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Dear Buffalo Spirit:

I have read with deep respect your article on recording our Elders' stories. I began what I call a 'journey of healing' back around 1995 ...

Part of my 'journey of healing' related to wanting to rid myself of my abusive behavior towards women. I was a very angry young man in my twenties, and I believe my anger had a lot to do with my 10 years in the abusive children's aid society after the breakup of my parents ...

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On a scorching summer Saturday, friends and family of Edgar Charlie (Hanuquii) gathered at the Thunderbird Hall to witness his seating as the head chief of Kelthsmaht.

Kelthsmaht traditional territory is on Vargas Island, in view of Tofino. Kelthsmaht is one of the several nations that amalgamated to form modern-day Ahousaht.

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After being held for its first two years in Akwesasne in eastern Ontario, the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships are heading west.

The tournament will be staged in Prince George from April 18 to 24, 2004. The majority of the matches will be held at the Prince George Multiplex, a facility that has a seating capacity of about 6,000. The rink is home to the Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars.

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If you were looking to form a pair of quality all-Native hockey teams, you should have been in the country's capital in mid-July.

That's when the third annual National Aboriginal High Performance Hockey Camp was staged.

Forty-six elite bantam- and midget-aged players (23 female, 23 male) participated in the camp held at the University of Ottawa.

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Aboriginal organizations across the country are using specialty cookbooks to help people manage diabetes or decrease their risk of developing the disease.

What makes these cookbooks different is that they feature recipes for everyday foods that were submitted by local Aboriginal people.

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Carla Robinson - News Anchor CBC Newsworld

Recommends:

Monkey Beach By Eden Robinson

Houghton Mifflen-2000

Page 25

Strong Women Stories: Native

Vision and Community Survival

Edited by Kim Anderson and Bonita Lawrence

Sumach Press

264 pages (sc) $26.95

Strong Women Stories picks up where Kim Anderson's last book left off. In A Recognition of Being, published in 2000, Anderson explored the ways in which Native women have been stereotyped and stripped of power, and the steps they could take to reclaim a positive self-image.

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Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?

Susan: I need a friend who is very true and very solid in themselves and their self-confidence, because you can easily get caught up in [celebrity]. Even friends can get caught up in a celebrity's career and you lose sight of why you're together or why you're friends. So that's the biggest thing for me, is somebody who's solid and grounded and not intimidated.

W: What is it that really makes you mad?

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The mention of a thunderbird conjures up images of wonder and majesty, beauty and longevity. Perhaps it was because renowned artist Norval Morrisseau was given the name Thunderbird by his grandfather, that he set upon the path to found the Woodland School of Anishnaabe Art, a style of artistic expression recognized around the globe.

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With the last of the day's sunlight piercing the trees to light up the stage, Stephen Kakfwi, singer, songwriter and premier of the Northwest Territories, performed a set of three songs at the South Slave Friendship Festival held Aug. 14 to 17.

Only recently has the 52-year-old taken to the musical stage, inspired by a local fiddle player who, just before dying in a plane accident in Fort Good Hope three years ago, told Kakfwi's brother that people who play music should share their gift.