A recent meeting with the deputy minister of health has the new Children’s Advocate optimistic that effective, long-lasting change is possible.

But some of his optimism is based on a dark fact: things are bad.

“The situation is so desperate,” said Bob Pringle. When he was minister of social services in the mid-‘90s, there were 1,700 children in care. Today, there are upwards of 4,800. “We’re in crisis so transformational change is required. That means moving control over to First Nations and Métis leadership stakeholders.”

The provincial government’s decision to scrap the Aboriginal Employment Development Program is coming under criticism by one of Canada’s largest unions.

Tom Graham, president of Saskatchewan CUPE, said the program, which was established more than 10 years ago, created jobs and provided training for Aboriginal people.
In that time, Graham said Aboriginal employment increased by five per cent.

“It doesn’t sound like much but when you are starting from zero that is quite significant.”

For Chelsa Reil, violence against women is more than a statistic. She has been involved in violent relationships in her past.

“Women are a part of this world too. They should be protected, not violated, not exploited,” said Reil, a young Aboriginal woman from the Nekaneet First Nation.
For the past three years, Reil has organized The Vagina Monologues, hiring all the cast and crew for the popular show.

Lawrence Joseph firmly believes that for changes to come about, Aboriginal people need to get directly involved in conventional politics at all levels. The federal riding of Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River  was a prime example of just that happening.

“The quality of candidates was extremely high,” said Joseph, who carried the banner for the New Democratic Party. ”I was very pleased with the people who ran in the sense that they believed in their mission.”

New leaders created in program that focuses on young people

Money paid into a trust by the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation to help the Saskatchewan Co-operative Fisheries Ltd. gain independence will be held at least a year longer than anticipated.

Officials at Little Red River Cree Nation are still not satisfied with how expectant mothers in their communities are getting information on where babies can be born. Too many still seem to think an epidural is needed to give birth.

“People have been having babies for centuries and they don’t need an epidural,” said Dee Ladouceur, who works for LRRCN and started voicing concerns several months ago. Ladouceur  responded to the issue at a recent meeting in Fort Vermilion when it was raised again. “Having a baby is totally natural.”

The Aboriginal Arts program at the Banff Centre is providing exceptional opportunities for Aboriginal artists to grow and excel in their chosen professions.

Since its inception in 1993, the Aboriginal Arts programming has enhanced opportunities for Aboriginal artists to research, conceive, and produce work with cultural integrity and artistic merit.

If there is one thing Larry Loyie is passionately against, it’s books on Aboriginal people written by non-Aboriginals who have no real knowledge of First Nations’ ways.

“Our culture was written wrongly,” Loyie said. “When I do research, I can’t find very many books that are accurate. People got their degrees on First Nations ‘culture,’ but it goes so much deeper than that; it’s a philosophy, a way of life. When we, First Nations people, tell stories, the philosophy is what is being taught.”

There are a lot of similarities between Leo Desroches and his creator Wayne Arthurson. But thankfully, there are a lot of differences, too.

Leo is the main character in Arthurson’s second work of fiction, Fall from Grace, as well as the title character in Arthurson’s next novel, A Killing Winter. Leo is a flawed protagonist. A journalist with one of Edmonton’s daily newspapers, he is a former street person and a gambling addict, and becomes obsessed with the idea of a serial killer targeting Aboriginal prostitutes. And Leo is full of surprises.