In early June, Grand Chief Derek Nepinak of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs launched a 10-day motorcycle tour of First Nations across the Prairies to raise awareness of treaty rights. The motorcycle caravan traveled more than 4,000 km to about 40 First Nations in six traditional territories in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Dene Tha’ First Nation lost its bid to stop the sale of oil and gas tenure in their territory. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Christopher Grauer found that the Dene Tha’ had been properly consulted on the B.C. government’s sale of exploration rights on 21 parcels of land, most for shale gas development in northeastern B.C. However, in his written judgment Grauer says the depth of consultation will only increase as the possibility of real development nears.

Samson Cree Nation Chief Marvin Yellowbird signed an agreement with Brendan Dolan, president of ATCO Pipelines, that outlines a commitment by the company to explore employment and training opportunities with the Samson Cree on the replacement of a 219 mm pipeline running through the First Nation. The pipeline is a critical piece of a larger network that provides natural gas service to communities between Red Deer and Viking, including the four First Nations comprising Mascwacis.

Canadians are not expected to go to the polls for at least another year, but the New Democratic Party has its first candidate seeking nomination. On June 20, Lewis Cardinal announced he hopes to once more carry the banner for the federal party in the riding of Edmonton Centre. No nominations can be made until changes to federal ridings are finalized this fall.

An election could be called as early as fall 2014 or as late as spring 2015, but Cardinal says Edmonton-Centre is a riding the NDP wants to target early with resources.

Bent Arrow Traditional Healing Society is waiting for funding to come through for an employment program that will help youth leaving care.

Providing jobs is one way of answering the question, “Where Do We Go From Here?” as posed by the Office of the Child and Youth Advocate in a symposium co-hosted with the Alberta Centre for Child, Family and Community Research. The symposium was the result of a special report on youth aging out of government care. The majority of children in care are Aboriginal.

Those who stay up-to-date with current events in Canada have heard of Idle No More, but at the same time, may not know how the movement arose and how it impacts society.

The Edmonton-Leduc NDP Riding Association helped address these questions in a recent discussion forum held in Edmonton.
“Understanding Idle No More: what does it mean for us?”
attempted to put Idle No More into context through discussion of the actions and struggles of Aboriginal peoples for rights and sovereignty throughout history and how anyone interested in these concerns can help contribute.

Despite assurances to the contrary, the Dene Tha’ First Nation is concerned about the impact a 9,500 cubic metre produced water spill will have on land in their traditional territory.

Apache Canada Ltd. notified the Energy Resources Conservation Board on June 1 about the spill, which occurred less than 15 km north of a Dene Tha’ reserve and within 1.5 km of the Zama River, and covered an area of approximately 42.8 hectares. The company immediately shut the line in and eliminated the source. However, it is undetermined what caused the breach.