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Community focused with a grassroots appeal. Established in 1993 to serve the needs of the Indigenous people of Alberta.
The high rate of suicide in Aboriginal communities has prompted Alberta Health Services to take proactive measures.
“Even though suicide is an issue for all communities, the rate for suicide in Aboriginal communities is three times higher in Alberta,” said Kendra Bishop, Aboriginal program coordinator for AHS. “It is important to offer culturally relevant training that offers supports…
Melissa Daniels, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, wanted her Indigenous culture to be an integral part of her call to the bar. She also wanted to highlight the strength and leadership of Aboriginal women. These goals led to a ceremony that was steeped in tradition for family and colleagues who gathered in an Edmonton courtroom this past summer.
All three participants in…
As Karen Pheasant’s supporters sat around tables and booths at Glen’s Sports Grill and Pub waiting for Edmonton School Board results to be flashed across the large TV screen on Oct. 21, campaign advisor Lewis Cardinal was getting the results on his Smart phone. It was to a subdued crowd that he showed the bar graphs that consistently placed Pheasant fourth out of four candidates in Ward C.…
Over 100 women, children and men marched down Stephen Avenue to Olympic Plaza on Oct. 4, many carrying placards with photographs of lost loved ones, and drumming in the annual peaceful protest that showed solidarity for the over 600 Aboriginal women who have been murdered or gone missing across the country. They were part of a movement of over 200 vigils that took place nation-wide, a number…
Robert Hayes, Senior Vice President, Alberta Division, BMO Bank of Montreal (left) presents a cheque to Mount Royal University President David Docherty to support Aboriginal students throughout their time at Mount Royal. (Photo: provided)
Aboriginal students ensured success with ongoing support
On Oct. 22 Mount Royal University…
Rally to protest Edmonton Public School cuts
Cuts by Edmonton Public Schools of three Aboriginal liaison positions were among the reasons protestors took to the streets at a recent Idle No More rally. “The Aboriginal liaisons play a key role in every school, and even so much so that a lot of kids won’t even want to go to school if there is no Aboriginal liaison there,”…
Land guarantees and promises for the future prompted Tsuu T’ina residents to give the Calgary ring road the go-ahead.
On Oct. 24, 644 Nation members voted in favour of swapping their land for provincial Crown land along with a monetary settlement from the province.
“If this had been just about the road it never would have been approved,” said Tsuu T’ina Chief Roy Whitney, speaking…
The emotion was thick in Lorraine Cutarm’s voice and in the room as the grieving mother relayed how she lost one son and had another injured at the hands of the RCMP.
“This all comes from my heart,” she said in a shaking voice to United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya when he stopped in Hobbema on Oct. 11 during his whirlwind eight-day tour of Canada. She said her family advised…
The land rights battle of Elsipogtog can be felt right here in Alberta.
“Like our Mi’kmaq brothers and sisters out east, our nations and the nations in northeastern Alberta are facing annihilation of their traditional territory and homelands to industrial development,” said activist Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. “What happened out east is a…
Denise Montour and Tina Wolfe, both of whom reside on the Maskwacis Cree Nation, were among the 200 or so people to fill the gymnasium at Ermineskin school, in Hobbema, on Oct. 11 to listen to presentations made to United Nations Special Rapporteur James Anaya. Both women are wary about the impact Anaya’s report will have on living conditions for Aboriginal people in Canada.
“It’s not…
Being granted the opportunity to be heard is not about setting legal precedent, it’s about doing what is best for Fort McKay First Nation traditional territory.
“We need to be clear that Fort McKay did not and has not taken on this position because we were trying to win bigger arguments. Essentially our argument has always been that the protection of our particular pieces of traditional…
Governor General David Johnston and his wife Sharon had a full itinerary on their recent visit to southern Alberta. Top of mind was recognition of citizens from Siksika, High River and Calgary for their response to the earth-shattering June floods. Johnston handed out rare awards, the Governor General’s Commendation for Outstanding Service, to representatives from each flood-affected community…
Three of the 10 most recent recipients of the RBC Aboriginal Student Awards Program are attending post-secondary schools in Alberta. Receiving $4,000 annually for a maximum of four years will be Katrina Hewton-Backfat of Siksika Nation, who is getting her Bachelor of Arts, Psychology at Athabasca University; Tyler Markowski, Métis from Morinville, who is attending the University of…
New elementary school curriculum, policy and a documentary are the result of a three-year partnership between Alberta Innovates – Energy and Environment Solutions and the Native Counselling Services of Alberta. The Sacred Relationship project, which focused on Aboriginal perspectives on water, features a documentary film, grade five and six educational curriculum, and research that…
A pair of moccasins, an Inuit soapstone carving of a bear and a Métis sash were among the items buried in September as part of a time capsule, which will be unearthed in 2112. A ceremony for the time capsule was held in the rotunda of the Alberta Legislature to mark the Legislature’s centennial. The ceremony and procession to the capsule’s burial site were led by Speaker of the House Gene…