Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.
Community focused with a grassroots appeal. Established in 1993 to serve the needs of the Indigenous people of Alberta.
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A group of Treaty 7 band members hand delivered a letter to Indian Affairs on June 1 after the group walked from Fort MacLeod to Edmonton. The goal was to create awareness of the problems plaguing the band members on their reserve. They wanted to draw attention to the lack of accountability that the band's chief and council have to its members.
"We are like a dog who…
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Charmaine Letourneau, a vice principal at Edmonton's School for the Deaf, Ernestine Ridsdale, a former teacher with the Northlands School Division in Paddle Prairie, Mary Ann Swan, a founder of the Friendship Centre in Athabasca, Hazel Wheeler, former president of the Cold Lake Metis Association, and Lilian Marie Sidonia Wuttenee an Elder to the First Nations Veterans Association…
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Ottawa missed the boat when it attempted to eliminate discrimination against Aboriginal women with Bill C-31, a 1985 change to the Indian Act. That's the consensus reached during a three-day conference dedicated to examining the legacy of Bill C-31.
Several hundred people arrived at Edmonton's Ramada Inn for the May 14 to 16 gathering hosted by the Native Women's…
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The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a part of Section 77 of the Indian Act violates the equality provision contained in Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Two questions were put to the Canada's top court when it was asked to decide the Corbiere case, in which the former chief of Ontario's Batchewana Indian Band, John Corbiere, claimed he, as…
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Calgary's Aboriginal Awareness Week is moving into its second decade of providing activities that incorporates films, arts and crafts sales, performing artists and a bannock cook-off that is in its fifth year.
This time around, the theme is 'Honoring the Year of the Older Person'.
Events begin Monday, June 14, with an official opening by city mayor, Al Duerr, at…
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The Supreme Court decision to strike out the words from the Indian Act that determined eligibility for voting in First Nation band elections may or may not affect First Nation people in Alberta. It will depend on whether bands have established or will establish custom election codes and whether those codes limit certain people.
"The decision does not affect our First…
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To the west of the Peigan administration building, a sign reads "Grassroots for Accountability." The sign symbolizes an effort by some Peigan members to seek improvements to the state of the band's financial situation.
In a community of about 2,400 members, a few developed a coalition to protest the economic and social conditions on the reserve. At the heart of the matter…
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The Lost Identification Project is more than putting names to pictures, it's restoring dignity to people.
Shirley Bruised Head, education officer for Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump, near Fort Mcleod, Alberta, began thinking about the project almost three years ago. Bruised Head became aware of the unnamed photographs of Native people that are housed in the archives of the…
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Harley Bastien's dedication to the Old Man River goes beyond environmental. Indeed, says the Peigan Nation member, it's religious.
"A few years ago I gave my life to the Lord. Rather than preaching or doing ministry work, I serve the Lord through nature," said Bastien.
In 1991, Bastien formed a conservation group on the Peigan reserve in southern Alberta to protect…
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"Watch out for the elk with orange and red tags. Do not kill and if you do, do not eat," said Andy Davison, Fish and Wildlife Officer in Slave Lake, located 280 km north west of Edmonton.
"Some of the elk have been shot with tranquilizer guns and our concern is that a hunter may kill one for food and may be affected with the sedative from the drugs in the gun. The drug…
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Reaching out for help to deal with a substance abuse problem is the first step that people usually need to take when they have run out of their own solutions to change their lives.
It is a terrifying step for most people to admit there is a problem that they need help with and it takes courage to reach out, but courage is what the graduates of the Rising Sun Substance…
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Trend College in Stony Plain is a place for young adults who are having trouble fitting into mainstream society. Classes are held in a plain country church, surrounded by farmers fields.
This "school in a church" is a place for 18 to 30 year olds who are running out of options.
They come from many backgrounds, all of them with personal struggles. They are released…
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It is no secret that the cost of education can leave students with a debt burden that is into the tens of thousands of dollars. People pursuing a post-secondary education, therefore, are looking for all the financial help they can get. Sweetgrass contacted several people with professional experience in academic institutions to find out how students can prepare for and acquire a…
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Life on the streets of the city is often referred to as the mean streets, because life on the streets often leads, for many young Aboriginal people, to self-destructive behavior that can lead to the deadly disease called AIDS.
The Feather of Hope, an Aboriginal AIDS prevention society in Edmonton, is focusing on reaching young Aboriginal people with the Mean Street youth…
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"Open your eyes and be aware, baby." If you hear young people rapping these lyrics, you can thank Ken Ward, the Enoch Spirit Fire Ensemble and rapper Conway Kootney for raising their awareness to the consequences of HIV/AIDS.
The music video Be Aware follows the story of a young woman on the powwow trail who enjoys the parties and the tipi creeping, but doesn't know how…