Sweetgrass and CFWE news briefs - Nov. 25, 2015

Woman not seen since early October

November 24, 2015.

Desmarais RCMP are asking for the public’s assistance in locating 44-year-old Gloria Gladue. Gladue was reported missing on Nov. 17. She was last seen on Oct. 9, 2015, in Desmarais. Gladue is known to frequent the Edmonton area. A plea for Gladue to contact family was made by her sister Norma Jean Gladue late last night on the Missing People Canada Facebook page. “I’m scared,” wrote Norma Jean. “For three and a half weeks now you were on my mind a lot.” Gloria Gladue is described as an Aboriginal woman with brown hair, dark brown eyes, 5’7” tall, 133 lbs and slim build. Anyone with information regarding Gladue’s whereabouts are asked to contact the Desmarais RCMP at 780-891-3768.

Delay in intervener application for Gladue case

November 24, 2015.

The Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund and the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women were unable to argue for intervener status in the Cindy Gladue case in Court of Appeal of Alberta. Justice Thomas Wakeling adjourned the matter saying he wasn’t confident that Bradley Barton, acquitted in Gladue’s 2011 death, knew of the proceedings, despite numerous attempts to inform him at his Ontario home. The two organizations were applying to intervene in the appeal because of potential precedents the case may set for consent issues and the treatment of Aboriginal sex-trade workers. At the trial in March, the jury accepted the defence that Gladue, an Indigenous sex worker, had consented to “rough sex.” Gladue, 36, bled to death in a bathtub at the Yellowhead Inn, in Edmonton, as a result of a wound inflicted by Barton. A date for the appeal has not yet been scheduled.

RCMP still looking for pair involved in October stabbing

November 24, 2015.

Red Deer RCMP are continuing to ask for the public’s help in locating Zared Trey Saddleback, 20, and Tara Lynn Lightning, 24, both of Red Deer. The pair is wanted on Alberta-wide warrants after a stabbing at a residence in the Oriole Park neighbourhood of Red Deer on Oct. 28. The victim was taken to hospital and treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries. Anyone who has seen the pair or knows of their whereabouts is asked to the contact the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575 or call Crime Stoppers.

November 24, 2015.

Billy-Ray Belcourt is one of three University of Alberta students to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. He is the first ever First Nations person in Canada to receive the scholarship. Belcourt comes from the Driftpile First Nation where he was raised by his grandparents and had a graduating class of about 22. "My family instilled in me the drive to succeed as an Indigenous person," said Belcourt, who hopes to inspire other Aboriginal students. Belcourt will be travelling to England this fall to attend Oxford University, where he plans to research how colonialism has contributed to increased rates of HIV in Canada's Indigenous populations, and how feminist theory can be used to respond to violence against Indigenous people.

November 23, 2015.

Calgarians are pleased with their city. The 2015 citizen satisfaction survey, results of which were released by the City of Calgary earlier this week, included for the first time a look at Calgary’s economy to better understand the impact it has on Calgarians’ perceptions of quality of life, satisfaction with city programs and services, and the economic role of the city. “The data shows that despite the economic downturn, Calgarians are proud to live here and hopeful about Calgary’s future,” said Mayor Naheed Nenshi. For the first time Calgarians were asked about affordable housing. Sixty-four per cent of respondents felt that the city needed to invest more in affordable housing, which was also flagged as a “priority area for improvement.” Eighty-six per cent of Calgarians say their quality of life is good, but one-quarter think the quality of life has “worsened” in the past three years. Of those who responded to the survey, only two per cent self-identified as Aboriginal.