Since she is six-feet tall, Malayah Bruno tends to stand out on the basketball court.

And though the 16-year-old Cree/Blackfoot has one season of high school ball remaining after her current one, a handful of universities have already expressed interest in having her attend their schools.

Bruno, who is in Grade 11, is starring with the Calgary-based St. Mary’s Saints. This marks her second season with the school’s senior team. She was still eligible to play at the junior level a year ago but she cracked the Saints’ senior squad in her Grade 10 year.

Thanks to an Edmonton-based Dene woman a new computer engineering game and career website is now available to youth everywhere.

Jessica Vanderberghe, a 35-year-old professional engineer, was the project lead for the game/website called EnGenious, which has been launched by the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA).

EnGenious was launched online in late January, but was officially introduced via a pair of media conferences on Feb. 27, one in Calgary and one in the nation’s capital of Ottawa, which Vanderberghe attended.

A class assignment in the University of Alberta’s Native Studies program has evolved into the latest online teaching tool for children learning the Cree language. Little Bear’s Day and The Seasons are the first in what Caylie Gnyra hopes will become a large collection of e-books available free online for classroom use from kindergarten to Grade Six.

When Cindy Lee Auger learned she had been recognized for her exemplary contribution to education, she was shocked and pleased.

The former Northland School Division teacher’s aide won the Alberta School Board Association’s President’s Award.

Auger is in now in her last year of courses which will see her earn her teaching degree through the Aboriginal Teacher Education Program. The award, she says, is adding to the excitement of reaching her dream of becoming a teacher.

When Auger began her studies, she struggled with the assignments and writing.

Ten years ago, a group of Aboriginal women gathered and formed the Aboriginal Women’s Professional Association.
“(They) had a visioning session, talking about what’s needed, based on their own experiences and those of their extended families, and what kinds of programs were needed,” said Executive Director Jori Hunter.

Papaschase First Nation Chief Calvin Bruneau wants to ensure that what happened with remains found over the years in the Rossdale Flats area will not happen at other unmarked burial sites in the city of Edmonton.

“I’ve been trying to get a burial policy created…. I hoped to get the city to adopt that but the law department stepped in and (the city) didn’t want to get into that,” said Bruneau.

Presently construction work is ongoing in an area adjacent to the Rossdale Flats burial site. 

Regional Chief Cameron Alexis is hopeful that a recent meeting with the premier that included Grand Chiefs and the Assembly of First Nations National Chief will begin a “higher level of political discussions.”

The Chiefs, along with National Chief Shawn Atleo, met with Premier Alison Redford, and ministers Robin Campbell (Aboriginal Relations) and Jeff Johnson (Education) on Feb. 27.