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The 7th Annual Saskatchewan First Nations Veterans' Association (SFNVA) Fundraising Dinner will take place on November 17th, 2010, at 7:00 PM at the Dakota Dunes Casino, Whitecap Dakota First Nation, SK. The General Assembly will take place on November 18th, 2010 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Contact people are: Reta Guilbault (306) 385-3250 and Lorna Arcand (306) 667-1874.
A aboriginal elders program in Regina Public Schools is being called a sucess, the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples was told recently. The program has been in effect for the past three years and currently has 10 elders working within 31 schools.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) and the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) proudly present the FSIN-SIGA Powwow 2010, "Spirit of our Nations". It will be held on October 29, 30, and 31 at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. There will also be a trade symposium and a princess pageant.
With the November 3rd deadline approaching, Canada needs to decide whether or not to block BHP Billiton's bid for PotashCorp. A First Nations Group from Saskatchewan is talking to banks, pension funds, and Chinese investors in an attempt to make a rival bid.
In another story, BHP has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement with George Gordon First Nation to cover employment and business opportunities related to the company's proposed Jansen potash mine. Chief Glen Pratt hopes this will become a new standard of potash participation for Saskatchewan Aboriginal communities.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo issued a statement on October 22, 2010 regarding the appointment of Chief Superintendent Russell Mirasty as Commanding Officer, “F” Division (Saskatchewan), for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Chief Superintendent Mirasty, a respected member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, will now have the rank of Assistant Commissioner.
A researcher at a two day anti-smoking symposium in Saskatoon says that the most effective strategy is for First Nations Governments to work with the provincial government to persuade people not to smoke. He says research shows the priority targets in an anti-smoking campaign should include Aboriginal people because 58.8% of that population smokes.
Fond du Lac First Nation Chief Napoleon Mercredi is attempting to ban Pronto Airways from landing at the Fond du Lac airport, which is operated by the provincial government on reserve land leased from the Fond du Lac First Nation. Transwest Air, which currently operates the only service to Fond du Lac, is a partner with Fond du Lac First Nation. Pronto Airways is 25% owned by the Black Lake First Nation, located less than 100 kilometers from Fond du Lac.
Mr. Brian Jean, Member of Parliament for Fort McMurray-Athabasca, made an announcement on October 25th, 2010 about assisting Aboriginal people getting the skills they need to find and keep jobs, as the result of a Government of Canada funded project. The Bigstone Cree Nation , located in Alberta, will receive support to continue projects that design and deliver job-related programs and services for Aboriginal people who live in Alberta. Many Aboriginal people are expected to be placed in jobs over the duration of the projects and Aboriginal youth will get help to return to school or to find full-time employment. The projects will also create strong partnerships between government, industry, educational and training institutions, and community service providers.
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) is holding a, Fall 2010 Planning and Dialogue Forum, November 8 & 9, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec at the Westin Hotel. This year's theme is: Nation Building and Re-Building: Supporting Capacity for First Nation Governments.
For further information contact: aturner@afn.ca
Cecil King (BEd, 1973; MEduc, 1975) was honoured by the University of Saskatchewan Alumni Association with the Aboriginal Initiatives Award at their November 4th Alumni Awards Gala. At the University of Saskatchewan King founded the Indian Teacher Education Program and served as head of the Indian and Northern Education Program.
Aboriginal people will get the skills they need to find and keep jobs as a result of projects funded by the Government of Canada, announced Mr. Greg Rickford, Member of Parliament for Kenora, on October 20, 2010 on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. The Matawa First Nations Management will receive support to continue projects that will help Aboriginal people in the Thunder Bay, Ontario area gain access to labour market programs and employment services.
Aboriginal Team Ontario (ATO) has announced a new Board of Directors and name for Ontario's provincial-territorial Aboriginal sport body.
The Aboriginal Sport & Wellness Council of Ontario (ASWCO) plans to encourage active and healthy Aboriginal people, families and communities and to enhance the physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, cultural, and social well-being of Aboriginal people through physical activity, recreation, and sport.
Enterprise Saskatchewan presents, How to do Business with First Nations Communities: Creating Respectful Partnerships and Identifying Opportunities. The seminar will be held on Thursday November 4, 2010 from 7:30 am to 9:00 am at the Saskatoon Club, which is located at 417-21st St. E., in Saskatoon.
Speakers include: Mr. Gary Merasty, Vice President, Social Corporate Responsibility, Cameco Corporation, and former Grand Chief of the Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) as well as the former Member of Parliament for the northern riding of Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River.
To be confirmed – Mr. Peter Vanriel, General Manager of Canada North Environmental Services, wholly owned by Lac La Ronge Indian Band through Kitsaki Management Limited Partnership.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo and “Canada's Most Trusted Contractor” Mike Holmes of “Holmes on Homes”® and The Holmes Group are pleased to announce the release of information for their joint pilot project to assist First Nations called, Building Homes and Building Skills.
Under the criteria developed jointly by the AFN and the Holmes Group, a First Nation in the Ontario region will be selected as the site of a pilot project to design, plan and implement building activities that are based on green and sustainable practices. The choice of the Ontario region for the first project reflects the desire of the Toronto-based Holmes Group to ensure that resources are maximized for use in the community so that everyone
involved can “Make it Right”.
As Canada celebrates “National Foster Families Week” October 17-23, 2010, FSIN Third Vice-Chief E. Dutch Lerat is encouraging more First Nations families to become active foster families in the province. In Saskatchewan, there are approximately 3600 First Nations children in care off reserve.
As of May 2010, Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Social Services reported that there are only 63 First Nations foster homes off reserve in comparison to 705 non First Nations foster homes. The province has renewed their efforts to recruit more foster families, but there is still a dire need for more First Nations foster homes.
Alex Janvier, a pioneering member of the fine arts community has been awarded the Alberta Order of Excellence. Alex Janvier's work is part of the Canadian Museum of Civilization and his paintings were among the first by contemporary First Nations artists to be included in collections of the National Gallery of Canada.
The University of Quebec at Abitibi-Temiscamingue (UQAT) and DIALOG, the Research and Knowledge Network Relating to Aboriginal Peoples, are proud to invite you to the 17th Inuit Studies Conference, with the theme being "The Inuit and the Aboriginal World". The event will take place from October 28-30, 2010, at the UQAT’s First Peoples Pavilion on the Val-d’Or campus, Québec, Canada.
Myrna F. Yuzicapi, Special Advisor to Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences (SIAST) on Aboriginal Initiatives, has been named as one of the 2010 recipients of the Saskatchewan Order of Merit. The Order of Merit is the province's highest honour. It recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the well-being of the province and its residents.
In separate announcements made last week, the Government of Canada is funding projects in Alberta and Ontario that will help Aboriginal people get the skills they need to find and keep jobs. The Rupertsland Institute in Alberta and the Sioux Lookout Area Aboriginal Management Board in Ontario will both receive support for projects to meet the goal.
First Nations people deserve the right to share in Saskatchewan's resource revenues and are prepared "to take a stand'' to defend that right, the head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations said last week.
Whatever the process, Guy Lonechild made it clear he believes First Nations people have treaty entitlements to resource revenues that need to be recognized and provided.
The Governments of Canada and Saskatchewan, and the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC), endorsed an historic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on education. The MOU formalizes a commitment to enhance education outcomes for First Nation students. The focus will be on assisting First Nations students attending schools in the Saskatoon Tribal Council region and providing non-First Nation students, in these schools, with a greater understanding of First Nations culture and people.
CANCELLED - Due to weather conditions Joseph Boyden will not be able to make this presentation!
Joseph Boyden, first Aboriginal author to win the Giller prize, and author of "Three Day Road" and "Through Black Spruce", will be presenting a lecture on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 at 1:30 at Convocation Hall, in the College Building, at the University of Saskatchewan. He will also discuss his newest release, Louis Riel & Gabriel Dumont.
An Edmonton city council candidate has set up a teepee beside a busy river valley road in Edmonton as his low-cost way of campaigning for today's civic election. Duane Good Striker, who's seeking the Ward 8 seat, raised the colourful shelter about 10 days ago in an empty lot west of Telus Field and held a ceremony to support clean water around the world.
Parliamentary Secretary Shelly Glover, Member of Parliament for Saint Boniface, on behalf of the Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians, announced on October 13th, 2010 an investment of $1 million over two years to develop and implement pilot projects to promote Aboriginal women's entrepreneurship.
Join authors John Ralston Saul and Joseph Boyden for an evening of literature and history as they talk about their new additions to Penguin's Extraordinary Canadians biography series: Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine & Robert Baldwin and Louis Riel & Gabriel Dumont. Tickets are available at McNally Robinson bookstore and The Roxy Theatre for $8.00 and tickets are on sale now. For more information call 955-3599.
A respected Quebec doctor is embarking on a 3,200-kilometre walk across northern Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador to inspire First Nations young people. Stanley Vollant began his trek, called the Innu Meshkanu (Innu Road), in Havre-Saint-Pierre on Quebec's North Shore on Tuesday October 12th.
According to Marie Battiste, academic director of the University of Saskatchewan Aboriginal Education Research Centre, a three-year research project will investigate and record teachings, spirituality, oral traditions, arts and other aspects of the humanities of the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic Canada with the goal of bringing indigenous traditions to the forefront of academic programming.
Please scroll to page 9 to locate the article titled "Curriculum of Tradition".
The 1st annual Cultural Gathering hosted by the U of S Indigenous Student's Council will be held October 14-15, 2010 on the University of Saskatchewan campus. Registration is free and activities will include: pipe ceremony, sacred teachings, teepee teachings, arts and crafts, indigenous laws, elder teachings, feast/round dance, and starblanket raffle.
Saskatchewan First Nations leaders gathered at the Muskoday Store and Gas Bar, south of Prince Albert on Thursday October 7th, 2010 to take action against the one-carton tax-exemption legislation passed by the provincial government in this year's budget. On July 1st, 2010 changes limited the amount of cigarettes purchases tax free by First Nations people to one carton from three. Chief Austin Bear of the Muskoday First Nation calls this a breach of treaty rights. "This is not only a Muskoday issue," Bear said. "This is an issue that affects all of our First Nations in Saskatchewan and beyond."
The University of Saskatchewan's Indigenous Peoples Program, Centre for Continuing and Distance Education (CCDE) is pleased to present the 7th Annual 2010 Aboriginal Music Festival on October 29, 2010 at TCU Place in Saskatoon, SK. A Career Fair/Workshop/Emerging Artists Stage will be set up as well as a Gala with silent auction and artisan craft display. Tickets are available at McNally Robinson, University of Saskatchewan Place Riel Kiosk or from CCDE Registration Office at 306-966-5539. All proceeds made at this event will go to the Aboriginal Youth Leadership Development Program.
The Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (ANAC) will be holding their 2010 National Conference at the Hilton Toronto Airport, on October 25-27, 2010. This year's theme is "Lining Knowledge Through Diverse Interests". Guest speakers include Dr. David Butler-Jones, Canada's Chief Public Health Officer.
Doug Cuthand, columnist with the Saskatoon StarPhoenix comments on the policies of the current Conservative government and previous Liberal governments to cap funding for education. He states the funding gap in per-student funding between on-reserve Indian children and others in provincial schools has grown to about 30%, a significant number.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief, Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, and AFN Women’s Council Chair, Kathleen McHugh, expressed continued support on October 4, 2010 for the leadership and efforts of the Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC). The support was for the Sisters in Spirit campaign that calls for a national action plan to end violence against Indigenous women in Canada.
The Aboriginal Education Conference, Awâsis 2011, to be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, May 11th, 12th and 13th, has put out a call for presenters. Peoples in education fields and with education interests are invited and encouraged to apply by the December 1, 2010 deadline.
For more information on Awâsis visit their homepage.
A group of Canadian senators is in Saskatchewan researching ways to improve the education of aboriginal people.
The main message senators have heard so far is that "one size doesn't fit all." British Columbia Senator Gerry St. Germain shared this information with reporters Monday following meetings at the Office of the Treaty Commissioner. St. Germain is also chair of the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples. The committee is co-chaired by Lillian Dyck, a former University of Saskatchewan Associate Dean and a full Professor in the Neuropsychiatry Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry.
Drew Hayden Taylor's popular play, Raven Stole The Sun, performs for one show only, Saturday, October 9th in Toronto, Ontario at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People. This family friendly song and dance show, based on a traditional Tlingit story, features the curious Raven bringing light to the people of the world.
SaskEnergy's Home Energy Efficiency Project (Heep) is assisting two First Nations where homes will be receiving a $200 value upgrade, which include replacing furnace filters, installing programmable thermostats, replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), weatherproofing doors and windows and installing water-saving shower heads and toilets. The two First Nations communities are White Bear and Red Pheasant.
Speakers making presentations to the Regina Urban Aboriginal Strategy's panel, The Face of Homelessness in Regina, said that taxpayers are paying for services that could be cheaper if everyone had access to proper housing. They pointed to the links between homelessness and crime, addictions and health problems, to show how money being spent on prisons, drug and alcohol treatment and health care could be reduced if more affordable housing was available.
Plan to attend the USSU sponsored We Are All Treaty People Week, being held October 4th - 8th, 2010, at the University of Saskatchewan. Come to learn more about Treaties and how they impact us all.
Click on the link to find information on session locations, times and topics.
The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians issued the following statement yesterday on the passing of Billy Diamond, former Grand Chief of the Crees of Quebec:
“It is with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Billy Diamond, a dedicated individual and great leader. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to extend my most sincere condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Billy Diamond, former Grand Chief of the Crees of Quebec."
In order to improve the campus experience of Aboriginal students, the Association of Canadian Deans of Education (ACDE), which is comprised of about 60 education leaders from across Canada, began to work on an accord. Over a three year period a document began to take shape that would guide the creation of a more inclusive learning environment for Aboriginal students.
To read the Accord on Indigenous Education, visit: http://www.usask.ca/education/aboriginal/downloads/ACDEIndigenousAccord.pdf
The Gabriel Dumont Institute's 30th Anniversary Celebration Culture Conference will be held in Saskatoon, November 18 and 19, 2010. The keynote address will be made by Métis author Maria Campbell. Conference sessions will include hands-on cultural activities, presentations of Métis-specific research, Michif language sessions, discussions about Métis cultural history, and this year special student awards will be introduced with the Order of Gabriel Dumont Bronze medals.
The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation is reminding potential applicants about the November 1, 2010 deadline for applying for the First Nation, Inuit & Métis Post Secondary Education Bursary Award. Applications are available online and those seeking more information can call 1-800-329-9780 or email: education@naaf.ca.
The Native American and Indigenous Studies Association has issued a call for papers in regards to the upcoming Third Annual Meeting which will take place on May 19-21, 2011 in Sacramento, CA. This event will be hosted by the Department of Native American Studies, University of California, Davis.
With the municipal election in Thunder Bay, ON scheduled for October 25th, less than a month away, issues of interest to the aboriginal community are becoming more prevalent. With the aboriginal population increasing, three of the nineteen candidates seeking a position as councilor at large have identified themselves as aboriginal.
Anna Gibbon, aboriginal liaison with the City of Thunder Bay said, “I think this is an indication that aboriginal people are hopefully feeling more confident in putting their name forward and declaring that they are aboriginal and they want to see that aboriginal issues are included as the city moves forward,”
Aboriginal education, particularly stronger student outcomes and current federal funding levels, was the primary focus of Saskatchewan ministers participating in the 98th Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) meeting on September 23-24, 2010 which was held in Winnipeg, MB.
The ministers also will continue to encourage the federal government to clarify its goals associated with the current review of its post secondary student support program.
CMEC is the collective voice of Canada's Ministers of Education and provides leadership in education at pan-Canadian and international levels.
