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It's been eight years since the Institute for the Advancement of Aboriginal Women first began to recognize the achievements of Native women in the province. Since that first year, 183 women have received Esquao awards for their determination and effort in making their communities special places in which to live.

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It will take three-years to complete, but the community of Fox Lake in northern Alberta will be connected to the rest of the province by an all-weather road. The announcement was made by Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) Minister Robert Nault on May 9 during a visit to Edmonton.

The 60-kilometre road will be constructed on top of the winter road structure that currently serves the community. A short ferry ride across the Peace River will complete year-round access to Fox Lake.

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A bill that would force guidelines to govern their communities upon First Nations is creating an uproar across Canada. On May 7, Aboriginal people from Edmonton, Alexis, Tsuu T'ina, Saddle Lake and Drift Pile braved the cool wind and light drizzle to participate in the First Nations governance act rally, a protest against Bill C-7, Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault's proposed accountability legislation.

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Visitors to Manitoulin Island and the North Shore of Lake Huron will find themselves immersed in a land of visions and dreams.

A network of First Nations' cultural attractions, known as the Great Spirit Circle Trail, welcomes tourists to the territory of the region's Anishnaabe people in the ancestral home of the Council of the Three Fires Confederacy.

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The Manitoba Indigenous Summer Games will be held in Brandon in July, and for the first time will be hosted by the Manitoba Metis Federation (Southwest Region).

The federation is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the history and culture of the Metis people of Manitoba.

According to Jason Gobeil, the assistant co-ordinator of this year's games, "there will be a focus on Metis culture."

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The hands of an artist are counted among the many tools used to create a vision. Often they are dripping with paint, or cracked and callused from the elements and his labor. Always they are full of the rich history and stories he wants to transform into his work. History is at work in the hands of Vancouver Island artist Calvin Hunt of the Kwakwaka'wakw Nation, who chips and smoothes his stories into the canvas of Western Red Cedar.

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The sweet smell of willow and the cool breezes off the mighty Fraser River combine and surround the Xats'ull Heritage Village with the fresh scent of spring. The village is located 37 km north of Williams Lake on Highway 97 on the Xats'ull (Soda Creek) Indian reserve, the northernmost band belonging to the Secwepemc (Shuswap) nation.

Xats'ull (pronounced hats'ull) Heritage Village was opened for tourists on June 1, 1995. If you would like to experience the Secwepemc culture and learn about their traditions, the Xats'ull people warmly invite you.

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May seems to be an eventful month for the Kanata Iroquoian Village in Brantford, Ont. It was in May 2000 when it opened its doors to its first tourists. It was May 2002 that it was declared by the Canadian Tourism Commission a national winner for it tour "White Pine Experience." And it was in May 2003 that it was destroyed.

With the tourist season about to begin, staff and supporters at Kanata Village are uniting to wrestle opportunity from crisis.

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Calgary

For 10 days in July, the city of Calgary pays homage to its history, hosting the Calgary Stampede, billed as the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

While locals and visitors alike enjoy putting on their Stetsons and immersing themselves in the Western theme, those taking in the Stampede can also get a glimpse of the city's Native roots.

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The southwest corner of Alberta can lay claim to many Native summer events designed to lure visitors to the area, but perhaps the most hands-on activity is the fish rescue on Piikani Nation territory.

For the past 12 years, volunteers have spent the Thanksgiving Day weekend recording the species and size of fish left trapped in the irrigation canals of the Oldman River Dam system after the water flow has been turned off. Then they carted by the bucket-full, thousands of fish to the river and let them go.