A young Métis woman from Edmonton has been able to Kash her hockey skills into a free education.

And now Heather Kashman, a student/athlete at the University of New Hampshire, is hoping to one day take her talents overseas.

Kashman is in her fourth year at the New Hampshire school. Though athletes are only allowed to play four seasons in the NCAA ranks, the 21-year-old will still have one season of eligibility remaining after the 2014-15 campaign.

A local Edmonton artist has found a provocative way to make a statement with one of her latest creations. Erin Marie Konsmo has been creating beaded condoms as a way to help Indigenous youth reclaim their right to sexuality and sexual health awareness.

Pioneer inducted into Hall of Fame

A former First Nations soccer star has been inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame.

Harry Manson was inducted posthumously into the hall of fame via the Pioneer category. Induction ceremonies were held Nov. 9 in Vaughan, Ont. The Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame is housed and operated in Vaughan by the Ontario Soccer Association.

Study on gangs sheds light on prevention

Members of the Sandy Lake First Nation gathered at the Youth Centre on the evening of Nov. 13 for the opening of a two-day presentation on the role of jury members and an explanation of how coroner inquests are conducted.

Three men running for the position of national chief for the Assembly of First Nations is a far cry from the eight – four men and four women – who jumped into the race in 2012.

“The political climate is too extreme,” said Grassy Narrows First Nation Chief Simon Fobister. “There’s a lot of mixed emotions across the board so it would have been challenging for anyone to enter into that climate.”

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde is hoping to go from being the Assembly of First Nations Regional Chief for Saskatchewan to heading the organization. It will be Bellegarde’s second run at the position.

Bellegarde was the first candidate to officially declare his intentions to take over the AFN’s top job. Bellegarde challenged Shawn Atleo in 2009, conceding to him in a record eight ballot vote. Bellegarde didn’t run in 2012, when Atleo was successful in garnering a second term. However, Atleo stepped down in May 2014.

Brian Bowman may not have been elected on the strength of his Métis heritage, but Winnipeg’s first Indigenous mayor has made it clear that the Aboriginal population is a priority to him.

A week after being sworn in to run the city that boasts the largest urban Aboriginal population in the country, Bowman not only appointed a new chair of the Winnipeg Police Board, who shares a “key priority” to ensure Aboriginal people, like teenager Tina Fontaine, get the attention they deserve, but has taken on the portfolio of Urban Aboriginal Opportunities.

A newly released series of reports on sex trafficking in Canada has found that Indigenous women and girls are especially vulnerable to the sex trade.

The Native Women’s Association of Canada reviewed studies from 1982 to 2011of Indigenous women or youth in the sex industry and found colonial history, which included residential schools, and poor socio-economic conditions matched the risk factors for sex trafficking.

Serving as interim national chief for the Assembly of First Nations since July, Ghislain Picard has decided to try to make the position his for the next term.

The Innu leader is one of three people vying to head the AFN in what many consider a pivotal point for the organization following Shawn Atleo’s sudden resignation in May.

“I’m very much affected by how our house has been shaken over the last few months and to me, I felt the same kind of anguish as my chiefs, not feeling good about how things turned out,” said Picard.