CFWE and Sweetgrass News Briefs - October 13

Eggen to speak at Treaty 7 education conference

October 13, 2015. Education minister David Eggen will be addressing delegates at the annual Treaty 7 education conference today in Calgary. Last week, Eggen spoke at a symposium on First Nations, Metis and Inuit education where Simon Bird, superintendent for Stoney Education Authority, asked the minister about tuitions. Bird noted that a number of First Nations students started school off-reserve then transferred back to reserve during the course of the year but their tuition money remained with the off-reserve school. Eggen said that there is a provision in the new Education Act, as yet unpassed, that deals with tuition agreements. “As minister it gives me the power to set standards for those service agreements,” he said.

Steps post-secondary institutions must take toward reconciliation

October 13, 2015. Reconciliation in post-secondary education will be the
topic of discussion Oct. 14 as the University of Alberta hosts a public talk. Spearheading the conversation will be Dr. Cindy Blackstock, director of FNCARES, faculty of extension, U of A; Charlene Bearhead, of Project of Heart; and Dr. Eber Hampton, of the University of Regina. Among the calls to action outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in June were specific actions post-secondary institutions can take to help “redress the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of Canadian reconciliation.” This talk will be in the spirit of advancing the process.

Two charged in major drug bust in Standoff

October 9, 2015. Two women have been charged in an investigation by the Blood Tribe Police Service which netted over $60,000 in street
value of Oxy 80s and crack cocaine along with close to $12,000 in cash. Facing a variety of possession of drugs, trafficking, and possession of weapon charges are Brooke Shadow Creighton, 22, of Standoff, and Kayla Marie Kirton, 24, of no fixed address. Both women are in custody with bail hearings to be held Oct. 13 in Lethbridge Provincial Court.