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There is a growing realization that sport and recreation plays an integral role in community development. Up until recently, we all knew that effective sport and recreation programming in communities was the answer to a whole range of social problems. Because we knew that, there was no need to pursue the matter any further. So let the sport and recreation professionals in the various communities deal with developing, implementing and maintaining effective sport and recreation programming. End of story.

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Dear Editor:

As one of your white middle-class settler subscribers, I would like to tell you how much I appreciate your coverage of Saskatchewan news. I don't know how you handle letters to the editor, but I am so incensed about the recent release of Steven Kummerfield and the mainstream news coverage, I must put pen to paper.

Regarding Pamela George and the release of her murderer:

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Dear Editor:

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Dear Editor:

I want to thank William G. Lindsay for his tribute to the memory of Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his legacy with respect to First Nations peoples. I also want to thank Windspeaker for carrying the full text of this moving and important commentary.

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Several Alberta bands have been fighting for the legal right to unlimited control of their membership lists. They argue it is a matter of self determination, though their critics accuse them of trying to keep others from sharing in the oil wealth the bands possess.

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Alberta chiefs and National Chief Matthew Coon Come demanded more time, but the Supreme Court of Canada refused. The Corbiere decision went into effect on Nov. 20.

Earlier in the month, the Alberta chiefs held an emergency meeting to discuss the implications of the court's decision to extend voting rights to off-reserve residents, and made it clear they resented the imposition of the new Department of Indian Affairs election and referendum regulations.

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Serious accusations of incompetence or dishonesty were leveled at the board of the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority (SIGA) when the acting provincial auditor submitted his report on Nov. 15.

Auditor Fred Wendel suspects that more than $2 million has been mis-spent by the board. Gaming Minister Doreen Hamilton responded to the audit by firing the 16-member board en masse. At least two board members, Roland Crowe and Richard Bird, have appealed.

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A Supreme Court of Canada decision handed down Nov. 9 in favor of non-Natives holding 99-year leases on 40 prime acres belonging to the Musqueam band will stall British Columbia treaty land negotiations and set back relations between Natives and non-Natives for years.

So says Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, who complains the court is valuing Indian land at half the value of the land adjoining their reserve.

"Systemic racism runs deep and is firmly entrenched in the parliamentary and judicial system of Canada," he said.

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Aboriginal leaders in all parts of the country are using strong words to describe how they feel about the positions taken on Indian Affairs issues by Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day.

#Aboriginal issues were not in the spotlight for the first couple of weeks of the campaign, but remarks made by the Alliance leader in Kamloops, B.C. on Nov. 15 started a process that led to protests and demonstrations at each successive stop on the Day campaign.