"Canada is a test case for a grand notion - the notion that dissimilar peoples can share lands, resources, power and dreams while respecting and sustaining their differences. The story of Canada is the story of many such peoples, trying and failing and trying again, to live together in peace and harmony.

But there cannot be peace or harmony unless there is justice. It was to help restore justice to the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in Canada, and to propose practical solutions to stubborn problems, that the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) was established."- page ix, A Word From Commissioners

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Today is December 16, 2012 and Chief Theresa Spence has been on a hunger strike for six days.

Contrary to what some media outlets are reporting, she is not doing this only to protest Bill C-45 or even the deplorable treatment her community has received since declaring an emergency last year. She has vowed to continue her hunger strike until the Prime Minister, the Queen or a representative, agrees to sit down in good faith with First Nations leaders to rebuild what has become a fractured and abusive relationship. She is staying in a tipi on Victoria Island, which sits below Parliament and the Supreme Court of Canada.

Picture this. You and I are sitting at my local laundromat slash fair trade café, and while you warily wait for me to get my first caffeine fix of the day, you lean in and prepare to ask the question that's been on your mind since you first read the hyperbolic headline, "Native Leaders Try to Burst Into Chambers in Ottawa, Held Back By Guards."

Licking your lips nervously, you spit it out. The question. Not this fantastic espresso. So what's got you all upset this time?

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 capitalise the words. They're talking about the 1969 White Paper officially titled, "Statement of the Government on Indian Policy." It was put out by then Minister of Indian Affairs, Jean Chrétien.

Okay, so why the grim faces when anyone mentions the White Paper?

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

INAC (Aboriginal Affairs) 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.

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 south-west inspired hipster fashion."

You may have heard of the recent lawsuit launched by the Navajo Nation against clothing giant Urban Outfitters. I'd like to provide some more legal context. Please bear with me.

Have you heard the Cherokee Two Wolves/Dogs story? The one about two wolves inside you, representing good and evil, and the one that wins is the one you feed?

Well recently, a tumblr blogger, Pavor Nocturnus, did the world an enormous favour and dug into the real origins of this "Cherokee wisdom," providing some excellent sources:

"This story seems to have begun in 1978 when a[n] early form of it was written by the Evangelical Christian Minister Billy Graham in his book, The Holy Spirit: Activating God's Power in Your Life."

OxyContin is a powerful and potentially addictive painkiller. As has been noted in a number of other news reports, abuse of this drug is a Canada-wide problem.

A crisis is declared