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Windspeaker Publication

Windspeaker Publication

Established in 1983 to serve the needs of northern Alberta, Windspeaker became a national newspaper on its 10th anniversary in 1993.

  • June 12, 2002
  • Windspeaker Staff

News Briefs Page 3

A Native elder who passed away recently was cremated and requested that his ashes be spread along Edmonton's skid row. Julius McLean, born in Leduc, passed away in Edmonton's Charles Camsell Hospital because of heart complications and a lung infection at the age of 70. McLean was one of the first liaison workers for Native Counselling Services of Alberta and was a…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Windspeaker Staff

News Briefs

Page 3

Since the breakdown of negotiations between the federal government officials and Lubicon Lake representatives mid-January over the Natives' land claim, the Lubicons have been cleaning house and working on technical agreements with the province of Alberta.

Lubicon negotiator Fred Lennarson said, "What we are doing is that we are getting the people who are…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Windspeaker Staff

News Briefs

Page 3

An Alberta Energy Company pulp mill planned for the town of Slave Lake doesn't properly address Native concerns in its proposal, says a member of Friends of Athabasca, an environmental group located in Athabasca.

Mike Gismondi said, "There is a problem and they (the company) have to go an extra mile to meet the Native concerns. The broader scope of this…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Jeff Morrow, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Edmonton

Page 3

Native parents and student protesters from Northern Alberta garnered the support they were looking for at Wednesday's rally in Edmonton.

Their struggle to halt the government's new E-12 policy has taken a giant leap forward, according to Indian Association of Alberta president Roy Louis.

He said Edmonton's contribution to a nationwide protest should help make the…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Elaine O'Farrell, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Montreal

Page 2

The Meech Lake accord threatens Native people's control over their children's future, charges National Indian leader George Erasmus.

"Meech Lake will severely limit our abilities to control child care services. Under its current provisions, provinces can opt out of federal programs and take that money for their own provincial programs," said Erasmus, national chief of the…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Jeff Morrow, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Goodfish Lake Alberta

Page 2

Native Canadians are prisoners in their own land, similar to the blacks in South Africa, said a Louis Bull band member during an elders meeting in Goodfish Lake last week.

Former Saskatchewan penitentiary inmate Alex Twinn told a visiting RCMP constable Indians in Alberta are suffering under the same apartheid rule that has oppressed the black-majority population in South…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Keith Matthew, Windspeaker Staff Writer

Page 2

Provincial

Native voters in northern Alberta riding flexed their newly-found political muscle as two Native candidates won seats in the legislature in a surprising election which also saw Premier Don Getty defeated in his own riding.

Progressive Conservative candidate Pearl Calahasen and Mike Cardinal both won convincing victories in ridings north of Edmonton to…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Jeff Morrow, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Edmonton

Page 1

The decision to cut funding from Alberta's top Native political organization has been dropped, according to the Indian and Northern Affairs regional office.

Consultation and policy development funds will be allocated directly to the Indian Association of Alberta (IAA) instead of being given to bands who, in turn, would have handed it over to the IAA. Provincial Native…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Windspeaker Staff

Page 1

Northern Alberta Indian bands braved the frigid temperatures to parade the streets of Edmonton Wednesday as part of a nationwide rally to protest post-secondary cutbacks.

A crowd of 800 filtered into snow-covered Sir Winston Churchill Square before marching on Canada Place where the regional office of Indian and Northern Affairs is located.

After massing on the…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Bruce Spence, Windspeaker Correspondent, Regina Saskatchewan

Page 16

The Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC) at Regina is using a double-barelled approach to raise the profile of their athletic program.

The Indian college with a student population of 700 is following the footsteps of the larger universities which pump huge amounts of money into their athletic departments. Many college athletes step into high-paying professional…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Elaine O'Farrell, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Hull Quebec

Page 14

An authentic Pacific Coast Indian village will be brought to life when the new Canadian Museum of Civilization opens here June 29.

The Grand Hall of the museum will feature an Indian village with full-scale reconstruction of six Indian longhouses linked by a simulated shoreline and boardwalk.

Representing six Indian bands, the house fronts were made in British…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Elaine O'Farrell, Windspeaker Staff Writer

Page 13

A conspiracy of silence cloaks the staggering rate of child/sexual abuse in Native communities, says a raining counsellor with St. Albert's Poundmaker Nechi Centre.

Brenda Daily estimated roughly 90 per cent of Native families are both affected by substance abuse and child abuse.

And a Northwest Territories survey done last month found 80 per cent of Indian girls…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Bea Lawrence, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Edmonton

Page 10

Operation Beaver is an international program under the direction of Frontiers Foundation, a federally chartered non-profit organization, which supports the advancement of

disadvantaged communities across Canada and the Third World.

Sponsored by the Canadian Council of Churches, Operation Beaver began in 1964 as an ecumenical work program to provide assistance for…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Susan Enge, Windspeaker Staff Writer, Edmonton

Page 7

Various Alberta Metis leaders want the Native Economic Development Program (NEDP) renewed by the federal government by the end of this month.

Some leaders feel the program, scheduled to expire March 31, is critical to the economic rejuvenation of their communities.

A special funding source, such as the NEDP, should be continued because it helps Metis living in…

  • June 12, 2002
  • Everett Lambert, Syndicated Native News

Page 7

The five-year $345 million Native Economic Development Program (NEDP) will end March 31, 1989. However, amid calls from both the Native community and within the board for continuing the program, chances look good for a replacement.

Don Hannah, regional director for the western region (B.C., Alberta and the Yukon) said, "we anticipate the introduction of a new program. No…