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For the first time ever, a sporting event in the Canada Games will he hosted by a First Nation on its own territory.

The Eel River Bar First Nation will host the fencing events for the games, which start Feb. 22 and continue until March 8.

Mi'kmaq people are excitedly preparing for the event because they will have a major role to play, not only in hosting the athletic event but in contributing to the cultural side of the games.

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The Canadian Museum of Civilization is refusing to hand over human bones that are thousands of years old because it says the Native group requesting them cannot prove the remains are those of its ancestors.

While the two sides are at an impasse, spokesmen say they plan to meet in February to discuss the issue.

"I've indicated to the museum 'No doors are closed as long as you don't close any doors'.... Everything's on the table for discussion," Gilbert Whiteduck, director of education for the Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg, told Windspeaker.

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Twelve years of planning, designing and constructing have resulted in the establishment of a permanent exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa-Gatineau. The exhibit, which was officially opened on Jan. 30, represents thousands of years of Aboriginal history.

Andrea Laforet, director of ethnology and cultural studies at Canada's national museum, explained that the consultation committee first began meeting in 1992.

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Alwyn Morris, the president of the Aboriginal Sports Circle, has also been following the progress of Bill C-12, the new sport bill that lacks explicit committment to funding minority groups.

"All the way along, one of the things we said is when sport policies and acts are moved it always takes just a tremendous amount of effort to move the yardstick. By having the wording be a little more explicit in terms of this was our preference," he told Windspeaker on Jan. 27.

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The mayor of Winnipeg, Man., Glen Murray, issued a state of the city address on Jan. 23, in which he told 600 people attending a Chamber of Commerce luncheon that "On the current track, we (the city of Winnipeg) are not sustainable."

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The Assembly of First Nations' national chief, Matthew Coon Come, immediately responded to the census with his own bulletin commenting on the finding that half the First Nations population is under age 25 and more than a third are under age 14. He stated the federal government should target spending on youth and Aboriginal languages as an "investment in Canada."

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Aboriginal organizations responded quickly to the release of Statistics Canada's 2001 census results last month, which show a 22.2 per cent increase over five years in the number of people identifying themselves as having some Aboriginal ancestry. Aboriginal people now account for 4.4 per cent of Canada's population.

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A Metis man who feels his provincial organization is not meeting his needs believes there's enough people in all parts of the country who feel the same to make it worth forming a new national organization.

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Sections of the Indian Act that have allowed First Nations to repay creditors will disappear when the First Nations governance act is passed into law as it's currently constructed, says a Winnipeg consultant who is trying to help private businesses collect on debts owed by First Nations.

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A story published in the Edmonton Journal on Jan. 13 has many Native people wondering just what's going on with First Nation education.

After discussing First Nation education reform with the newspaper's editorial board on Jan. 8, Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault spoke to a staff reporter to explore the idea of educational reform. The news story that followed stated the minister was prepared to share jurisdiction for education with the provinces by setting up school boards for First Nation schools across the country.