Vowing to ‘keep fighting,’ Idle No More blockader fined $16,000
Idle No More blockader Ron Plain, 51, has been ordered by a judge to pay CN railway $16,000 in fines for the 13-day protest that captured the country’s attention.
Category Archives: Windspeaker newspaper
Windspeaker is Canada’s most widely distributed Aboriginal news publication, with a print circulation of 145,000 readers.
Tahltan blockaders call on their allies
Blockaders in Tahltan Nation issued an eviction notice to Fortune Minerals on Aug. 14 over the firm’s proposed $10-billion open-pit coal mine in what they say could destroy three northern B.C. rivers vital to their culture and lands.
Police come down hard on anti-shale fracking protest
At least 31 people have now been arrested in anti-shale gas fracking protests in New Brunswick, including a journalist who alleges police attempted to pay him to become an informant.
Bob Rae speaks about his new role in Ring of Fire talks
On June 19, long-time Member of Parliament, one-time Liberal Party chief, and former NDP provincial premier Bob Rae revealed he would be stepping down in order to negotiate on behalf of nine First Nations over the region’s resource development.
Indigenous child seizures haunt communities
With more Native kids in custody today than ever attended Indian residential schools, child welfare advocates continue to raise the alarm about the record numbers of children being seized, many adopted out into non-Aboriginal families or sucked into the criminal justice system.
Parliament’s Violence Against Indigenous Women committee raising concerns
The launch of Parliament’s Special Committee on Violence Against Indigenous Women was applauded as a rare show of political consensus, drawing unanimous all-party support on Feb. 27.
Amidst raft of federal scandals, are Canadians ready for self-government?
With Ottawa embroiled in a mushrooming number of financial embarrassments, observers across Indian Country are raising their collective eyebrows over the Conservatives’ focus on alleged First Nations improprieties.
Saanich people launch campaign to restore traditional landmark names
The name of Vancouver Island’s Saanich nation – WSÁNEC, as they spell it – means “emerging people.” And today, a remarkable re-emergence of traditional names is occurring in the peninsula they call home.
Woman cleared of charges, but analysts decry legal ‘humiliations’
After nearly a decade fighting criminal fishing charges in B.C. courts, Stó:lo nation’s Kwitsel Tatel (Patricia Kelly) won not only an absolute discharge on May 9, but now the government must pay her nearly $2,500 for seizing her crate of salmon in 2004, accusing her of selling it illegally.
Legislative reforms needed to protect heritage
This year marks 100 years since representatives of the American Museum of Natural History bought the Yuquot Whaler’s shrine from two Mowachaht who falsely claimed to be its owners for $500.
David P Ball 