Although thousands of indigenous people all over Canada rallied together under the banner of Idle No More on December 10, there has been very little media coverage on the movement. Most of what is being said in the mainstream media is focused on Bill C-45. I'd...

A lot of attention has been drawn to the native fashion trend in the past year or so. From violations of the Navajo trademark, to No Doubt and Victoria's Secret experiencing a long-overdue backlash to the all-too common misuse of Plains warbonnets,...

Water advisories are not limited to First Nations. At any given time there are upwards of 1,400 water advisories issued throughout Canada. Water security in this country is something that should concern everyone. Nevertheless, the severity and duration of water advisories in First Nations communities is nothing short...

If you haven't been keeping track of native comedy lately, you should. It's good stuff, and there is nothing like laughter to help you ease into sometimes difficult discussions about race, colonisation, marginalisation and indigenous culture.

Recently I got a chance to interview Ojibway comedian, Ryan McMahon,...

If you hang around native people long enough, you'll probably hear references to white paper, and it might have you scratching your head. The trick is to capitalize the words. They're talking about the 1969 White Paper officially titled, "Statement of the Government on Indian Policy." It was...

One of the most prevalent and enduring myths out there is that aboriginal peoples receive "free houses." For the purpose of this article I'm going to focus specifically on this myth, saving housing conditions on reserve for later.

I think it's useful to acknowledge that there are different understandings of...

On August 1, the Federal Court released its judicial review of the appointment of a Third Party Manager in Attawapiskat.

For those not familiar with the different kinds of cases that come before the various courts in Canada, a judicial review is precisely that -- a court is...

If you've heard the term "'60s Scoop" and thought it had something to do with ice-cream in ye olden days, I'm here to enlighten you. I prefer the term "Stolen Generations," because the scooping I'm about to discuss didn't end in the '60s, and arguably still goes on...

There are many stories that Canadians do not regularly learn in school. Our history is littered with forgotten events, either deliberately overlooked, or rationalised away somehow.

This lacuna in our collective knowledge is not limited to events which affected indigenous peoples. You might reach adulthood without ever once being aware...

Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) is busy patting itself on the back for solving all of Attawapiskat's problems. To hear them tell it, Jacques Marion was a veritable hero, swooping into Attawapiskat in the nick of time, narrowly averting disaster.

AANDC is magnanimously...

Ruby was seven years old and in Grade 2. She was to prepare a class presentation on a topic of her choice, and decided she wanted to tell the story of why she doesn't speak her First Nations language.

Ruby wanted to share information about the effects Indian...

Although the specific legal principles involved may differ, use of the terms icewine, Roquefort, and Navajo all have something in common. They tell you something about what you are buying, and in this case, the Navajo Nation wants to ensure that consumers are not associating the term "Navajo" with "random...

Health Canada recently announced that all "long-acting oxycodones" such as OxyContin have been removed from the Non-Insured Health Benefits (NIHB) list.

Thus legal sources of OxyContin will become unavailable to all Status Indians and recognized Inuit across Canada through the NIHB. Those who legitimately need this...

tânisi!

I see you are confused about what constitutes cultural appropriation. I would like to provide you with resources and information on the subject so that you can better understand what our concerns are.

However, I also want you to have a brief summary of...

Well folks, there was a lot of "speaking two different languages" going on in Ottawa yesterday.

For me, the highlights of the Crown-First Nation Gathering held in Ottawa came from the mouths of two women, Dr. Pam Palmater and Chief Jody Wilson-Raybould....

I've been reading a lot of Robert J. Sawyer lately, because as pointed out by Adam Shaftoe and Matt Moore in the fall 2011 edition of On Spec, he's a Canadian sci-fi author who is surprisingly optimistic in his writing, in an age where so much...

Dude. Say it with me. Traditions aren't technology-dependent.

I feel like I've said this so often, it should be indelibly emblazoned on the mind of every person who has ever lived, but the sad fact of my limited vocal reach requires me to repeat myself, and really it's okay. I...

This is the question of the day (week/month), isn't it? Cue the accusations of fraud, of theft, of corruption. All made without a shred of evidence to support them. Made as though such statements are self-evident. Self-evidentiary. Obviously true. The question itself frames the discussion. The question even answers itself.

I've been struggling with what to write next, given the unreal amount of attention my last blog post got. I felt some pressure to use the attention to get a message out... but what do I say, where do I start? How can I top a 'big picture' article like...

Reading the news coverage on Attawapiskat doesn't feel very healthy sometimes. There are so many racist rants and outright ignorant responses that it can bog you down. Where do you even begin, when the people making these comments do not seem to understand even the bare minimum about the subject?