The two largest school boards in Edmonton are not waiting to learn what the new government’s intentions are when it comes to teaching about Indian residential schools. 

Under PC leadership, curriculums for 2016 made teaching about Indian residential schools a mandatory learning outcome for every class from kindergarten to Grade 12. But with no direction from the NDP, teachers and staff are taking their own initiative.

For residential school survivor Larry Loyie, Premier Rachel Notley’s apology means nothing if “it’s just a ceremony or a frilly thing.” It needs to be followed by action.

On June 22, Notley became the first premier to formally apologize to those who attended residential schools.

The River Cree Resort and Casino, located on the Enoch Cree Nation, marked the start of construction of its new entertainment venue with a groundbreaking ceremony on June 23. The new structure comes after the previous entertainment hall, “The Venue,” was voluntarily shut down in March after a due diligence exercise revealed that the structure was not up to code. Start date for construction is scheduled for early July with completion set for September. The new tent structure is 36 per cent larger than the previous venue at 28,000-sq. ft.

Ekaya Pihtwaw, a tobacco cessation project launched by the Samson Cree Nation, aims to prevent the use of tobacco among young people and adults; protect from exposure to second hand tobacco smoke; promote cessation among smokers; and provide education and support to those who smoke to help them quit. Ekaya Pihtwaw is working with the First Nation communities of Samson, Montana, Louis Bull, Ermineskin and Pigeon Lake.

Through an Aboriginal Youth Career Initiative in Trades and related career opportunities, as co-ordinated by CAREERS: The Next Generation and TransAlta, Paul Band students in Grades 10 through 12 will have a chance for employment starting in July with TransAlta. In this program, students will go through an application and interview process for a six-week employment period. At the end of the summer, students will have the chance to continue on as a TransAlta employee, enrolled in the province-wide RAP program, earning high school credits, hours towards an apprenticeship and an hourly wage.

Lakeland College has established a special purpose fund for awards for Métis students. Funding from the Métis Education Foundation of $130,000 in bursaries and awards will allow for the distribution each year of two to four awards worth between $2,500 and $3,500. To qualify for the awards, students must be of Métis heritage, Canadian citizens, and have a specified grade point average. The funding will help students who have to deal with student loans or have to work part-time jobs in order to cover the cost of their education.

In June, a provincial court found Robbie Dickson, president of Rainbow Tobacco G.P., not guilty of importing millions of cigarettes without a licence for resale on the Montana First Nation. However, he was convicted of two other charges under the Tobacco Tax Act for possessing tobacco not marked for tax sale and for having more than 1,000 cigarettes. Whether he will be sentenced on those two charges will depend on the results of a constitutional challenge that Dickson has filed.

A document obtained under Canada’s access-to-information law shows that the Canadian government was aware that contaminant levels exceeded guidelines, higher-than-expected atmospheric concentrations of chemicals, and a lack of regional species such as marten and fisher, in the Alberta oil sands. The January 2015 briefing note, prepared for Natural Resources Minister Greg Rickford, discussed findings from a tar sands monitoring report published in December 2014.

Delegates from two Indigenous tribes fighting the development of the world’s second-largest coal mine on ancestral lands in Australia recently met with northern First Nations’ leaders in Alberta to discuss similar struggles against oil sands development. The $16.5-billion Carmichael coal mine, proposed by Indian conglomerate Adani, would bring roads; a new town with coal-fired electricity; a fly-in, fly-out workforce; and a rail line to the ancestral lands of the Wangan and Jagalingou people in central Queensland in northeast Australia.

Tribal Chiefs Venture Inc., East Prairie Métis Settlement and Nunee Health Board Society were among 19 organizations to recently receive funding from the provincial government to help address and prevent elder abuse. The three-year $3-million Elder Abuse Co-ordinated Community Response grant program will allocate about $1 million per year. Tribal Chiefs Ventures will hire a coordinator to lead the development of a coordinated community response for member First Nations: Beaver Lake Cree, Cold Lake, Frog Lake, Heart Lake, Kehewin Cree, and Whitefish Lake.