October 2, 2015. Conservative leader Stephen Harper has indicated he will not participate in the all-forum federal leaders’ debate to be hosted by the Assembly of First Nations Oct. 7, in Enoch. Now, NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair says his presence is contingent on the Conservative leader being there. "This debate is a key opportunity for the party leaders to explain how their government would work to close the gap in the quality of life between First Nations and Canada," said National Chief Perry Bellegarde.

Seven Aboriginal candidates are vying for six seats in the upcoming federal election. There are 34 seats in Alberta.

“I think that’s really good. I think it’s an indication that more and more Indigenous people are interested in seeking that office as a Member of Parliament. It’s a place of change, a way to us,” said Chief Wilton Littlechild, who served as MP for Wetaskiwin from 1988 to 1993. He was the first Treaty Indian MP and the only Indigenous representative for Alberta to date.

Of seven Indigenous candidates running for Alberta seats in the House of Commons, six are representing the New Democratic Party. The Liberals have one lone candidate, while neither the Conservatives nor the Greens have an Aboriginal
representative.

September 30, 2015. Alberta musician John Wort Hannam’s latest album, to be released Oct. 2, includes a song about residential schools. Entitled “Man of God,” it talks about his time as a school teacher on the Kainai Blackfoot reserve, tackling the legacy of residential schools, which earned the endorsement of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Indigenous candidates in Alberta are excited – and hopeful – about getting out the Aboriginal vote.

For First Nations people, in particular, voting has long been a contentious issue.

September 29, 2015. Battle River-Crowfoot NDP candidate Katherine Swampy, along with Conservative incumbent Kevin Sorenson and Liberal candidate Andy Kowalski, faced off in front of students at Camrose Composite high school. Swampy said students’ questions were “amazing,thoughtful.” Swampy will be attending more forums in Camrose, Stettler, New Sarepta, Drumheller and Tofield. Her intense campaign trail will also take her to Viking, Hanna, and Provost. She has already made stops in New Norway, Bashaw, and Stettler.

September 30, 2015. An analysis of potential gains in seats in Edmonton and Calgary in the upcoming federal election has pushed Edmonton-Manning into the “marginal NDP gains” category, according to CBC polls analyst and ThreeHundredEight.com founder Eric Grenier. The NDP is represented in Edmonton-Manning by Indigenous candidate Aaron Paquette. Grenier says the province will still go Tory blue, but a dozen seats have potential to change.

October 1, 2015. Most minimum wage employees in Alberta will see their hourly pay increase by one dollar to $11.20 effective today. Employees who work shorter shifts must now be paid for a minimum of three hours. However, those working in Metis Settlements (as singled out by the Employment Standards information provided by the province)
or community service organizations that do not operate for profit must be paid for a minimum two hours at the minimum wage rate.

September 30, 2015. Primco Dene has donated $18,000 to the Aboriginal Community-Industry Relations certificate, a joint program by the University of Alberta’s faculty of extension and the Circle for Aboriginal Relations, launched earlier this month. “What I like best about the ACIR program is that it uses traditional knowledge and teachings throughout its curriculum,” said Tammy Charland-McLaunghlin, Primco’s vice-president of operations.

After winning a prestigious contest, work by Metis artist Angela Hall is displayed on the wall of the Confederacy of Treaty 6 board room in Edmonton.

But Hall is humble about being one of two winners selected to have their art presented on Treaty 6 Recognition Day.

“I am only a tool for something that is far more important than my wants and desires, like the message in the painting and poem that was gifted to Grand Chief Tony Alexis,” said Hall.

The piece, entitled “A New Vision,” was created in 2009.