Across Canada there are more than 200,000 people who identify themselves as Cree. In Eeyou Istchee there are over 18,000 recognized Cree members, but what does that mean? How many more don’t qualify as members but who are nonetheless Native […]
Category: The Opinion Pages Category
From Gaza to Grassy Narrows
The Harper government is finally talking about land rights. They’re even advocating the sovereignty of a people who occupied their land thousands of years ago. Unfortunately, they had to look outside the country to do so. As of press time, […]
A rudder? Or a new ship?
As it wrapped up its annual three-day gathering in Halifax July 17, the Assembly of First Nations was leaderless, divided and facing an uncertain future. As one chief commented, it is like sailing in a “rudderless ship.” At the centre […]
The law of the land
Last month’s unanimous Supreme Court decision in favour of BC’s Tsilhqot’in people is the first time the court has ever issued a direct declaration of Aboriginal title to a First Nation in this country. This has far-reaching implications for mining, […]
Cree perseverance
The decision by Strateco Resources to tear down its uranium-development camp in the Otish Mountains north of Mistissini is something that all Crees can celebrate. From the grassroots to the band council to the Grand Council, people came together to […]
The poverty of Conservative policy
Canada is quick to speak out against human rights violations abroad, and to brag about its foreign aid to combat poverty around the world. It would be nice if the government would do the same at home. Given the desperate […]
The value of Goose Break
It had been some time since I took a real Goose Break and it was hard to explain the importance of it to non-Crees. Even my wife looked at it as a vacation rather than what it really was and […]
Harper sides with the criminals
The world was shocked by the news from Nigeria that the Boko Haram terror group had kidnapped close to 300 school-age girls and announced it would sell each of them as child brides for as little as $12 each. International […]
The Cree vote counted
For years the mantra of the Cree taking control of our own destiny has been repeated over and over again. Here and there we saw major steps in this direction: defeating Hydro-Québec’s Great Whale Project, assuming federal and provincial obligations […]
Native voter woes
Quebec politics never lacks for drama. And though most observers expected the Liberals to win April 7, it was certainly an interesting election night in Quebec. Few would have predicted how badly the ruling Parti Québécois would lose, or that […]