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Several community leaders spoke at a press conference on Dec. 18 which was called to bring attention to the release of Ralph Rowe from Mountain Prison.

Rowe spent the last four years at the British Columbia federal correctional facility after being sentenced to a six-year term for sexual assault.

Federal law required that inmates be granted parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence, but United Native Nations President Viola Thomas is worried that a man with a history sexually molesting Native boys has been released into her community.

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Leaders of the Huu-ay-aht First Nation on Vancouver Island's west coast say they are running out of patience with governments, Crown corporations and forest companies who have failed to deliver written promises of multi-year funding for the clean up of salmon rivers.

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Cuts to education funding have forced schools to adopt some radical measures such as corporate sponsorship or worse, cutting programs, courses or support services.

But a group of parents and staff at Vancouver's Macdonald School have formed a non-profit society that has been extremely successful in raising money for program development - and implementing these programs. The society recently signed an agreement with the Britannia Community Services Centre that will bolster programming even more.

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COMMENTARY

I had a lot of trouble understanding all the noise about the Musqueam band's leasing deal in the mainstream press this month.

A number of mainstream press pundits have taken on the task of championing the cause of the leaseholders, mostly well-to-do non-Native seniors who, by taking advantage of a bargain created by a massive, illegal and immoral land theft, were able to build very nice homes on reserve land which they leased for years for the absurdly low price (for pricey downtown Vancouver) of less than a dollar a day.

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Dear Editor,

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Dear Editor,

If you'll allow a freckled-skin white boy psychologist to write - hear me.

About the article by Brigette Parker on Family violence myths destroyed. Why is it that we have six-woman panels to mark woman assault prevention month because "violence in the family is a fundamental human rights issue for women and children" when it is mostly men who are violent and destructive?

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Last month's column took a look at the first year in recovery and its emphasis on not picking up. As stated, each year has its own set of unique issues that a person has to deal with. Year 2's major focus is on understanding the individual's learned behaviors and emotions.

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Trains, planes and automobiles. Throw in a boat and bus ride and you have CANDO's 5th annual national conference held in Vancouver from Nov. 25 to Nov. 28.

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It used to be that only the "Red Man" knew exactly how he'd been screwed around.

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It was 1974 when a nameless First Nations newspaper first hit the presses.

The four-page tabloid, featuring just a few short profiles and stories, advertised its namelessness in the top banner; pleading for someone to suggest a name for this new paper focusing on First Nations issues along the West Coast of Vancouver Island.