Christmas is the most celebrated holiday in the Western world. While many may decry the commercialism of an event that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ (who wasn’t actually born on December 25), it is nevertheless a magical time of […]

Hard times are ahead for over 80 First Nation bands that haven’t handed over their financial records under Canada’s First Nations Financial Transparency Act. If documents aren’t received by December 12, Ottawa says federal funding will be cut off. Aboriginal […]

On November 13, 2014, 40 years after the signing of the Agreement in Principle leading to the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (JBNQA), Chiefs of the Innu, Attikamekw Nations and certain Anishinaabe communities announced the formation of a coalition […]

Mark Twain wrote that Indians are dirty, lying, thieving beggars. Long before this, French explorer Jacques Cartier also opined on thievery among Indians. It doesn’t help that in 1534, he treacherously seized 10 Iroquois, including chiefs, and sailed for France. […]

The attacks on Canadian soldiers in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Ottawa couldn’t have come at a better time for the Conservative government of Stephen Harper. As I write in the wake of the two shocking incidents, conspiracy theorists are already spinning worldwide […]

While the federal government is ignoring life-and-death issues such as tragedy of murdered and missing women, Quebec is taking action. The province will unveil an anti-bullying campaign and plan at the end of November. The plan will look at ways […]

There are few family names as Scottish as mine. There are five Scots tartan patterns for Stewart clans, and two more for those who spell it Stuart. That heritage doesn’t necessarily make me Scottish. I’m one of millions worldwide who […]

The historic two-day World Conference on Indigenous Peoples (WCIP) began September 22 at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. I and other Indigenous leaders attended with heads of government, ambassadors and ministers to witness and contribute to […]

I recently read yet another editorial in a national paper calling for a change to Aboriginal communities’ land rights – for their own good. The Conservative government has made a number of legislative moves in this direction, such as the […]

A renewed cry for a national inquiry into the missing and murdered Aboriginal women came after the discovery of 15-year-old Tina Fountaine’s body in a bag beside Winnipeg’s Red River. Unfazed, Prime Minister Stephen Harper again rejected the calls. Fontaine’s […]