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OTTAWA - In a study conducted by the University of Calgary's Research Unit for Public Policy, Canadians were found to be more concerned about "improving the social and economic situation of Canada's Native people," than about a free-trade agreement with

the United States.

"The message to the governments of Canada and the provinces from this study should be very clear," says Georges Erasmus, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations.

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A major international conference will be held to address the increasing educational and health care problems of solvent abuse within Indian communities across the U.S. nation and Canada.

In response to this growing drug abuse phenomenon, the first International Native American Abuse Conference will be held at the Doubletree Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 2 - 4.

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STURGEON LAKE - I woke up with the sun shining through my motel window in Valleyview. It was later than I thought and I had promised myself, over supper the night before, that I would be at the Surgeon Lake Band office by nine o'clock.

The day before, I had travelled from Peace River, where I had spent the day picking up stories and visiting.

Not knowing just where the Sturgeon Lake Band Office was, I drove in the general direction of the reserve which was on the highway, somewhere, leading to Grande Prairie.

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The Calgary Native Friendship Society has decided against launching an appeal contesting a judge's ruling that the Board of Directors May 24 elections are invalid. Instead they will hold a re-election at an unspecified time in the near future. The date of the special meeting and the re-elections will be decided after board members meet with the plaintiff in the case, George Chatsis.

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A proposed policy affecting big game hunting in Alberta is scheduled to go before the legislature in mid-March of this year. Quite recently, however, there have been expressions of concern from the Native and non-Native community that the policy may have serious implications regarding Aboriginal hunting rights.

According to Russell Plante, Native hunter from Edson and Norman Stienwand of Castor who happens to be the president of the Independent Alberta Guides and Outfitters of Alberta (AIGO), there is, indeed, cause for concern.

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EDITOR'S NOTE: In addition to the discussions reported by Jim Thunder in the following story, a number of other politically sensitive issues were discussed. The Elders asked that the media not report their discussions on those sensitive issues. Out of respect for their wishes, we will not be reporting on those matters they wish left unreported.

FORT McMURRAY - Elders from across Alberta gathered at the Ramada Inn here January 22 and 23 for an Elders Conference sponsored by the Indian Association of Alberta.

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"I went to jail, lived on 'the skid' in old cars - anything - and I did a lot of drugs. But that's a bad side of my life. I just want to focus on my music now," confessed singer Elvis Grey, who appeared on the January 24 episode of Native Nashville North this year.

The entertainer lost his eyesight when he was nine years old. "Apparently I wasn't immunized right and came down with the measles. I was taken to the Charles Camsell Hospital in Edmonton and stayed there for about 18 months recovering.

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Joe Courtoreille rolled his cigarette, which never seemed to leave the ash tray in front of him, and occasionally felt the end of it. Courtoreille inhaled the smoke 'til his rough fingertips could feel the cigarette coming to an end. Then, he carefully put it out.

Like much of his daily routine, smoking a cigarette has become a meticulous pattern Courtoreille has developed so he can be independent from the blindness which impairs him.

But Courtoreille, of the Alexander Reserve, didn't always have this independence his other senses allow him.

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The Metis Association of Alberta (MAA) has set March 14 and 15 as the dates for its annual assembly for the 1986-87 fiscal year.

No location for the assembly has been announced, although it is understood Slave Lake and Edmonton are the two locations being debated.

The assembly had been originally set for mid-August of last year, but had to be postponed due to financial difficulties.

The general election for six zone directors, also postponed, has been set for March 30.

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A lot of people have been phoning and saying that, although they know Native Nashville North is being aired, they are not receiving the program in their areas.

The program began to air on January 10, a Saturday, at 10:30 in the evening. However, CBC North does not reach into the Cold Lake/Elizabeth area, and it also does not air in southern Alberta, unfortunately at this time.