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Provincial authorities will be handing over the reins of child welfare services to communities in the new year, said the Alberta minister of Family and Social Services.

Minister Mike Cardinal announced Nov. 30 that a three-year program developing responsibility and control of children's services onto communities will start in January. He enumerated four key areas of focus: community delivery, early intervention, services to Aboriginal communities and co-ordination and integration of programs.

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Manitoba chiefs are discussing the possibility of forming an independent political party for Aboriginals, said a spokesperson with the provincial assembly. But nothing has been set in motion, said Robert Wavey.

At least, not yet, said Wavey, executive director of the Assembly of Manitoba chiefs. But with a spring election looming on the Manitoba horizon the idea, which was raised last year, is gaining momentum.

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At the age of 51, Jaime Robbie Robertson is one of those handful of rock music veterans who shows no sign of resting on past glories.

An hour-long conversation with the man who penned one great song after another when he was with The Band confirms Robertson is passionate when it comes to his art.

Robertson is on the promo trail plugging his latest project, The Red Road Ensemble: Music for The Native Americans, a CD of Native music done for the WTBS cable TV series, The Native Americans.

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She: a room full of women, while deceptively simple, was artist Faye Heavyshield's portrayal of the trials facing women and the strength they show in facing them.

Heavyshield's installation graced Thunder Bay's Art Gallery this fall, and the artist gave a talk at the gallery, explaining the exhibition in relation to her life experiences.

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Not since Columbus arrived in the New World in search of valuable resources to ship back home has international trade looked as full of promise as it does today, particularly for Native North Americans, a First Nation Trade Show heard.

But this time around, Natives should take control of their own business and exploit overseas markets to their advantage or risk missing the boat on economic prosperity, said a longtime veteran of international trade.

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Wednesday, Feb. 6 marked the ninth year the Anishnawbe Health Center (AHC) has held a prayer vigil to honor activist Leonard Peltier, who has served 26 years of two life sentences in prison. He was convicted, many believe wrongly, of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge reservation, South Dakota on June 26, 1975.

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Twelve drums and as many as 100 dancers attended Canadore College's 12th annual traditional cultural gathering held at Canadore College in North Bay on Feb. 23 and 24.

The powwow is sponsored by the Canadore College Aboriginal Student Association department. The theme for this year's gathering was "unity and peace."

This year's gathering attracted people from the four directions in Ontario and Quebec, with one of the invited drums coming all the way from Onion Lake, Sask.

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There was real excitement at the First Nations Connect Conference held Feb. 11 to 14 in Thunder Bay.

"The possibilities online are limitless," said Tom Wasaykeesic, a participant from Osnaburgh. "Nishnawbe-Aski Nation (NAN) can offer a lot around the world if it's done right. We can be leaders, trailblazers, for the Aboriginal communities around the world, or we can simply communicate more effectively within local communities."

The goal of the conference was to identify strategies to bring NAN communities together with broadband technology.

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Sitting at a pricey, antique wood table on the ground floor of the elegant Nicholas Hoare Bookstore on Front Street in Toronto, Al Hunter is early for his first book launch. Besides a few patrons skimming pages or sticking their noses into their interesting reads, the shop is deserted.

"Maybe I should have been fashionably late," he joked.

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A new book accompanying a six-hour PBS television series about the Ojibwe people should be in the library of anyone interested in Aboriginal cultures.

The non-fiction narrative, Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa-We Look In All Directions, was penned by a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. It was released with the WDSE-TV program of the same name in Duluth, Minn.

Thomas Peacock's book is an excellent primer to the beliefs, customs and way of life of the Ojibwe people of the northeastern United States.