Iskatewizaagegan Elder taught sacred ecology

Wisdom keepers like the late Ogimaamakoons, Ella Dawn Green, generously provided sacred knowledge to bolster the Annishinaabe certainty that human beings are more than just consumers of the earth’s resources.

August 3, 2016.

Passing an Order in Council to give standing to the national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls is a priority for Alberta.

“We will adopt the terms of references and the commissioners under the provincial Public Inquiries Act,” said Brent Wittmeier, press secretary for Richard Feehan, minister of Alberta Indigenous Affairs.  “We’ve been supportive of the process since we became government and we’ll continue to do so.”

Wittmeier could not offer a timeline as to when the Order in Council would be adopted.

July 29, 2016.

The investigation into the fire that destroyed Red Crow Community College on the Blood Indian Reserve last August is expected to wrap up soon.

“There was a lot of discussion with the fire commissioner and stuff and there were some people we wanted to talk to that were hard to track down,” said Sgt. Jason Colon, of the Blood Tribe Police Service, as to why the investigation has taken so long.

At this point, he adds, no charges are pending.

Initial speculation had been that the fire was arson.

July 29, 2016.

Three repurposed shipping containers will become home for a family on the Bearspaw First Nation in September.

It’s a pilot project that Rob Shotclose, CEO for Bearspaw First Nation, hopes will prove to be at least part of the answer for the unique living conditions faced on First Nations. Large family sizes; families that consist of disabled persons and Elders; general wear and tear; mould growth; fire concerns; and, lack of band or family funding to maintain homes; are quite often the norm.

August 3, 2016.

The chief commissioner for the national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls says she and the other four commissioners accept the “serious responsibilities” that have been given to them.

This morning, British Columbia judge Marion Buller was named as chief commissioner for the inquiry. She is joined by Michele Audet, Qajag Robinson, Marilyn Poitras and Brian Eyolfson. All members are Indigenous.

July 22, 2016.

Alberta Indigenous Relations Minister Richard Feehan has a unique insight into a government system that is failing Indigenous children in care.

“I am abundantly aware, that here I am, 34 years after I first became a social worker, saying we still have an over-representation of Indigenous families in child welfare and children in care and that’s just completely unacceptable. It’s time for this to come to an end,” said Feehan.

August 2, 2016.

In an act of reconciliation, the congregation at Southminster-Steinhauer United Church recently invested over $500,000 into the community, including projects that will help Edmonton’s Indigenous population.

“We have a real commitment to live into the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We’ve been attempting to attend and find ways to be about the work of reconciliation. So certainly there was a real hope that we would be able to fund projects that were consistent with those recommendations,” said SSUC Rev. Nancy L. Steeves.

July 12, 2016. A committee of the Canadian Judicial Council has granted intervener status to a national coalition of women’s organizations, which includes the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women. The coalition will intervene in the inquiry into Justice Robin Camp’s conduct during a 2014 sexual assault trial in Alberta, when he asked the complainant, a 19-year-old Indigenous woman, “Why couldn't you just keep your knees together?” The trial ended in a not guilty verdict.