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Mohawk motivational speaker Quincy Mack teaches young people to set challenging goals for themselves. The Brantford man recently delivered his "dare to be different" message to a student assembly at Wasse Abin High School on Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve.

A self-described "motivational entertainer," QMack, as he is known, has toured more than 200 schools to amuse and educate youngsters. His stated mission is to "empower" youth to build personal confidence and to withstand bullying.

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Knowledge and prevention are the best tools to ensure that inexperienced young workers survive the first few weeks on the job. Since novice employees account for 18 per cent of the lost time injuries in construction, orientation to work hazards is crucial.

According to the Construction Safety Association of Ontario (CSAO), there is correlation between injuries and age. Workers in the age 15-to-24 category are at greater risk because they are unfamiliar with common hazards.

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Aboriginal populations have a lot more middle ear problems than do other populations. A 1999 First Nations and Inuit regional health survey reports rates 11 per cent to 20 per cent higher in First Nations and Inuit youth than in non-Aboriginal youth, declining as their age rises.

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DRYDEN-Nineteen-year-old Joelle Gamble, a student at Dryden High School, is one of five Canadian young people receiving a scholarship from Royal Bank's RBC Financial Group this year.

The winners receive an annual scholarship of $4,000 for a maximum of four years at university or two years at community college. They also get preferential treatment, if they are studying business, for summer jobs and post-graduate employment with RBC Financial Group.

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It's said that the shortest distance between two people is a story. When Gerald McMaster spoke in Toronto on March 17, he was the last speaker for this season's distinguished speakers series, organized by the department of Aboriginal studies at the University of Toronto. McMaster, a Plains Cree from the Red Pheasant Reserve in Saskatchewan, is an artist, but he was in Toronto to speak about his work in museums.

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Once a year, Clara Prince, 65, makes a four-day pilgrimage from her home in Timmins to Kitchener, to take part in the White Owl Traditional Spring Feast at the Victoria Park Pavilion hall.

The Weejeendimin Native Resource Centre in 1985 began holding a feast in the spring and fall for Aboriginal people who they believe would not otherwise get a chance to celebrate the rites of their heritage.

"It's something we believe in," said Carol Musgrove, director and organizer for the event. "You can keep holding onto your traditions even though you live in the city."

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A project to save Aboriginal languages is being developed at the Centre for Aboriginal Education Research and Culture at Carlton University.

John Medicine Horse Kelly brought his idea to revitalize Aboriginal languages to his post as the centre's director in January 2001.

Kelly originally is from Skidegate Village in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) off northern British Columbia.

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Toronto Aboriginal Business Association (TABA) is giving business owners the opportunity to network within their community and giving them ideas on how to become stronger in the business world.

TABA was formed two years ago as a partnership with Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training Organization, located in downtown Toronto.

"There was a demand to bring all entrepreneurs together to create an economy both directly and indirectly with Aboriginal people," explained Kelly Powless, partnership development adviser for Miziwe Biik.

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Some Hamilton area Metis women are partnering with the Aboriginal Healing Foundation this spring in a project to move people past the traumatic events in their lives and on to a new emotional start.

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OTTAWA-The federal government has renewed its commitment to urban Aboriginal youth by extending the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centres (UMAYC) Initiative two more years.

The program, which has been funding projects and activities benefiting urban Aboriginal youth since 1998, was scheduled to end this year. The goal of the project is to create a network of urban multipurpose centres across the country, providing community-based, culturally relevant and supportive youth projects.