On October 18th, 2014, the remains of 28 people from the Sharphead reservation were laid to rest after they were exhumed nearly 50 years earlier and held in storage at the University of Alberta.

Canada stepped through the looking glass Oct. 22 and has come face to face with the terrors of the world right here at home. Our lives just got a whole lot more complicated.

Northland School Division Superintendent Donna Barrett (far right) presents the Alberta School Boards Association Zone One Friends of Education Award to (from left) principals Reg Bellefontaine (Atikameg school) and Barb Laderoute (Gift Lake school) and Whitefish Lake First Nation Councillor Darren Auger. The award recognizes Whitefish Lake First Nation for coming to the aid of Gift Lake students and staff  during the 2013-2014 school year by providing classroom space at Atikameg School, when Gift Lake school had to be temporarily closed for health reasons.

Suncor Energy has been awarded a Silver level certificate for Progressive Aboriginal Relations from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. PAR is the only certification program of its kind focusing on Aboriginal relations best practices. The process leading up to the award included Aboriginal stakeholder reviews and an independent assessment in the areas of employment, business development, community investment, and community engagement.

The Federal Court of Appeal has granted leave to Gitxaala Nation to apply for Judicial Review to challenge the approval of the Northern Gateway Pipelines Project. The court’s decision means it will hear and decide on the Gitxaala Nation’s lawsuit challenging cabinet’s approval of the Enbridge project. Gitxaala contend the federal government relied on an unlawful and unreasonable Joint Review Panel report when it approved the Northern Gateway pipeline. In addition, Canada failed to provide reasonable accommodation and consultation regarding Gitxaala’s Aboriginal rights and title.

After 11 years as a volunteer-run newspaper, Martyshuk Housing has acquired Alberta Street News and intends on operating it as a social enterprise endeavour. “Alberta Street News has developed a loyal following and strong credibility as a voice for Edmonton and Calgary’s marginalized and homeless population,” says Eric Rice, board chair of Edmonton Street News Society, the publisher of Alberta Street News since inception in 2003. Alberta Street News provides employment for those who have difficulty holding down regular jobs.

Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, a Dene Indigenous activist and member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation; Crystal Lameman, a member of the Beaver Lake Cree Nation and Sierra Club Climate and Energy Campaigner; and Melina Laboucan-Massimo, a member of the Lubicon Cree First Nation and a Climate and Energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada; were in New York City on Sept. 21 for the largest demonstration for climate action in history.

Leaders of 11 First Nations from Alberta and Montana signed a treaty establishing an inter-tribal alliance to restore bison to areas of the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains where millions of the animals once roamed. The ceremony was held on Montana’s Blackfeet Reservation. It marks the first treaty among the US tribes and Canada First Nations since a series of agreements governing hunting rights in the 1800s.

A federal court has upheld the move by the Piikani First Nation to remove Chief Gayle Strikes With A Gun from office. First Nation officials say the removal stems from a conflict of interest, which initially led to Strikes With A Gun’s suspension in 2012. She was stripped of her title late last year. Acting chief Clayton Small Legs will continue to assume leadership duties until the band’s next election in January.

Police chiefs Lee Boyd, of the Blood Tribe, and Keith Blake, of Tsuu T’ina First Nation, were among 10 police chiefs, and the only First Nations police chiefs, to be recognized by the province in September in Alberta’s first official commissioning of senior officers in municipal and First Nations police agencies. The official parchments, awarded by Lt. Gov. Donald S. Ethell, identify their new status as commissioned officers, an honour indicating their rank is acknowledged by the state. Historically, military and RCMP officers have been commissioned once they achieve a senior rank.