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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Laughing at pain, poverty and oppression won't make them go away, but it will make those problems seem smaller and easier to handle. That seems to be the message that Don Burnstick brings with him when he speaks to young people.
You can see it working. At the end of a two-day youth conference at the Saskatoon Inn on Feb. 3, the hotel lobby was jammed with teenagers…
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New Aboriginal Affairs minister
Gordon Wilson gave up the leadership of the Progressive Democratic Alliance party to become the new Aboriginal Affairs Minister in early February.
"I am very pleased that Gordon Wilson has joined our government. He has invaluable experience and new ideas to bring to the table," said Premier Glen Clark. "I believe the addition of…
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In a part of Prince George's poverty stricken inner-city called the "hood," one man's vision could make life better for many desperate young Aboriginal people.
Donald Prince, the manager of the addiction recovery programs at Carrier Sekani Family Services, is working to open a drop-in centre that will bring health services closer and offer a safe place for Aboriginal youth…
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Several community leaders spoke at a press conference on Dec. 18 which was called to bring attention to the release of Ralph Rowe from Mountain Prison.
Rowe spent the last four years at the British Columbia federal correctional facility after being sentenced to a six-year term for sexual assault.
Federal law required that inmates be granted parole after serving two…
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Leaders of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation on Vancouver Island's west coast say they are running out of patience with governments, Crown corporations and forest companies who have failed to deliver written promises of multi-year funding for the clean up of salmon rivers.
"Our communities have suffered grave social and economic hardships as a result of logging-related damages…
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Cuts to education funding have forced schools to adopt some radical measures such as corporate sponsorship or worse, cutting programs, courses or support services.
But a group of parents and staff at Vancouver's Macdonald School have formed a non-profit society that has been extremely successful in raising money for program development - and implementing these programs.…
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COMMENTARY
I had a lot of trouble understanding all the noise about the Musqueam band's leasing deal in the mainstream press this month.
A number of mainstream press pundits have taken on the task of championing the cause of the leaseholders, mostly well-to-do non-Native seniors who, by taking advantage of a bargain created by a massive, illegal and immoral land…
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Dear Editor,
I am writing in regards to an article in your Dec. 1998 paper, Shuswap cowboy looks good at Canadian Finals. This is the second article written in December that made the mistake of calling my brother Ben Louis a Shuswap Native! He is very much Okanagan and proud of it. Our family is very proud of our Okanagan culture and we would greatly appreciate it very…
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Dear Editor,
If you'll allow a freckled-skin white boy psychologist to write - hear me.
About the article by Brigette Parker on Family violence myths destroyed. Why is it that we have six-woman panels to mark woman assault prevention month because "violence in the family is a fundamental human rights issue for women and children" when it is mostly men who are…
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Last month's column took a look at the first year in recovery and its emphasis on not picking up. As stated, each year has its own set of unique issues that a person has to deal with. Year 2's major focus is on understanding the individual's learned behaviors and emotions.
As the recovery process takes place, in Year 2 the individual's main focus is no longer on picking…
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Trains, planes and automobiles. Throw in a boat and bus ride and you have CANDO's 5th annual national conference held in Vancouver from Nov. 25 to Nov. 28.
CANDO is the better known acronym for the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers. Representatives from Aboriginal economic development organizations across Canada gathered to share economic…
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It used to be that only the "Red Man" knew exactly how he'd been screwed around.
The ratification of Bill 51, the Nisga'a Final Agreement Act by the provincial government has put many aspects of the lives of First Nations people under intense scrutiny. One advantage of this scrutiny is that many non-Native Canadians are now seeing beyond the crude caricatures of Native…
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It was 1974 when a nameless First Nations newspaper first hit the presses.
The four-page tabloid, featuring just a few short profiles and stories, advertised its namelessness in the top banner; pleading for someone to suggest a name for this new paper focusing on First Nations issues along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.
From its small office overlooking the…
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In the years since fareWel was first performed, it has received a lot of attention from critics.
Reviews of the 1997 Governor General's Literary Award winner Ian Ross' play have been all over the map, but not one reviewer has ever been bored by it. Disturbed, yes. Amused, definitely. Uncomfortable, you bet. But never bored.
Preview performances of the play open at…
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Yvette Nolan is often told to get over past persecutions inflicted on her Native culture. But the Native artist says she cannot forget the abused and downtrodden around her.
So, she has decided not to get over it. The outspoken Yukon playwright is speaking out about the injustices she witnesses daily. With her direct style, Nolan boldly seeks to promote understanding and…