Page 4

The flooded graves at the old Cheslatta reserve in northern British Columbia are only the tip of the damage created by a government's negligence of Native land rights. They are a deep insult resting on top of a very deep injury.

The sight of the quiet white houses tilting into the waters of Cheslatta Lake is also highly symbolic. What are cemeteries if not a place where the living remember those who went before, a monument to a community's history and the culture handed down over generations?

Page 4

The flooded graves at the old Cheslatta reserve in northern British Columbia are only the tip of the damage created by a government's negligence of Native land rights. They are a deep insult resting on top of a very deep injury.

The sight of the quiet white houses tilting into the waters of Cheslatta Lake is also highly symbolic. What are cemeteries if not a place where the living remember those who went before, a monument to a community's history and the culture handed down over generations?

Page 4

The flooded graves at the old Cheslatta reserve in northern British Columbia are only the tip of the damage created by a government's negligence of Native land rights. They are a deep insult resting on top of a very deep injury.

The sight of the quiet white houses tilting into the waters of Cheslatta Lake is also highly symbolic. What are cemeteries if not a place where the living remember those who went before, a monument to a community's history and the culture handed down over generations?

Page 4

The flooded graves at the old Cheslatta reserve in northern British Columbia are only the tip of the damage created by a government's negligence of Native land rights. They are a deep insult resting on top of a very deep injury.

The sight of the quiet white houses tilting into the waters of Cheslatta Lake is also highly symbolic. What are cemeteries if not a place where the living remember those who went before, a monument to a community's history and the culture handed down over generations?

Page 4

There's not a lot the federal government can do about the protest at Sturgeon Lake, where Darlene Desjarlais, a non-status Native from Sakatchewan, was elected

chief. Indeed, department officials in Edmonton described the dispute as an internal matter.

But while it can do little in the way of direct intervention, the department - the politicians it informs, actually - should take steps to amend the Indian Act to prevent conflicts like the one in Sturgeon Lake from arising in the future.

Page 4

There's not a lot the federal government can do about the protest at Sturgeon Lake, where Darlene Desjarlais, a non-status Native from Sakatchewan, was elected

chief. Indeed, department officials in Edmonton described the dispute as an internal matter.

But while it can do little in the way of direct intervention, the department - the politicians it informs, actually - should take steps to amend the Indian Act to prevent conflicts like the one in Sturgeon Lake from arising in the future.

Page 4

There's not a lot the federal government can do about the protest at Sturgeon Lake, where Darlene Desjarlais, a non-status Native from Sakatchewan, was elected

chief. Indeed, department officials in Edmonton described the dispute as an internal matter.

But while it can do little in the way of direct intervention, the department - the politicians it informs, actually - should take steps to amend the Indian Act to prevent conflicts like the one in Sturgeon Lake from arising in the future.

Page 4

There's not a lot the federal government can do about the protest at Sturgeon Lake, where Darlene Desjarlais, a non-status Native from Sakatchewan, was elected

chief. Indeed, department officials in Edmonton described the dispute as an internal matter.

But while it can do little in the way of direct intervention, the department - the politicians it informs, actually - should take steps to amend the Indian Act to prevent conflicts like the one in Sturgeon Lake from arising in the future.

Page 4

Pikiskwe

Once again the dreams called me to dance in the Arbour.

It's been a long time since I danced as a Plains Cree. When I stepped into the Arbour at Poundmaker's celebration, it was like returning home to old friends.

There were warm smiles, friendly handshakes, acknowledgments to one who

has been away.

Of course, there have been changes.

In the earlier seventies, fancy dancing for women had just begun. There were

no jingle dancers west of Kenora, Ontario, and you could still see the older style of grass dancing.

Page 4

Pikiskwe

Once again the dreams called me to dance in the Arbour.

It's been a long time since I danced as a Plains Cree. When I stepped into the Arbour at Poundmaker's celebration, it was like returning home to old friends.

There were warm smiles, friendly handshakes, acknowledgments to one who

has been away.

Of course, there have been changes.

In the earlier seventies, fancy dancing for women had just begun. There were

no jingle dancers west of Kenora, Ontario, and you could still see the older style of grass dancing.