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For 34-year-old Tammy Crier, the daughter of the late Wilson Nepoose, a healing circle ceremony held at the Howard Buffalo Memorial Centre on Nov. 1 gave her an opportunity to close the books on her father's wrongful conviction for murder and his difficult life and death after his incarceration and release.

Nepoose was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Marie Rose Desjarlais in 1987, but was released after five years in jail when the family convinced the courts to reopen the case.

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A three-day conference hosted by the Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) was held in Sherwood Park on Oct. 25 to 27 and was attended by about 100 people. Canadian anti-racism experts and officials from the federal government were at the gathering to discuss Canada's domestic agenda against racism.

CRRF is an agency that works with the federal government to create a future in which all Canadians are treated equally and fairly and recognizes the pervasiveness of racism in today's society.

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It was another successful year for the annual Aboriginal youth conference that brings young people from across the country and beyond to Edmonton for a weekend of fun and education.

Dreamcatcher 2002, held Oct. 18 to 20 at Grant MacEwan College's downtown campus, even attracted participants from New Zealand.

On the agenda for opening ceremonies were performances by 16-year-old country singer Crystal Anne, the Metis Cultural Dancers, and Jennifer McLeod and her dance troupe. Weekend education sessions were designed to motivate, encourage, and inspire.

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Mi'kmaq people living on Cape Breton Island have an easier time pursuing a post-secondary education, thanks to a number of programs and supports offered to them by the University College of Cape Breton (UCCB).

The UCCB, located in Sydney, N.S. has long offered Mi'kmaq and other Aboriginal students, support services through its Mi'kmaq student services. But last year the UCCB went one step further, establishing the Mi'kmaq College Institute, which goes beyond simply helping Mi'kmaq students on campus by reaching out to the broader Mi'kmaq community.

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What started as a distant dream has become a reality for the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA), publishers of Windspeaker and owner-operators of CFWE, the Native Perspective, an Aboriginal radio station that can be heard across Alberta.

Now the CFWE signal can be heard clearer and stronger than ever before in the Bonnyville/St. Paul area of the province and for 200 km around, with the installation of a new 400 ft. tower and 100,000 watt signal at Moose Hills.

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The Crees of northern Quebec have always had close ties to the land. It is where they lived, hunted, fished and trapped to provide food for their families. Even today, many Quebec Crees maintain links to the land, although those links are often more tenuous because of mining, forestry and hydro operations within their traditional territories.

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Thanks to a small group of youth determined to do something about the situation of solvent abuse in their community, help from the federal government is on the way.

A group of 20 people from Wabaseemoong made up of youth and Elders walked from their home community located near Kenora, Ont. all the way to Ottawa to bring a message to Indian and Northern Affairs (INAC) Minister Robert Nault that the solvent abuse problem on-reserve needs to be addressed, and soon.

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Being diagnosed with a chronic disease is never an easy thing, but it is something that more and more of Canada's Aboriginal populace are facing. Diabetes, a disease that interferes with the body's ability to use the sugars in food, is widespread among both the First Nations and Metis populations, and its prevalence is only increasing as people are tested and identified.

To spread awareness of the problem, and to help those with diabetes understand and live with it, dozens of federally-funded, community-based programs have been established.

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Thirty women's shelters in Alberta offer a safe place for abused women and other women in need.

"Our primary concern is for the victim, and the children if any are present," said Brenda Brochu. As executive director of the Peace River Regional Women's Shelter, she and the shelter's staff have helped many women through the years with support, advocacy and information on family violence.

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Tickets are going fast for the Louis Riel Gala, which will 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., guest speakers, a Metis fashion show, a live and silent auction, all held together by master of ceremonies Don Burnstick.