A combined Dene/Cree name is just one way the former Blue Quills College has marked its graduation to becoming a university.

As of Sept. 1, University nuhelot’įne thaiyots’į / nistameyimâkanak Blue Quills became the first Indigenous-controlled university in Canada. While the First Nations University of Canada operates in Saskatchewan, it is a federated college under the University of Regina.

RCMP look for missing Lac La Biche woman

December 9, 2015. Eleven years ago today Maggie Burke, then 21, disappeared north of Edmonton’s downtown. Now, Crimestoppers has erected a billboard on117th Avenue and 95th Street, a block south of where Burke was last seen, hoping it might result in tips. Burke was a sex-trade worker and police suspect foul play. Her mother, Marie Burke, says the billboard makes the family realize Maggie’s disappearance is being taken seriously. Maggie has an 11-year-old daughter.

December 9, 2015

One of the first actions taken by the Notley government when elected was to throw NDP support behind the call for a national inquiry into murdered and missing Indigenous women.

The federal government has made that call.

CPS seeking public’s help to find woman who missed court date

December 9, 2015. Calgary Police Service is asking for the public’s help to locate a woman who missed a mandatory court appearance. Lena Raquel Crazybull, of Calgary, was due in court earlier this week. Attempts to locate her have been unsuccessful. Crazybull is in her early 20s, 5’6” tall, with brown eyes and either brown or dyed blond hair. She also has piercings on both cheeks. Warrants have been issued for her arrest, however, she is not accused of a criminal offense.

December 8, 2015

Amidst applause, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fleshed out his campaign promises in a five-point plan he presented at the Assembly of First Nations Special Chiefs Assembly this morning.

"It is time for a renewed, nation-to-nation relationship with First Nations peoples, one that understands that the constitutionally guaranteed rights of First Nations in Canada are not an inconvenience but a sacred obligation," he said.

When Premier Rachel Notley and Health Minister Sarah Hoffman receive the final report from the Mental Health Review Committee on Dec. 23 it will include a comprehensive look at Aboriginal mental health needs.

Unidentified female found seriously injured on Samson Cree Nation

December 4, 2015

The provincial government has committed to looking favourably upon Indigenous bids for delivering green energy.

 “Indigenous participation… was something we wanted to ensure we were doing throughout, the sort of the growth, of the green economy such that the new economy does not replicate the social and economic exclusions of the old,” said Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips in a news conference earlier this week.