Pressure brought by First Nations in both Canada and the United States has seen results.

After months of demonstrations centred in Washington over TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, US President Barack Obama announced that his government would be delaying its decision on approval of the pipeline which would travel from northeastern Alberta through to Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahama, Texas and Montana.

The National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation has announced the 2012 recipients of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards and they include the founder of the first and largest Aboriginal financial institution in Canada, the first self-identified Métis person to serve in the federal Cabinet, a young Métis woman who ran across Canada to raise money for poverty and medical research, and the first Inuit woman to become a lawyer. They will be acknowledged in a special gala event on Feb. 24 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Vancouver.

Archeologists discovered a 340-year-old coin from China near the proposed site of a Yukon gold mine, which may give more information about the 17th-century trade links between China, Russia, and First Nations in Canada. Chinese characters indicate the coin was minted in Zhili province between 1667 and 1671 during the Qing Dynasty. A dig near Western Copper and Gold Corp.’s proposed Casino mine site about 300 kilometres northwest of Whitehorse was the site of the discovery. It is the third historic Chinese coin ever found in Yukon.

Spring flooding in Manitoba has cost millions, said Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada. Hotels and expenses for flood evacuees have reached $23 million. About 2,100 people from eight Manitoba First Nations are still unable to return home. Ottawa said the Lake St. Martin First Nation near Lake Manitoba will have to be moved permanently to higher ground. Manitoba’s Aboriginal Affairs minister says putting up the evacuees in Winnipeg hotels was a bad idea. Elders checked out of the Place Louis Riel Hotel because the staff did not want them gathering in the hotel lobby.

The water taste challenge at the 57th Annual Northwestern Ontario Water and Wastewater Conference in Thunder Bay was won by the Delles First Nation and the Bimose Tribal Council. Their source of water comes from the Winnipeg River, deemed as high risk in a recent national assessment due to microbiological components.

The national Chief of the Assembly of First Nations believes the Conservative government’s omnibus crime bill will put more First Nations people in jail, and they are already disproportionately represented there. Shawn Atleo says First Nations have not been consulted on new tough-on-crime laws and it would benefit the country to have First Nations help design future-forward solutions. He said it was a government education policy that led to over-representation of Aboriginals in jail, and it will be education that can turn the tide against it. “That’s poverty.

Holly Denny is a Rebel with a cause.

The 20-year-old Mi’kmaq from Nova Scotia’s Waycobah First Nation is currently showcasing her softball talents Down Under.

Denny, a pitcher, is toiling with Australia’s Glenelg Rebels, a club that competes in a league called A Grade.

Glenelg is a suburb of Adelaide, the capital of the state known as South Australia.

While in Australia, Denny is also suiting up for the South Australia Starz, a select team that plays monthly matches against other clubs representing the various states in the country.

By Sam Laskaris

Participants Sought
Organizers are expecting more than 60 teams to compete in a long-running tournament in Val-d’Or, Que. The 31st annual CREE Senior Hockey and Broomball Tournament is scheduled for Dec. 8 to 11. Matches will be staged at the Centre Air Creebec, which is also home to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Val-d’Or Foreurs.