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Aboriginal employees within the provincial public service will soon be volunteering their time to talk to Aboriginal youth about career opportunities within government and the importance of staying in school.

Pikiskwewak, which means "they speak" in Cree, is the name chosen for a new speakers bureau created by the Aboriginal Government Employees' Network (AGEN), a group created more than a decade ago to help support Aboriginal people working in government and to increase the number of Aboriginal people employed within Saskatchewan's public service.

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Students and staff at the University of Saskatchewan had a chance to gather together and celebrate Aboriginal culture on Sept. 18, as the university's Aboriginal Students Centre (ASC) hosted another successful Powwow @ the Bowl.

This marked the thirteenth year the powwow has been held as a way to welcome new and returning students to the university. Not only does the event serve to educate non-Aboriginal participants about Aboriginal culture, it also provides a way to show Aboriginal students that there is a place for their culture within the university setting.

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Oct. 2 was a day of celebration on Thunderchild First Nation, as more than 300 band members joined together for the official ribbon-cutting for a spectacular new $14 million school that will serve the needs of students from kindergarten to Grade 12.

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Staff from the Saskatoon Public Library grabbed some books and headed for the playground over the summer as part of the library's efforts to reach out to the Aboriginal community.

The library launched the Stories in the Park program in early July as the first component of its new Something for everyone Aboriginal Library Services Project, aimed at making the library a more welcoming place for Aboriginal patrons, and working to ensure the programs and services offered are meeting their specific needs.

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This past summer, the news was full of reports about SARS, West Nile and Mad Cow Disease. We've all heard about them. But when was the last time you read a news report about influenza?

It may not be making the headlines like all the other health threats we've been warned about, but this year, more people will die from influenza than from SARS, West Nile and Mad Cow Disease combined.

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A new six-part television series filmed in Regina and featuring a predominantly Aboriginal cast will have its premiere on APTN on Nov. 10.

Moccasin Flats is being billed as Canada's first dramatic television series to be created, written, produced, performed and controlled by Aboriginal people. The show, a gritty portrayal of life in Moccasin Flats, a neighbourhood in North Central Regina, was created by Jennifer Podemski and Laura J. Milliken of Big Soul Productions as a follow up to the success of their film by the same name.

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Since its creation in 2000 for the New Millennium celebrations at the Back to Batoche Festival, The 65th Wedding Anniversary of Ernestine and Alphonse Pillon has been thrilling audiences as part of that annual celebration of Metis culture. Now the musical, created by Batoche Theatre Company artistic director Maureen Belanger, is finding equal favour with a wider audience.

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On Sept. 19, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed what Metis people have known all along; the Metis of Canada are Aboriginal under the Constitution and have Aboriginal rights under section 35.

The case decided is known as Powley and it began with a charge under Ontario's fish and wildlife legislation against Steve and Roddy Powley who had shot a moose without the benefit of having a license.

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What do Treaty 4 commemorations mean?

It all depends on who you ask.

While chiefs gathered to discuss political concerns, and others gathered for everything from seminars to parades, nine-year-old Alexander Ironeagle saw the event as a time to help his sister get her traditional dress ready for Saturday afternoon's powwow.

"What does Treaty 4 mean to the little boy from Star Blanket First Nation?" a reporter asked.

"I don't know," he replied.