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Published December 14, 1998 Sweet Sounds (left to right) Lance campeau, Caroline Vongrad and John Vaniandy performed at Métis in Motion '98 on November 19 at Grant McEwan Community College. Photo Credit: Terry Lusty Starlight loses leadership race by Paul Melting Tallow Memorable moments shared with Archbishop Tutu by Terry Lusty Métis share distinct culture by Terry Lusty Samson Cree Nation welcomes high commissioner by Paul Barnsley Round dance connects people with their culture by Terry Lusty Inquiry results unsatisfactory by Paul Melting Tallow Terrying About - Congratulations and Christmas too! by Terry Lusty Here is a full list of additional stories featured in the December, 1998 issue of Alberta Sweetgrass. If you are not receiving your own copy of Alberta Sweetgrass, then you have missed all this information. Click here for Alberta Sweetgrass subscription information. No problem too big to solve Race relations New Direction considered by justice minister Riel commemorative gathering largest since 1985 Willard Lewis notches another win over durable Davis Edmonton not interested in Aboriginal urban affairs committee Head-Smashed-In awarded Special Places designation Prairie Headstart groups share program information Round dance connects people with their culture Bone marrow donor program launched Grassroots priority for journalist Counter assault techniques key to staff safety Keep your baby safe from harm Starlight loses leadership race By Paul Melting Tallow Sweetgrass Writer TSUU T'INA FIRST NATION Two old adversaries squared off in the political ring on Nov. 27 and when the dust settled, it was Roy Whitney who walked away as chief of the Tsuu T'ina First Nation for another two years. Despite support from a segment of the community seeking political change, Bruce Starlight was unable to unseat the incumbent chief. "I ran a good campaign," Starlight said. "I've got nothing to be shy of." About 480 of the 565 eligible voters in Tsuu T'ina cast their ballots and re-elected Whitney and nine out of 10 incumbent councilors. The election was not the first time Starlight had faced off against Whitney, and it won't be the last. Starlight is still fighting a libel suit brought against him by Whitney last year for criticizing his management of Tsuu T'ina finances. The criticism was in a letter Starlight wrote to Jane Stewart, Indian Affairs minister, which was leaked to Whitney's office. Starlight won a small victory when a gag order that prevented him from speaking about the matter was lifted earlier this fall. Starlight is associated with the Reform Party and supported by the Committee Against Injustices to Natives. Starlight said his defeat at the polls is only a minor setback in the campaign to make First Nations chiefs and councils accountable to their communities. "We're not going to quit," Starlight said. "It's just a minor problem in our way. I think the bigger picture is still worth fighting for." Much of Starlight's support came, not only from community members who are dissatisfied with Whitney, but also from a group of young families forced to move into the deserted Canadian Forces Harvie Barracks. The move onto the army base was brought about by a lack of housing on the reserve. "Those people supported me," Starlight said. "Across the reserve some of the older families, some of the traditional thinkers, were the ones who supported me." Starlight said the Creator has invested everyone with the ability to change and he hopes there is still a possibility that Whitney is capable of change and becomes more responsive to the needs of the community. Starlight should be happy to hear that Whitney and the council did meet with community members after the election. Whitney said he plans to involve the people in the administration of the reserve through community workshops. "I think the community has to be first and foremost," Whitney said. Peter Many Wounds, Tsuu T'ina administration spokesman, said the fact that Whitney and the incumbent councilors were re-elected should send a strong message to any dissatisfied community members. "The community, by a fairly large majority, is generally quite pleased with the way things are going," Many Wounds said. Although Starlight has accepted the decision of the majority, he's afraid of reprisals by the chief and council against him, his family and the people who supported him in his challenge to Whitney's leadership. "I see them coming against my family in any way they can," Starlight said. "I'm expecting it. This is just the lull before the storm." Memorable moments shared with Archbishop Tutu By Terry Lusty Sweetgrass Writer EDMONTON In a private, invitation-only honoring ceremony, about two-dozen members of the University of Alberta's Aboriginal Student Services shared some precious time with noble peace prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of the world's foremost architects of human rights. Tutu was visiting Edmonton for the International Human Rights Conference held on Nov. 25 to 29. The gathering, while structured, proved intimate and relaxed, incorporating prayers, gift-giving, Aboriginal dancing and several emotional hugs from Tutu, who Lewis Cardinal, communications director with Aboriginal Student Services, praised as an "inspiration . . . Elder and a warrior." A ribbon shirt and Métis sash was presented to the archbishop by Cardinal. Two eagle feathers were presented by professor Stan Wilson and Violet Gladue as "symbols of spiritual freedom." A pair of moccasins came from Virginia English and a healing bundle containing sage, cedar, sweetgrass and tobacco were offered by the student council vice-president, June Black. Touched by the outpouring of fellowship and love, Tutu said, "I am overwhelmed!" Virginia English presents South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu with a pair of moccasins, a prayer card and a medicine wheel during his meeting with members of Aboriginal Student Services at the University of Alberta.   Photo credit: Terry Lusty   "You too," he added, "have strengthened us with your resilience. Despite all the forces against you, you have kept your values."| Tutu struck a cord with the Aboriginal group when he made reference to the things in nature which, "are not to be abused." "When you walk on the soil, walk gently and walk reverently, because the earth is our mother," he stated. Adding a dash of humor, Tutu told a creation story he obtained from First Nations people about how God created humans. As God populated the world with plants, animals and humans, he placed a concoction in the oven, but forgot about it. By the time the Creator returned and removed the first batch of humans from the oven, they turned out very dark. "That was us," said Tutu. God repeated the process, he added, but opened the oven too soon and the people came out very light. "That was the white race." On God's third and final attempt, he timed it just right and the people had a nice, evenly tanned color. "That was you," he concluded with a smile and a twinkle in his eye. Tutu also spoke of color, race and other differences between humans that he said "are totally irrelevant." "Remain as you are," he suggested in reference to Aboriginal people, a community he maintains reaches and touches the rest of the world with beautiful prayers and dances. He went on to liken the universe to a vast field of many colored flowers - "some tall, some short, fat . . . all sorts." Then, he added, "God looks on all the flowers and says, "aren't they neat!'" When asked by Sweetgrass about parallels between Canada and Africa, Tutu said he shares a special affinity with the Aboriginal people of Canada because, "there are many similarities among our own people and our situations in South Africa." The meeting with Tutu, according to Cardinal, was "to honor the work he had done." His presence, he added, "has revitalized the spirit of our students, and sometimes we need that." Photo Credit: Terry Lusty Archbishop Desmond Tutu won the Noble Peace Prize in 1984. He was in Edmonton at the International Human Rights Conference held Nov. 25 to 29. He talked to Aboriginal students at the University of Alberta. Métis share distinct culture By Terry Lusty Sweetgrass Writer EDMONTON An evening rich with culture was presented on Nov. 19 to celebrate the country's Métis people. Métis in Motion '98, A Historical and Contemporary Performing and Visual Arts Celebration had a number of Métis performing artists sharing their distinctive culture with others. It proved a rather intimate evening at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton as singers, dancers and musicians took to the stage. An opening prayer from Eva Ladouceur was the first order of the evening. Then about 60 or so people got their toes tapping to the music of fiddler Caroline Vongrad and songs by Lance Campeau, Gordie Shaw and John Waniandy. Herb Wells from Spruce Grove demonstrated the rhythm bones. He is one of the only local players of the instrument. To further ignite the evening was a lively set by the Billy Joe Green Band who offered up a few blues numbers and the perennial favorite, "Aboriginality" written and sung by Roger Krayshendo. Also performing was the master of the jig, Vern Boucher, who got the crowd going with an improvised version of the jig as well as a performance of the traditional Red River Jig. Audrey Poitras, president of the Métis Nation of Alberta, brought greetings from the provincial Métis association and congratulated organizers on their role in keeping the culture of the Métis alive through the performing arts. She presented a general and quick overview of the challenges the Métis Nation is facing today and said one of the biggest is "the influx of Métis to urban areas." Visual artists were also on hand for the evening, including Jackie Fiala, Vi Matula and Michelle McGeough. Samson Cree Nation welcomes high commissioner By Paul Barnsley Sweetgrass Writer HOBBEMA Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland who was appointed the United Nations high commissioner for human rights on June 12, 1997, visited the Samson Cree Nation on Nov. 27. "I'll be much better informed when I leave here today," the high commissioner told the audience at Nipisihkopahk Secondary School as she thanked the local chiefs for their hospitality. Robinson was in Alberta to speak at an international human rights conference hosted in Edmonton by the Canadian Human Rights Foundation and the University of Alberta. She met with a number of First Nations leaders to be briefed on human rights issues which affect Indigenous peoples in Canada. Robinson is the co-ordinator of the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Peoples and has a strong interest in the unique problems of colonized peoples around the world. She told the gathering that her people had a first-hand connection with a North American Indigenous nation. "My people, the Irish people, suffered a terrible tragedy, the potato famine," she said. "Up to a million died. Another two million emigrated. In 1847, in the middle of the famine, the Choctaw people of Oklahoma learned of the plight of the Irish people. They collected 173 American dollars which they sent to our people to provide relief from their suffering. When I became president of Ireland, I visited Oklahoma to formally thank the Choctaw people and tell them good deeds are not forgotten." Later that day, Robinson joined Nobel prize winner, South African Archbishop emeritus Desmond Tutu and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada, Antonio Lamer as the keynote speakers for the three-day conference. Inquiry results unsatisfactory By Paul Melting Tallow Sweetgrass Writer CALGARY The family of a mother and child shot dead by an RCMP constable are not satisfied with the inquiry that cleared him of any responsibility in the deaths and want to conduct a private investigation. Corporal Dave Voller killed Connie Jacobs and her nine-year-old son Ty last March when he was called to assist a Tsuu T'ina social worker and a band policeman trying to take Jacobs' children into care. "I didn't expect them to find him guilty," said Cynthia Applegarth, Jacobs' sister. "Given that there was never an objective investigator inside the house." She said the people at the scene of the killings must be held accountable. Native people can't believe that not only are the constable and the social worker still working, but the constable has been promoted. British Columbia's attorney general's office conducted the inquiry into the shooting and exonerated Volle, but a public inquiry presided over by Aboriginal judge, Thomas Goodson, will be held on the Tsuu T'ina Nation in February 1999. Applegarth said the inquiry should be held on neutral grounds and in a place accessible to the public. She said Calgary would be an ideal place. "I think a lot of urban Natives would like to attend, but I don't think they have the means to get out to [Tsuu T'ina]," Applegarth said. It's been eight months since Jacobs and her son were killed but their family still feels the effects of their deaths. "It's taking its toll on our families," she said. "For my mom it's just been heart-wrenching." A private investigation will take money to conduct, but the family has formed a organizations called Finding Answers for Connie and Ty (FACT) to raise money. "We're having to use our own resources and we don't have a lot to use," Applegarth said. "We need a legal team and an investigative team. We have people who we are talking to who are helping us, but we don't have any money to give them." The family held a candlelight vigil on Nov. 20 at the Olympic Plaza to raise awareness for their cause and to gather donations. Only about a hundred people showed up but they didn't lack in support for the family. Bruce Starlight gave his support by opening the vigil with a prayer and a song on his hand drum. Testimonials were about Jacobs and her son by friends and family. Jacobs' niece read a poem in slain pair's memory. Ross Shingoose, national co-ordinator for Aboriginals For Accountability, had a few moments at the microphone and took advantage of the opportunity to promote his organization. Round dance connects people with their culture By Terry Lusty Sweetgrass Writer EDMONTON Winter is a time when people come trudging out from their homes, plow through the snow, and take in a round dance or two. Round dances are now under way in earnest and one of the more recent ones at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre on Nov. 28 had about 800 people come and go. It was actually an excellent turnout given Enoch and Pigeon Lake were also hosting round dances. Sponsored by the Mountain Plains Community Services Society, which works closely with foster parenting, the dance was prefaced by a pipe ceremony and feast. The four attending Elders were Hobbema's Norman Yellowbird, Philip Bear from Little Pine, Sask., Mary Thunderchild from Thunderchild, Sask., and Reba Bull from Duffield. Doug and Alfred Bonais served as the evening's emcees and managed to keep the gym floor filled with dancers all night long as a number of visiting drummers from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Oklahoma filled the air with song. Bev Bagnall, the cultural co-ordinator for the society was thrilled with the turnout. "I'm extremely happy," she said. "These people are urban and that's where most of our kids and parents come from. Here, they can meet with their biological parents and relatives," she stated. Karen Schofield who's been a foster parent for the last two-and-a-half years said she and her husband became foster parents after seeing an ad at the 1996 Dreamspeakers Festival. They had three children, but at present they care for a 12-year-old girl. Schofield appreciates the fact the society is "Native oriented and has a sharing circle for both adults and children." She said it's an honor to be foster parents and she certainly likes the support they get from the family support worker, as well as the director. As for the children, they take them to outings like the round dances and "just try to make a difference in their lives." When it's time for children to be returned to social services or other families, she states, "it's very hard to let go." At the same time, however, "we know they're not ours to keep. They belong to the Creator." Terrying About - Congratulations and Christmas too! By Terry Lusty Tansi! Christmas really is a time for children. On that note, I wanted at least one Christmas-like visual for my column, and so included a picture of Santa Claus at the Canadian Native Friendship Centre where he handed out presents to a number of youngsters. So, from Terrying About With Terry Lusty, here's wishing all you children and all you people who have made headlines in our paper over the last year, the most Merry Christmas you have ever known! Say, there's a couple of special congrats in order. Congratulations Red Thunder Rock, otherwise known as Willard Lewis. Quite the fighter is this young man and a true inspiration to so many Aboriginal youth in, not just Alberta, but Canada. On Dec. 7 he became a permanent fixture at Edmonton's city hall where his name is inscribed on a plaque. Lewis was named the 1998 Barney O'Connor Boxer of the Year by the Alberta Boxing and Wrestling Commission. I, personally, could not conceive of a more suitable recipient than this Canadian Cruiser-weight champion. Congratulations are also in order for Muriel Stanley-Venne who has been an ardent supporter and fighter in the realm of human rights over the past, I don't know how many, years. Anyway, Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith and Alberta Human Rights Commissioner Charlach Mackintosh presented the 1998 Alberta Human Rights Award to our friend, Muriel. There have been a few First Nation elections around Alberta and we look forward to seeing future developments from the communities under their new or continuing leadership. Driftpile First Nation elected Jimmy Girioux as its new chief for a two-year term. Girioux won by a comfortable margin. He takes over from Clifford Freeman who chose not to seek re-election. Over at Cadotte Lake, the Woodland Cree Band installed former council member Joe Whitehead Jr. as its chief for the next three years. Danny Bradshaw is the new chief for the O'Chiese Band by Rocky Mountain House. The chief won by a comfortable margin (150-62). The term is for two years. Further north, the Sucker Creek Band voted in Ray Willier as its chief. The owner of Ray's Gas Bar is in for two years. Put this one on your new 1999 calendars people: There will be a international Criminal Justice Conference in Edmonton come Sept. 23 to 25, 1999. It is being co-ordinated by former Edmonton police chief Doug McNally. If you, like I, managed to survive 1998, we have a lot to be thankful for at this time of year. Do enjoy your holidays, your children, parents, relatives and friends. Merry Christmas everybody.