Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.
Launched in 1997. A news publication specifically designed for the Indigenous people of British Columbia and Yukon.
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For almost 10 years, First Nations have been sounding the alarm about the way the public education system has been failing Aboriginal students in British Columbia. At the insistence of First Nations, the Ministry of Education began collecting data about the performance of Aboriginal students in public schools. The results confirm the claims of First Nations. Our children have…
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First Nations youth in Williams Lake were encouraged and motivated by NHL player Gino Odjick at a recent Education and Unemployment Workshop. Tsi Del Del (Alexis Creek Indian Band), under the umbrella of the Tsilhqot'In National Government (TNG), organized the event held for the youth Jan. 22 and 23.
Odjick, on leave from the NHL, is a member of the Algonquin Nation at…
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Kwadacha Nation, a two-hour flight north of Prince George, is a community of about 270 people, with approximately 80 children and youth in the four-to-18-year age range.
Robert Derkson is a non-Native alcohol and drug cousellor who has worked in the region for more than two years and who moved to the reserve last August. When the young people of Kwadacha Nation found out…
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Findings from a provincially funded study support the formation of Tourism Sliammon, an organization that will establish tourism partnerships in the region. The project was given the green light after the $40,000 study recognized the region's potential as a marine and backcountry destination.
Sliammon First Nation Chief Councillor L. Maynard Harry hopes that this project,…
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Vancouver was the host city for the National Aboriginal Diabetes Association (NADA) third annual conference on diabetes and Aboriginal peoples, held at the end of January. Entitled Creating a Vision for Our Future, the goal of the conference was to provide information, practical solutions and education on all facets of diabetes pertaining to First Nations people.
Type 2…
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British Columbia Regional Chief Shawn Atleo headed an AFN delegation that participated in the Summit of the Americas held in Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 10 to 12. The delegation attended meetings of civil society organizations and ministers of foreign affairs.
On Jan. 12, Atleo presented Prime Minister Paul Martin with two key recommendations, which appeared to be well…
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The First Nations Interest Group (FNIG), a group affiliated with the British Columbia Library Association (BCLA), was formed in 1992 with the objective of improving library services to First Nations. It has attempted to do this by addressing the unique information needs and access challenges facing First Nation people.
Although the FNIG deals with funding and…
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The Fraser Institute's release of its first Report Card on Aboriginal Education in British Columbia paints a dismal picture of the level of academic achievement of First Nations students.
Questions that need to be answered: Why was this report prepared? Does it serve any useful purpose or does it just perpetuate negative expectations of Aboriginal learners?
The…
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Thousands of people took to the streets of Chinatown on Jan. 25 in celebration of Chinese New Year. For the third consecutive year, members of several Indian bands walked alongside Chinese-Canadians in the March for Reconciliation, organized by Canadians for Reconciliation (CFR).
Bill Chu, founder of the organization, explained that Chinese Christians in Action (CCIA)…
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Just days before he was called on to perform a cleansing ceremony for Prime Minister Paul Martin during his swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall Dec. 12, Elder Elmer Courchene slammed the federal government's treatment of residential school survivors.
"It hasn't been survivor-driven," he said of the negotiations to provide compensation. "I've seen many of our Elders that…
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While the Locust Slept-
a memoir
By Peter Razor
Minnesoa Historical Society Press
200 pp; hc $19.95 U.S.
It's not just another boarding school story, this book by Peter Razor. As a ward of the state of Minnesota, Razor truly lived it. He tells his survival story authentically, movingly, without any trace of self-pity. It is honest and it flows…
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Opposite Contraries-
The Unknown Journals of Emily Carr and other Writings
Edited by Susan Crean
Douglas & McIntyre
250 pp; $35 Can.
Lovers of the arts, especially literature and painting, and Canadian history aficionados are sure to love the most recent book about painter Emily Carr.
Edited by Susan Crean, a well-respected teacher,…
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An assistant professor at Simon Fraser University has been awarded just shy of a million dollars by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to head a project that will develop an education model to help Aboriginal people achieve greater success in school.
Mark Jettes, a specialist in linguistic ecology, is principal researcher in the project. His group plans to…
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Community health staff in Hartley Bay are using toys, cash prizes and even peer pressure to give youth a head start on dental health.
Brighter Smiles in Hartley Bay, an innovative project funded by the University of British Columbia and Northern Health, gives all children from this semi-isolated First Nation community monthly access to pediatric resident doctors and a few…
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The Urban Native Youth Association in Vancouver is looking at poverty-related issues that Aboriginal youth in urban centres face, and is urging government leaders and the public to examine and implement the recommendations in a government report released last fall, said UNYA executive director Jerry Adams.
The report, Urban Aboriginal Youth ? An Action Plan for Change, was…