THE URBANE INDIAN

I just recently got back from visiting the great state of Wisconsin.  I had been asked to come and speak to a few classes at the Menominee Tribal College about my work and Native literature in general. Overall, I had a great time and met some fabulous people.  This is one of the reasons I like to travel so much; the people, places and things you learn.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo spoke passionately at a Ryerson University convocation, leaving no doubt that First Nations are frustrated with promises broken by the federal government. He said Canadians have a role to play in ensuring equitable treatment for First Nations people.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo has repeated his call for a federal investigation into the unsolved cases of murdered and missing Aboriginal women.

“A call for a national public inquiry, that request has yet to be heeded by the federal government,” Atleo told an Aboriginal crowd of mostly women, who attended the Sisters in Spirit rally at Edmonton City Hall on Oct. 6.

He also reiterated his call for the establishment of a National Integrated RCMP and Police Task Force on Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.

When the Métis Nation of Alberta goes in front of the Alberta Court of Appeal next February, lawyer Jason Madden will be referencing the newly-signed Manitoba Métis harvesting agreement, which doesn’t depend on Métis settlements in order to designate land as traditional Métis harvesting grounds.

Right from the get-go, the province and Ontario Graphite Ltd. got off on the wrong foot in Aboriginal consultations to re-activate a graphite mine near the town of Kearney.

The graphite mine sits near the town and above an important water system located in the traditional territory of six Anishinabek communities. In particular, Magnetawan First Nation is worried about their water from the Magnetawan River if the re-activation proposal goes through. If the mine is allowed to re-open operations, there could be a potential for pollutants to leach into the river system.

Senator Lillian Dyck said the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples is not thinking about doing away with the Powley definition of Métis, but is considering the need for “a notwithstanding clause.”

The citizens of British Columbia aren’t just going to roll over for the Enbridge pipeline proposal. That’s obvious after the massive Oct. 22 rally on the steps of tThe citizens of British Columbia aren’t just going to roll over for the Enbridge pipeline proposal. That’s obvious after the massive Oct. 22 rally on the steps of the BC legislature with more than 4,000 people in attendance with banners and placards denouncing the project.

After serving more than a year as Acting Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, Morley Watson is trying to remove “acting” from the title.

Watson, who had held the position of First Vice-Chief, became Acting Chief in September 2011 when Chief Guy Lonechild stepped down embroiled in a sea of controversy.

David Swann, former leader of the Alberta Liberals, has been appointed as party critic for Aboriginal Relations, as well as Agriculture and Rural Development, Health, Human Services. The party was reduced from nine seats to five seats in the 2011 provincial election. Liberal leader Raj Sherman is critic for the executive council.

Gysan Holdings, Inc. has acquired Dino Energy Investments Ltd., a company formed and subsisting pursuant to the laws of the British Virgin Islands. Dino Energy is a newly-formed oil and gas company and it recently entered into an agreement with a First Nation group in Alberta for the exploration, development and production of hydrocarbon resources on and under the First Nation’s reserve lands.