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LETHBRIDGE - Government policies continue to favor assimilation and the molding of Indian First Nations into municipal-like bodies under provincial jurisdiction despite advocating Indian self-government, says the federal Liberal party Indian Affairs critic, Keith Penner.

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LETHBRIDGE - Alberta Indian bands will not be adversely affected by the down-grading of the Department of Indian Affairs district offices as they can always participate in the new Alternative Funding Arrangements, said the deputy minister in an interview April 24.

Department district offices in Lethbridge, Fort Vermilion, St. Paul and Fort McMurray were down-graded to sub-offices last week in a move "towards Indian self-government."

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A report into the suicide death of Edmonton Institution inmate William Boucher has been handed down to the Attorney General's Department by Provincial Court Judge J.D. Abbott.

In his report, Judge Abbott outlined the circumstances of Boucher's death and made recommendations for the prevention of similar deaths.

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Fishing and hunting are of utmost importance to Indians and are a "deeply rooted cultural behavior." This sentiment is but one of mamy on wildlife conservation as expressed by the Cold Lake First Nations in their "Indian Peoples Wildlife Conservation" brief.

The above statement and others in the brief are a direct consequence of the existing controversy over Treaty Indian fishing rights at Cold Lake which came to the attention of the public in April.

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OTTAWA - Approval of funds over a period of five years commencing in 1985-86, to accommodate projected additional costs resulting from changes to the Indian Act, has been announced by Indian Affairs Minister David Crombie.

"Bands will now be able to access funds required to provide additional services to their new band members," Crombie said.

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LETHBRIDGE - Reorganization of the Department of Indian Affairs will revolve around the theme of Indian self-government, Deputy Minister Bruce Rawson confirmed previous statements from department officials that no extra training dollars enabling bands to take on new programs will be forthcoming.

One of the main criticisms of the federal government's proposed self-government related packages is that bands will not receive special training programs to help smooth the transition from department to band-run programs.

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Native leaders, trappers, hunters, fishermen,. provincial government leaders, and world renowned biologists were all brought together at a three-day conference sponsored by the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists. The symposium was set up to address the issue of Native people and renewable resource management.

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Canada's federal prisons are in a "soup of chemicals," the living conditions in them are terrible, they are doing society more harm than good, says Burke Baker, the lawyer for the Boucher family. He charges that the enquiry into William Boucher's suicide has led to no "forthright conclusions," and avoids the real reasons Boucher and so many other inmates committed suicide.

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Sam Sinclair feels the provincial government has been stalling a proposal given to them in November of 1985, regarding the Metis Association of Alberta (MAA) regional council concept, and funding for it.

At a meeting at the Legislature Building in Edmonton April 25 with Minister of Native Affairs Milt Pahl, Sinclair, president of the MAA, commented that although $225,000 has been allocated to the MAA (same as last year) and $50,000 of that was accepted at the meeting, it is still not the answer.

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The unemployment rate for Natives in the city is never under 25% even at the best times, says Hart Cantelon, a Public elations Consultant with Native Outreach.