Economic development will be the topic of discussion in Saskatoon from Oct. 2 to 5 when the city plays host to the 13th annual conference of the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers (CANDO).

Celebrating Our Success is the theme of the conference, which will feature a trade show and presentations as well as CANDO's annual general meeting.

Clarence Logan has been intrigued by opera music since a very young age. When he was growing up in Biggar, his friends would listen to rock or pop while he would be listening to opera and classical music. At the age of 12 he began to learn to play the organ and to study voice.

After graduating from Biggar Composite high school, Logan went on to attain his bachelor's degree in music from the University of Regina, then moved to London, Ont. to attend the University of Western Ontario where he completed a masters degree in music.

Ron Horsefall believes that overcoming fear and denial is the key to tackling the growing AIDS epidemic among Canada's Aboriginal population. Fear and denial, he said, are what prevents people from getting the facts about HIV and AIDS-about what it is and how it is transmitted. Fear and denial keep people from being tested when they think they may have contracted the virus. And fear and denial are why people with HIV and AIDS continue to face discrimination.

Through determination and honesty, Saskatchewan film-maker Rueben Martell is trying to bring to the screen a film about the realities of Native people as they live today.

Martell began filming A Life Less Empty last year but had to halt production when funding for the project ran out. Martell describes the film as a Native love story with a legacy of abuse, love and survival.

An important and tragic piece of Canadian history is being recreated this summer in the Qu'Appelle Valley, as cast and crew work on a miniseries based on Saskatchewan author Guy Vanderhaeghe's award-winning novel, The Englishman's Boy.

The Crown Investments Corporation of Saskatchewan (CIC) has announced a financial commitment of more than $400,000 to help increase education opportunities for Aboriginal students.

On Aug. 17, the Crown corporation announced funding of close to $103,000 for the Aboriginal Success in Trades and Technologies program, a one-year pilot project to be run by the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology's Saskatoon campus. The program will provide students with a wide range of tools and supports, including tutoring, life-skills training, child care and career planning.

Metis people living in Saskatchewan will continue to have access to education and training services despite the government's decision to sever its ties with the Metis Employment and Training of Saskatchewan Inc. (METSI), Diane Finley, the minister of Human Resources and Social Development announced.

The government is looking for young people interested in becoming members of the Provincial Youth Advisory Committee.

Since its creation in 2003, the committee has advised the government on issues such as youth attraction and retention, education, leadership, employment and training.

Youth between the ages of 14 and 29 are encouraged to apply to join the advisory committee. Application forms are available at www.saskyouth.net.The deadline for application is Sept. 29.

Thirty years have passed since the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College first opened its doors.

In the intervening years it's grown from a insitution with nine students to one with an average annual enrolment of more than 1,200. It's also expanded to take in three campuses, located in Regina, Saskatoon and Prince Albert, and to offer a wide variety of programs through its 10 academic departments. On June 21, 2003, the institution also went through a major transformation, becoming the First Nations University of Canada.

It's hard for Dennis Bear not to feel completely alone at times.

The Flying Dust First Nation man has a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter named Summer Angel with a very rare disease -one so rare that only 42 people on earth have it.

Since being diagnosed with Hyperornithinemia-hyperammonemia-homocitrullinemia,,better known as Triple H Syndrome, Summer has had to undergo several treatments and countless blood tests.

Triple H Syndrome is a strain of urea cycle disorder, which Dennis explained is a specific dysfunction of the liver.