“The door is very significant. I walked out the door of my house, my own culture and language and stepped into the unknown,” said Elder Clarence Wolfleg, Sr., of a central symbolic aspect of the Witness Blanket art installation.

Wolfleg is one of 150,000 children separated from their families and sent to boarding schools across the country from 1870-1996, many of which were run by religious orders. Of these children, there are 4,100 confirmed deaths directly related to the schools.

The Calgary Police Service Robbery Unit has charged Jay Sewell Big Plume, 19, of Calgary, with a series of bank robberies that occurred in February and March 2015. In each robbery, the perpetrator obtained undisclosed cash by posing as a customer and presenting a note to the bank teller. The robberies took place at branches of the Scotiabank, TD and RBC in the southwest. Big Plume was arrested on April 1 without incident and charged with six counts of robbery.

The Canadian Board Diversity Council and the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business will hold a joint summit on governance with business and community leaders in Calgary on May 14. Sponsored by EY Canada, the summit will explore ways in which Aboriginal communities make decisions that affect companies, how Aboriginal and corporate leaders can learn from one another, and how organizations can gain from increasing diversity in board leadership.

The Red Ride Tour will be in Calgary on May 15 and Edmonton on May 16. This is the fifth incarnation of the Red Ride Tour, which sees a mix of musical genres and Indigenous artists. Classical grunge musician Kristi Lane Sinclair, who conceived of the tour, will be paired with popular rocker and Juno award-winning Mohawk artist Derek Miller in Calgary and the two will be joined by Dene musician Jay Gilday in Edmonton.

Residents in Montana First Nation and Lacombe County will have greater access to high-speed Internet as a result of the Final Mile Rural Community Program. The program will assist with the construction of at least five new tower sites, one at Montana First Nation and four in Lacombe County, as well as other associated development costs such as electronic equipment necessary to complete the project. Montana First Nation Chief Darrell Strongman believes that improving access to high speed internet will be a huge step forward for his community.

Eight talented and ambitious students have been rewarded for their achievements by receiving the AltaLink 2014 Aboriginal Scholarship. “These scholarship recipients are an impressive group of people,” said Kris Gladue, manager of Aboriginal relations at AltaLink.

A tip received by the Blood Tribe Police Services on April 20 led to the disturbing finding of two hollow point .40 calibre bullets on the floor of a van.  The ammunition is criminally prohibited and is only to be possessed by law enforcement personnel. Police are concerned that this type of ammunition has been found. Two passengers in the van were taken into custody on outstanding warrants for their arrest. Police had received information that the grey Chevrolet Venture van was approaching people in Standoff to sell the street drug Oxy 80 tablets. The investigation continues.

An email obtained by the Haisla Nation, an access to information request filed almost four years ago, shows that Environment Canada had concerns with the Government of Canada’s proposed consultation approach for the Northern Gateway Pipeline Project. Some of the concerns outlined in the email, dated Sept.

Cold Lake First Nation’s Elder Nancy Scannie addressed a crowd from the steps of the Alberta Legislature on April 12, saying, “Our water is so important. Without our water we are nothing… nothing would be alive… let’s all help one anoth  er right across this country….” Scannie, also a member of the Keepers of the Water, rallied the group that all the Harper government cared about was money. The gathering in Edmonton and a smaller one in Calgary were part of a coordinated effort across the country to protest the premiers meeting on climate change in Quebec. 

The work of a Métis artist will grace the new Mill Wood Seniors and Multicultural Centre set to open in June. Destiny Swiderski’s creation “Milled Woods” was chosen from 32 responses to a national public art competition. The piece is made of off-cuts of two-by-four spruce that have been cut, sanded, and stained to reproduce an optical illusion of the Mill Creek Ravine.