WINDSPEAKER, CANADIAN FIRST NATIONS NEWSPAPER LAUNCHED IN ALBERTA
A monthly publication, Windspeaker initially served Aboriginal people of northern Alberta. With a total cut in federal funding for Indigenous newspapers in 1990, nine of the 11 Aboriginal publications across Canada closed their doors. Windspeaker was the only publication west of Ontario to survive. In fact, the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA), the paper’s owner, grew the publication’s readership to where in 1993, it became Canada’s only provider of national Indigenous news, information and opinion. Since then, AMMSA has provided training, support, and encouragement to other Indigenous groups, communities, and societies wishing to establish their own communications facilities. In 1996, AMMSA debuted its first website property. In 2000, it digitized all of the published articles in Windspeaker dating back to its beginnings. AMMSA also owns and operates CFWE-FM radio–Alberta’s first and most extensive Aboriginal broadcaster.
Source: “AMMSA History,” Windspeaker.com, 12/21/2018. Retrieved 1/15/2020, https://windspeaker.com/ammsa-history Photo: Courtesy of Public Domain Clip Art. https://www.pdclipart.org/displayimage.php?album=search&cat=0&pos=3
Indigenous America Calendar 