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Stripped of half its budget and under attack from inside and out, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has been forced to seek out allies in new ways.

Chiefs, their proxies and others who attended the special chiefs' confederacy in Ottawa on Feb. 20 and 21 found themselves drafted into the lobbying corps. They were dispatched in two shifts to Parliament Hill to tell anyone and everyone who would listen what they don't like about the federal government's legislative agenda on First Nations governance.

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Analysts of First Nation government say they are seeing a widespread assault on Aboriginal rights and some believe it's a sign that the Prime Minister is still trying to pass his much-reviled 1969 White Paper assimilation agenda into law before he retires.

Windspeaker found evidence of the assault in several proposed government bills that could have an effect on Aboriginal rights. These bills are in addition to the ones being proposed on governance by Indian Affairs that will soon be going through Parliament.

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After listening to two Throne Speeches with lots of promises about improving the quality of life for First Nations people, and then seeing the Minister of Indian Affairs talking about a budget speech that would be "just like Christmas," First Nations leaders say their expectations were high when Finance Minister John Manley entered the House of Commons on Feb. 18.

Minutes after Manley's budget speech concluded, however, Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Grand Chief Perry Bellegarde told Windspeaker he wasn't too impressed.

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Two prominent Native leaders were "disciplined" in absentia by the small number of chiefs gathered for the two-day Assembly of First Nations special confederacy that concluded Feb. 21 in Ottawa.

Clarence "Manny" Jules and Herb George were removed as co-chairs from the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) fiscal relations committee by a vote of 37 to two. There are 633 member First Nations eligible to vote at AFN assemblies.

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One of a kind, the Ontario School of Masonry is located just outside Gravenhurst on a 37-acre piece of land that belongs to Rolf Harro Cohrs. Cohrs, 57, founded the school six years ago and is the training director.

"We only permit Metis and Natives to our school and they come here for three to six months and they are guaranteed employment on completion of training," he said.

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"We're not prejudiced. Our licence states that. We're licensed as a Metis/Native trade school. And we're the only one."

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Keeping First Nations families unified is the goal of M'Chigeeng child welfare workers.

Prevention is the main objective of the six staff members at M'Chigeeng Child and Family Services, according to co-ordinator Paula Corbiere. The organization provides stress and anger management courses, parenting programs and advocacy and referral services.

In January 2002, the services were amalgamated into one central office, she said. The move has relieved some of the workload for the band representative, Norma Ense.

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Robert Adams, executive director of the Native Canadian Friendship Centre in Toronto, which reports the fifth largest Aboriginal population in Canada, says the census figure of 20,300 Aboriginal people for Toronto is low. He estimates the total is 60,000 to 70,000.

"We're under-represented because our Native peoples do not participate in formal surveys. When the census-takers come around to our doors, whether we're in the cities or on the land, we just don't want to co-operate. It's a learned practice."

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Gilbert Stone, 60, from Michipicoten First Nation, lived on the reserve all his life until a year-and-a-half ago. In June 2001, his fourth heart attack sent the diabetic man to hospital.

Stone was transferred by air ambulance from Wawa to Sault Ste. Marie General Hospital, where he stayed for three months and received hemodialysis treatment.

During dialysis, the blood is cleaned and filtered through a dialysis machine.

"I now have to go to dialysis three times a week if I want to live," Stone said.

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The Northern Ontario Medical School now has two campuses, one at Laurentian University in Sudbury and a new one at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay.

The new Lakehead campus has hired its first dean of medicine, Dr. Louis Francescutti, who was welcomed by Naishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) officials Jan. 7.

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Many First Nation administrations face a technology gap that impedes full participation in the knowledge economy. Aboriginal organizations on Manitoulin Island are working to alleviate geographical isolation by gaining access to the information highway.