It’s been said that you can’t please everybody. That is true. And as a professional columnist, I have, over the passing years, pleased many, annoyed a few, and downright pissed off a handful.

This column is about that last subsection of the population. There is a person out there named Alexander who is quite miffed with me. According to a posting he placed on my Web site, I am a racist. I was quite surprised to find that out, but then again, who wouldn’t be, excluding those with red necks (not red skins) and white pointed hats and gowns.

But first, some background.

Errol Ranville and assembled company have been a traditional country-rock staple in Indian Country for a long time.  If it wasn’t for C-Weed and his Band blazing the early trail for contemporary Aboriginal artists, it’s hard to predict where many Aboriginal artists would be today or how well accepted they would be.  Errol has also been responsible for launching and assisting the music careers of a number of Aboriginal artists.  But this album is strictly about the music – a scrapbook of Errol’s own 35 year recording career.  The album title is an apt description of what one is in for - this

Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Tracey Deer: I think the quality I appreciate most is that my friends be understanding. For a friend to stand by me despite my faults, especially when I disappear into work, is really incredible.

W: What is it that really makes you mad?
T.D.: Ignorance, jealousy and hatred are so prevalent and destructive. Our people can be so blinded by these negative emotions that it cripples our communities. It makes me mad to see so many people’s potential lay dormant because of it.

For urban hip hop group Winnipeg’s Most, three wins out of four nominations during the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards on Nov. 5 was a huge validation of all their hard work.

Along with the Best New Artist award were the Best Duo/Group and the Best Rap/Hip Hop CD awards. A nomination for Single of the Year for ‘All That I Know’ fell short in favor of Shane Yellowbird’s “Barefoot On The Blacktop.”

An initiative of the Alberta Centre for Active Living that enables First Nations communities to carry out exercise programs for their seniors is proving to be a valuable addition to services offered.

The Home Support Exercise Program is a physical activity intervention program based on prevention and maintenance and is aimed at older adults who are receiving home-care services. First Nations communities apply to be a partner in the program, and once established, a trained home health aide goes through a program with a client then on-going social support is provided.

The newly created cadets program on the Sunchild and O’Chiese reserves is facing a major stumbling block.

The program, a partnership between the Rocky Mountain House RCMP and the two southern reserves, is modelled after the successful program in Hobbema.

In operation for only eight months, the Sunchild O’Chiese program was attracting an average of 33 youth each week.

“The interest from the youth is extremely high, so this was a positive start,” said program organizer Lanny Gellner.

Students who received the prestigious Belcourt Brosseau Métis Award will be one step closer to achieving their academic dreams.

“It’s very difficult to describe how much this means to me,” said 18-year-old Matthew Hiltermann. “School is really something I wouldn’t be able to do without this award.”

Hiltermann has been given $5,000 to finish his degree at the University of Calgary in socio-anthropology. He is one of 117 recipients receiving a Belcourt Brosseau Métis Award this year.

For several years, Tim Davidson of Timko Developments, built houses for those in need in places like Mexico, Haiti, Honduras and Brazil, but his latest project, in partnership with the Wesley First Nation, was much closer to home. Beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24 and working around the clock on the donated time of skilled sub-contractors, Davidson and over 100 volunteers pitched in to build a three-bedroom, 1,200-square foot bungalow in 72 hours for one fortunate member of the Wesley First Nation at Morley.

Eating a traditional diet can help control Type II diabetes, said Dr. Jay Wortman, a Métis who grew up in Fort Vermilion and is now a doctor and researcher at the University of Victoria.

 “When I stopped eating starch and sugar…my blood sugar dropped and stayed there,” Wortman said at a two-day health conference hosted by North Peace Tribal Council’s Many Jurisdictions One System in High Level, Sept. 15 and 16. “A diet that is low in starch and sugar is very much like a traditional diet.”

Positive energy and pride, said Alvina Lake, is what the Nov. 19 Indigenous Healthy Living Walk is all about.
“The walk is powerful, very emotional. You have to be a part of it to feel actually what we are walking for. For me, I’m walking to, hopefully show people that if they seek help, well we are actually there (for them)…it’s a healthy pride to experience,” said Lake, aftercare cultural events coordinator for Poundmaker’s Lodge Treatment Centre.