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First Nations' environment, employment and education issues all made it onto the agenda at the city of Fort St. John's annual oil and gas conference this fall, and for the first time the First Nations' points of view were heard on panels dealing with these topics. It was the first time organizers invited First Nations representation and made their participation a priority, which was reflected in the name of the event: the Prosperity through Unity Oil and Gas Conference.

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First Nations women living in the Cariboo Regional District will have an opportunity to participate in a multicultural research project entitled Risk HIV/AIDS and Violence Against Women in a Rural Context.

Williams Lake Canadian Mental Health Association CMHA) employees Sheila Dick and Debra Burns and Dr. Colleen Varcoe, associate professor at the University of Victoria School of Nursing, are conducting the 17-month, $149,000 study that began Oct. 15.

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Canada's first counselling clinic focusing on the needs of urban Aboriginal people is actively seeking clients.

Launched last September, the University of British Columbia's Robson Square Counselling Clinic consists of a team of six graduate students from its counselling psychology program, including three Aboriginal students. They are supervised by Prof. Rod McCormick, likely the only Aboriginal counselling psychology professor in Canada.

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A government, a university and a college have teamed up to give teachers in the Yukon Territory a bachelor of education degree that is unique in Canada. The Yukon Native Teacher Education Program (YNTEP) is administered through Yukon College through a special funding arrangement with the Department of Education of the Yukon territorial government. The University of Regina provides and/or approves instructors, both at the college's main campus in Whitehorse, and in Regina.

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At the age of 34, Alex Augier has achieved his simple yet big dream: to read and write like other people, and to get a high school diploma.

He went back to school six years ago to pick up where he left off at the age of 14 when he was almost illiterate.

"Before, when I watched people write, I used to watch them and just admire people like that because it was like magic . . . 'Boy this guy is a man-magician,' I'd say. You know, they know how to write with ease and flow, and so cool."

Augier remembers school.

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Brilliant flowers, blue, purple and green, are scattered on black velvet. This magical, beaded, framed ornament speaks about Yukon culture and is named Star Burst by its creator, Shirlee Frost.

The piece is one of 14 works representing Soul of the Yukon as showcased at the Yukon Arts Centre Gallery from mid-October through Dec. 21.

Works from two Aboriginal artists were chosen out of 64 local entries: shirlee Frost and Eugene Alfred.

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Nelson Keitlah was presented with a Commemorative Medal on Nov. 12 for his decades of service in both the political and social arenas.

The medal commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee was presented across the country during Remembrance Week, when people were celebrating the achievements of the many Canadians who give of themselves for the betterment of others.

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Adventure tourism is one of the fastest-growing segments of the lucrative tourism industry in B.C., and First Nations have a new opportunity to get in on the action.

North Island College has received a $75,000 provincial grant to develop and integrate Aboriginal content into its Coastal Adventure Tourism program.

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Against a backdrop of stalled treaty negotiations in British Columbia, close to 100 people, including international delegates, attended the Aboriginal Law and Taxation Conference Nov. 6 to 8 in Vancouver.

The conference was sponsored by the Native Investment and Trade Association.

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TERRACE-Northern residents are now able to examine health information about local restaurants, water systems, and public swimming pools online.

The information is being posted there by the Northern Health Authority's environmental health inspectors.

Visitors to their Web site will find public health notices and land-use notices, sampling results, and hazard ratings for food, drinking water and recreational water operations. The site contains information about food premises' food safety programs and about smoke-free environments.