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The lack of respect shown for Indigenous people in uniform is not a uniquely Canadian problem.

First Nations armed forces members returned home from war to Canada to face discrimination, receiving lower benefits than their non-Native comrades. And they've had to engage in long sessions of cut-throat negotiations with Canadian officials for just a fraction of what they were denied because of their race.

But at least they haven't been turned into ticking biological time bombs.

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The regional supervising coroner for southwestern Ontario has decided not to call a coroner's inquest into the death of Dudley George.

George was killed by Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer, Acting Sgt. Kenneth Deane, during a protest Sept. 6, 1995 at Ipperwash Provincial Park.

Coroner Thomas Wilson informed Pierre George, Dudley's brother, of his decision in a letter dated May 5. Pierre George provided a copy of that letter to Windspeaker.

George disagreed with some of the findings Wilson used to come to his decision.

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Connie Perron's $400-million claim against the federal government for rights lost as a result of Bill C-31 was restructured by an Ontario Superior Court of Justice judge. The details of Justice Colin L. Campbell's decision were released May 9.

Perron and her lawyer, Mary Eberts, were seeking to have the case certified as a class action, so that all people who allege their Aboriginal and human rights were violated by the Department of Indian Affairs' membership regulations could seek compensation. Primarily affected are First Nation women and their children.

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Iqaluit, Nunavut

The efforts of two women to protect and promote traditional Inuit languages were officially recognized recently, when they received the first-ever Inuktitut/Inuinnaqtun Language Awards.

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Campaign for national chief officially begins

Prospective candidates for the position of Assembly of First Nations national chief have until midnight June 11 to get the paperwork in to electoral officer Bob Johnson to be on the ballot this July in Edmonton.

The spending limit for a campaign, as set out in the 1990 version of the Assembly of First Nations' charter, is $35,000. That's what it costs to go after the $125,000 a year, tax-exempt salary that comes with the AFN's top job. The headaches you take on are part of the bargain.

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Lawyers acting for the federal Crown will introduce a story published in Windspeaker's April edition as evidence in Victor Buffalo versus the Queen, the landmark oil and gas case launched by the Samson Cree Nation.

Samson sources claim the move by the Crown is part of a strategy to convince Justice Max Teitelbaum that Samson lawyers are wasting the court's time with a motion to subpoena Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault as witnesses.

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When Marilyn Buffalo, a member and employee of Alberta's Samson Cree Nation, revealed that her council had spent, as of February, $50 million in its legal fight against the federal Crown in an oil and gas trust monies lawsuit, some were shocked by the amount.

Samson lawyer James O'Reilly says there's a lot to be shocked about in this case, but that dollar figure is far from being at the top of the list.

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Paul Martin, the man who most people think will be Canada's next prime minister, dropped a bombshell on Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault on May 3 in Edmonton during a televised Liberal leadership debate.

Martin said he would not implement Bill C-7, Nault's First Nations governance act (FNGA), describing it a "severely poisoned" piece of legislation.

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Strong and disparate feelings were roused by the recent sentencing of an Ecuadorian shaman and his son on charges that stemmed from the death of a 71-year-old woman who took part in a healing ceremony the men were conducting.

The issues raised by the case against Juan and Edgar Uyunkar divided First Nation communities across the country and particularly on the Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve in Ontario where Jean (Jane) Maiangowi collapsed after ingesting a solution of natem, tobacco and water provided by the medicine men.

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Two Ecuadorian healers, who faced criminal charges for their part in the death of a 71-year-old Wikwemikong woman in 2001, were in court on April 24.

After determined plea-bargaining involving the Ontario Crown attorney, the federal Crown attorney and three defence lawyers, Juan and Edgar Uyunkar pled guilty to administering a noxious substance and trafficking in a controlled substance. Criminal negligence charges were withdrawn.