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In the midst of a busy December, Chief Sophie Pierre received a commemorative medal that symbolizes the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Now entering her 20th year as chief of the St. Mary's band outside of Cranbrook, Pierre was awarded with the gold-plated bronze medallion for her outstanding contributions to the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council (KKTC).

Year in review-January 2002

In our inaugural issue last January, Ontario Birchbark was published under the name Windspeaker Ontario. This first issue and the next two appeared as a 12-page insert in our news publication, Windspeaker. An article by publisher Bert Crowfoot titled Ontario now in AMMSA family outlined the aims of our fledgling publication.

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The governments of the day would rather make criminals of Aboriginal people than address their historical grievances, was the message delivered by invited speakers Jones William Ignace aka 'Wolverine' and Nicole Manuel at the Resistance without Reservation talk sponsored by the Ontario Public Interest Research Group of Toronto the last week in November.

Almost 70 people gathered at the University of Toronto's Koffler Institute to hear the two speak about their struggles to protect Aboriginal rights.

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An attractively printed little book of poems and short stories written by participants in the Native Men's Residence Creative Writing Program has just been published with that organization's support in Toronto. The contributors are Native homeless people and volunteer workshop facilitators.

The 42-page paperback booklet is called Healing Journey. The reason it is important is that it gives a voice to people who are too seldom heard.

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"Hello. My name is Branda and I'm living with genocide," a woman announces into a mikereally a scrub brush-in the Genocide Support Group scene of The Scrubbing Project. Presented by Native Earth Performing Arts and Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble, The Scrubbing Project opened in mid-November at Toronto's Factory Theatre and had a three-week run.

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After an Ottawa-based group of 52 provincial forest associations, governmental and environmental groups known as the National Forest Strategy Coalition (NFSC) hosted consultation workshops in six cities in October to set the direction for a renewed National Forest Strategy (NFS), some Aboriginal groups decided they didn't like the direction the strategy was headed and formed their own coalition. The non-incorporated Ontario Aboriginal Forestry Coalition (OAFC) has been created to put together an Aboriginal position on the NFS that will be renewed in May.

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Because economic development is crucial for small reserves as well as for towns, several communities in the Manitoulin-LaCloche area have chosen to co-operate for mutual benefit. Instead of working in isolation, a diverse group of individuals meets in the spring and fall to share progress and tips on economic initiatives.

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With a large contingent of First Nations youth aged 20 to 30 entering the job market, economic development has become a top priority for many communities.

Dawn Madahbee, general manager of Waubetek Business Development Corporation in Birch Island, believes it is important for bands to join forces to create jobs. She told a recent meeting of the Manitoulin-LaCloche Economic Partners that a new professional association has been formed to advance their collective goals.

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Reaching out to help troubled and disadvantaged youth before despair and substance abuse claim their lives is the purpose of Tumivut, a new youth shelter being built in Toronto. It will be administered by Na-Me-Res, the long established Native men's residence in the city's west end.

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The first major fundraising dinner for a new Oneida longhouse attracted 400 community members and Mohawk Elders at the Oneida Community Centre on Nov. 23.

The longhouse is a ceremonial building of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy).

The dinner raised more than $7,400. Nick and Mary Deleary, who live on reserve, donated six acres of land to the project.

The evening featured speakers Tom Porter, a Mohawk Elder from Fonda, N.Y.; Jan Longboat, a Mohawk Elder from Six Nations; and Gary Farmer, a Toronto-based Cayuga actor and multi-media producer.