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The Social and Aboriginal Statistic Division of Statistics Canada has recently released First Nations, Metis and Inuit Women, compiled as part of the publication Women in Canada: A Gender-based Statistical Report. The document includes statistics on such topics as income levels, fertility rates and other relevant demographic information.
Questions are being raised about the salaries and expenses for the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) board, which ousted its new chair late last week. The 13 member board received more than $600,000 in 2009-10 in salaries and expenses which is 5 times the amount paid out for the board of the Saskatchewan Gaming Corporation which oversees provincial government casinos in Moose Jaw and Regina.
Myrna LaPlante, one of the Saskatchewan organizers of the annual Walk4Justice is trying to keep the memory of her aunt, Emily Osmond who disappeared four years ago from her home on a acreage north of the Kawacatoose First Nation. The walk started in Vancouver, B.C. with fifteen participants and will end in Ottawa at Parliament Hill on September 19.
The International Pow-Wow of Wendake will take place from July 29 to July 31 at Wendake, Quebec. In addition to Native dancers there will be handicraft workshops, other how-to demonstrations and the opportunity to sample authentic First Nations food.
Two years after the University of British Columbia (UBC) initiated its Aboriginal Strategic Plan (ASP), the number of aboriginal professors has doubled, with 21 aboriginal faculty today, compared to 11 in the 2007-2008 academic year, including education, art history and zoology.
Since July 11, about 30 children at the First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) Health and Science camp have been learning about culture, living healthier and career planning. The two-week camp has been educating aboriginal youth for 10 years. This year, 30 students were accepted, which is open to students from Grade 5 to 12.
Thirty students graduated from Oskayak High School in Saskatoon, the largest-ever graduating class in the institution's 30-year history. The school, which has a focus on aboriginal culture, has also equipped almost every classroom with laptops and smartboards. Recently, the Vancouver School Board has been considering an aboriginal mini-school for high school students.
First Nations around the Northwest Territories (NWT) are supporting a declaration aimed at improving academic success for aboriginal students. Chief Roy Fabian, of the Kat'loeeche First Nation in Hay River, challenged the NWT Minister of Education to add a focus on language.
The National Association of Friendship Centres Aboriginal Youth Council will be holding the 22nd Annual National Youth Forum on July 24-26, 2011 in Winnipeg, Manitoba at the Fairmont Winnipeg.
Brad Trost, Member of Parliament for Saskatoon—Humboldt, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, will announce funding to build a new memorial in honour of Métis Veterans. The announcement will take place at the Métis Memorial Garden, Batoche, Saskatchewan, at 2:00PM on Saturday, July 23rd, during Back To Batoche Days.
Canada's First Nations want a piece of the economic pie and they are now turning to China for a better and more prosperous future. Shawn Atleo, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, and Clement Chartier, president of the Metis National Council, said Wednesday their organizations are preparing for trips to China to discuss economic development. The announcements followed a Council of the Federation meeting between provincial, territorial and First Nations' leaders. Participants agreed to focus on aboriginal education, economic development, emergency preparedness and missing women.
The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, together with the Honourable Chris Bentley, Ontario Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, congratulate Chief Paul Gladu and the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation on the creation of their new reserve. The establishment of the 986.650 hectare reserve on the southeast shore of Lake Nipigon provides, for the first time, a permanent home for Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek which has a membership of 197, most of whom live in northwestern Ontario.
The British Columbia government and the Taku River Tlingit First Nation have signed a land use agreement covering a vast area of the province's northwest that will protect some parts and open up others for resource development. Premier Christy Clark said the deal follows years of litigation over a mine in the area, which the province ended up winning in the Supreme Court of Canada. Band spokesman John Ward said the agreement will protect the land and provide the means for band members to prosper in their own traditional territory.
To help create easier access to housing and better housing conditions on-reserve, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers three innovative loan insurance options that can enable First Nations to borrow the funds to buy, build or renovate a home of their own. For more information on CMHC's On-Reserve Loan Insurance options, or for information on any other aspect of owning, maintaining or buying a home, visit our web site at www.cmhc.ca or call CMHC at 1-800-668-2642.
Canadian Forces personnel have helped evacuate 385 people from Fort Hope and Sandy Lake in northwestern Ontario as forest fires burn near their communities. According to CBC meteorologist Johanna Wagstaffe, the forest fire hazard remains extremely high in Ontario. Members of the Eabametoong First Nation were flown out Monday from Fort Hope to Greenstone with the help of a Hercules from CFB Trenton. Sandy Lake First Nation residents were airlifted to Winnipeg.
The Indigenous Law Journal has issued a Call For Submissions for authors. The deadline for submissions is September 20th, 2011. The Indigenous Law Journal is dedicated to developing dialogue and scholarship in the field of Indigenous legal issues both in Canada and internationally.
A powwow drew hundreds to St. Albert's Poundmaker's Lodge to open the Alberta Indigenous Games, a week long event for Aboriginal athletes ages 12 to 18. It's the first year for the Alberta event, which began after the 2011 North American Indigenous Games, to be hosted in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA were cancelled.
Residents of Manitoba's Lake St. Martin First Nation may be a bit closer to finding a temporary solution to their housing problem, Manitoba Aboriginal Affairs Minister Eric Robinson said this week.
Nearly 1,100 residents of First Nations in Manitoba remain in hotels off reserve, mostly in Winnipeg, due to the flooding. Ottawa has spent $8 million since March 29th on hotel and food costs for the evacuees, and the costs will continue to mount while flood waters stay high.
The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, released on July 14th, 2011 the results of the National Assessment of Water and Wastewater Systems in First Nation Communities, the most rigorous, comprehensive and independent evaluation of water and wastewater systems on reserves ever undertaken by a federal government. “This report shows that more needs to be done, especially in areas like capacity and monitoring,...." said Minister Duncan.
Lakehead University, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario has won provincial approval to launch the law school it has long coveted, promising to gear its newest faculty to attract aboriginal students and focus on aboriginal law. A first class of 55 law students will enroll in September, 2013, with priority going to Northern and aboriginal applicants. They will be able to take courses on aboriginal law, which can range from indigenous legal principles to treaty or land-claim law.
The first, 100%-owned First Nation solar farm in Ontario is ready to gear up and produce power once given the final Hydro One go ahead, says Alderville First Nation Chief Jim Bob Marsden. The 5 megawatt facility covers 50 acres and includes about 24,000 solar panels. Long range plans are to create a Centre for Excellence for solar power generation where people can be trained in the technology with the immediate revenue benefiting the community now.
Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo on July 12th, 2011 opened the AFN 32nd Annual General Assembly in Moncton, New Brunswick with a plan that builds on the call at the 2010 AGA to support all First Nations as they set their own paths in moving away from the Indian Act towards real self-determination.
The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) July 2nd, 2011 Executive Communique comments on natural resource royalty sharing proposals and also reported on First Nation education and health developments in Saskatchewan.
A class action was filed on May 30, 2011 by Sharon Russell against the Government of Canada on behalf of Aboriginal British Columbians who were apprehended as children by provincial welfare authorities. A member of the Gitksan First Nation, Ms. Russell was taken from her parents and kept away from her Gitksan community starting in 1964, at age seven.
Lynda Powless, owner and founder of Turtle Island News, an influential aboriginal newspaper has overcome much adversity including being shot at in her quest for social justice.
The 2011 Great Northern Arts Festival will take place July 15-24 at Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Since 1989, up to 80 visual artists and 40 performers from across the North gather each summer in Inuvik to celebrate the diversity that is Canada's North. They are Inuit, Inuvialuit, Gwich'in, Dene, Metis and many of Canada's First Nations.
The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, and the Honourable Peter Penashue, Member of Parliament for Labrador, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, on July 4th, 2011 issued the following statement:
"Our government would like to congratulate the Innu Nation of Labrador on their successful June 30th ratification of the comprehensive land claim Agreement-in- Principle (AIP). We especially want to commend the efforts of Grand Chief Joseph Riche and Deputy Grand Chief George Rich of the Innu Nation, as well as the Innu people of Labrador, in reaching this important milestone in negotiations.
The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, on July 5th, 2011 congratulated the community of Kitigan Zibi, Quebec, on the completion of improvements to its drinking water and wastewater treatment systems. With the completion of these infrastructure improvements, close to 40 per cent of existing buildings are now connected to a safe drinking water system. This includes 195 homes and a dozen community buildings such as the band school, the medical clinic, the police station and the community hall.
Doug Cuthand's July 4th, 2011 column in the Saskatoon StarPhoenix comments on the need for quality education for First Nation children. According to the Assembly of First Nations, "on average, First Nations schools receive at least $2,000 less for each student at a reserve school than non-aboriginal schools."
The Honourable John Duncan, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and Konrad Sioui, Grand Chief of the Huron-Wendat Nation, confirmed on June 30, 2011 the establishment of a discussion table on the Anglo-Huron Treaty of 1760. Representatives of Canada and the Huron-Wendat Nation also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding this initiative. The establishment of the discussion table and the signing of the memorandum of understanding are concrete measures reflecting Canada's acknowledgment of the Anglo-Huron Treaty of 1760, as confirmed by the Sioui ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1990.
Following an investigation that dates back seven years, nine people from the Poundmaker First Nation, located approximately 200 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon — including a current and former chief — are facing a total of nearly 50 fraud- and theft-related charges. The charges are the result of a complaint alleging misuse of the band's Treaty Land Entitlement (TLE) funds.
Accomplished actor Gordon Tootoosis, from the Poundmaker Cree Nation, died in a Saskatoon hospital yesterday at the age of 69. Tootoosis has appeared in a number of notable Canadian and American productions, including Wapos Bay, North of 60 and Disney’s Pocahontas. He earned membership in the Order of Canada in 2004, where he was recognized as a role model for Aboriginal youth. He was also a founding member of the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company.
The Aboriginal Canada Portal has complied a list of tourism organizations to allow travelers the opportunity to find aboriginal experiences on their summer vacations in Canada.
After 19 years of serving various detachments in Nova Scotia, Sgt. Stephen Gloade, originally from the Millbrook First Nation in Nova Scotia will become the first Mi'kmaq person to be commissioned as an officer at the rank of inspector. Of the 32,000 RCMP members across Canada, about 600 are commissioned officers. In a few days, Gloade, his wife and their four children will head to Saskatchewan where he will become the officer in charge of aboriginal policing for the entire province and he is up for the challenge.
Inuit in Canada are pointing to mental health as their main concern when dealing with the grief and trauma caused by residential school experiences. In opening remarks at the Truth and Reconciliation National Northern Event in Inuvik, Mary Simon, president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, said “We need more mental health infrastructure in the Arctic and we need more trained counsellors and programs.”
The former president of the student council, at First Nations University of Canada's Saskatoon campus, Blue Pelletier, will have to wait until next month to hear the judge's decision on his innocence or guilt in defrauding the non-profit organization. Blue is accused of diverting up to $30,000 in student council funds to himself. SIGA (Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority) donated the money, but it appears that the student body never heard an announcement of the donation and no one contacted SIGA to get an explanation about the generous gift.
