Sweetgrass and CFWE news briefs - February 29, 2016

Tsuut’ina to present Trudeau with ceremonial headdress

February 29, 2016. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde will receive ceremonial headdresses from Tsuut’ina First Nation in a special ceremony this Friday when they visit the First Nation. Tsuut’ina Chief and council spokesperson Kevin Littlelight said the headdress to be presented to Trudeau symbolizes accomplishment, respect, bravery and peace building. Littlelight said Trudeau’s visit will also include a “light agenda,” discussing such issues as missing and murdered Indigenous women, adequate water, social programming and economic development.

New Castle management plan to ensure First Nations constitutional treaty rights

February 27, 2016. Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips has announced that the government will be working with First Nations, local communities, land users and Albertans to design a parks management and a tourism strategy for southwest Alberta. That strategy will strengthen the protection of the Castle region from clearcut logging and new industrial development. The government is committed to headwaters protection and protecting species at risk, said Phillips, and those environmental principles underline all of the government’s work in the Castle region and throughout the province. “A parks management plan for the Castle will … also ensure First Nations’ access for traditional land use and preservation of constitutional treaty rights,” said Phillips in a statement.

Dene Tha’ First Nation part of emergency exercise

February 26, 2016. Dene Tha’ First Nation was one of six communities to review and test their emergency plans during a three-day exercise Feb. 24-26. It was the first time an Alberta First Nation had done such an exercise in partnership with Alberta's Emergency Management Agency. The six communities worked with industry and emergency management agencies to ensure their emergency plans were well co-ordinated for disasters. This year’s event was the largest emergency training exercise in Alberta. It built on the learnings from the 2015 exercise of a mock extreme ice storm. Multiple response scenarios were set up across the province, including people trapped in collapsed buildings, motorists stranded on closed highways, power outages, and train derailments. In addition, a mock provincial state of emergency was declared. The scenarios provided emergency responders with the opportunity to improve their skills, for co-ordinators in the provincial operations centre to test their response procedures, and to train government officials in their roles and responsibilities.

Funding to help Siksika relocate water wells

February 26, 2016. Siksika First Nation and five municipalities will share in nearly $25 million under the Alberta Community Resilience Program. Impacted by the June 2013 floods, the money will be used to build flood barriers, protect or relocate critical water management infrastructure, and address public safety and access issues. “It’s been two and a half years since floodwaters swept across southern Alberta, devastating families and businesses and inflicting serious damage to our infrastructure and economy,” Premier Rachel Notley said in the release. Siksika Nation will use the funding to relocate water wells. Also receiving funding in this second round are Calgary, Turner Valley, and the Municipal District of Bighorn.

CRTC receives applications to expand urban Indigenous radio market

February 23, 2016.  The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, which publishes both Sweetgrass and Windspeaker, as well as operates CFWE-FM, is among five organizations to have applied to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to operate radio stations serving urban Indigenous Canadians in major markets. The CRTC received 12 applications to operate radio stations serving Indigenous communities in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa. Other organizations applying are Watwatay Native Communications Society, Northern Native Broadcasting, VMS Media Group Ltd. and First Peoples Radio Inc. Frequencies became available in these markets after the CRTC revoked, in June 2015, Aboriginal Voices Radio's licences for its radio stations. The CRTC made this decision due to numerous, serious and repeated instances of non-compliance with the regulations and the broadcaster's conditions of licence. Aboriginal Voices Radio subsequently filed an application with the Federal Court of Appeal. The Court stayed the CRTC's revocation and ordered that Aboriginal Voices Radio's licences remain in effect until the appeal is determined. Aboriginal Voices Radio is currently not operating in Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa. In August 2015, the CRTC issued a call for innovative applications for radio stations that would focus on serving Indigenous Canadians.

Funding for innovative approach to school building

February 23, 2016. The Blood Tribe has received money through the Innovation Fund component of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada's Education Infrastructure Fund for a school. Minister Carolyn Bennett announced that nine innovative projects will result in new school facilities for over 20 First Nations communities across the country. By using innovative approaches to school construction, such as bundling projects and contracts, employing modular and pre-fabricated construction and using alternative financing measures, the projects will enable more First Nation students to benefit from new or renovated school facilities. “These nine First Nation-led school facility projects exemplify innovation in meeting the needs of their students,” said Bennett in a statement. The Blood Tribe was the only First Nation in Alberta to receive the funding. The Innovation Fund was created in 2012 and includes a total investment of $50 million over six years commencing in 2016-2017. Recipients are eligible for a maximum $10 million investment from the fund.