Welcome to AMMSA.COM, the news archive website for our family of Indigenous news publications.

Media arts festival attracts international attention

Page 2

British Columbia was once again well represented at imagineNATIVE, a media arts festival held in Toronto in late October.

This marked the third year the Native festival has been held, and the event, which ran from Oct. 24 to 27, continues to grow each year.

This year there were about 65 artists (a considerable increase from the 20 that took part during the festival's inaugural year) showcasing their work in film, video, television, radio and multimedia. Eight of them hail from British Columbia.

Aboriginal policing program trains 10 future cops

Page 11

A 10-month program at Grant MacEwan College's south-side campus will provide 10 Aboriginal students with the pre-training required to pursue a career in policing.

The men and women participating in the Aboriginal Police Studies program range in age from 19 to 40 and are from the communities of Grande Prairie, Kehewin, Wabasca, Hobbema, Fort Vermillion, Westlock, Fort McKay, Thunderchild First Nation, Sask., and Peguis First Nation in Manitoba.

Kainai Warriors look to future with optimism

Page 10

A two-win season has provided just enough spark to buoy the spirits of next year's Kainai high school Warriors football team.

The only all-First Nations squad in the province has not had much gridiron success in the previous two years, but for the Warriors the wins and losses are secondary to the purpose of fielding a team.

Coach Clayton Twigg, a physical education and shop teacher at the school, believes sports serve as a stay-in-school incentive for some students.

Homeless crisis gets new attention

Page 9

A feast of stew and bannock was provided to inner city residents by the Edmonton Aboriginal Committee on Homelessness on Oct. 25 in an effort to create awareness for the plight of Aboriginal people found homeless in Alberta's capital city.

The luncheon was attended by more than 500 inner city people at the Bissell Centre and was sponsored by Human Resources Development Canada, Native Counselling Services of Alberta, the Stan Daniel's Healing Centre, the Edmonton Maximum Security Institution and COSTCO.

College opens doors to community

Page 6

Situated among the commercial offices, buildings and businesses in the west end of Edmonton, the Yellowhead Tribal College (YTC) offers a number of programs to hundreds of students with the goal of increasing their opportunities to gain meaningful employment.

The college currently has more than 300 students enrolled at its 17304-105 Ave. location. Sonny Verreault is a laison officer and student counselor there. He said many students have got their start at the college before transferring to local post-secondary institutions.

Gala promises a fun evening for all involved

Page 6

Tickets are going fast for the Louis Riel Gala to be held at the Sands Hotel in Edmonton on Nov. 14. The evening will feature the second annual Joey Gladue and Delia Gray scholarship awards, a performance by the Creeland Dancers from Duck Lake, Sask., a variety of guest speakers, a fashion show, a live and silent auctions, and all held together by master of ceremonies Don Burnstick.

"It is going to be a fun event. There is something there to suit everyone's taste and budget," said John Coonie, auction chairman, of the items up for bid.

Alberta cowboy is world champ

Page 5

For cowboy Kevin Langevin, a championship rodeo in Palm Springs, Calif. was his ticket to worldwide fame. The 19-year-old Metis man from Rich Lake is now the Indian National Finals Rodeo world champion bareback rider, taking the title over the Oct. 18 weekend.

"I'm the world champ in the Indian ranks," he said with an ear-to-ear grin.

Youth experience work in Mexico

Page 4

As part of a work experience program involving the Oteenaw Employment and Training Society, the Metis Nation of Alberta and Canada World Youth, eight young people from Edmonton will be travelling to Mexico in January.

The Aboriginal Youth Leadership program will give the participants a chance to gain practical work experience, share cultural values and obtain leadership skills.

Artist gives back to supporters

Page 4

Calvin Cornish began to draw when he was old enough to hold a pencil. His family thought it was an interesting hobby. Many years later he's still drawing, but now his work is attracting the attention of art enthusiasts and galleries in western Canada, the United States, Europe and Japan.

Although his drawing was encouraged by his family, his endeavors were not seen as serious work.

"That changed when I made $3,000 in one day," he said.