Look forward with hope

Page 5

February 1997

The 1997 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards were presented during a gala ceremony at Calgary's Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Inuit artist Kiawak Ashoona, entrepreneur George Berthe; film and television producer and director Gil Cardinal; business leader Chief Billy Diamond; justice reform worker Chester Cunningham; historian and writer Dr. Olive Dickason; actor Graham Greene; poet Rita Joe; politician Stephen Kakfwi; Judge Harry S. Laforme; religious leader Stanley John McKay; kidney transplant specialist Dr. Martin Gale McLoughlin, Senator Charlie Watt, and Pam-Am gold medallist Darren Zack were the recipients. The awards were created to present a positive image of Aboriginal people to themselves and to the rest of Canada.

March 1997

Members of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples elected Harry Daniels to the position of president of the organization. Daniels replaced Jim Sinclair.

The first large-scale Coast Salish carvings to be commissioned for the University of British Columbia's Museum of Anthropology were unveiled. The work by Musqueam artist Susan Point acknowledges the traditional territory of the Musqueam Nation on which the museum stands.

April 1997

Aboriginal people across Canada held rallies, occupied government offices, and slowed down traffic on public streets during the Assembly of First Nation's National Day of Action. People were attempting to raise awareness of the growing concerns of Canada's Native population, government's inaction on the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples report, and the broken promises of government.

June 1997

Buffalo Sabres coach Ted Nolan was chosen as the National Hockey League's Coach of the Year. Less than two weeks later, however, Nolan was out of a job. A one-year contract extension offered by the Sabres' newly-appointed general manager didn't sit well with Nolan. He was hoping for a three-year contract, so the "hardest working team in hockey" and its top coach parted company.

A Federal Court judge ruled that the Mohawks of Akwesasne have an Aboriginal right to carry trade goods which are intended for personal or community use across the international border without being subject to customs duties. This decision is being appealed by the federal government.

July 1997

Phil Fontaine of Manitoba wins the leadership of the Assembly of First Nations.

One of the largest-ever meetings of Aboriginal youth was held in the Manitoba community of Sagkeeng First Nations. The agenda for Sacred Assembly '97 included reconciling and healing past injustices, and suicide and gang membership prevention.

August 1997

The United Church of Canada made a gesture to Aboriginal people who suffered abuse in its residential schools. The church said it repents, but has fallen short of offering an apology. Marion Best, then-retiring moderator of the Church, said the repentance means "that it was an ill-conceived idea to assimilate First Nations people." The church faces a lawsuit that hits the courts in February 1998. An apology might cancel the church's liability insurance leaving it to pay the unspecified damages on its own.

The Junior B Six Nations Red Rebels, an all-Aboriginal lacrosse team, won the Founders Cup, the national Junior B tournament.

Aboriginal athletes from across Canada and parts of the United States gathered in Victoria for the very successful 1997 North American Indigenous Games. While host Team B.C. had to settle for second place though earning the most gold medals overall, it was Team Saskatchewan's 840 athletes that took first with 2,967 points.

September 1997

Ten-year-old Iris Bonaise of the Little Pine First Nations in Saskatchewan walked from Cutknife to Saskatoon - 185 km - to raise money for cancer research. Cancer has hit close to the girl's home. Her brother and great grandmother died from the disease and

a cousin lost part of a leg. Her father has a spinal tumor.

November 1997

A New Brunswick court ruled that Aboriginal peple have first right to the Crown lands and forests of the province. In the landmark decision, the Court of Queen's Bench found that a 235-year-old treaty gives the Aboriginal people of the province the right to harvest and sell "any and all" trees taken off Crown land. This decision is being appealed by the province.

The British Columbia Court of Appeal ruled that Aboriginal people have the right to cut timber on Crown land. The court ruled that British Columbia does not have exclusive control over the forests there as long as Native land claims go unresolved.