UPDATED May 4, 2016.

Fort McKay First Nation has opened its three company lodges, school, band hall and any available building in the community to house evacuees from the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

“People started coming in yesterday afternoon. When (the authorities) started talking about evacuation, people just hit the highway,” said Rose Mueller, spokesperson for Fort McKay First Nation. 

These are exciting times to live in with Indigenous people expressing themselves through art, music and literature in ways that have never been seen before.

A great example of this is Anishnaabe playwright Frances Koncan, who is finding her own unique voice in Canadian theater.

She’s telling a historically Indigenous story, but in a way that perhaps hasn’t been considered before with the play Zahgidiwin Love.

Province begins partial coverage of specialized baby formula

MEDIA RELEASE

PORT ALBERNI (Monday, May 2, 2016) - A man of huge importance to modern Nuu-chah-nulth history has died. Nelson Keitlah was one of the original leaders of the West Coast District Council, which became the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC).

Keitlah was often referred to respectfully as ‘The General’ for his ability to lead the 14 Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations in negotiations with the Federal and Provincial governments.

May 2, 2016.

A class action law suit, that claims from 1985 to 2009 the province took thousands of children and then illegally retained them, is a step away from certification.

“You can’t take somebody’s child without following the law, whether you’re a neighbour, a stranger or the government,” said lawyer Robert Lee, whose firm began the class action. “The only way (Alberta) child welfare can take a child away from the parent is if they follow the law and if they take a child from a parent without following the law, to me, that’s kidnapping.”

Firefighter charged in trestle bridge fire

Musician Kristi Sinclair and some of her musical friends are ready to embark on the sixth annual Red Ride Tour, starting May 4 at Nipissing First Nation.

Sinclair, who organizes the tour, as well as plays in the shows, says they’re hitting smaller venues this year.

“I booked a lot more off-the-grid kinds of shows, and I wanted to go to more remote communities… Going to the smaller communities, you’re invited into the community with open arms, and it’s just really heart-warming,” she said.

“We’re not hiding our culture anymore… We’re sharing it, we’re celebrating it, we’re honoring it… Racism is ‘I don’t understand your religious beliefs; then I fear you, and hate the color of your skin.”

The voice of Salish artist Lawrence Paul Yuxweluptun, whose lifetime of work will be displayed at the Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia in May, echoes the sentiment of many.