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Plans are underway for the third Unity Ride hosted by the Joseph Bighead Cree Nation - an honor bestowed upon the Cree Nation that is in fulfillment of Sioux prophesies for the mending of the Sacred Hoop and for peace and unity.

Chief Ernest Sundown of the Chief Joseph Bighead Cree First Nation has been honored with the responsibility of organizing the events on behalf of the Cree Nation. He, his sister Marianne and a bevy of volunteers have been working tirelessly to make the Unity Ride a success.

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It was history in the making at the Sechelt Band hall Jan. 26, with hundreds of locals, Elders, school children and media members turning out for the presentation of the draft treaty agreement in principal which has taken more than 200 public consultation meetings and five years to complete. Although the deal isn't signed yet, it represents the culmination of Stage 5 of the British Columbia Treaty Commission's six-stage process.

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Federal Fisheries Minister David Anderson finally said it: the recreational fishery takes priority over the commercial fishing industry.

Despite recent policies and decisions that alluded to the fact, Anderson has avoided adding his voice to department decisions favoring sports fishing.

At a meeting of the Regional Aquatic Management Society in Port Alberni in January, Anderson spelled out the hierarchy of the Canadian salmon fishery.

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The Musqueam lease-land rent increase has brought the issues of accountability, resource management and taxation without representation bubbling furiously to the surface.

This in itself may not be a bad thing, but it has added fuel to the fire of the opponents of the treaty-making process who say the problems between the band and the leaseholders are a sample of what the future holds for the province as more treaties are implemented. That allegation is discounted as uninformed and erroneous by most First Nations groups and other interested parties.

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A Tsimshian mother is grieving the loss of her daughter while investigators prepare to examine why seven-year-old Leslie-Ann Gamble died in Vancouver's B.C. Children's Hospital on Jan. 11.

Leslie-Ann and her four-year-old brother, Andrew, were seized by social workers on Nov. 2. Both children were born with a rare pituitary gland disorder which prevents their bodies from retaining salt. They need medication every morning and evening and require frequent doses of salt as well as constant monitoring. Any fever is a potentially lethal threat.

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Jones William Ignace, also known as Wolverine, was released from custody on Feb. 4 and is back home on his farm near Chase.

He was originally scheduled to walk out the front door of the Elbow Lake Correctional facility near Mission upon his release, but correctional officials decided at the last moment to release the 66-year-old in Kamloops.

Ignace has been in custody since 1995. He was imprisoned for his role in the Gustafsen Lake confrontation.

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A section of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms which is internationally lauded as especially enlightened in its treatment of minority groups is going to be put under the microscope when the Supreme Court of Canada hears a case about cross-cultural adoptions.

The two sides of a child custody case which originated in Vancouver will appear in Canada's court of last resort on Feb. 16.

The case involves a cross-cultural adoption and will force the Supreme Court of Canada to rule on a British Columbia statute which seeks to limit such adoptions.

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COMMENTARY

Harold Cardinal is in his mid-fifties if I'm doing the math right. Thirty years ago, when he was one of the main protagonists in the fight against the 1969 White Paper, he was in many ways just a child. But he and his contemporaries stopped the Trudeau government in its tracks when that government tried to deliver a final blow to Canada's "Indian problem," even getting the much feared and respected former prime minister to admit that he and his Cabinet had underestimated the legitimacy of the legal rights of Indigenous people.

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Last month's column took a look at the second year in recovery and its emphasis on understanding learned behaviors and emotions. Year 3's major focus is on becoming comfortable with the new you and the transitions that come with changing attitudes and behaviors.

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Editor's Note: Ron Barbour, A Cree man originally from Norway House, Man. who now lives in Vancouver, found himself driven to tell of his encounter with a pioneer in the awakening of political activism among Aboriginal people in Canada, in the first person. This is not a common way for a journalist to write, but Barbour said he felt so honored to get the assignment to interview fellow Vancouver resident Harold Cardinal that he needed to take this unusual step.