial recommends
Sept. 14, 2007: Mistissini radio voice is silenced – Police weigh whether or not to charge hit-and-run driver suspected in death of Willie Trapper
Sept. 28, 2007: Abraham Rupert: no regrets – Defeated Chisasibi chief vows to continue environmental battle; only one “green” chief remains, Nemaska’s Josie Jimiken
Oct. 12, 2007: Help wanted – High unemployment continues to hurt Cree economy; 3,000 more jobs needed to match Canadian employment levels
Oct. 26, 2007: Ouje-Bougoumou elects female chief – Louise Wapachee gets job back six years after one-month stint as chief came to an end with questionable revote
Nov. 9, 2007: “Where are all the bodies?” – Reverend Keith Annett searches for the kids who never came home from residential school
Nov, 23, 2007: A new “pipeline” for Eeyou Istchee – Waswanipi company to offer competitive prices for high-speed internet, phone service, cable TV, alarm systems
Dec. 7, 2007: Rez school survival payments – “For a crime of the century like that, I think it’s the cheapest deal on the planet,” says Waswanipi’s Paul Dixon
Dec. 21, 2007: Albert Diamond pilots new Northern business alliance – Air Creebec president pushes for more dealings between Eeyou Istchee and province in light of New Relationship deal
Jan. 4, 2008: First Native MNA backs Quebec sovereignty – The Parti Québécois’s Alexis Wawanoloath, an Abenaki-Québécois to represent Abitibi-Est in Quebec National Assembly
Jan. 18, 2008: Mistissini faces wake-up call – Community shaken after student confesses to planning school shooting; Voyageur Memorial School closed for five days
Feb. 1, 2008: Cree School board launches campaign to confront problem of school violence – Vandalism and bullying contribute to academic failure, solutions sought
Feb. 15, 2008: MBJ mayors fight Cree police – James Bay Municipality mayors ask province to defeat bill that would have Cree officers policing Cree lands
Feb. 29, 2008: Quebec drops the ball on sex ed, Crees develop own curriculum – Program receives overwhelmingly positive response from students, teachers, parents
March 14, 2008: $1.4-billion deal signed; Cree Nation celebrates the final implementation of the JBNQA; Quebec, Canada and Crees thought to finally be on the same page
March 28, 2008: Chantiers Chibougamau erects Route 167 blockade – Paix des Braves cited as major reason for logging restrictions
April 11, 2008: K1 in dire straits – Tiny Ojibwa/Cree community fights Ontario government, exploration company Platinex and justice system to retain their traditional territory
April 25, 2008: UN Declaration adopted – House of Commons approves and must implement the Rights of Indigenous People declaration
May 9, 2008: The Cree Health Board celebrates its 30 years of operation – Founders honoured: “Everyone was touched by the commitment and dedication of these people,” says CHB chair Diane Reid
May 23, 2008: Environmental Health Project set to begin in Waskaganish and Chisasibi – Program to study impact of industrial projects and pollution
June 6, 2008: A Crime Victims Assistance Centre is coming to Eeyou Istchee – Physical and psychological aid, advocacy for justice promised
June 20, 2008: “We want our school!” – On the National Day of Action, Attawapiskat students question “evasive” Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl about broken promise
July 4, 2008: Regional police force will change law enforcement in the North – Eeyou-Eenou merges community police forces, Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff first commish
July 18, 2008: The meaning of bullsh*t – Editorial reminds readers of definition in light of failed dyke at old Opimiska mine, lack of movement on Paix des Braves revenue-sharing
Aug. 1, 2008: Talk is cheap – AFN Chief Ghislain Picard likens amendment to Youth Protection Act (to relocate children whose safety is deemed compromised) to residential-school system
Aug. 15, 2008: The times are a-changin’ – Darkness has lifted due to “a change in the cultures of both the Cree and Hydro-Québec,” says editorial
Aug. 29, 2008: Cree brings home gold – Mistissini swimmer Gabriel Rabbitskin wins five medals in Indigenous Games
Sept. 12, 2008: Old man river – “Soon the powerful Rupert River will be silent with only stories of its glorious past to give it a voice”
Sept. 28, 2008: The worth of a modern treaty – Study on the JBNQA suggests that the Cree and Inuit are no better off than Natives of the Yukon or Nunavut