“The general feeling is number one, an evacuation of that size and nobody got hurt? That’s excellent,” said Joseph Jobin, chief operating officer in the Edmonton office of the Treaty 8 First Nations. “We got very lucky.”

A decade long partnership between the provincial Métis association and the oldest university in the province has culminated in the creation of the Rupertsland Centre for Métis Research.

“We have finalized the opportunity to work as partners with the University of Alberta to develop Canada’s first academic centre specifically designed for Métis research,” said Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta.

The centre is the result of a memorandum of understanding signed in 2007 by the MNA and the U of A.

Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?

Chantelle Ducharme: The quality that I most value in a friend is loyalty. I am the type of person who will go out of my way to help a friend in need no matter what. If a friend can cancel plans or go out of their way for me in my time of need that is a true friend in my eyes.

W: What is it that really makes you mad?

Guy Lonechild isn’t leaving his fate as head of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations in the hands of chiefs or their designates.

In a news conference that followed five days after the FSIN executive council and Indian Government Commission suspended him with pay, Lonechild announced he is considering legal action. Six other FSIN personnel were also suspended.

Cambrian College’s School of Health Sciences may have saved the jobs of nine people who work on Manitoulin Island.

A year ago, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced new regulation that required all personal support workers to be certified by July 2011 in order to maintain their positions at long-term care facilities. The requirement affected seven nurses’ aides working at Manitoulin Lodge in Gore Bay and two nurses’ aides working at Centennial Manor in Little Current.

Ralph (Junior) Moar is once again making headlines, but this time for all the right reasons.

The 32-year-old Métis/Ojibwe is scheduled to fight Ronald Johnson for the World Boxing Council (WBC) Intercontinental light heavyweight championship on Sept. 16 in Las Vegas.

Moar was born in Manitoba, but moved to Richmond, B.C in 2006. He is thrilled people are once again talking about his boxing skills.

By Sam Laskaris

Memorial unveiled
A memorial stone was unveiled in July at the Alderville cemetery in Ontario in honor of former Aboriginal running star Fred Simpson.

Simpson, who was nicknamed the Ojibway Thunderbolt, represented Canada at the 1908 London Olympics. He placed sixth in the men’s marathon race.

Artist—Jay Gilday
Song—You Don't Belong
Album—All That I Can Give
Label—Independent

In response to widespread growth of Aboriginal economic development strategies and self-governance initiatives, one Vancouver university has launched the Executive Masters in Business Administration in Aboriginal Business and Leadership [EMBA] Program tailored to the unique needs of executives working within Aboriginal business and governance.

Kid’s Help Phone, with the help of the Native Canadian Centre in Toronto, has created a new outreach campaign designed to improve counselling services for Aboriginal youth.

Kid’s Help Phone found that a lot of youth who were calling were from remote communities and decided it would be good to visit some Aboriginal communities and hear directly from the youth themselves.