Alberta Sweetgrass

Nathan Cullen, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP, is calling for a report presented to the Prime Minister in June to be made public. In spring, the government directed Douglas Eyford, as the special federal representative on west coast energy infrastructure, to engage with First Nations in northern B.C. and Alberta on their views regarding future resource development. “To hide (what he…

Auditor General Merwan Saher’s announcement to conduct his review of the safety of Alberta’s pipelines comes shortly after the government released its own review, which was met by criticism from First Nations, opposition parties, environmental groups and others. Saher says an audit will take place “as soon as reasonably possible.” It will focus on the government’s monitoring,…

Eleven First Nations communities in Alberta will be part of the Assembly of First Nations’ national First Nations Food, Nutrition, and Environment Study, which was launched in 2008, with data collected in 48 First Nations to date. The FNFNES aims to gather information from 100 randomly selected First Nations communities across Canada about use of traditional and store-bought food…

Saskatchewan’s F-Division RCMP dive team joined Alberta’s K-Division special tactical operations team on Sept. 27 to search the Battle River for evidence related to the 2011 shooting death of Chelsea Yellowbird, 23. The search was the follow-up on a recent tip. Battle River is located just west of the Samson town site at Hobbema where Yellowbird was killed in a drive-by shooting…

Of 33 people seeking eight positions on Lethbridge city council, one is First Nations from the Blood Reserve. Martin Heavy Head, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Science Degree at the University of Lethbridge, is challenging five incumbents, several other candidates with electoral experience, and other newcomers to politics. He is the first Aboriginal person to seek a position on council. Heavy…

For the second consecutive school board election, Northland School Division will not be electing a corporate board. “The government still hasn’t made a decision on what the actual trustee board will look like,” said Curtis Walty, NSD communications coordinator. No timeline has been set as to when that decision will be made. Since the province disbanded the corporate board in January 2010,…

While Cold Lake First Nation continues to pursue answers on oil spilling at Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, the First Nation says two new bitumen leaks bring the number to six on the site. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., who operates the project, has blamed the first four leaks on mechanical failure and claimed in July that they had been contained. “Our people want answers and…

Oct. 4 weekend marked commemorations for missing and murdered Aboriginal women and girls through Sisters in Spirit vigils and Stolen Sisters awareness marches across Alberta and across the country. One year ago, the Native Women’s Association of Canada began circulating a petition calling for a national public inquiry. That petition, with more than 10,000 signatures, will be submitted to the…

Eric Gabriel, a Mi’kmaq from Newfoundland, has taken his interest in engineering to new levels with an internship opportunity with Shell. He currently works as a mechanical engineer-in-training in the rotating and static equipment engineering department at Shell’s Albian Sands, north of Fort McMurray.

“Having been in this position for two months, it’s been a continual and exciting…

For the last three years, the province’s Child and Youth Advocate has been calling on the government to work with Aboriginal communities to reduce the staggering number of children in government care.

While Aboriginal youth comprise only nine per cent of Alberta’s population, they account for close to 60 per cent of children in care. According to figures from the Office of the Child and…

Eriel Deranger is excited after viewing the trailer to the National Film Board’s Fort McMoney.

“I’m curious,” she said. “It looks really well done, the cinematography looks great, the editing looks great. I want to hear the stories. I want to hear the dialogues and how all these little pieces come to fruition and come to life in the full documentary.”

Fort McMoney, created by…

Derek Nepinak may pre-date the Faculty of Native Studies, but the University of Alberta is proud to claim him as one of their own.

“You see someone who graduated from Native Studies, studied law, become a political major actor on the stage,” said Faculty of Native Studies professor Dr. Frank Tough.

Nepinak, who now serves as Grand Chief with the Manitoba Assembly of Chiefs,…

Pipeline consultation processes in Canada need to be scrapped and rebuilt from the ground up to include First Nations at the table.

The panel at the discussion forum “Bitumen and Pipelines: What Do These Offer Canada and the Environment?” included NDP National Caucus Chair Peter Julian, MP for Burnaby-New Westminster and Shadow Cabinet Minister for Energy and Natural Resources; Mike…

The signing of the British Royal Proclamation 250 years ago was commemorated with what one organizers referred to as a resurgence of the Idle No More movement.

“And we took a powwow break and that’s okay,” said Taz Bouchier, speaking from the steps in Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton. “But we’re back and we’re not going to stop and we’re not going to stop until this government…

A nine-year relationship between retiring Mayor Stephen Mandel and Métis Nation of Alberta President Audrey Poitras has culminated in the signing of a Memorandum of Shared Recognition and Cooperation.

“We’ve had a lot of … positive working relationships that have produced results over those nine years,” said Poitras, “and it was very important certainly to me that somewhere along the…