Alberta Sweetgrass

The newest statistics for Aboriginal households places Edmonton second for the largest urban Aboriginal population and Alberta first for the largest Métis population.

According to the figures recently released by Statistics Canada through its new National Household Survey, Alberta has an Aboriginal population of 222,695. Only Ontario and British Columbia have higher Aboriginal…

Organizers of the second Alberta Indigenous Games are hoping this year’s version will be considerably larger than its inaugural event.

The 2011 games featured about 400 participants. That’s a far cry from the 2,000 athletes that organizers had originally hoped to attract.

But in their defence, those games were hastily assembled to fill a void for athletes who were denied a chance…

Cameron Alexis, Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, has slammed the provincial government for moving ahead on Bill 22, despite government claims that the bill is only enabling legislation.

“We should be absolutely consulted prior to a legislation becoming law. And we didn’t see that,” Alexis told a vocal crowd of about 150 on the steps of the Legislature on May 24.

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The Alberta Court of Appeal has ruled that the federal government shares responsibility with the province when it comes to approving economic development on Beaver Lake Cree Nation traditional territory.

In a unanimous decision delivered April 30, the panel of three judges dismissed appeals by Canada and Alberta and said that BLCN had the right to voice their concerns in a court room…

“Water is not for sale.” “Water is sacred.” Those are the words that filled a rain-dampened rally that saw demonstrators make their way from Canada Place in downtown Edmonton to the Alberta Legislature on May 24.

“Our treaty says we have a right to water. We have to protect that,” said Shannon Houle, addressing about 150 people on the steps of the Legislature.

Houle, from Saddle…

Aboriginal students in Grande Yellowhead high schools were nearly twice as likely to graduate last year compared to the provincial average. The three-year (grades 10–12) high school completion average for Aboriginal students in Grande Yellowhead high schools rose to 70 per cent last year, compared to about 50 per cent in 2011 and 2010. Alberta’s provincial three-year completion rate for…

In mid-April Premier Allison Redford made her fourth trip to Washington to reiterate her government’s support for the Keystone XL Pipeline project. She said the visit was to provide more information on Alberta’s regulations and she felt the trip was worthwhile. “We know there’s an awful lot of campaigning going on against Keystone. We want to make sure the other side is heard,” Redford said. …

NAIT and Cenovus Energy have launched an innovative program to help prNAIT, Cenovus provide youth leadership program

NAIT and Cenovus Energy have launched an innovative program to help promote Aboriginal youth leadership skills in First Nations in central and northern Alberta. The NAIT Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program, sponsored by Cenovus Energy, was recently delivered to 18…

Last month Aboriginal Relations Minister Robin Campbell introduced Bill 19 Métis Settlements Amendment Act, 2013, which supports the previously announced Métis Settlements Long Term Arrangements. The amendments are the result of negotiations with the Métis Settlements leadership over the last year. “The arrangements provide the direction and the financial resources for Alberta’s Métis…

The Canadian Red Cross responded to two calls for help on First Nations last month providing 72-hours of assistance in both cases. On April 20, the Canadian Red Cross Personal Disaster Assistance Team responded to a fire which took place on the Louis Bull reserve, providing groceries for six people, clothing for four adults and three children, diapers and formula for two infants. Accommodation…

A month after the province named Gerry Protti as chair of the Alberta Energy Regulator the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation joined non-governmental organizations and special interest groups to call for his resignation. Protti’s industry history which includes one of the founders of the Canadian Association for Petroleum Producers, an executive for Encana, and a lobbyist for the Energy Policy…

Fort McKay First Nation appeared in front of the Energy Resources Conservation Board late April to call for the establishment of a 20 km buffer from its reserve in regards to the proposed Dover OPCO. The Dover project proposes a five-phase 250,000-barrel-per-day facility using Steam-Assisted Gravity Drainage technology. Fort McKay formally stood against the proposed project because Dover would…

Plains Midstream Canada ULC is facing three counts under the province’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act in relation to the largest spill in the province in 35 years, which occurred on Lubicon Cree traditional territory in April 2011. A ruptured pipeline leaked 28,000 barrels of crude oil and contaminated more than three hectares of beaver ponds and muskeg in a densely forested…

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation’s bid to block a ruling on Shell’s Jackpine oilsands mine expansion in northern Alberta. In October 2012, ACFN put forward a Constitutional challenge asking the Joint Review Panel to decide whether Crown consultation on the Shell application was sufficient. The JRP ruled it did not have the jurisdiction to…

Peerless Lake Grade 8 students Taron Okemnow (left) and Shavannah Anderson attended the Forum for Young Canadians March 18-22 in Ottawa with their teacher Shonna Marko-Kwasny. The students were two of approximately 120 from across the country selected to attend the event. They toured Parliament Hill, met MPs, senators, public servants and business leaders, and visited the Canadian War Museum…