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Nechi Training, Research and Health Promotions Institute, usually just called Nechi, identifies itself and its mission as "an Aboriginal movement committed to holistic healing and healthy, addictions-free lifestyles."

The most recent statistics, covering the 1998-99 fiscal year, highlight success and progress in many areas:

Page 25

From isolated communities in eastern Canada to the reserves of British Columbia, drug and alcohol treatment centres continue to play an important role among their inhabitants.

Drug and alcohol addiction is recognized as a universal problem that affects everyone. It is prevalent in almost all cultures and communities.

Page 24

People across Canada will have an opportunity to celebrate addiction-free living in November during National Addictions Awareness Week, Nov. 14 to 20.

The awareness week is a Canada-wide initiative organized by Nechi Training, Research & Health Promotions, based in St. Albert, Alta.

Page 23

A tattoo of an eagle, a bear, a dragon, hearts, barbed wire, names of boyfriends or girlfriends, and navel, ear or nose rings are expressions of art that carry personal meaning for the person who gets one.

Among the ancient Egyptians and other cultures, including Aboriginal cultures, tattoos have been around for thousands of years. In the early 1900s, tattoos were associated with macho sailors or ex-convicts

Page 22

Since the development of insulin in the 1920s, people who require the treatment to manage their diabetes have had one means of getting the insulin into their systems - injection. Although that is still the case, the choices for administering those injections are no longer limited to needles and syringes.

According to information contained in a buyers' guide published by the Canadian Diabetes Association, current choices for insulin delivery include syringes, pens, pumps and jet injectors.

Page 21

Frank (Fox) Morin's last drunk was 20 years ago, and he quit heroin, speed, coke and MDA three years before he got off the booze. Worked, got married, raised a family. Been living clean all this time. But suddenly, at age 50, he got really sick, nearly died, got a liver transplant just in time to save his life, and he says it was all on account of bad choices he made early in life.

Page 20

Recently, a formal inquiry was ordered by the Manitoba Human Rights Commission to determine whether a woman has the right to breastfeed her baby in public. This inquiry will barely have an impact in the Aboriginal community, according to a study being conducted by researchers in Winnipeg.

According to a group of Manitoba's leading neonatal health care providers, breastfeeding could limit infection, allergies, and illness in newborns, but many Aboriginal women are not doing it.

Page 18

Review

Prison Writings:

My Life Is My Sun Dance

By Leonard Peltier

St. Martin's Press, New York

256 pages, $22.95 (sc)

"When the oppressors succeed with their illegal thefts and depredations, its called colonialism. When their efforts to colonize indigenous peoples are met with resistance or anything but abject surrender, it's called war. When the colonized peoples attempt to resist their oppression and defend themselves, we're called criminals."

Leonard Peltier

Page 18

Crazy Dave

By Basil Johnston

Key Porter

334 pages

$24.95

Basil Johnston says he's apolitical, but don't believe him for a second.

Page 17

Review

Inkonze: The Stones of Traditional Knowledge

By Phillip R. Coutu and Lorraine Hoffman-Mercredi

Thunderwoman Ethnographics

290 pp., $24.99

The collaborative efforts of Métis, Phillip Coutu, and a Chipewyan Native writer, Lorraine Hoffman-Mercredi, has resulted in the publication of Inkonze: The Stones of Traditional Knowledge, stories about the Dene and the north.