RBC Financial Group has awarded five students with scholarships through its Aboriginal Student Awards Program, including Jessica White Cow of Pincher Creek. The annual scholarship provides $4,000 for a maximum of four years at university, or for two years at community college.

Principal photography has started on the Showcase Original series Moose TV and will run until early July in Montreal. The series stars Adam Beach and Alberta's own Nathaniel Arcand and will consist of eight half-hour episodes. Moose TV is Canada's first Native-produced comedy featuring an all-star Native cast. The first season is slated for broadcast on Showcase in early 2007. Beach plays George who returns home to his Native community and lock-picks his way into an abandoned TV station and decides to revive it.

One of three awards in excellence in nursing goes to Susan Jewitt, the nurse in charge for almost four years at the Horse Lake First Nation Health Centre. The award celebrates the dedication, initiative and excellence of nurses employed by First Nations communities, Health Canada or Inuit communities. It is presented each year during National Nursing Week. The nurses are nominated for the awards by their peers. Jewitt has successfully introduced a number of health programs in Horse Lake. Her passions are prenatal education and women's health issues.

The Ben Calf Robe School­ St. Clare Elementary Junior High School celebrated 25 years of providing academic and cultural programming to First Nations, Metis and Inuit children in Edmonton on May 12.

The Thundering Spirit Drum group performed the grand entry drum song as representatives from the school advisory council, the superintendent of schools, the board of trustees, the Alberta government and the Ben Calf Robe School Dancers made their way to the stage.

Residential school survivors are one step closer to receiving their share of a $1.9 billion compensation package now that the federal cabinet has put its stamp of approval on plans for the pay out.

That approval finalizes the agreement-in-principle announced in November 2005 but the plan must be approved in nine provincial courts and a five-month opt-out period must pass before the Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement will come into effect.

"Little Angels Among Us" was the theme of the 11th annual Esquao Awards held in Edmonton on May 12. The night honored girls ages six to 12 who were picked from Aboriginal communities across the province to represent the bright hope of the women of tomorrow.
It was a variation on the theme of the past awards ceremonies held by the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women (IAAW).

"Angels Among Us," said IAAW president Muriel Stanley Venne, is a reminder of "why we honor our women, and that's because they are the strength of our communities."

Winners of the fourth annual Prince Charles Elementary School Aboriginal History Quiz were honored during awards ceremonies on April 7.

All of the quiz participants from grades three to six received books that had at their core Aboriginal content. They also received certificates of participation. Twenty-four with the top overall scores were presented medals and teddy bears by Gene Zwozdesky, Alberta minister of Education.

Students who won the final round of the quiz will have their names engraved on a plaque, which will be displayed in the main hallway at the school.

Becky King, a Grade 5 student at Brightview elementary school in Edmonton, is thrilled to be learning about her culture.

"I've learned a lot of new things," she said. "The animals are our brothers and sisters."

Becky is among 14 Grade 4 to 6 students at the west end school taking part in the Coyote Pride Mentorship Program.

Author Tyler Trafford released his new novel, Alexander's Way, at a book launch ceremony that included a Native art exhibition and demonstrations of powwow dances.

Stacy Da Silva performed a fancy shawl dance at the Fort Calgary celebration on April 25. Stacy is of Cree and Portuguese ancestry and won the Best Actress award at the 2005 American Indian Film Festival for her role in the film Hank Williams First Nation.

In an attempt to combine First Nation healing traditions with the latest in medical science, the Calgary Health Region on April 28 opened the doors to its first clinic geared entirely to the needs of the city's Aboriginal population.

The 4,300-sq.-ft. Elbow River Healing Lodge will provide health care for the region's Native population through a holistic approach that will deal with the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs of the patients.