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Alberta Sweetgrass

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Community focused with a grassroots appeal. Established in 1993 to serve the needs of the Indigenous people of Alberta.

  • April 15, 2010
  • Shari Narine, Sweetgrass Writer, MEDICINE HAT

The History in the Hills event, which will take place at Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park June 14 to 17, is about coming together, said an enthusiastic Amy Connachie, the cultural co-ordinator for Miywasin Society of Aboriginal Services in Medicine Hat.

The park, which straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, is a significant spot, said Connachie, because it was a gathering place…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Rudy Kelly, Sweetgrass Writer, EDMONTON

The journey of an Aboriginal youth group trying to raise awareness on the issue of youth suicide is finally coming to an end.

The Aboriginal Youth Suicide Prevention Walk's fourth and final annual cross-Canada trek, which started in Sydney, N. S., March 14, will end in Victoria, B.C., June 21, will complete a campaign that has touched many political leaders and communities, and helped…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

Residential school survivors are one step closer to receiving their share of a $1.9 billion compensation package now that the federal cabinet has put its stamp of approval on plans for the pay out.

That approval finalizes the agreement-in-principle announced in November 2005 but the plan must be approved in nine provincial courts and a five-month opt-out period must pass before the…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Laura Stevens, Sweetgrass Writer, EDMONTON

A collection of Metis, Cree, Blackfoot, Nakota and Iroquois artifacts will soon have a new home at the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) after spending a century-and-a half in a Scottish castle.
James Carnegie, the ninth Earl of Southesk, collected the historical artifacts during a visit to western Canada in the mid-1800s. The items were stored away in a trunk in the attic of Kinnaird Castle,…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Laura Stevens, Sweetgrass Writer, EDMONTON

A collection of Metis, Cree, Blackfoot, Nakota and Iroquois artifacts will soon have a new home at the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) after spending a century-and-a half in a Scottish castle.
James Carnegie, the ninth Earl of Southesk, collected the historical artifacts during a visit to western Canada in the mid-1800s. The items were stored away in a trunk in the attic of Kinnaird Castle,…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

The Edmonton Food Bank launched its Plant a Row, Grow a Row campaign on May 17, which encourages local growers to plant and harvest root vegetables for local food banks.

Whether your garden is large or small, the food bank asks growers to add an additional row or bed or pot and plant something extra.

Crops best for donation are root vegetables, however any produce that can be…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

The Dene Tha' are going to federal court to block the giant Mackenzie Valley pipeline, a $7 billion project that will tap into gas reserves in the Beaufort Sea. The Dene Tha' are worried that the pipeline development will ruin their way of life. They will argue they were not properly consulted about the project, saying they weren't officially told about the Mackenzie Valley pipeline until…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

Beginning this fall, 8,100 post-secondary students from rural Alberta will be eligible to receive $1,000 each in Millennium Alberta Rural Incentive bursaries as a result of a three-year joint program between the provincial government and the Canada Millenium Scholarship Foundation. First- and second-year students who live outside of Edmonton, Calgary, St. Albert and Sherwood Park and who…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

Settle the Lubicon land claim, Canada is being told by the United Nations on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in a report released in May. It's the second time the UN has asked Canada to settle the dispute. The Lubicon band of about 500 members have never signed a land claim agreement and negotiations have been on again off again since the 1970s. The most recent report also advises Canada…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

A project that benefits Aboriginal students with training in interactive media, and that teaches skills required to launch high-tech careers was given a shot in the arm on May 24 with an investment of funds from Western Economic Diversification.

The Heritage Community Foundation's Information Technology/Animation Aboriginal Project received $125,000, which will enable students to…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Heather Andrews Miller, Sweetgrass Writer, EDMONTON

Alberta will be featured at the world-famous Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC from June 30 to July 11 and an Aboriginal singing group will be one of the star performers at the event. The first time a Canadian province has been the feature exhibit, more than 1.5 million people are expected to attend and media coverage will showcase the event to the world.

Sarah Pocklington…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

On June 20, 1946 Lawrence Steinhauer and Eunice Jackson were united in marriage at the Saddle Lake United Church by Rev. Brick Thackery. Witnesses were Hector Jackson and Evelyn Stamp (Pruden).

Lawrence served in World War II from 1939 to 1945. After the many harships he went through, which many of us will never know or understand, Lawrence was given an honorable discharge and returned…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

The organizers of Dreamspeakers Film Festival announced its line-up of the 23 shows it will feature June 7 to 10 during the annual event in Edmonton. Headlining is the feature film Indian Summer: The Oka Crisis, a fictionalized account of the summer of 1990 in Oka, Que. when the largest deployment of Canadian troops since the Korean War moved into the town to dismantle blockades set up by…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

RBC Financial Group has awarded five students with scholarships through its Aboriginal Student Awards Program, including Jessica White Cow of Pincher Creek. The annual scholarship provides $4,000 for a maximum of four years at university, or for two years at community college.

"At RBC, we believe that receiving a formal education is just the beginning of a lifetime of learning and…

  • April 15, 2010
  • Alberta Sweetgrass Staff

Principal photography has started on the Showcase Original series Moose TV and will run until early July in Montreal. The series stars Adam Beach and Alberta's own Nathaniel Arcand and will consist of eight half-hour episodes. Moose TV is Canada's first Native-produced comedy featuring an all-star Native cast. The first season is slated for broadcast on Showcase in early 2007. Beach plays…