Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.
Launched in 1997. A news publication specifically designed for the Indigenous people of British Columbia and Yukon.
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What plebiscite?
The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council has a bit of a problem with B.C. In Focus, the citizen's group which is running its own unofficial referendum on the Nisga'a final agreement.
The tribal council issues a press release which advised the citizen's group to play the game by the rules, rather than trying to make up their own, saying if they don't like…
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Canadian National has awarded three Aboriginal scholarships for 1999.
All three are from Western Canada: Russel Halpin, studying arts and sciences at Calgary's Mount Royal College; Suzanne Shukin, a student in the criminal justice program at Lethbridge (Alta.) Community College, and Gary Campo, a law student at the University of Victoria.
Campo, a non-status…
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The Ditidaht First Nation has come to the rescue of their salmon, decimated from decades of irresponsible logging practices.
Joining traditional with scientific knowledge, the Ditidaht Nation officially opened a spawning side channel where the Caycuse River once flowed.
Tsuk-si-tay (the place behind) is a 1.3 km-long salmon spawning side channel fed from an…
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Dear Editor:
The current dispute between the British Columbia government and the Native Indians over the logging of "Crown land" will probably end up in the courts. The first thing that the B.C. government will have to do is prove that it has the title to the "Crown land." This could be very difficult to prove, if not impossible.
Did the provincial government…
Page 5
To:ske - It's true
The recent confrontations over Mi'kmaq fishing in the east and Native logging in British Columbia have shown just how strong the prejudices against our people run among the immigrants to our territories who call themselves Canadians. People show their true nature in times like these, and right now it seems that the heart of whiteness is a very cold and…
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The third and final stage of the Alberni Indian Residential School trial has begun in Vancouver as the remaining plaintiffs fight for compensation from the United Church and the federal government.
The action, which began in Nanaimo almost three years ago, is expected to last until the summer of 2000.
Plaintiffs will tell the court what has happened to them since…
Page 4
To:ske - It's true
These days, there's a lot of talk going around in the city about people like us. The talk is that people like us are close minded and brainwashed by the Indian Act; we're racists; we're backwards and insensitive. We are "internally colonized." We're from Indian reserves and we don't trust outsiders. Worst of all, we don't like it when Indians marry…
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After two days of grueling testimony in a Victoria courtroom, Art Thompson made an out-of-court settlement with lawyers representing former employees of the Alberni Indian Residential School (AIRS).
During the two days of testimony, the noted Nuu-chah-nulth artist described how he was "physically, sexually, and culturally assaulted" while a student at the notorious…
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Gordon Wilson, British Columbia's Minister of Aboriginal Affairs, says Gordon Campbells' plan for a province-wide referendum is insulting, unethical, and will force First Nations to commit acts of civil disobedience.
"To suggest he's going to hold a referendum without having a clear understanding of what the question would be, but that it's going to be loosely worded…
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This month's column will look at adolescents and why they choose to drink and use drugs. The teenage years are undoubtedly the most confusing time in our lives. There are so many inner struggles that one faces as one leaves childhood and begins to enter the adult world. It is difficult for many reasons. Teenagers are given contradicting feedback throughout this stage of human…
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The British Columbia legislature - or at least the governing New Democratic Party members - has put the province's stamp of approval on the Nisga'a Final Agreement.
Nisga'a Tribal Council President Joe Gosnell and the premier signed the agreement into British Columbia law in the Terrace Arena on April 27. Full ratification will be achieved when the federal Parliament…
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Treaty commissioners are re-appointed
Wilf Adams, Debra Hanuse and Peter Lusztig were re-appointed to two-year terms on the British Columbia Treaty Commission last month.
Adams and Hanuse represent the First Nations Summit. Lusztig was re-appointed by the federal government for his third term on the commission.
The commission monitors, facilitates and…
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Last month's column looked at why youth choose to drink and use drugs.
This month, I'm going to look at the profile of the chemically dependent young person to better understand why young people get trapped in the addiction cycle. It will also help parents monitor their children to see whether a child may be prone to falling into alcohol and drug abuse.
In 1990,…
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The First Nations in the capital region have taken the first step towards full responsibility for providing support and protection services to their children and families.
A signing and blessing ceremony was held in the Lekwammen Longhouse on May 5. It was an historical event in an appropriate place. There was a sacred dance performed and it was a gift from Mary Thomas. It…
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Treaty Commission issues annual report
Chief Commissioner Miles Richardson says the British Columbia Treaty Commission process is at a crossroads.
In the commission's annual report Richardson, appointed to head the commission in late 1998, singled out the need for improved funding for First Nations involved in the process and the need for improved interim measures…