Page 9

Opposition members and First Nations leaders opposed to the proposed First Nations governance act say there is still hope that the bill can be prevented from becoming law.

This in spite of a determined effort by Liberals to rush Bill C-7 to a vote in the House of Commons by limiting debate of the act by members of the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs.

The committee heard the testimony of hundreds of witnesses who appeared at 57 fact-finding sessions held across the country during a six-week period and several weeks in Ottawa.

Page 8

The arrival of mosquitoes has never been anybody's favorite sign that the long winter is finally over, but since the arrival of the West Nile virus in Canada, these tiny creatures are not just an annual annoyance anymore.

To help deal with this threat to the Canadian public, Health Canada will be working closely with First Nations, to help prevent the spread of the virus within Native communities.

Page 5

Dear Editor:

re March, 2003 editorial ("Shelve the Governance Package").

The record of the last four national chiefs is instructive: when one comes on as too strong against the federal government, he is cut down by the "benefactor" and labeled militant or aggressive; when they appear to be too weak in dealing with the federal master, they are repudiated by his electorate.

Page 5

Dear Editor:

I've been watching the war in Iraq with disgust. America says it's doing this to secure peace for itself and, God bless 'em, all of us. But here's the biggest insult to humanity: America says it's doing this to "help" the Iraqi people.

Yes, they're coming to free, feed and clothe their new "citizens"... at least the ones who haven't been blown up by a cruise missile!

Page 5

Elsewhere in this month's issue of Windspeaker, you will see Kettle and Stony Point Chief Tom Bressette state a fundamental truth about the First Nations' leadership.

He said that First Nation chiefs or technicians who criticize people who accept a federal government paycheque are throwing rocks from the front porch of their glass houses. Elected chiefs can't hint that Bressette, and others like him who do work for federal boards, are any less committed to the Indigenous cause just because they take government money.

Page 12

Page 8

"Being diagnosed with HIV is not a death sentence -it's a lifestyle change."

That was the message delivered by Derrick Maier to a group of delegates during HIV/AIDS 101, one of the workshops held during the HIV/AIDS conference in Chilliwack March 16 to 19. The seventh annual conference, which was hosted this year at the Rhombus Hotel and Resort, was titled Aboriginal Voices and Visions: Our Ancestors Speak, and was presented by Healing Our Spirit B.C. Aboriginal HIV/AIDS Society (HOS) and co-hosted by the Stol:lo Nation.

Page 8

The Institute for Aboriginal Health at the University of British Columbia has appointed its first director.

Dr. Eduardo Jovel, a Pipil Indian from El Salvador, accepted the post on Jan. 1 and has been installed until Dec. 31, 2008.

The announcement was made by Dr. Richard Vedan, director of the First Nations House of Learning, and Dr. John Gilbert, principal of the College of Health Disciplines.

Page 6

The Nenqayni Treatment Centre in the territory of the Xatsu'll First Nation proudly hosted its first powwow March 29. The idea was suggested about three years ago, but was postponed until the centre finished building a new gym and youth centre this spring. Organizers hope the powwow will become an annual event.

Page 5

The Tsilhqot'in National Government (TNG) may have started a firestorm with the Canadian government when it took the bold step of issuing its own firearms licences and implementing its own hunting regulations Feb. 14.

The main reason: "We've never been in agreement with having Canada impose their laws upon our people and we felt it was an infringement upon our Aboriginal right to hunt," said Joe Alphonse, the Tsilhqot'in fish and wildlife director. Part of that right is to carry a firearm in order to obtain traditional foods, he explained.