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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Fran Brown is sitting on a bench under a tent-like canopy waiting to enter the sweat lodge. She is in week four of a five-week residential program at the Tsow-Tun le lum treatment centre on Vancouver Island called Qual-aun or "moving beyond the trauma of our past." Brown, 51, has a history of verbal and sexual abuse that lasted for most of her childhood. At Tsow-Tun le lum she…
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Chief Andy Carvill of the Carcross/Tagish First Nation sees many great opportunities on the horizon for the 700-plus members of his band of Tlingit/Tagish people.
"We are working quite diligently in the area of education, with students attending colleges or universities outside the Yukon as well as many working at career preparations here at home," he said.
"Tourism…
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Resident Eder Ellen White raised her hands in a blessing and in thanks to the dancers who had entertained at the feast. "It's so beautiful when you see what the old people left behind," she told the students and instructors who had gathered in the room.
"Never forget them. This is our teaching here and you have similar traditions. You can go back home and say, 'I have seen…
Page 7
For those who have just found or re-discovered their Metis culture and identity, Kootenay Region Metis Association (KRMA) may be the very place to turn for comfort and support.
Marlin Ratch, executive assistant to the council, and the program co-ordinator for the employment and training program at the KRMA, said, "That's a big part of our being right now is trying to…
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Urban Aboriginal parents in the Yukon are welcome to enjoy a unique program offered by the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre in Whitehorse that allows them to pursue a traditional lifestyle. Program co-ordinator Joe Migwans explained that a group of parents recently spent three days away from town participating in berry picking, fishing, and hunting, led by Elders who remember the…
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When Alex Van Bibber signed up for service in World War II, he became one of four Yukon Aboriginal men who have continued to this day to lead by example in their home communities. Alex, his brothers Archie and Dan, and friend John Adamson all took their basic training in 1944 in camps at Vancouver and Wetaskiwin. The men are members of the Champagne-Aishihik and Selkirk First…
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On a breezy early fall evening, First Nations Creations, an art co-operative fully owned and operated by First Nations artists, celebrated its one-year anniversary in the historic Gastown in Vancouver.
Only a stone's throw from the famous steam clock and surrounded by souvenir stores boasting commercialized Native tchotches, First Nations Creations aims to breathe fresh…
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Loretta Hurst loves her job in the forest industry.
"Every day there is something I really enjoy. Either the sun coming up in the morning in my rearview mirror, or coming home at night I see the moon coming over the ridge. Or I see an animal."
Hurst had a goal when she began working in forestry in 1992. She wanted to help other people to obtain solid employment in…
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Sto:lo Office Outfitters celebrated an opening Oct. 22 as a brand new business, reincarnating itself from the former Sto:lo Office Supplies, which began nearly four years ago.
Bigger and better means that the new Aboriginal-owned-and-operated wholesaler sells office furniture in addition to standard paper, pencils and staplers.
Another change, according to manager…
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As First Nations singers and dancers performed a welcoming paddle dance, and the Royal Canadian Air Force Snowbirds blasted over the domes of the Legislature, Queen Elizabeth II mingled with Vancouver Island residents, talking at length with First Nations children and artisans.
From the moment the Queen and Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh arrived on Vancouver Island…
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FORT ST. JAMES - The Nak'azdli and Tl'az'ten First Nations in British Columbia have signed an agreement with the government enabling the bands to receive federal money to develop their own services for children's safety and well-being.
A ceremony was held Oct. 16 as the Nezul Be Hunuyeh Child and Family Service Agency accepted the responsibility on behalf of the two First…
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Last month the Seabird Island band announced the Federal Court of Appeal had reversed a lower court decision that they had no taxable interest in land taken from them for a highway right-of-way in the 1950s.
They were in court because Telus (formerly BC Tel) began running fibre optic cables on poles through the reserve in 1997, on what was claimed by Telus to be land…
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British Columbia was once again well represented at imagineNATIVE, a media arts festival held in Toronto in late October.
This marked the third year the Native festival has been held, and the event, which ran from Oct. 24 to 27, continues to grow each year.
This year there were about 65 artists (a considerable increase from the 20 that took part during the festival'…
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The Interior Indian Friendship Centre in Kamloops has been serving the urban Aboriginal people since 1972. Over the years, it has seen its programs and membership change, but it has always offered counselling, referrals and advocacy to its members, as well as providing a gathering place where Native culture is promoted.
Delphine Terbasket, general manager, and June…
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No Home But The Heart, a contemporary dance-drama production of Indian America is coming to the stage of the Yukon Arts Centre Nov. 24.
Daystar Dance Company produced the show and premiered it in Santa Fe, N.M. in April 1999.
"In this dance-drama, the daughter, living in the present, relives significant scenes from the past that teach her about her ancestors and…