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Effective July 1, 2010 the amount of tobacco that First Nations individuals may purchase tax-free is being reduced from three cartons a week to one. The provincial government says that this is part of their strategy to reduce tobacco usage in Saskatchewan. The changes are expected to generate between $5-7 million dollars in additional revenue for the government.
The Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Education Centre, located in Winnipeg's Douglas area, reopens today, June 30th. The cultural centre holds over 10,000 resources, including books, videos, artifacts and works of art.
A discussion paper titled, Taking Action for First Nations Post-Secondary Education: Access, Opportunity, and Outcomes, released by the Assembly of First Nations, is a dialogue between members. The intent of the paper is to inform and advance a policy regarding the need to support post-secondary education and skills training for First Nations youth and adults.
The Manitoba Centre for Health Policy (MCHP) and the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) have collaborated to put together a report on the health status of the Metis population of Manitoba. Researchers from the University of Manitoba have compared over 90,000 Metis, in Manitoba, with the rest of the population and concluded that the Metis have "more health problems".
The Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation through its subsidiary, the Canoe Creek Hydro Company, has built and will operate a run-of-the-river hydro electric facility located on Tla-o-qui-aht traditional territory. This project will enable the First Nation to generate and sell renewable energy to BC Hydro under long-term electricity purchase agreements. In the short-term the project will provide opportunities for employment and capacity building. The revenues from hydro-power generation will be invested in the community in areas such as economic development, resource stewardship, education and support of cultural initiatives. Federal funding of $2,500,000 is being provided as a repayable contribution through the Community Adjustment Fund (CAF).
For over 20 years up to 80 visual artists and 40 performers from across the North gather each summer to celebrate the diversity that is Canada's North. The participants are Inuit, Unuvialuit, Gwich'in, Dene Métis, as well as non-Aboriginal artists and artisans. The Great Northern Arts Festival runs from July 9 to July 18, 2010 and is being held in Inuvik, Northwest Territories.
The Ontario First Nations have struck an agreement with federal and provincial officials for a point of sale (POS) exemption from provincial sales tax. This exemption from the provincial tax portion of the harmonized sales tax (HST) will continue for those with Certificates of Indian Status.
The provincial government announced their input of $500,000 to the Back to Batoche Days festival. The annual festival celebrates and acknowledges the history and culture of Saskatchewan’s Metis people. The funding will go towards a three-year plan to upgrade the grounds at Batoche and attract more visitors to the Metis cultural site.
Students in grade 9 and 11 in Manitoba will be the first in Canada to study residential schools as a significant part of mandatory history courses. The new program will be piloted in schools this fall and implemented province-wide by September 2011. Extensive training, resources, and materials will be offered to support teachers in educating their students about residential schools and colonization.
Ochapowace First Nation tops governance index, which rates First Nations on elections, administration, human rights, transparency and economy to determine good governance, and found that several other First Nations in Saskatchewan are well-governed.
Graydon Nicholas, the first Aboriginal to ever hold the lieutenant-governor position in New Brunswick, met with the Queen at Buckingham Palace in London. The visit took place on Tuesday, June 22nd and an earlier tour on Monday included a celebration of National Aboriginal Day. This gave Nicholas, the monarch’s provincial representative, an opportunity to share parts of Aboriginal culture and heritage.
Poverty, joblessness and despair are all issues left off the G8/G20 summit agenda. While prime ministers and presidents meet to try to improve the faltering economy in the underdeveloped world outside Canada, the deep needs of the northern First Nations communities are being neglected.
National Aboriginal Day was a celebration of Aboriginal culture and heritage at Friendship Park, in Saskatoon. Representatives from provincial, federal, First Nation and Metis governments spoke at the Grand Entry. Metis and Native artists, including Donny Parenteau and the Calling Bear Dancers, as well as elementary school children performed.
Urban Treaty Day was held Friday, June 18th in Saskatoon on the riverbank. The day was a celebration and reminder of First Nations culture and the treaties. All status First Nations people received the yearly $5.00 annuity payment, as guaranteed in the treaties. To many the day was more about education than money, a day for people to remember the history surrounding the signing of the Treaties.
The House of Commons standing committee on health has filed a report that recommends Health Canada should develop a strategy program to lower the TB rates in First Nations and Inuit communities. The report also recommends that the underlying social issues that help spread tuberculosis, such as poor nutrition and overcrowded housing, should also be addressed.
National Aboriginal Day celebrations give Metis an opportunity to celebrate their culture and revitalize past traditions. In Regina's Wascana Park, on Monday, many spectators at the National Aboriginal Day celebrations got to learn about the basics of weaving sashes and building Red River Carts.
The Aboriginal Youth Video Project involved teaching 12 young people from Richmond, B.C. how to create a video story of their experience of growing up in the community. The video, 10 minutes in length is to be used to support teaching about healing and reconciliation.
Various individuals explain, in a video, what National Aboriginal Day means to them. This video, released by Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, was recorded in 2008.
The G20 Summit is being held in Toronto from June 26-27 and a First Nations rights group is planning to set up blockades at certain entrances to Toronto. Red Power United spokesperson, Harrison Friesen stated the non-violent blockades are intended to send out a message that "everything is not okay in Canada for native people”.
A research study on infant mortality, comparing aboriginal and non-aboriginal births, identified huge discrepancies between the two groups. The report examined 150,000 births in Manitoba, between 1991 and 2001. In the report researchers concluded that access to quality prenatal care for First Nations is vital.
The Aliant Arts Festival, which is in its sixth year, takes place over ten days from June 21 to July 1 in Iqaluitk, Nunavut. Alianait is an Inuit expression of joy and celebration and to celebrate the sixth annual festival, the theme for Alianait 2010 will be “Cultural Fusions”. The event will feature musicians, artists & performers from across Nunavut and around the world.
People from all over the world came together on May 31st, at the Fountain Indian Reserve in British Columbia, for seven days to share in a celebration of indigenous wisdom and practice. This International Indigenous Leadership Gathering is the second of four such gatherings, with the final event due to take place in 2012. Speakers at the gathering shared stories of how colonialism has affected their lives and how “perseverance allowed them to hang on to their traditional teachings”.
A House of Commons Committee has recommended that the funding for the Aboriginal Healing Foundation be renewed. The committee recognizes the importance of the foundation in supporting programs that provide counseling and other services for those affected by residential schools and wants to ensure that community-based healing programs continue to be funded by the foundation.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada has complied a list of events, leading up to and taking place, across Canada to commemorate National Aboriginal Day on June 21.
As part of a deal reached between residential school survivors, who filed a class-action lawsuit against Ottawa and the churches, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is taking action to educate and expose the pain and suffering caused by residential schools.
The commission's national public hearing in Winnipeg, running from Wednesday through Saturday, is the first of seven organized events across the country. The hearings are being held to collect stories from anyone impacted by the residential school era. Read more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the CBC archives.
Assembly of First Nations Chief Shawn Atleo announced today a call to action on education to significantly improve education outcomes and opportunity for all First Nations learners, at all levels. “Today we launch a call to action. A call for education to become a door to opportunity and to success firmly rooted in our cultures, languages and rights.” said National Chief Atleo. To ensure success in meeting the needs of First Nations people and provide opportunity, the call to action on education is reinforced by five key components:
Reconciliation; First Nations education guarantee; Sustainability; Systems; and Support and Partnership.
The Back to Batoche Planning Committee is looking for ten youth ambassadors for the 2010 Back to Batoche Days Celebrations. The youth ambassadors will be role models and facilitators for the many activities and workshops showcased in the Youth Pavilion. The 125th Anniversary Celebrations for Back to Batoche days will be held July 18th – 25th.
On Saturday July 17th, in honour of our Veterans, fallen soldiers and RCMP, ultra-marathoner & Honour Runner Shannon Loutitt will run from Saskatoon to Batoche, almost 100km, in her moccasins. In this journey back to Batoche, joining Shannon will be twelve youth from Saskatoon, whom she will train in the essence of Honour Running. The Back to Batoche planning committee is calling for Aboriginal youth between the ages of 14 and 17 to apply for the New Messenger Training Camp to run alongside Shannon. Any questions and submission of application can be sent to skloutitt@shaw.ca.
The University of Saskatchewan and the Aboriginal Students Centre are holding the First Annual Graduation Powwow. The event will take place on Wednesday, June 16th at the Griffiths Stadium, in PotashCorp Park, on the University of Saskatchewan Campus. Grand entry will proceed at 10am and 6pm.
Daleen Kay Bosse (Muskego), a 25 year old Aboriginal mother, went missing in 2004. Her remains were found four years later near Saskatoon. The Missing Sisters Walk originated in 2005 and will continue in memory of Daleen and to raise awareness concerning violence against women and those women who remain missing.
The 2010 walk will take place in July, and the steak night will be held Friday June 18, 2010 from 6:00-8:30 at Mulberry's Bakery Cafe and Pub in Saskatoon.
The Nesika Cultural and Heritage Society would like to invite you to their inaugural heritage fundraising dinner on June 18, 2010 at the Museum of Vancouver, located at 1100 Chestnut Street (Vanier Park).
In addition to supporting their ongoing work with education and research, the Nesika Cultural and Heritage Society is holding the dinner to raise funds for a much-needed conference for First Nations communities on issues around heritage protection and preservation.
Participants in the evening's events include Chief Bob Chamberlin of the Kwicksutaineuk/Ah-Kwa-Mish First Nation and Kwiaahwah Jones of the Haida Nation, past curator of the Haida Gwaii Museum. There are also a number of exciting silent auction items to bid on!
The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, congratulated the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation on the opening of its innovative six-unit housing development on Friday June 11. The project was made possible thanks to an investment under Canada's Economic Action Plan (CEAP).
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) Vice-Chief Lyle Whitefish spoke Thursday at the FSIN assembly in Regina. He expressed his concern about First Nations people being charged for hunting and gathering on traditional lands.
Indian and Northern Affairs Canada is offering promotional products available for celebrating National Aboriginal Day, on June 21. Orders may be placed by fax, phoning toll-free and on line.
The following statement was released by the Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians:
''Today marks the second anniversary of the historic apology to former students of Indian Residential Schools that the Prime Minister made on behalf of the Government of Canada and all Canadians.This year's anniversary is especially meaningful as it precedes the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's first national event, which will start on June 16th. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission is an important part of the reconciliation process. Events such as the one being held in Winnipeg, in just a few days, and the ones that will follow will help create a lasting legacy by raising awareness through the sharing of experiences."
Operation Minerva, a program run by the Alberta Women's Science Network, tries to boost interest in the field by offering young aboriginal girls education and support. Liz Gandy, program coordinator for Operation Minerva, and Betty Cook, one of the very few aboriginal women who work as a geophysicist, both acknowledge the socioeconomic challenges for Aboriginal women to enter into the fields of Science or Engineering. Gandy explains that the goal is to, “help young aboriginal girls see beyond the career planning materials to make a job in science and engineering real”.
Since 2010 has been proclaimed the “Year of the Métis”, a display following the events of the 1885 Northwest Resistance has been put up in the link of the Main Library - Murray Building, at the University of Saskatchewan. The display includes selections from the University of Saskatchewan's Library - Special Collections. The University acknowledges the Métis and Aboriginal students on campus and hopes the display can be educational for all.
The ISIK 2010 organizing committee is accepting papers and posters for "Making the Journey In: Indigenous Knowledge and the University." The conference looks at what happens to Indigenous knowledges in university settings and will explore colonial legacies, postcolonial approaches, anti-colonialism, and decolonisation.
Abstracts must be submitted by August 7th, 2010. More information about the conference can be found at www.isik.org.au/
Ten years ago, the Department of Indian Affairs determined in a study that First Nations children receive 22% less funding for children’s services than their provincial counterparts in predominantly non-Aboriginal communities. Now the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is resuming hearings into the federal government’s underfunding of children’s services in First Nation’s communities.
Since the death of a two year old, from a house fire on Long Plains Reserve in Manitoba, fire officials have been conducting inspections in every home in the community. Fire Chief Randy Merrick is hoping to get fire extinguishers in every home and ensure all smoke detectors are in working order.
Delegates at the 2010 Canadian Library Association, who meet in Edmonton last week, approved the release of: Sound Practices in Library Services to Aboriginal Peoples: Integrating Relationships, Resources and Realities. This study was prepared by the Aboriginal Library Services Working Group and written by Mary Cavanagh for the Provincial/Territorial Library Council (PTPLC).
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) will be holding its annual spring Assembly in Regina this week. The event is being held at the Queensbury Convention Centre, June 8th and 9th.
A ceremony was held recently in front of British Columbia's other legislature, in the heart of the Nass Valley north of Terrace, B.C. to mark ten years of self-rule. Nisga'a president Mitchell Stevens talked about the challenges faced by his people and how they've responded by creating a strong social foundation and planning to allow, by this fall, private land ownership, which would allow individuals to mortgage and sell their property for the first time.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada, will deliver remarks at the launch of the Coady International Institute’s National Indigenous Women in Community Leadership program, on Monday, June 7, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec.
The heads of Canada's education faculties joined with First Nations leaders on June 1, pledging to respect traditional knowledge and culture in classrooms across Canada and develop future aboriginal educators and scholars. The accord was signed at the meeting of the Canadian Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences, held at Montreal's Concordia University.
Mark Lemstra, health columnist for the Saskatoon StarPhoenix questions the Saskatoon Health Region's (SHR) commitment to urban aboriginals. He states that SHR appears to be more concerned with signing ceremonies and awards, leaving the feeling that real substance is lacking.
The Indigenous Peoples Health Research Centre (IPHRC) at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) is pleased to announce the beginning of a new project called the Tawow Women’s Welcoming Circle that aims to improve the lives of Aboriginal women. Personnel with the Tawow Women’s Welcoming Circle will be at the Saskatoon Indian & Métis Friendship Centre (SIMFC) every Monday from 10 am - noon and 1 - 3 pm to help women become more familiar with services available in Saskatoon.
The 2010 Heroes of Our Time Scholarships, sponsored by the Assembly of First Nations (AFN), application deadline is June 18, 2010. The scholarships, each valued at $2,000, are divided into eight categories that represent eight First Nations heroes and academic disciplines.
The Assembly of FIrst Nations National Chief, Shawn Atleo's May 2010 web address is now available. He provides a recap on last month's events and activities during May, including the Call to Action on Education.
Federal Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl has announced as much as $4 million in funding will be made available for programs at Saskatchewan's problem-plagued First Nations University of Canada (FNUC).
The new funding will cover the period of Sept. 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011.
A public policy forum organized by the University of Regina titled, "Whatever Happened to a Representative Workforce in Saskatchewan?" will be held at the Uof R on Thursday, June 10th from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the Education Building, room 623.
Researchers specializing in aboriginal health human resources will discuss concerns regarding decisions made by the Province of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations (SAHO) to terminate representative workforce initiatives.
The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) presents, Aboriginal Day Live 2010 on Sunday June 20, broadcasting from Winnipeg and Ottawa. The Winnipeg show, at The Forks, will be hosted by Nathaniel Arcand (from North of 60) and Patrice Mousseau (co-anchor of APTN National News). The Ottawa show, will be held at Victoria Island, and will be co-hosted by Don Kelly (star of Fish Out of Water) and Jennifer Podemski (from MOOSE TV). The broadcast will start at 7:30 p.m. Central Time.
The northern Quebec mining industry will get a boost in skilled labour as a result of a training and skills development project. The Phase 2 Raglan/Tamatumani project is based on an agreement between the Government of Canada, the Government of Quebec, the Kativik Regional Government and Xstrata Nickel.
Through this project, Aboriginal people will receive the skills training they need to build careers at Xstrata Nickel's Raglan Mine. Once the project is finished, the participants will be able to use their transferable skills to obtain long-term employment.
The community of Stanley Mission, also known by its Cree Name "Amachewespimawin", along with its leaders, Elders and residents is inviting everyone to attend a celebration commemorating the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church on June 10, 2010.
The Holy Trinity Church is a Provincial and National Historic Site. It is the oldest building in Saskatchewan.
