“The Cherokee Nation will be the laughingstock of all the tribes if we elect a woman.”

Wilma Mankiller distinctly recalled a male delegate standing up at a campaign meeting to warn her about the consequences of her bid to become deputy chief in 1983. Not to be discouraged, her knowledge of the strong role of Cherokee women in her people’s history helped her stand up to widespread opposition.

Even though Grand Chief Edward John had the support of prominent First Nations organizations as he bid for the job of representing Canada’s Indigenous peoples on the international stage, he was ultimately selected to the post for his expertise.

The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues announced on April 28 that John, along with 15 other delegates from around the world, had been chosen to serve three-year terms from January 2011 to 2013.

An Ontario First Nation has incorporated modern technology to help preserve some of the oldest Indigenous languages in Canada’s history.

Sagamok First Nation has teamed up with a simulation software company to produce a program that is designed to archive Aboriginal languages, while being an interactive teaching tool for everyone from young children to their parents.

John Elliott’s father used to say “It’s almost too late, but it’s not quite too late. There is still time, if we hurry, if we rush and get the work done.”

That was 36 years ago, and John’s father Dave is now gone, as are many of the other elders John worked with in his efforts to protect and perpetuate the First Nations language in his community.

John is a teacher. He has been for 37 years.

IS IT A CASE OF A REPENTANT THIEF?

If only we could bottle the energy and enthusiasm of the young winners of the E-spirit Aboriginal Youth Business Plan competition, then we could splash it around on all of the problems in all of our communities and they would soon become memories of a distant time past.

Congratulations to these young people on their hard work and determination, and congratulations to the Business Development Bank of Canada for sticking with the competition over the last 10 years.

Belly up to the bar boys and girls—the juice bar that is—and take a load off your shoulders, or your spirit over a carrot concoction or a protein shake.

Writer/producer Jason Friesen is serving up wheatgrass and a new series about to premiere on APTN. It caters to the health nut in all of us. And nut is the operative word here.

Health Nutz is a comedy about a group of new age yoga enthusiasts whose safe little world is taken over by a washed-up cynic of a con man, Buzz Riel Jr., who is played by Kevin Loring, who is nowhere near being typecast for this role.

Lalaxaaygans: Beautiful Sound received recognition for Terri- Lynn Williams-Davidson, whose CD nabbed a Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards (CAMA) in November in the Best Female Traditional/Cultural Roots category.

The award was presented at an awards gala on Nov. 27, 2009 at the Hamilton Place Theatre in Hamilton, Ont.

Williams-Davidson opened the evening awards show with a love song for Mother Earth. She was emotional when she meet with the press backstage after winning the award.

“It’s overwhelming,” she said, tears brimming in her eyes.

The investigation into the cases of Aboriginal women who have gone missing or have been murdered in British Columbia needs a new approach, insists a social worker who maintains communication with the families of some of the victims. The delay in solving the cases is unacceptable, she says. Some of the cases date back to 1969.

“We have to look at where the justice system failed,” said Mavis Erickson, who is the Highway of Tears coordinator at Carrier Sekani Family Services (CSFS) in Prince George.

It took almost four decades, but Fred Sasakamoose finally returned to the ice in Kamloops.

Sasakamoose, a Cree from Saskatchewan’s Sandy Lake First Nation, is legendary in Canadian sporting circles, becoming the first Aboriginal to play in the National Hockey League.