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An entire community in northern Ontario has been labeled suicidal following the eighth death by suicide among the reserve's youths this year.
Crisis intervention teams were flown out to the remote Pikangikum community in early October after two youths committed suicide in four days. But despite efforts to contain copycat actions, two more youths killed themselves the…
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The Metis Nation of Ontario has hired renowned Canadian lawyer Clayton Ruby to defend the rest case for an MNO member charged with hunting under the guidelines of its newly declared Metis Hunt.
Metis are being urged to hunt moose and deer this fall in defiance of Natural Resources Minister Howard Hampton and his department. Hunters are being called to support the…
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Respect ALL of the aged but chose your Elders carefully. All of the white-hairs have travelled the Sacred Hoop of Life, but many are none the wiser for the trip.
Something strange happened to me once at a powwow. It was at the Three Fires Confederacy gathering on the ceremonial grounds of the Garden River Fist Nation. I had met and talked with some old friends, shared…
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It's the calm before the storm. The turbulence brewing over Ottawa is set to spread throughout the nation, scattering the broken bits of Canada's poor and vulnerable form the Queen Charlotte Islands to the farthest reaches of the northern territories and the salty ebb and flow of the Atlantic Ocean.
It's time for reform.
Not only has Ottawa set the wheels in motion…
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Lloyd Axworthy, Minister of Human Resources and Western Development, is asking the national for input into the rebuilding of Canada's social security system.
A copy of the government's new discussion paper, Improving Social Security in Canada, is available free of charge by dialing 1-800-735-3551.
Also available are background documents and question-and-answer…
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Selected issues for discussion in the federal government's paper Agenda:" Jobs and Growth, Improving Social Security in Canada.
Unemployment Insurance
Long-term unemployment in Canada is particularly pervasive among Aboriginal people or those groups dependent on a single industry or resource, reads the paper. The unemployment rate for Aboriginal people is…
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As promised, relations between the new Parti Quebecois government in Quebec and First Nations peoples have proven to be front-page material fairly quickly.
First it was David Cliche, the separatist government's point man on Native issues, who turned heads with his offer of a "new deal" to the First Nations. The deal, which got a lot of publicity in the Quebec media, could…
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News of the birth of a rare white buffalo is spreading among American Indians, inspiring pilgrimages to what many tribes believe is a sacred, apocalyptic animal.
"This is like the second coming of Christ on this island of North America," said Floyd Hand, a Sioux medicine man from Pine Ridge, S.D. "The legend is she would return and unify the nations of the four colors -…
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At an annual general assembly in early October, the Presbyterian Church publicly confessed its sins against the First Nations.
"We regret that there are those who are deeply scarred by the mission and ministry of the Church..."stated the confession presented by Rev. Dr. George Vais, head of the church.
"With the assistance and encouragement of the Canadian…
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Four Yukon land claim settlement are poised to be implemented after 21 years of negotiations on surface rights and compensation.
The Yukon Surface Rights Board Act, or Bill C-55, was introduced to the House of Commons in Ottawa on Oct. 7 by Indian Affairs and Northern development Minister Ron Irwin. On receiving royal assent, a last-step formality to legislation, the…
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Leaked internal government documents stated the Department of Fisheries and Oceans had "no idea" what Aboriginal Fisheries Officers had been doing for the three-month summer fishing season.
The document, released by Reform fisheries critic John Cummins, is a Sept. 4 conservation and protection report penned by a DFO fisheries officer. It said the AFO's or Guardians had…
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Native women across Canada are being urged to seek out the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development as it travels the nation, to let their opinions of social security reform be known.
Janis Walker of the Native Women's Association of Canada said women will be among the most affected by the reforms so it's very important they make their voices heard. The reforms…
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The federal social services review should not be considered a means to off-load responsibilities for Aboriginal people to Canada's lower governments, said Rosemarie Kuptana, president of the Inuit Tapirisat of Canada.
Changes to the system of transfer payments are being suggested in the Human Resources Department's discussion paper on social services reform. Transfer…
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The sale of sweetgrass and smudges as incense has caused a bit of a stink for a couple of south Edmonton stores.
"It's a no-no situation, because they're sacred," said Tom Cardinal, the new president of the Indian Association of Alberta, when he learned of the goods for sale.
The Fort Door, a Canadian store, is selling braided sticks of sweetgrass for $4 each.…
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there are 100,000 HIV positive women of child-bearing age in the United States, and that 7,000 infants are born to infected mothers each year. The U.S. rate of perinatal HIV transmission among women not receiving antiretroviral therapy is 15 to 30 per cent. Recent findings from a major clinical trial suggest that treating…