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Northern Alberta Indian bands braved the frigid temperatures to parade the streets of Edmonton Wednesday as part of a nationwide rally to protest post-secondary cutbacks.

A crowd of 800 filtered into snow-covered Sir Winston Churchill Square before marching on Canada Place where the regional office of Indian and Northern Affairs is located.

After massing on the front steps of the federal building, Native leaders confronted government officials with their objections.

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The Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC) at Regina is using a double-barelled approach to raise the profile of their athletic program.

The Indian college with a student population of 700 is following the footsteps of the larger universities which pump huge amounts of money into their athletic departments. Many college athletes step into high-paying professional leagues right after graduation. And if a career in sports eludes a college athlete, there's always the degree to fall back on.

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An authentic Pacific Coast Indian village will be brought to life when the new Canadian Museum of Civilization opens here June 29.

The Grand Hall of the museum will feature an Indian village with full-scale reconstruction of six Indian longhouses linked by a simulated shoreline and boardwalk.

Representing six Indian bands, the house fronts were made in British Columbia by Native craftsmen and later assembled at the museum.

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A conspiracy of silence cloaks the staggering rate of child/sexual abuse in Native communities, says a raining counsellor with St. Albert's Poundmaker Nechi Centre.

Brenda Daily estimated roughly 90 per cent of Native families are both affected by substance abuse and child abuse.

And a Northwest Territories survey done last month found 80 per cent of Indian girls under the aged of eight have been sexually molested and 50 per cent of boys are victims of sexual abuse.

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Operation Beaver is an international program under the direction of Frontiers Foundation, a federally chartered non-profit organization, which supports the advancement of

disadvantaged communities across Canada and the Third World.

Sponsored by the Canadian Council of Churches, Operation Beaver began in 1964 as an ecumenical work program to provide assistance for the socially and economically deprived communities.

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Various Alberta Metis leaders want the Native Economic Development Program (NEDP) renewed by the federal government by the end of this month.

Some leaders feel the program, scheduled to expire March 31, is critical to the economic rejuvenation of their communities.

A special funding source, such as the NEDP, should be continued because it helps Metis living in small, isolated communities start up a small business they otherwise would not be able to do, said Zone 2 vice-president August Collins from Bonnyville.

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The five-year $345 million Native Economic Development Program (NEDP) will end March 31, 1989. However, amid calls from both the Native community and within the board for continuing the program, chances look good for a replacement.

Don Hannah, regional director for the western region (B.C., Alberta and the Yukon) said, "we anticipate the introduction of a new program. No decision has been made by cabinet."

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A first sign of Native solidarity surfaced last week when elders from bands across Alberta gathered to address treaty rights in the Whitefish Lake school auditorium.

It's a sign the Canadian government cannot ignore, said band Whitefish Lake Chief Ernest Houle.

Unity among Treaty Indians has been too weak for too long he said, and the maze of political procedures has hampered Native progress.

According to Houlde, the two-day session, which attracted over 120 provincial elders could be the beginning of a new era in the fight for equality.

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Tansi, ahnee and hello. Sometimes these days you think you're ready to settle down. This might be the season for it. This season of reawakening when everything around you is in

the motion of coming alive again. You face the cast. The world becomes itself again, shaking off the sleeping robes of winter.

The land has fingers. They reach down deep inside of you and nudge that certain something which has always connected you with it. Home. You begin to realize that these days

News Briefs

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Internal strife on the board of directors for the Aboriginal Trappers Federation of Canada has forced the organization to recently appoint an interim board and new responsibilities for their executive and membership.

According to a press release issued by the national organization, the chairman of the board, Saskatchewan's Sterling Brass, allegedly disrupted operations so a new board had to be appointed.