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One might wonder how a shy girl from the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation won the prestigious 2002 Lincoln M. Alexander Award. The award, handed out each year by the provincial government of Ontario, was created in 1993 to recognize youth who demonstrate leadership in promoting racial harmony and eliminating discrimination in their schools or community. Tamara McDonald, now a self-confident 18-year-old living in Thunder Bay, Ont. won the award for community work, while Bikramjit Nahal of Dundas, Ont. won for work within a school setting.

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A northern Saskatchewan Dene man has been chosen as the first Canadian patient to undergo a unique surgical procedure: having microchips implanted in his eyes.

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The worst kept secret in the Government of Saskatchewan isn't a secret any longer-Fort Qu'Appelle will be getting a new hospital.

Saskatchewan Health and the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council made the announcement Jan 10, ending years of negotiations for replacing the existing 69-year-old hospital.

Tendering for construction of the new $12.8 million facility is to begin as soon as possible, said FQIH (Fort Qu'Appelle Indian Hospital) Holding Corporation chairman Ron Crowe.

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Black toxic smoke steams up from a cereal bowl overfilled with dirty cigarette butts. The message states: "Toxic stew. With a recipe that includes more than 50 cancer-causing toxic chemicals in each puff . . . Why would you put it in your mouth?"

The brochure this message appears on is one of the elements of an anti-smoking campaign targeting Aboriginal audiences through TV, radio, posters and print advertisements.

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The Metis people of Canada will soon be able to turn on their televisions and see themselves, their history and their culture represented on the screen, when the Metis Michif Television Network (MMTN) hits the airwaves.

The new network was approved by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) on Nov. 6. Ken Schaffer, the main force behind the new network, is hoping to launch it in April 2004.

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For the past two years, Darren Gowan has been sharing his artistic talent with the people of Onion Lake, inspiring would-be artists, and giving them the skills and knowledge they need to discover their own abilities.

A carver by trade, Gowan was given the chance to also become a teacher, thanks to the Saskatchewan Arts Board's Artist in Residence grant program.

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The Gabriel Dumont Institute had a very strong showing when the 2002 Saskatchewan Book Awards were handed out on Nov. 30, garnering three nominations and two wins for its publications.

Winning the award in the First Peoples Publishing category was The Bulrush Helps the Pond, written in Swampy Cree and English by Ken Carriere with photographs by Dennis Chamberlain and illustrations by Joanne Panas.

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Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps announced Dec. 19, 2002 that $172.5 million in funding will be available for an 11-year project geared towards retaining and revitalizing First Nations, Metis and Inuit languages and culture in Canada.

During her opening comments in a media teleconference, Copps said the announcement was the beginning of a process for reconciliation, that Aboriginal stories were absent from the pages of Canadian history books.

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Buffalo, N. Y. will be the host city for the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) in 2005. The NAIG council made that announcement Dec. 13, 2002 in Saskatoon.

Harold Joseph, NAIG council president, said the site was chosen through a process of elimination between Santa Fe, N.M., Salt Lake City, Utah, and Kamloops, B.C. Although these games were scheduled to take place in the U.S., the council decided to let Kamloops take part in the bidding process just in case the cities in the U.S. did not qualify by meeting all the criteria.