The Aboriginal Newspaper of Alberta
A long-time adult education advisor and Native liaison officer from Saddle Lake, Samuel Peter Erasmus, passed away from a heart attack on Feb. 18 at the age of 65. Erasmus, who was born in Goodfish Lake in 1931 and lived in nearby McRae, was a liaison officer with the Alberta Vocational College at Lac La Biche for many years, as well as being a member of the Northern Alberta Development Council for two terms and an advisor to Alberta Education. Erasmus loved music and to watch his children and grandchildren play sports. "His wisdom was sought after by many," said his son Thomas. "He knew many chiefs and settlement council people who sought his advice and support." He is survived by his wife Jocelyn, six children, numerous grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. (RJH)
Approximately 1,200 people in Edmonton, on Feb. 25, heeded Ovide Mercredi's call for a "National Day of Action" to protest amendments to the Indian Act. Despite the cold, the large and peaceful crowd gathered on the northern steps of the Legislature building and then marched through downtown Edmonton to Canada Place.
"The implementation of Bill C-79 would not only serve to further repress and regulate the Treaty Six First Nations, but would make the First Nations struggle for recognition seemingly impossible," said Gil McGillvary, a spokesman for the Confederacy of Treaty Six, on the steps of the Legislature. "For over 120 years, the First Nations People have been making just demands to the federal government to respect our treaty rights, only to have them ignored. We the First Nations People are especially aware of this. For not only have our rights been ignored, but our very existence has been denied." (KW)
The Métis Regional Council - Zone IV office will have moved to a new location by March 14. There will be no change to the phone numbers, but you can look for the office at 13140 St. Albert Trail, Edmonton AB T5L 4R8. (RJH)
The High Prairie & District Museum will be teaming up with the High Prairie Friendship Centre on March 15 to present a show of regional Aboriginal art work. From 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., the museum will feature art from Roger Capot, Fred Ashley and Elise Auguer, all from Grouard. The focus of the one-day show is to highlight and promote regional talent in both traditional and contemporary Native art forms, including carvings, dream catchers, moose-hair tufting and fish scale work. (RJH)
In recognition of Sam Bull's contribution to First Nations causes and, in particular, his background in Native law relating to treaties and the Crown, the University of Alberta's Aboriginal law students will name him their Aboriginal Justice Award winner on March 12. Bull was studying for his masters of law at the U of A when he died in December. Sharon Venne will be the keynote speaker at the annual awards banquet to be held at the Faculty Club on campus. For information on tickets, call Merle Metke at 492-4784. (RJH)
The fifth annual Aboriginal Youth Conference hosted by the Child and Youth Care Program of Grant MacEwan Community College will go ahead from Oct. 24 to 26 this year. If you need ideas to raise funds to attend, or if you have fund-raising ideas, contact Linda Stelte at the college by fax at 497-5150 or on the net at <steltel@admin.gmcc.ab.ca>. (RJH)
Calgary's Glenbow Museum will be the site of a new exhibit on the heroes and role models in the Native community. "Circle of Honour: Our Heroes Give Us Hope" was researched by students from the Plains Indians Cultural Survival School through discussion with Elders, family and community representatives. The exhibit, which opens on April 12 and runs through to June 29, offers the students' personal perspectives on the challenges faced by urban Native youth today, and the importance of history and tradition to their future. The Glenbow also offers "Native Voices: Old and New," a series of programs in which Native speakers share their memories and discuss Native life. Traditional dancer Irvine Scalplock will speak at 1:00 p.m. on April 5 and Cliff Crane Bear will speak at 1:00 p.m. on May 3 about Siksika war clubs. (RJH)
The Devonian Botanic Garden south of the Enoch Cree Nation will host a couple of dozen one-day courses to get gardeners up and running for the new year. Courses will be offered in the areas of commercial horticulture, horticulture and crafts, and nature arts and crafts. For information, call 987-2064. (RJH)
By R John Hayes
Sweetgrass Writer
EDMONTON
ITV's cavernous Studio One dwarfs the few figures taping a show. There aren't a dozen cameramen or technicians rushing about. There are two. And the host of Health Matters, Judi Halfe-Phillips.
Behind Halfe-Phillips and her Health Matters graphic are the darkened sets for ITV's news, weather and sports broadcasts. Later in the day, dozens of people will hurry around the set for the news broadcasts, but that is later. For now, Halfe-Phillips has the set almost entirely to herself.
"So, what sport's big this week?" she asks. "What sport will bump the show?"
"Pre-season baseball and curling," joked the cameraman.
"I just think health is more important than sports," Halfe-Phillips complained, "and that it should be treated that way."
Halfe-Phillips is committed to her shows, but the station isn't, and the lack of budget and support is something she's learned to work through. Her Native affairs show First Nations Now is even less regarded, in spite of her work.
"I was hired basically because I hold a token position," she said, candidly. "The show is a completely token show - it's part of their CRTC licensing position." Halfe-Phillips also said that, in spite of ITV having a show dedicated to Native affairs, they're among the last to send a camera to an Aboriginal event.
"It's frustrating, but you have to do what you can do," she said. "It's just another kind of adversity."
Halfe-Phillips has had plenty of that. She grew up in and out of foster homes, one of three children of a single mother. She had to battle the fact that she doesn't look particularly "Indian" when she grew up in Saddle Lake.
"That made it difficult," she said, "but there were few good role models for me as I was growing up.
"My mother was - and is - an alcoholic," she continued. "One of her boyfriends was the nearest thing I've known to a father. He told me once, when I asked him for some advice: 'When you get into a situation where you don't know what to do, think about what your mother would do - then do the exact opposite.' It was pretty good advice," she said bitterly.
It is a long way from there to here, as the saying goes, and Halfe-Phillips has fought to get ahead. She believes that others can do whatever they want, too.
"It's not that I don't let anything stand in my way - I'm not like that," she said. "But I don't want anything to stop me, and I know that you have to work hard to overcome obstacles.
"The best decision I ever made was to go back to school," she continued. "Knowledge is the most important thing you can possess, and it can't be taken away from you."
Now 31, with two children and a "struggling entrepreneur dancer husband," Halfe-Phillips is looking ahead to new challenges, not back at old obstacles.
"I'm not going to go anywhere here [at ITV]," she said. "The cast here is new, and I've already told them I'm leaving. I think that first impressions here weren't good, because I came in so green. I was patronized - which I can't stand - and they haven't been able to see past that.
"I can do my job, and I can do it well," she asserted. "I'm working on my résumé tapes, and my longer-term goal is to be the first First Nations news anchor at a major station. I can do that; I just need somebody to take that chance on me."
Two weekly TV shows, preparing and circulating a résumé, raising two children - and Halfe-Phillips has another project. She's promoting a calendar which will feature Native women she's calling "Tribal Heat."
"I'm an expert on that, on calendars," she said. Halfe-Phillips has modeled for years and was selected as the runner up for Miss Hawaiian Tropic International last year in Florida. She's been invited to the 1997 contest in Las Vegas.
"My intent is to make it sultry but not cheap," she said. "I want to turn this into something big, and to give girls from reserves a chance to get into modeling."
Halfe-Phillips said that the perception of beauty - blonde, blue-eyed, etc. - does Native women a disservice, and that only through hard work can that stereotype be overcome.
"On model shoots, there are three blondes and a brunette," she said. "No wonder that Native girls don't have the confidence they should have. The biggest thing standing in the way of Native girls is their own confidence. It may seem frivolous, but a little bit of confidence can go an awful long way."
If that's true, then this confident young woman, who's come a long way, will likely go a lot farther.
By Tom McCormack
Sweetgrass Writer
This legend is the reason for the Cheyenne custom of making an offering of food or Tobacco whenever a person crosses a body of water or stands beside the lake or ocean. From this ancestral tradition by the Cheyenne, other bands also adopted this ceremonial practice. This story was told by Cheyenne Elder Mary Little Bear Inkanish.
Two young Cheyenne hunters were traveling. Game was very scarce and the two men were very hungry. They came out onto the high prairie where the grass was bending to the wind and dancing about.
Unexpectedly, the travelers found two great large eggs nestled in the broken prairie grass, off to one side of the trail.
"I have found a blessing. Come on over," said the one to the other. "I have found food for us. These big eggs will make a whole meal for both of us."
"Count me out," his friend replied. "I don' t think we should eat something magical, as they might be dangerous and do harm to us. Those eggs are too large to be real, and I don't want to eat them."
"Maybe they are turtle or bird eggs," retorted the first speaker, who ignored his friend's opinion, built a fire of buffalo chips and roasted the eggs, propped up on several large stones in the fire pit. He turned them with a large-forked tree-limb until they were done.
"Here, see how good they are," he crowed, as he popped the shell off his own egg. "Come on, eat it!"
But his friend still refused. So the greedy young man ate his egg, and most of the second one. They rested awhile, and the one who had eaten the eggs began to feel sick. When they began to walk, he staggered and stumbled across the prairie grass. They continued on until it was dark, and camped out on the open prairie.
In the morning, the greedy young man woke up his friend.
"Help me," he said. "I feel like I can't walk. My legs are so stiff and heavy that I can hardly move them. I don't know what's the matter."
"Let me see," said his friend. He drew off his moccasins and saw to his dismay that his friend's legs were no longer smooth and brown. His skin had become striped and scaly, like a snake's hide.
"Lets go," he said. "Perhaps we can find water. If I have water to drink, I'll feel better." The sick man dragged his heavy legs and had to make frequent rest stops. Eventually, he had to crawl along the ground, dragging his legs behind him. "Don't leave me," begged the sick one. "I'll never live if you leave me here alone."
"We've been the best of friends since we were small," his friend replied. "I promise to stay with you until you're safe."
At nightfall, they came upon a little lake.
"Let's camp here and rest," said the sick one. "If I go swimming and get my legs wet, it will make me feel better."
"You climb into the water while I make a fire," agreed his friend.
So, he dived in, leaping and twisting his body about ecstatically.
"I feel better than ever!" he called out to his pal.
"Come out and rest now, so you don't get too tired," answered his friend.
But as he dragged himself out of the water, he noticed that his legs were joined together, and that the lower part of his body had become a snake's.
"There is somewhere I have to go," he said. "Take me home".
They went on slowly all day, and by dusk they had come to another lake.
"This is not my home, but it will do for a rest," the sick one said. "Help me into the water and I will stay by the lake tonight."
Splashing and leaping about in the water, the snake-man came out of the lake. Now, only his head and arms were of a man. The rest of him was a snake.
"I know now where I am supposed to go," he said. "They are calling me to come to the Mississippi River. Help me get there and I will be all right."
His stretched-out body was leaving a great snake's trail behind him. When it was sunset, the two reached the Mississippi River.
"This is where I am to live," said snake-man. "Stay with me for a while. There is something important I want to share with you."
The gigantic serpent-man slithered down the bank into the muddy water. His friend paced the bank crying and praying throughout the night, finally sleeping only a short time at daybreak. Abruptly, he was awakened by a powerful voice.
"My friend, my friend. Look at me!"
Rising from the river was a massive creature with bluish skin and two horns on its head, with a little red-dot under each of his eyes.
"My brother, don't be afraid. It's only me," said the water-serpent. "From now on I will lie in the middle of the riverbed and fill it from side to side. My body will stretch out as long as the Mississippi. Go back and tell my friends not to worry about me. Tell them that I'm not dead, but that I am taking care of the river.
"Whenever you cross you must bring buffalo meats and drop them in the middle of the river for me to eat," he continued, "or drop tobacco in for me to smoke. Whenever anyone does that, I will give my blessing."
"I will tell the people and all your relatives," his friend said.
"But tell my relatives not to come to see me," the snake-man said. "If they do, it will create bad medicine."
"I'll be sure to tell them," his friend said.
"Come," said the snake-man. "I want to hug you good-bye, because we will never meet again. Don't be afraid; I won't hurt you."
The snake-serpent licked his friend's face with his forked tongue, and told him never to forget. The young man went back alone to the village, and told the story.
"Take us there. Take us where we can see our son," said the serpent-man's parents. The young man at first refused, but the parents begged so tenaciously that, against his better judgment, he agreed to take them.
"I don't want to do it," he warned. "Something bad will happen if you go."
As they reached the riverbank, it was buffeted with great waves and there was fire rising up from the place where their son had disappeared. The parents heeded the warning - by turning around and going home.
Ever since, when the Cheyenne cross a body of water, they take food and tobacco to drop in as an offering to the serpent-man and his underwater relatives.
By R John Hayes
Sweetgrass Writer
EDMONTON
The provincial election had barely been called a few weeks ago when experts were predicting a landslide win for Premier Ralph Klein and his Progressive Conservative "team." The likely outcome - all but a handful of seats going to the incumbent Tories - means that it will be four years of more of the same for Aboriginal Albertans.
"The Conservative position on Aboriginal issues is the one that the government has been following for the last 20 years," said Robert Jordan, a spokesman for the PCs in Edmonton. "It only stands to reason that our position would be the one that the government has been following while we've been in power."
Progressive Conservative Aboriginal policies are to allow the federal government to fulfill its fiduciary responsibilities to Alberta's First Nations, while interceding when asked to by Alberta's treaty population. The Tory government will be more active with the Métis settlements and the non-status and off-reserve populations, but the party considers Native issues to be largely a federal responsibility and other items to be social rather than political issues.
The Tories have governed Alberta since Peter Lougheed wrested power from the Social Credit government of Harry Strom in 1971. Going into this year's March 11 vote, Klein's popularity - or the lack of a palatable alternative - has the PCs at well over 60 per cent of the popular vote. Those numbers should ensure that the opposition can ride to the Legislature in the same cab.
"We're hoping to form the opposition, and to get enough seats to qualify for official party status," said Ken Way from Edmonton, deputy leader for the Social Credit party. "It would be ridiculous to expect to do better than that, but we have hopes in a number of ridings in central and southern Alberta."
Four seats qualify a party for official status under Alberta's elections act.
The Socreds' position on Aboriginal issues is a simple one: get land claims solved and then treat Native people like everybody else. Way said that the biggest thing standing in the way of Native prosperity is dependence upon government.
"I don't see any barriers by race in Alberta," he said, then added, "under a Social Credit government. We need to get the government out of Native people's lives. We need to let them run their own lives. If they have the government out of their lives, they'll get ahead.
"What we would do is institute a provincial commission to deal with specific claims," he continued. "We support the concept of Aboriginal people being equal and important members of society."
Social Credit is likely to be the only opposition party to make any gains in this election, and they're unlikely to be earthshaking. It is widely expected that the New Democrats will spin their wheels and finish with no seats for the second term in a row, while the Liberals will crash from 31 seats to two or three.
"We have made a commitment within our caucus to do as much as we can [for Aboriginal people], given the limitations of the provincial position ," said Liberal Aboriginal Affairs critic Ken Nicol from Lethbridge. "I don't think [the Tories] have been quite as aggressive as they could have been in supporting Aboriginal people in their negotiations with the federal government."
Nicol said that the Liberals were, however, not generally opposed to the PC's Aboriginal policies, and singled out their economic development strategy as "a really good program." The Liberals' 11-page Aboriginal policy states: "We will work in a cooperative spirit to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples."
The New Democrats agree, and would go much farther. Their two-page Aboriginal position paper is a much more activist document, if rather lacking in detail.
"We support the inherent right to self government at a pace to be determined by the communities," explained Stephen Crocker, who is running in Edmonton Millwoods. "In disputed areas, we want a moratorium on development until the land claim is resolved."
Crocker said that a New Democrat government would commit to seeing that, while First Nations would be fully served properly by the federal government, "urban First Nations and Métis people should have complete access to fully funded education, employment and social services." He also said that such services, including job-creation strategies, should be directed and operated by and in the communities themselves.
"What Aboriginal self government is about is empowerment, about providing resources to the communities to deal with their issues effectively," Crocker said. "The provincial government always uses the excuse 'that's federal jurisdiction.' They're also Albertans, too. We need to begin to implement programs to help their communities."
Crocker said that the record of the government is generally a reflection of the attitude of the premier, and there has been a swing since Klein took over from former premier Don Getty. He cited the Lubicon negotiations as an example.
"Basically, the two levels of government have played good guy, bad guy," he said. "Getty was the good guy, Mulroney was the bad guy. Now the roles are reversed. The poor Lubicons are stuck in the middle and nothing is proceeding."
Few experts expect the 1997 election to change much. If anything, the Tories will be even more firmly entrenched than they have been for the last four years.
Sports, sports, and ...'Bing Crosby?'
Oki. How is everyone? I am fine. We are right smack in the centre of hockey season everywhere!! I was down on my reserve in the south, well, to be more specific, Siksika Nation. Anyway, that particular weekend I saw a hockey game on the rez. The teams were Siksika Buffaloes and Kainai Braves. Wow, they are like the arch-rivals: Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers in the NHL. The game had to go into overtime and Siksika won. Wow, the whole crowd was going wild. I figured I might as well go just as wild. I never knew the support the teams get from their reserves. They are in a league called the Ranchland League, based only on the prairies in southern Alberta.
You know the Alberta Native Hockey Provincials are coming up in April. I heard it was well over 100 teams coming to the city of champions to play good ol' Native hockey. The teams range from peewee to midget. I was talking with my brother, Hector, one of the representatives for Treaty Seven. He was telling me that it's getting bigger and better every year. Imagine this - in the National Hockey League today have a good handful of Native hockey players and these little players who are going to be at provincials can become future stars. So, I encourage you to come and support!
Other than hockey, the Driftpile First Nation hosted their first annual mixed bonspiel at the Kinuso Agriplex. I remember way back when I was in high school for Phys. Ed., we had to learn how to play. I didn't mind playing, except for this one time. I was throwing the rock and I was going to get up and I pulled one of the most important muscles. I can't tell you where, but I sure had trouble walking. Anyway, getting back to the story at hand. Twenty-five teams showed up to give the packed crowd a good show. They had three events: A, B and C. Jambe Ward of Driftpile took the A event, Dusty Twinn of Kinuso took the B Event and the C event went to Robert Nygaard of Joussard. Laura Giroux, one of the event's coordinators, would like to thank all the sponsors and helpers.
Way down in Siksika, they also had a big sports happening, too. The 18th Annual Invitational Basketball Tournament took place between Feb. 27 and March 1. I heard that the turn out was the biggest ever. I went last year and, by the sounds of it, it couldn't match up to this year's. There were 12 men's teams and six ladies' teams. I don't usually like basketball, but when I see a game, I can go just as wild as the rest of them. For the men's finals, the Crow Nation from Crow Agency in Montana battled and defeated the Saskatchewan Hoop Dancers from Saskatoon. And the Siksika Selects defeated Lady Blackfeet from Browning, Montana, to reign as the women's team champions.
After talking about all these sports, I broke out into a sweat!
There are two other kind of the events happening in the near future. One is the Denver March Powwow in Denver, Colorado. I heard that the event is getting bigger and better each year. The other is the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College Powwow in Regina. I have been to that powwow a few times; I always had fun. This year, I would love to go. I haven't seen many of the buddies from that area for the longest time. I remember this one time, Bill Cosby was in Regina. My friend and I went out to grab some fresh air and I saw this big crowd, of course, thinking that there was a brawl or something. The crowd was coming closer to us and we realized that it was Bill Cosby. My friend, Mike blurted out: "Hey, there's Bing Crosby!" We had a good laugh. I'll tell you something about Mr. Cosby - he is a very tall man. That's one memory I'll never forget.
Can I share a secret with you? The week before Regina powwow, I will be in Las Vegas, Nevada. It will be my first time in "Sin City." A couple of friends of mine were teasing me, telling me that after the five days down there I'll be panhandling or even hitchhiking back to Canada. If I'm not hitchhiking back to Canada, I'll see if I can make it down to Regina. You never know, "Bing Crosby" might show up again. Tee hee!
Tansi!
Say, how about that made-in-Alberta television serial, North of 60! The program captured no fewer that two Gemini Awards recently, with one going to a terrific Aboriginal actress, Tina Keeper, for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role, for her part in the segment "The River."
The other went to Lubomir Mykytiuk for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Series for his part in North of 60, "Refugee."
On the Edmonton scene of late is Eagle Child, Brian (Bud) L'Hirondelle, son of Métis Elder and war veteran, Fred. Eagle Child's been hanging his hat in Arizona and Nevada, but says he'll likely spend a few months kicking around Alberta. Nice to see this fine flute player and human being sharing his gifts with his people.
Things appear to be warming up significantly in the Lesser Slave Lake political riding where the incumbent Member of the Legislative Assembly Pearl Calahasen will do her utmost to best her opposition in the person of the Liberals' Jeff Chalifoux and the New Democrats' Glen Laboucan. Three Aboriginal candidates in the same riding! Must be a first for Alberta, eh? Chalifoux is new to mainstream politics, as is Laboucan.
While on the subject of Slave Lake, the friendship centre there has its Second Annual Round Dance on March 22. Bring a friend.
Kenny Giroux, a Métis boxer who trains out of Edmonton's Cougar Club, not only won the Golden Gloves Boxing Championships last month in the Intermediate category, he was also named and presented with the Golden Boy award. Congrats guy! Keep hittin' that bag.
In mid-February, all over Alberta, all over Canada for that matter, an estimated two-million-plus pairs of eyes were glued to television sets all across the country as they watched the fourth National Aboriginal Achievement Awards. The spectacular one-hour production by John Kim Bell truly was a sight to behold, and such an opportunity for Albertans to attend this marvelous occasion.
Prominent artists Maxine Noel, Jane Ash Poitras and Joane Cardinal-Schubert were all on hand at the Bearclaw Gallery in Calgary, where Noel had a personal showing of her work which ran in conjunction, timewise, with the achievement awards. Great stuff!
Over at the Indigenous Sport Council (Alberta) office on the Enoch Cree Nation, Ted Hodgson, Sam Cardinal and Barb Modeste traveled to Victoria for a meeting of the approaching North American Indigenous Games and reported back that organizers have cut registration fees in half, dropping them to $75 each. While welcome news, it's still more than twice the amount of the last games' fees in Minnesota!
Edmonton's own Murray Whitstone has been dancin' up a storm down state-side. The young man managed to crack the Top 10 finalists this year at the annual World Hoop Dance Championships in Phoenix. Three-time winner Quentin Pipestem from the Tsuu T'ina First Nation near Calgary slipped back to sixth while his girlfriend Lisa wowed folks with her second-place finish. The new world champ is Derek Davis, who works for a museum.
March 11 to 15 is Aboriginal Awareness Week at both Calgary and Edmonton universities. Too bad the times conflict. The big day for both, as well, is Friday evening, March 14, when they host their feasts and powwows. It's a new format for the University of Alberta, which has traditionally held a round dance.
Crystal Kids Drop-In Centre is planning another fund raiser for youth programming, this one at Rosario's Pizza & Pub in Edmonton on April 18. The fun part is roasting former Edmonton councilors Ken Newman and Ron Hayter, who is also a member of the Alberta Boxing Commission. The organization's director, Gordon Russell, asks people to "Help us build our future home." More info at (403) 479-5283.
People are also reminded to join Métis Elder Delia Gray for her 80th birthday on March 16 at Edmonton's Athlone Hall, and a March 18 AIDS (488-5773) conference at the Mayfield Inn.
Did you know? Alberta Sweetgrass is now more than three years
young. Happy B'day, ya all!
By R John Hayes and Kenneth Williams
Sweetgrass Writer
CALGARY
When original host Graham Greene called in sick to the 1997 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, there were no regrets when Tom Jackson stepped into a role that he's practically made his own. Backed by another magnificent John Kim Bell set and surrounded by the cream of Canada's Aboriginal communities, Jackson and his co-hosts from North of 60, Tina Keeper and Gordon Tootoosis, were joined by Dances With Wolves' star Tantoo Cardinal.
Arctic Rose Susan Aglukark opened the show with "Hina Na Ho" and closed it with her huge hit "O Siem." Supported by an energetic troupe of Inuit dancers, both songs were big production numbers that delighted the sell-out crowd. Or they would have, if they had gone according to plan. Although it didn't make it to the edited CBC special aired six days later, Aglukark was forced to begin "O Siem" three times, and battled through the song against at-times-shrill feedback.
Fortunately, but for a few long delays, the rest of the evening went well, and the show biz provided a brilliant background for honoring the 14 Aboriginal achievers on the day.
Young country sensation Rebecca Miller, a 20-year-old Iroquois woman from Six Nations, entertained with a lively version of her song "Listen to the Radio." She received the 1996 YTV Youth Achievement Award for vocals and is currently recording her first album.
The other performer was youthful balladeer Fara Palmer, who performed "Somewhere Out There" from the movie An American Tail. Her appearance was another break for the rising star, who sang with the legendary Buffy Sainte-Marie as a 12-year-old.
All of this took place on the stage at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, which was filled with the rectangular splendor of Bell's reinterpretation of the historical 10th- to 15th-century city Cahokia, an Aboriginal metropolis which was located near the site of present-day St. Louis. Bell moved the city north to the Canadian Arctic, adorning it with West Coast iconography and Inuit sculptures. Through it, the audience was able to imagine Cahokia appearing as if the ancients had melted the glaciers of the North, revealing the city's wonders.
The glittering pyramid took on fantastic colors as it was transformed from icy blues and greens, to burning yellows and reds, to fantastic purples. The spectacular scrim, a semi-transparent curtain which dropped in front of the pyramid to focus attention on the hosts and award winners at the front of the stage, featured Inuit art.
Presented by the Canadian Native Arts Foundation and sponsored by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as 24 other public-and private-sector sponsoring bodies, the awards show was the fourth-annual celebration of excellence all across Aboriginal Canada. There were 12 achievement awards given out, as well as a youth award and a lifetime achievement award, bringing the total recipients of the National Aboriginal Achievement Awards to 55.
The lifetime achievement award was presented to historian, journalist and teacher Olive Dickason. Long a resident of Edmonton and a professor at the University of Alberta, Dickason recently moved to Ottawa. She was given her award for her 20-year campaign to right the historical record so that it includes the contributions of Aboriginal people to Canada.
Alberta film maker Gil Cardinal from Edmonton received the award for film and television. The Métis producer and director is best known for his work on Come Alive, a weekly Access production in the 1970s. Since then, he's directed episodes of North of 60, and produced and directed many award-winning feature documentaries, including his autobiographical breakthrough film Foster Child.
Court worker Chester Cunningham from Edmonton was honored for
his work in law and justice. Cunningham created the Aboriginal
court workers' program while an employee of the Canadian Native
Friendship Centre in Edmonton. The program has inspired other,
similar programs across the country, and has also inspired many
other Aboriginal people to take an active interest in the law.
Cunningham is also a board member of the Aboriginal Multi-Media
Society of Alberta, the organization that operates Alberta Sweetgrass,
Windspeaker, Saskatchewan Sage and CFWE-The Native Perspective.
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