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Govt' to decide fate of sick bison

Government officials are seeking a panel to make recommendations in a special inquiry to decide the fate of a diseased bison herd at Wood Buffalo National Park.

The bison, roaming freely in the 60,000 sq. km park in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories, suffer from tuberculosis and brucellosis (an infection that can cause the animals to become sterile or the females to abort their calves).

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The distance between the downtown Daishowa offices and the remote areas of northern Alberta will be temporarily bridged on March 7, when a rally to support the Lubicon takes place in front of the Japanese forest products office.

The rally is to protest a recent forest management agreement between the Alberta government and Daishowa which the Lubicons say infringes on their traditional lands.

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Doris Ronnenberg has been waiting for two years to gain status under Bill C-31 because her application is a "problem case," and the federal government is coming under attack by Native groups over the method of processing applications similar to Ronnenbergs.

"What seems to be happening is if there's a problem with a particular case (application) then it seems to be put to the side and they seem to concentrate on the easier ones," says the president of the Alberta arm of the Native Council of Canada.

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Alberta Native businesses and economic development projects got a boost of $6.2 million in funding from the federal government this week but not everyone is entirely happy with the way in which applications of funds are processed.

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Calgary's City Hall unveils sculpture of Sarcee chief

For the Crowchild family of the Sarcee reserve near Calgary, Jan. 27 was a day for them to see their memories of ancestor Chief David Crowchild immortalized in sculpture.

And for Nelson Gutnik, it was a day to have his work with and for Native people honoured with the presentation of the Chief David Crowchild memorial award.

The dual ceremony took place at Calgary's City Hall with more than 150 spectators on hand to witness the unveiling of the sculpture and the presentation of the award.

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Editorial

Pipe ceremony photo upsets readers

Some people are upset that Windspeaker published a photograph of a pipe ceremony on our front page (see Ceremony to Save a River, Feb. 12 issue).

These people may say that we neglected to show the proper respect for the pipe, used in a ceremony of extreme reverence ? and even disrespect for the Elder conducting the sacred act.

Normally we'd agree ? except in this case.

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A new Christian youth group here is "learning to build the church and find their place in the community," says Lucienne Meek.

The Native Pastoral Centre administrator explains the centre formed the youth group in November hoping to attract a younger generation that can "keep the church alive."

The group currently has about a dozen members and although the numbers aren't high, Meek says the group didn't want to start growing in numbers until they felt they were ready.

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A special Jan. 28 ceremony of thanksgiving took place at the Native Pastoral Centre in honor of the many Elders who are regular and hard working members of the congregation.

The celebrations began with a mass and eucharist. The mass began with the burning of sweetgrass and ended with a traditional round dance.

Then a special feast of rabbit and bannock followed by the wild rice pudding, was served to the gathering of about 15 Elders who regularly attend the centre.

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For eight teenagers from Alexander reserve's Kipothaka high school, the giant University of Alberta campus has just become friendlier.

On Jan. 21, accompanied by teacher Franklin McKenzie, they came to have a close look at the academic city within a city and to see what university has to offer.

After joining up with Native university students, who were their host/guides, the Grade 10 class sat in on various lectures to experience a typical campus routine.

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Students spotlight Native people and issues on university airways

A new Native radio program, operated by a group at the University of Alberta, is intended to make listeners more aware of the issues and people who shape the Native community today.

"There's a lot of people that don't know about the great things that are being done by Native people today," says one of the program's founders, Lewis Cardinal.