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The United Nations Human Rights Commission has passed a resolution favoring the establishment of a permanent forum on Indigenous issues.

The forum has one more obstacle to overcome before it's all systems go; a meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Development (ECOSOC) committee in July will decide once and for all what shape the forum will take.

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Indian control of Indian education continues to be the ultimate goal in the provision of education for First Nations children in Canada.

Paula Collier is education policy analyst with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN). She explained the concept of Indian control of Indian education was one put forward in the 1984 document Tradition in Education, published by the National Indian Brotherhood, now the AFN.

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A recent report of the Auditor General of Canada took a hard look at provision of education for First Nations children in Canada.

In the report, tabled in April, Auditor General of Canada Denis Desautels stated that, although some progress has been made in improving education for First Nations students, "more and faster progress is urgently needed."

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Recent exposure in the national media of the perpetual decline of Indian education invites a considered response. The Auditor General, the Assembly of First Nations and at least one national journalist correctly identify the weaknesses and flaws in what and how education is delivered to Indian reserves, as well as the predictable shortcomings that emerge.

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Canada's move to recognize gay unions with provisions for same-sex benefits has opened up a debate about gay rights among the First Nations of Quebec.

Ottawa's recently introduced legislation on same-sex benefits would allow a Naskapi man to live in his community in a common-law relationship with a non-Naskapi man, without the consent of the band council.

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Two senior members of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada's (INAC) bureaucracy travelled to Western Canada for a series of media briefings in April. Gordon Shanks, the assistant deputy minister for corporate services, and Cal Hegge, the director of the transfer payments directorate's finance branch, met with Windspeaker in Edmonton on April 20.

"What we're doing is going across the country talking to various media, trying to open up some lines of communication in terms of Aboriginal issues," said Shanks.

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When Brian Skidders was condoled as a Mohawk chief in Akwesasne's longhouse on May 7, Iroquois Conferacy (Haudenosaunee) supporters saw it as a stride towards the much-hoped-for restoration of their traditional system of government.

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Delegates from across Canada converged on Ottawa for the annual general assembly of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) on April 28 and to elected Dwight Dorey as their new president, replacing Harry Danials.

CAP's stated goal is to promote and protect the interests of all Aboriginal people - on and off reserve. The organization claims a membership of 600,000 member's on-reserve and 800,000 off.

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A lengthy chapter in the story of the Lubicon Lake Indian Nation's battle to have their traditional territory recognized has come to an end, although the final chapter remains unwritten.

On May 4, forestry giant Daishowa dropped its appeal of a 1998 Ontario Court decision that ruled that organizing peaceful consumer boycotts was a right protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The 1998 decision was made in connection with a boycott organized against Daishowa by the Friends of the Lubicon, a non-profit organization formed to assist the

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EDMONTON-The second annual Canadian National Powwow Society fundraising gala was held at the Northlands Agricom on April 15.

The gala, attended by dignitaries including Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith and associate minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Pearl Calahasin, featured Dale Auger as emcee.

The event, attended by more than 600 people featured comedians, Howie Miller and Don Burnstick. Powwow dancers from different dance categories, singer Tom Jackson, an auction and a chance to win a cool 1,000-bill were also a part of the evening's activities.