Four Crees from Waswanipi are dead after a pickup truck collided with their medical transport van near Chapais March 21. Waswanipi Chief Irene Neeposh said her community is in a state of shock. She declared four days of mourning, one for each victim who she described as pillars of the community: van driver Abraham Ottereyes, patients Allan Etapp and Charlie Gull, and Gull’s wife, Cecile Happyjack Gull.
Geese are coming home early. Some didn’t venture far this winter, which wasn’t much of one according to every available metric. Still-smouldering zombie fires and reduced snow are already concerning land users as the wildfire season approaches.
First Nations leaders took their opposition to a recently approved radioactive waste disposal site near the Ottawa River to Parliament Hill February 14, calling on the federal government to halt the project that they say threatens drinking water, wildlife and their fundamental rights.
A fatal snowmobiling accident involving two young Cree riders cast a sombre mood over the community of Mistissini as it prepared for its annual snowmobile competition.
As we speed along in 2024, the Nation looks back at an eventful 2023 to commemorate the impressive progress of the Cree Nation and highlight other major Indigenous stories of the year. Along with historic achievements across Eeyou Istchee, last summer saw the region’s most catastrophic wildfires ever. Let’s hope that story isn’t repeated this year.
Leaders of the Cree and Innu Nations met in a summit meeting in Chisasibi in late January to renew the “Common understanding of Nation-to-Nation on Atiku (caribou)” – an agreement that allows the Innu Nation to hunt a total of 50 caribou from the Leaf River herd this year. Summit speakers said the agreement prioritizes food security and the maintenance of traditional land practices such as a safe caribou harvest.
As more options become available in the region for the growing number of Cree students interested in post-secondary education, the Cree School Board has launched a new department dedicated to higher learning.
Quebec’s Crime Victims Assistance Centre (CAVAC) has unveiled a groundbreaking guide tailored specifically to offering culturally safe services to Indigenous individuals. The development of this guide marks a significant step forward in acknowledging and addressing the unique needs and challenges faced by Indigenous communities within the legal framework.
The Cree Nation met with Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in mid-October. Türk visited Ottawa to discuss general issues ahead of an in-depth review of Canada’s human rights situation in November, an exercise applied to most countries every four years.
After a voting day nail-biter on August 14, Gaston Cooper was elected Chief of Ouje-Bougoumou over former Deputy Chief Lance Cooper. Angel Mianscum was elected Deputy Chief ahead of Harry Bosum.
