Oh no, the Prime Minister of Canada is again being distracted by party politics. You know what that means for the Aboriginal agenda? It’s backburner time.

The debate in the House of Commons at the end of February was dominated by scandal. The thrust and parry of federal politics has reached an all-time new low with dirty tricks surrounding voter suppression being the main, but not the only, accusation being hurled.

Traditional songs sung by Haida First Nation members opened a milestone event Feb. 22 in the Haida Gwaii school district (SD 50) as representatives of the provincial government, school district and local bands signed their first Aboriginal Education Enhancement Agreement. The agreements are commitments between the signatories to support Aboriginal student success and the inclusion of Aboriginal culture as well as history in classrooms. In a district where more than half of the students are Aboriginal, Haida culture and language are an integral part of the school curriculum.

An Assembly of First Nations justice forum in Vancouver that began Feb. 21 was used to explore the idea of a national inquiry into the issue of missing and murdered Aboriginal women, said Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. Phillip has been critical of the province’s missing and murdered women’s inquiry, headed by former attorney general Wally Oppal. He said the focus of the BC inquiry is too narrow, and funding for marginalized groups to take part was denied, which will render the findings of the inquiry as inadequate.

Photo caption: Shawn Atleo, Assembly of First Nations national chief, addresses graduates at the BCIT convocation ceremony on Feb. 16.

Photo caption: Cree poet Louise Halfe was named Saskatchewan’s second Poet Laureate.

Métis Nation-Saskatchewan President Robert Doucette is calling for a federal Métis Act.

“I think it’s time now that there be a federal Métis Act that lays out the obligations and responsibilities of both parties,” he said.

Two years ago when Doucette stood before the Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples he called for the creation of a federal Métis Act.

As it stands now, he said, it is the Indian Act that drives the benefits Metis people do and do not have.

“Whatever happens in the Indian Act collaterally has an impact on the Métis,” said Doucette.

A “significant step” was taken in February to heal almost 150 years of troubled relationships when the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan and Assemble communautaire fransaskoise signed a solidarity pact.

“This is an important document,” said MN-S President Robert Doucette. “It was a significant step in rebuilding our relationship between our communities.”

“It’s important that the two respective communities agree to talk and to share things, to come together on various issues,” said Andre Moquin, vice president of the ACF.

Two hundred strong marched on Feb. 1 from the University of Regina to the First Nations University of Canada to protest the cost of higher education and insufficient government funding. At the core of the march was the federal government’s two per cent cap on the Post-Secondary Student Support Program, which funds Aboriginal students.

“It’s really important that the federal government knows we stand in solidarity,” said Alanna Makinson, Prairies organizer for the Canadian Federation of Students. The CFS organized marches right across the country as a National Day of Action.

Morley Watson won’t go as far as to say there is a “rift” between the chiefs of Saskatchewan and National Chief Shawn Atleo and the organization he heads, the Assembly of First Nations.

But disapproval with recent actions taken by Atleo became apparent during the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nation’s winter legislative assembly in mid-February.

Atleo addressed the gathering and then, during a question and answer period, was hit with some hard questions, most of which centred around the First Nations-Crown gathering in January and the action plan that resulted.

This year marks a milestone for the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies outreach program, Through the Lens, which has touched close to 600 participating students and boasts a collection of 1,800 photographs. For 15 years, Through the Lens has immersed high school students in the creative process of traditional and digital photography and encouraged them to experiment and learn about themselves, their community and visual communication through the exciting medium of photography.