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On Aug. 29, 1997, Gukwdzi, the 'Namgis bighouse in Alert Bay, was burned to the ground by the estranged common-law husband of a 'Namgis woman.

Although the arsonist had only recently arrived on Cormorant Island from his home in El Salvador, he knew exactly how to strike at the heart of a community he felt had spurned him.

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May 25 was an historic day for First Nations in British Columbia when three provincial Aboriginal political groups came together in unity.

The Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council organized a rally that included a march to the steps of the legislative buildings in the capital city. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit and the Alliance of Interior Chiefs were represented with much support from its members, including Elders.

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May 25 was an historic day for First Nations in British Columbia when three provincial Aboriginal political groups came together in unity.

The Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council organized a rally that included a march to the steps of the legislative buildings in the capital city. The Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit and the Alliance of Interior Chiefs were represented with much support from its members, including Elders.

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Connect with your history, and you will see your future.

That was a message handed down by speaker after speaker during the 2000 Graduation Ceremonies at the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology in Merritt held on April 29.

Elders, instructors and fellow students reminded the graduates to remember their Elders, their roots and their history as they take their newly-acquired skills back to their communities.

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It's not too often the Western Arctic is concerned with American presidential elections, but this time is different.

Gwich'in from across the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Alaska are being asked by the Porcupine Caribou Management Board to take part in a Millennium Trek designed to raise awareness about what they say is the need to further protect caribou herds' birthing grounds in northern Alaska.

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A newly signed renewal of an interim measures agreement for Clayoquot Sound will mean area First Nations will have an addition $8 million to spend on economic development over the next five years.

The renewal agreement, signed March 29, extends the original interim agreement reached between the province of B.C. and the Hawiih, or hereditary chiefs, of the Nuu-chah-nulth Central Region First Nations in 1994. The First Nations involved in the agreement include the Tla-o-qui-aht, Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Toquaht and Ucluelet First Nations.

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Pacific Rim National Park Reserve was the site of a celebration May 5, as Clayoquot Sound was formally dedicated as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve.

Politicians representing all levels of government attended the event, as well as First Nations leaders from across the province and dignitaries from around the world, but the celebration was still designed to be very much a community event,

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I recently had the honor of attending Dr. Martin Brokenleg's two-day workshop on "Reclaiming Our Youth." As we begin to heal ourselves from the past, we have to start to our future - the next generation. As we struggle with the consequences of addiction, our youth have learned from us and they are currently no different.

Perhaps the biggest mistake that adults make with youth is to assume they do not know. Society treats youth and children as sub-humans. Some of the most derogatory statements in our language show just that:

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It has been just over four months since Patrick James learned that he has leukemia (cancer of the blood), a disease that took the life of his brother 13 years ago. James' only hope for survival is to receive a bone marrow transplant before he becomes too ill.

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The Conayt Friendship Society of Merritt is hoping you?ll join them on June 2nd through 4th for their second annual powwow to be held in the Shulus arbor at the Lower Nicola nation, four miles west of Merritt on Hwy. 8.