Alberta Sweetgrass

Downtown Edmonton organizations have combined forces to make the transition to the city’s capital easier for Aboriginals.

“The highest needs of the urban Aboriginal population are housing and employment and how to register their children for school. Programming is at bare bones right now and there is a gap for new Aboriginal people in town. Aboriginal families are looking for support…

Calgarians honour Aboriginal culture

At the end of June, Calgarians gathered at Shaw Millennium Park to celebrate Aboriginal culture, the culmination of a week filled with events. The family day event wound up Aboriginal Awareness Week. Performing on the festival stage throughout the day was world champion hoop dancer Dallas Arcand, accompanied by his son, Dallas Jr.,…

Foodbank collection at Aboriginal Pavilion

Edmonton’s Food Bank was collecting donations at the Aboriginal Pavilion during the Heritage Festival in Hawrelak park on the August long weekend. “The festival is a crucial food drive for Edmonton’s Food Bank as it helps restock our shelves,” said Marjorie Bencz, executive director of Edmonton’s Food Bank. The 26th annual…

A federal judge’s decision is a welcomed step in the fight to protect the woodland caribou in northeastern Alberta.
After waiting more than a month, three First Nations and two environmental groups are pleased that federal judge Justice Paul Crampton has ruled that Environment Canada minister Peter Kent “clearly erred in reaching his decision by failing to take into account the First…

Plains Midstream Canada has been given the go-ahead by the Energy Resources Conservation Board to resume operation of its Rainbow pipeline 20 days after making the application.

The pipeline had been shut down since April 29 when approximately 28,000 barrels of light, sweet crude oil were spilled in traditional Lubicon Lake territory.

The application was received by the government…

Shared blood, shared language and shared concerns have brought the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in to the folds of the Dene Nation.

“We’ll have a lot stronger voice once we come together and unify ourselves as one voice,” said ACFN Chief Allan Adam.

Issues that need a strong voice include water quality and quantity and woodland caribou habitat.

“The water comes from…

A recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada clearly supports the nomadic hunting rights of Métis on the western plains.

“We will be bringing the (Cunningham v. Alberta government) decision to the attention of the (Court of Queen’s Bench) and asking them if they want us to make an additional submission on it,” said Jason Madden, legal counsel for the Métis Nation of Alberta.

…

Members of the Samson Cree First Nation have to make a choice after the shooting death of a five-year-old boy who was asleep in a house: either they are for crime or they stand against crime.

“If you have information and you know about someone who has committed a murder (then) you’re supporting that person to the detriment of your community,” said RCMP Sgt. Patrick Webb.  “Some people…

September court appearance

After two court date adjournments, Robbie Dickson, of Rainbow Tobacco, is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Wetaskiwin on Sept. 8. “The court case was adjourned for various reasons,” said Lynn Hutchings-Mah, spokesperson for Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission. Dickson along with Dwayne Ouimet and Montana First Nation Chief Carolyn…

A ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada underscores that the Métis are a people with a distinct identity and culture.

“I believe today’s judgment is a wonderful affirmation of the Métis Nation’s longstanding struggle to be recognized and dealt with as a distinct rights-bearing Aboriginal people,” said Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

While the ruling is…

Another Aboriginal child has died while in the care of the Alberta government.

The death of the four-month-old baby girl brought a handful of people to the steps of the Legislature in Edmonton on June 6. Noticeably absent from the gathering were government officials. The baby died April 11 in hospital in Edmonton, six days after she was apprehended from her mother’s home. However, the…

The Aboriginal Housing Society in Lethbridge has secured a new partnership that will better accommodate the needs for affordable housing.

In response to two applications put forward by AHS, Lethbridge City Council recently approved $1.14 million in grant funding which will create the comfort of home for many urban Aboriginal as well as non-Aboriginal tenants.
About 300 Aboriginal…

At least one Alberta First Nation will be applying for intervener status as the Northern Gateway Project joint review process moves forward.   

The Alexander First Nation will be making that application. The proposed pipeline runs through 1,900 acres of land the band is due under the 1998 Treaty Land Entitlement Settlement. The land is located near Fox Creek and in Sturgeon County.…

“The general feeling is number one, an evacuation of that size and nobody got hurt? That’s excellent,” said Joseph Jobin, chief operating officer in the Edmonton office of the Treaty 8 First Nations. “We got very lucky.”

In May, four northern First Nations — Whitefish, Sawridge, Woodland, and Loon River — were evacuated in their entirety due to raging wildfires that swept the Slave Lake…

A decade long partnership between the provincial Métis association and the oldest university in the province has culminated in the creation of the Rupertsland Centre for Métis Research.

“We have finalized the opportunity to work as partners with the University of Alberta to develop Canada’s first academic centre specifically designed for Métis research,” said Audrey Poitras, president…