Some of Alberta’s best and brightest youth were honoured at the 2010 Alberta Aboriginal Youth Achievement Awards held on March 6 in Edmonton. Sponsored by the Métis Nation of Alberta, the awards are designed to honour Aboriginal youth, who display outstanding leadership qualities and who make a difference within their communities.

Morley students show compassion

There are two main reasons why few Aboriginal people seek help when they have experienced discrimination: they either don’t know help is available or they don’t believe the system works.

The findings were revealed by the Aboriginal Commission on Human Rights and Justice last month in Edmonton in what Mayor Stephen Mandel referred to as a “tremendous document.”

Native American youth hope to bring change and awareness to environmental issues through Prayer Run for World Peace, a 3,000 kilometre run from Vancouver to the Eklutna reservation near Anchorage, Alaska.

Nine runners, ranging in age from 18 to 22 years from South Dakota and Minnesota will travel towards Eklutna carrying prayers for the preservation of the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve and the melting glaciers in Greenland. The 36-day event, which began on May 14, will culminate with the Alaskan sponsored World Peace and Prayer Day in Eklutna on June 21.

There are 11 men from British Columbia now facing 105 charges in the killing and mutilation of bald eagles. The charges stem from an investigation into the slaughter of 50 of the sacred birds, many of which were found buried on the Burrard First Nation reserve in February 2005. Burrard First Nation Elder Leonard George has confirmed that some of the men arrested were part of his community. "The slaying of eagles has nothing to do with First Nations culture and everything to do with the personal economic gain and profit of the perpetrators," said Tsleil-Waututh Nation Elder Ernie George.

The federal government has pledged $2.25 million over the next three years for rock barriers and other work to halt waterfront erosion of McMillan Island near Fort Langley. The island's eastern end has been eroding into the Fraser River since the mid-1800s. Since then the river had absorbed 680 metres of the eastern bank. Over the next 25 years without attention, 5.3 hectares of land would disappear. The Kwantlen First Nation reserve number six covers most of the island.

Doug Pierce loves to run. A lot. So much so in fact that the 61-year-old is closing in on the equivalent of running around the world twice.

The circumference of the world at the equator is slightly more than 40,000 kilometres (about 25,000 miles). Pierce, who has kept a log of how far he has travelled since he started running at age 40, is approaching the 50,000-mile mark. And yes, Pierce admits he is addicted to running.
"If you're going to be addicted to something, it might as well be healthy," he said.

On April 25, more than 500 people gathered on Coast Salish territory at the Vancouver Art Gallery to show their support for the protest at the Six Nations community in southern Ontario near Caledonia. The rally was intended to serve as a deterrence to further police escalation against the Six Nations protesters.

On Feb. 28, members of the Six Nations community set up a camp to protest a housing development being built on their territory, land formally recognized by the Crown in the Haldimand Proclamation (1784) as Six Nations territory.

Government reports are saying that the environmental impact of the B.C. ferry that sank near Hartley Bay March 22 has been relatively minimal and poses little risk, but residents of the small community are not so sure and are wondering why there have been no shellfish harvesting closures.

The Queen of the North sank in the early morning near the village, about 135 kilometres off of Prince Rupert. The various government agencies teaming up in the environmental assessment and clean-up have been mostly positive about the situation despite lingering local concerns.

While the number of B.C. youth being incarcerated has declined, the proportion of Aboriginal youth in custody has more than doubled, according to a recent report.

The report, released by the Child and Youth Officer for British Columbia last month, says the number of youth being incarcerated overall has dropped from 400 in 1996/97 to 134 in 2005/06. But Aboriginal youth are now seven times more likely to be incarcerated than their non-Aboriginal counterparts, up from three times more likely in 1996/97.