The decision to present RCMP Const. Cameron Schmidt with an eagle feather for the work he undertook on the Kinistin Saulteaux Nation was an obvious one.

“According to Treaty … (the Chief of the time) put a stipulation in there we’re not supposed to have any kind of intoxicants introduced or sold on the reserve,” said Kinistin Chief Albert Scott. “It’s a historical decision that I’m trying to follow, what my grandfathers and grandmothers set out to do in Treaty.”

The Kinistin Saulteaux signed adhesion to Treaty 4 in 1876.

Robert Doucette has been returned in impressive fashion for a second term to lead the Métis Nation-Saskatchewan.

“Métis people want to see a leader who’s going to be positive and also they want a leader who’s going to be proactive and actually deal with a lot of the issues that are facing the people,” Doucette said. He took over leadership of the MN-S in 2007. “Métis people also see that we’ve got a great relationship with both levels of government and want that to continue to build. I think that’s what they saw and they re-elected that.”

The new Primary Health Care health centre on the Whitecap Dakota First Nation is one of eight sites chosen across the province to test innovative approaches to primary health care through collaborative partnerships.

Simon Fraser University celebrated the launch of it’s new Executive MBA in Aboriginal Business and Leadership program at a†party in Vancouver on Sept. 20. It is the first such program in North America and provides all the rigeurs of it’s executive MBA program but with the Aboriginal worldview layered on top of that knowledge. The first cohort includes 28 students, and the dean of the program said business are already lining up to hire the students, who won’t complete their studies for two-and-a-half years.

Aboriginal business leaders came together for a Tsleil-Waututh Nation Leadership Forum featuring Startup Canada that provided an opportunity to talk about Aboriginal economic development and entrepreneurship. The Sept. 19 forum was the only one of 130 affiliated forums held across Canada co-hosted by a First Nation. It featured a roster of speakers that included Tewanee Joseph, CEO of Tewanee Consulting Group, and Leonard George of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation, a pioneer of Aboriginal economic development.

Gitxsan Hereditary Chiefs are concerned about a draft agreement

First Nations on BC’s North and Central Coast have declared a ban on the trophy bear hunt in their traditional territories. The trophy bear hunt is an issue that has been brewing in First Nations communities for several years, said Kitasoo/Xaixais First Nation Chief Doug Neasloss.

Richard Peter’s illustrious international wheelchair basketball career is now over.

And three simple words confirmed this.

“I am retired,” said Peter, who had been a member of the Canadian men’s wheelchair basketball squad since 1994.

The 40-year-old Vancouver resident, who is a member of British Columbia’s Cowichan Tribes, couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish off his career.

The Haisla First Nation has signed a Liquefied Natural Gas [LNG] framework agreement with British Columbia that could see the band benefit financially, provide jobs for members and help fast-track a major LNG facility near Kitimat.

The agreement allows the Haisla First Nation to either lease or purchase 700 hectares of land on the Douglas Channel and work with the natural gas industry to develop a LNG marine export terminal on the site. The price tag of the deal was not disclosed, but will be based in-part on a provincial assessment of the land value.

When many young people his age are pursuing higher education, new Tsawwassen First Nation Chief Bryce Williams is leading his nation.
The role is undoubtedly demanding for even the most seasoned politician, but for Williams, who is just 23 and now holds the workings of B.C.’s first urban treaty in his hands, things seem exceptionally weighty.

Williams defeated the community’s long-time chief and landmark treaty negotiator Kim Baird, 42, in a Sept. 5 election. Williams said he is confident he can take the reins and direct his people toward a better future.