It’s up to First Nations leaders in British Columbia to decide if their representative on the executive of the Assembly of First Nations should remain in her role now she has declared as a Liberal Party candidate for the next federal election.

The Splatsin First Nation near Enderby will share revenues from the Cranberry Creek hydroelectric project, located 25 km south of Revelstoke, thanks to a new agreement with the province. “The Cranberry Creek area is of high cultural value to Splatsin and the Secwepemc Nation,” said Wayne Christian, chief of Splatsin. “This agreement confirms our interests in the resources of the area. We expect all clean energy development to be developed responsibly and sustainably in partnership with First Nations.”

The Prince Albert Model Forest Association has received $1.1 million from the federal government to partner with FPInnovations to provide guidance to Northern Saskatchewan forestry companies, particularly First Nations- and Métis-owned companies, to improve management and business practices, revise their product lines and increase marketing activities to be ready to enter new international export markets. Northern Saskatchewan’s forestry companies will also receive customized technical support to produce higher-value products that will result in increased domestic and international sales.

The John Cochrane Band filed a statement of claim in Saskatoon Court of Queen’s Bench in August alleging Chief Perry Bellegarde, acting as executive authority for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, has improperly blocked the band’s membership claim. In September 2009, the claim says, FSIN’s joint executive council and Indian Government Commission unanimously approved the John Cochrane Band’s request to join the FSIN. However, at the fall assembly in October 2009, the resolution ratifying membership was “improperly” removed from the agenda.

Parkland College has signed two agreements that will help prepare students to work in Saskatchewan’s mining industry. Parkland College will join forces with Carlton Trail College and International Minerals Innovation Institute on multi-year projects, which will include developing an Aboriginal workforce for the mines and processing facilities. The first project funded by IMII is an Introduction to Mining course, which will train students for a number of specific entry-level positions while preparing them for further education in occupations related to the minerals industry.

The Whitecap Dakota First Nation is using the First Nations Land Management Act to build homes for sale, available to anyone. Construction began in May on four 1,190 square foot homes on the First Nation’s west side. These houses are the first of 10 to be built with a starting price of $371,000. Anyone who buys a house will technically be taking over a 99-year lease of the land, which will roll into perpetuity upon the lease’s completion. This is how the First Nation has managed to sell the property without surrendering the land back to the federal government.

A monument that will have all the names of Métis veterans that fought in 1885, the First World War, the Second World War, and Korea was unveiled at this year’s Back to Batoche Days. “The monument speaks to the great respect we have for those who fought for our rights here on the battlefield of Batoche and for the rights and freedoms of all Canadians in global conflicts. While their numbers may be dwindling, this monument will enshrine the memory of their great deeds forever,” said Métis National Council President Clement Chartier as he unveiled the monument on July 19.

Camp Loon, located in the bush north of Geraldton, provided eight days of advanced training for 160 Junior Rangers from 20 First Nations, with an emphasis on safety on the land and water and in personal lifestyles. The camp has been held annually since 2000. The Junior Canadian Rangers is a national program run by the Canadian Army for boys and girls ages 12 to 18 in remote communities across the North. In Ontario, there are 750 Junior Rangers in 20 First Nations. Nationally there are 4,300 Junior Rangers in 135 communities.

Jason Madden, partner with Pape Salter Teillet LLP of Toronto, has been named by Canadian Lawyer magazine as one of the Top 25 Most Influential in the justice system. Madden was recognized as one of five in the category of Criminal Law/Human Rights for his work on behalf of the Metis people of Canada and his work in the Daniels V.

A one day hunger strike by Elder Steve Fobister Sr. to bring attention to the historical mercury contamination in his home of Grassy Narrows has received government commitment. Fobister began his hunger strike on July 28 as a means to push the province to acknowledge that Grassy Narrows residents continue to suffer from mercury poisoning 40 years after a Dryden paper mill dumped the toxin into the Wabigoon-English River system.