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Community focused with a grassroots appeal. Established in 1993 to serve the needs of the Indigenous people of Alberta.
Several dozen Alberta students can now claim they are part of an award-winning musical effort.
The Wood Buffalo Youth Song Project, which primarily involved Aboriginal students from 10 Alberta schools as well as some Maritime musicians, won an East Coast Music Award.
The collaborative piece was selected as the children’s recording of the year at the awards show, held Apr. 15 in…
Local Aboriginal organizations aren’t reeling from federal budget cuts – but that could be because they don’t have all the details.
“We don’t know yet. We have to go on faith right now,” said Lee Anne Ireland, executive director with the Urban Society for Aboriginal Youth in Calgary. “We apply (for funding) in September or October and often times we have to run the programs blind from…
The Artisan Gardens that pay tribute to First Nations at the Bow Valley Ranche historic site represent the final phase of a heritage project begun in 1995.
When Mitzie Wasyliw and husband Larry rescued the Bow Valley Ranche House from demolition, they had no idea that the work begun on the house would eventually lead to the commemorative gardens.
“Restoring the house itself was a…
Plans to build both affordable housing and market housing for the Métis community are delayed but not dead even though the land originally purchased to help finance the venture can no longer be used.
Shelley Wegner, project manager for Kanata Métis Cultural Enterprises Ltd., said they are entertaining both private offers for the land, located in Edmonton’s River Valley, as well as a…
The March federal budget offered no additional dollars for women’s shelters on reserves but Carolyn Goard, director of member programs and services for the Alberta Council of Women’s Shelters, is “cautiously optimistic” that the government hasn’t forgotten women and children who live in violence.
The budget did include an increase of $11.9 million for family prevention programs on First…
Keith Chief Moon, of Kainai First Nation, is from a large family of 12 who took care of one another. Then came the race to convert his parents and send the children off to residential school.
Mom was swayed to the Catholics and dad to the Anglicans. The result was a chaotic and tension-filled life in residential school.
“The abuse kicked in in Catholic school, because we were not…
A new approach to helping Aboriginal children in care and their families began last month in the Edmonton region.
Money budgeted by Region 6 to deliver services to Aboriginal children brought into care as of April 1 has been passed along to Kahkiyaw, a partnership formed between Bent Arrow Healing Society and Boyle Street Community Services.
“We feel that this is giving us an…
An overwhelming victory by Alison Redford and the Progressive Conservatives was a surprise, admits Driftpile Chief Rose Laboucan, who is hopeful it won’t mean the same old same old for First Nations.
“I’m hoping that the premier will have an open mind when it comes to working with First Nations people. Regardless of who is the premier, we are part of Alberta … and they should have to…
Chiefs of the Yinka Dene Alliance of British Columbia, who gathered on the steps of the Alberta Legislature on May 2 and spoke out against Enbridge’s Northern Gateway Pipeline, were not joined by Alberta chiefs.
It was not a slight, said Eriel Deranger, who moderated the day’s activities, but a conflict in scheduling. She said many Alberta chiefs took part in the feast the night before…
Kenneth McLeod, a graduate from the University of Calgary Law School in 1985, is one of three new judges appointed to the Provincial Court of Alberta. His appointment to Calgary Criminal is effective April 10. McLeod’s principal area of practice is litigation and dispute resolution, often for First Nations clients. Also appointed were Robin Brian Camp and Gordon William Sharek, Q.C. “These…
The Fort McKay First Nation and Fort McKay Group of Companies LP continues to support the annual National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. “Recognizing the accomplishments of Indigenous people in Canada are what the awards are all about. With the generous support of Fort McKay, we were able to continue to celebrate the excellence in our Indigenous communities,” said Roberta Jamieson, president…
NorQuest College and Northern Lakes College are among the post-secondary institutions to have been found to lack basic financial controls according to a recent report undertaken by the Auditor General of Alberta. Also found to lack basic financial controls were Grant MacEwan University, Alberta College of Art and Olds College. The report explains the control deficiencies related to internal…
Expanded mental health and addictions programs will mean better outcomes for Albertans coping with mental illness and addiction. “The Alberta government’s integrated services will increase much needed supports to the community, and significantly enhance the implementation of programs such as Housing First,” said Susan McGee, executive director, Homeward Trust Edmonton, in a news release. “…
Lisa Squire has been named the new director of marketing at the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Squire, who is a citizen of Saddle Lake Cree Nation, graduated with distinction from the University of Alberta’s School of Business. Raised in Edmonton, she has performed various marketing and communication roles within private and public sectors including: Petro Canada Retail Operations, the…
Lawyer Jean Teillet was one of three women to receive Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medals at a ceremony hosted by the Women of the Métis Nation general assembly in Edmonton on March 30. Teillet has represented the Métis Nation of Alberta in a number of court cases, including the ongoing Métis harvesting case. Also receiving medals were Shirley Isbister, an advocate for Métis Children and…