Alberta Sweetgrass Briefs - August

September court appearance

After two court date adjournments, Robbie Dickson, of Rainbow Tobacco, is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Wetaskiwin on Sept. 8. “The court case was adjourned for various reasons,” said Lynn Hutchings-Mah, spokesperson for Alberta Liquor and Gaming Commission. Dickson along with Dwayne Ouimet and Montana First Nation Chief Carolyn Buffalo face two charges each under the Tobacco Tax Act for allegedly possessing more than 1,000 cigarettes and storing tobacco products that are not marked for legal sale in Alberta. Dickson, Jason Lucas, a local distributor hoping to help distribution further west, and Ouimet have also been charged under the Tobacco Tax Act for allegedly importing tobacco into the province without a proper license. Charges arose from cigarettes found on the Montana First Nation.

Kainai Honourary Chieftainships bestowed
In a July ceremony, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was named an honourary member of the Kainai Chieftainship. Blood Tribe Chief Charles Weasel Head requested the Honourary Chieftainship in response to the apology issued in 2008 by Harper to former students of Indian residential schools. “My family and I are deeply grateful for this gift and I will carry my Blood name, Chief Speaker, with great joy and pride,” said Harper. Also bestowed with an Honourary Chieftanship was Kevin Bambrough, CEO of Sprott Resource Corp. and founding director of One Earth Farms. Weasel Head said Bambrough’s new title is in recognition of “his sincere efforts to engage Canada’s First Nations peoples in pursuing genuine partnerships in agriculture, which have created increased employment, revenues for First Nations, and the environmental sustainability of our lands.”

Court date set for English Bay development

Lawyers for the Cold Lake First Nations and Déné Suliné members, as well as the provincial government, will appear in Edmonton provincial court June 2012, where a decision will be made on the status of the proposed re-development of the campground at English Bay. Construction at the campground was halted on May 6 after Déné Suliné  and CLFN members began a peaceful protest inside the entrance, forcing Alberta Parks, Tourism and Recreation workers to vacate the site. Lisanne Lewis, assistant communications director for the province’s Aboriginal relations, said the government would not speculate on what might be decided at the judicial review.

Additional funds to help in wake of wildfires

The provincial government continues to support Slave Lake area municipalities through three more efforts focused on long-term rebuilding, municipal recovery costs and interim housing at a cost of $189 million. Money has been allocated through a Regional Wildfire Recovery Plan ($64.2 million) to assist Gift Lake Métis Settlement, Driftpile, Little Buffalo, Loon River, Sawridge, Whitefish and Woodland Cree First Nations as well as the Town of Slave Lake, Municipal District of Lesser Slave River, and Hamlet of Red Earth with their infrastructure and emergency response costs. Funding has also been allocated through a Disaster Recovery Program ($77.7 million) and an Interim Housing Project ($47.1 million). Municipalities and First Nations that provided evacuation reception centres will also be reimbursed.

More money for southwest flooding

The Alberta government is committing up to $25 million in disaster financial assistance to help residents, small businesses and municipalities who experienced uninsurable loss from flooding in southwestern Alberta at the end of May. Among those to apply for disaster recovery programs on behalf of their residents were the Blood Tribe First Nation as well as the  municipal districts of Bighorn, Rocky View and Foothills, Mountain View County City of Calgary, and towns of  Black Diamond, High River, and Okotoks, and town site of Redwood Meadows. The 2011 Southwestern Alberta Disaster Recovery Program includes communities and irrigation districts within the geographic boundaries of these municipalities and First Nation. The program addresses uninsurable damages from flooding due to heavy rains between May 25-29. The rain, along with higher than normal groundwater saturation due to snowpack melt, caused many waterways in the region to spill over their banks and flood.

New elementary school opened

The Little Red River Cree Nation officially opened its new elementary school in Fox Lake in July. The project was funded under Canada’s Economic Action Plan and completed in March 2011. The $32 million school will support over 500 students from Kindergarten to Grade 6. “Investments in school infrastructure projects help ensure First Nation students have a strong and productive learning environment. Access to quality infrastructure is key to learning. This project is crucial for the students living in Fox Lake,” said Aboriginal and Northern Affairs minister John Duncan The federal government has provided over $173 million across the country in the last two years to build new schools and renovate existing schools under Canada’s Economic Action Plan. This is in addition to annual federal investments of approximately $200 million to support school infrastructure projects and the operation and maintenance of existing facilities in First Nation communities across the country.

Alliance created to examine new waste-to-energy technology

Sixty southern Alberta municipalities, including First Nations, are working together to build a new waste-to-energy facility. The technology uses a tightly controlled incineration process to turn non-recyclable garbage into heat and electricity or even fuels. If the plan goes ahead, southern Alberta could be home to one of the few waste-to-energy facilities in the country. A grant from the Rural Alberta Development Fund is allowing the alliance to work through engineering studies and a business plan. Members of the alliance stretch from the Crowsnest Pass to Okotoks to Bow Island.

New totem pole in Jasper causes discord

The raising of a new totem pole in Jasper National Park has some First Nations disgruntled. The pole was carved in Haida Gwaii, off B.C.’s north coast. Chief Nathan Matthew of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council said his nation is closer to the park, which they consider their traditional territory. When Jasper Park was created in 1907 its original First Nations inhabitants were forced to leave, but a Haida totem pole was erected for park tourists to enjoy. The pole stood for 94 years until it started to rot, causing safety concerns and was taken down in 2009. Last year, Jasper Park returned the aging pole to Haida Gwaii and commissioned brothers Gwaii and Jaalen Edenshaw from those islands to carve a new one. According to the Parks Canada’s website, “The story suggests a connection between the Haida and the Indigenous peoples from that area. It should be noted that it does not indicate Haida ownership or lineage.”

Headboard ceremony commemorates residential school

A special ceremony in June saw the transfer of wooden headboards that once marked the graves at Red Deer’s Industrial School Cemetery west of Red Deer. Grandchildren of Red Deer Industrial School students (1893-1917) carried four wooden grave headboards to the Red Deer and District Museum and Art Gallery where the headboards will be displayed before being placed in storage. The Four Nations of Hobbema, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation (Manitoba), Paul First Nation, Stoney Nakoda First Nations, Saddle Lake Cree Nation, Whitefish First Nation, the Métis Nation of Alberta and the United Church of Canada formed a Remembering the Children Working Group in 2009 to research, recover, and commemorate the Red Deer Industrial School cemetery. More than 319 Aboriginal children attended the school. Many students died from tuberculosis and in the flu epidemic of 1918. The estimate of burials range from 27 to 65, although at least five of the dead were believed to be adults.

Compiled by Shari Narine