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Neither rain, wind, snow, sleet, nor heat will hinder powwow competitors in Siksika anymore, with the building of a $2.3 million powwow arbor. The sod breaking ceremony took place on March 13 at the Centennial grounds.

Jack Royal, the director of Capital Projects and Initiatives of Siksika Nation, said that despite the cool weather, more than 50 people attended the ceremony, including local media, Elders, contractors and dignitaries.

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The federal government has renewed its commitment to urban Aboriginalyouth by extending the Urban Multipurpose Aboriginal Youth Centres (UMAYC) Initiative for an additional two years.

The program, which funds projects and activities that benefit Aboriginal youth living in urban centres, has been operating since 1998, and was scheduled to end this year. The goal of the project is creation of a network of urban multipurpose centres across the country, providing community based, culturally relevant and supportive projects for Aboriginal youth.

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Jamie Medicine Crane owns the Niitsitapi Modeling School on the Kainai Reserve in southern Alberta. A recent trip to Calgary to get a modeling agency there to scout "her girls" has led to an opportunity for Medicine Crane herself.

She will compete in the Miss Indian World competition in Albuquerque, New Mexico on April 24 as part of the Gathering of Nations 20th annual powwow.

In August 2002, Medicine Crane opened the modeling school and 12 young women enrolled in the 10-week program.

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The year was 1830, and in a camp along the banks of the Belly River in what is now southern Alberta, a boy was born. His parents named him Astoxkomi-Shot Close. As he grew older, he was known by many other names, as was the way of his people.

In his youth he took the name Kyiah-st-ah, or Bear Ghost, and still later he took the name of his late father, Istowun-eh'pata, or Packs a Knife, who was killed when Shot Close was only a few years old during a raid on the Crows, bitter enemies of the Blackfoot Nation.

Teachings from the Longhouse

By Chief Jacob Thomas with Terry Boyle

Stoddart Publishing Co. Limited

151 pages (sc) $17.95

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Native spirituality

Authentic Native spirituality, in my experience, is shared not taught and is rooted in the joys and suffering of distinct peoples, their lands-all their relations. It is fundamentally about respect and integrity of personhood.

Frank Supernaught, a Cree Elder, once shared his people's spiritual traditions around the medicine wheel to a largely white audience at St. Andrews-Wesley Church in Vancouver.

Page 34 on responsibility: One of things we're encountering today is the re-visionaries. Our own people are learning how to write, give interviews and also they've learned how powerful the media is, every aspect of the media. And they are doing re-visionary work of our history, so that is something that anyone who is seeking true historical facts of their culture must realize this. They must really try and learn their own history. . . on nobility: One of the things I was taught... all the old people told me. . .

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Working hard in school and getting good grades should be enough. But sometimes, if you're a Native person, it just isn't.

Kahnawake Mohawk Pam Stacey graduated from CEGEP (as community colleges in Quebec are called) with strong marks and high hopes for a career in nursing, but the Quebec government won't let her get to work.

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Access to post-secondary schools is a major stumbling block for many would-be Aboriginal students because entrance requirements may be too high, said an Aboriginal educator.

Doug Dokis, program advisor for Mount Royal College, believes Native students would have a fighting chance of getting into their programs of choice if colleges and universities set aside seats for Aboriginal students based on criteria other than grade point average.

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While the most recent statistics show the number of Aboriginal students completing their high school education is on the rise, the graduation rate still lags behind that of their non-Aboriginal classmates.