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Members of the Chippewas of Nawash and Saugeen First Nations are on the water exercising their right to a commercial fishery on Ontario's Bruce Peninsula. But a group of them has problems with the agreement they operate under. They are planning to set up their own fishing co-operative to challenge it.

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The family of Dudley George, a Native activist shot dead by an Ontario Provincial Police officer on Sept. 6, 1995 at Ipperwash Provincial Park, just wants to know who is responsible for the loss of their brother, son, and father.

To aid the George family in its quest for an answer, nearly 1,700 people packed the University of Toronto's Convocation Hall on March 1 to raise money for the Ipperwash Defence Fund, set up to finance a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Ontario government.

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The 11th annual Fur Harvesters Auction convention was held Feb. 28 to March 2 in North Bay and attracted an unprecedented number of Aboriginal trappers and representatives of Aboriginal trapping organizations.

Fur Harvesters Auction (FHA) is the largest fur management company in Canada and is solely trapper owned and operated. It is unique in that the FHA has equal representation of Native and non-Native on its board of directors, however, in past years, turn out of Native trappers for the annual convention has been poor.

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With the same steely determination that led her great, great, great grandmother to travel to England to protest to Queen Victoria in 1860, Susan Schank is seeking the Indian status her ancestor was denied because she married a white man.

"I'm asking for the same rights that she should have had," said Schank, 48.

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"We chose International Women's Day, March 8, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our shelter, Zhaawanong" said Darlene Ritchie, executive director of Atlohsa Native Family Healing Services Agency.

Zhaawanong means "south" in Ojibway, referring to the direction which signifies warmth, change, nurturing and renewal in Aboriginal culture, qualities that are promoted at the shelter.

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The Cambrian Native Students' Association hosted its 15th annual Native Awareness Days from March 21 March 24. Opening ceremonies included a welcome song performed by the Waabski-Makwa Singers, followed by a variety of workshops.

Drum groups and dancers from across Ontario participated in the weekend-long powwow. Highlights of the Grand Entry included a special tribute to those who were affected by the events of Sept. 11, the singing of Oh Canada in Ojibway by Rosa Burke, and a special song to recognize the efforts of the Anishnaabe war veterans.

Page 3

McMaster University's Indigenous Studies Department played host during Human Rights Awareness Week held March 11 to 15.

Dr. Dawn Hill, the director of the department, Kim Anderson, a Cree/Metis author; and Sylvia Maracle, the Mohawk executive director of the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres addressed the topic of Aboriginal women, painting a bleak picture of the social inequities Native women suffer. This prompted a discussion on how this situation has evolved to this point.

Page 2

Just 10 days after a Native commercial fishing boat owner said he had concerns about his safety after a judge cleared him of any wrongdoing in the death of a teenager, his boat mysteriously sank while moored in a safe harbor.

Police are still investigating if Myles Jones' 50-foot boat was deliberately sunk, said Ontario Provincial Police Sergeant Dan Hillman. It is the second time in two years that Jones' boat has sunk while moored.

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For 47-year-old Irene Flett-Redwood, going back to school as an adult was not easy, but she graduated from the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in Regina in May 2001 with a bachelor's degree in education.

A mother of five and a proud grandmother of 10, Flett-Redwood has come a long way from a life without self-confidence and direction.

"I was afraid to try anything. I never really thought that I could do anything; mainly because of the low self-esteem that I had in myself."

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A funeral celebrating the life of Josephine Crow Shoe was held at the Brocket Community Hall on Feb. 5.

Josephine and her husband Joe were spiritual leaders of the Peigan Nation (Blackfoot Confederacy).

Not only as Joe's wife, but as a holy woman in her own right, this wise, gentle, faithful soul committed herself to see to the betterment of her tribal community, and to nurture its survival.

She passed into the Spirit World on Jan. 31, 2002 at age 84. Josephine had attended a residential school on the reserve.