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Arriving somewhat late for the annual Sunday walk from Saskatchewan's Back to Batoche grounds to the church cemetery, my partner, Clem, niece-daughter Alicia and I found ourselves a fair distance away from the rest of the group. As we hurried to catch up, Alicia - fascinated by the many people who followed the colorful wind-blown Metis Nation flag - innocently queried "Aunty, why are all those people walking?" Momentarily, I was stunned as I struggled to find the most appropriate words to explain the significance of the walk to a mere four-year-old child.

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Arriving somewhat late for the annual Sunday walk from Saskatchewan's Back to Batoche grounds to the church cemetery, my partner, Clem, niece-daughter Alicia and I found ourselves a fair distance away from the rest of the group. As we hurried to catch up, Alicia - fascinated by the many people who followed the colorful wind-blown Metis Nation flag - innocently queried "Aunty, why are all those people walking?" Momentarily, I was stunned as I struggled to find the most appropriate words to explain the significance of the walk to a mere four-year-old child.

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It is not enough to be a man of vision and the leader of your people. It's important to look the part. Image is everything in this world when attempting to inspire a nation and garner the respect of others.

Is it then any wonder the Manitoba Metis Federation was so frustrated with the attempts of a few individuals who tried to block the removal of a naked, twisted, and may we say, grotesque statue of Louis Riel from the grounds of the Manitoba Legislature Building?

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Two Native teenagers who beat a pizza delivery driver with a baseball bat and robbed him of $40, will be punished by banishment to two remote islands off the southeast Alaskan coast.

Superior Court Judge James Allendoerfer deferred the sentencing of the youth so that tribal leaders from the Thlawaa Tlingit Nation and the Kuye' Di Kuiu Kwaan Tribal Court of Alaska could impose their own system of justice.

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Two Native teenagers who beat a pizza delivery driver with a baseball bat and robbed him of $40, will be punished by banishment to two remote islands off the southeast Alaskan coast.

Superior Court Judge James Allendoerfer deferred the sentencing of the youth so that tribal leaders from the Thlawaa Tlingit Nation and the Kuye' Di Kuiu Kwaan Tribal Court of Alaska could impose their own system of justice.

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The Mississauga #8 First Nation signed an agreement July 15 which will see it get approximately $15 million in compensation for land lost in a survey error in 1852.

Chief Doug Daybutch said Ottawa has provided the First Nation with $7.5millii. The province will provide a similar amount n land and cash. Approximately 40,000 acres of provincial land will be added to the existing reserve. All monies are to be held in trust to provide for the long-term economic future of the First Nation.

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The Mississauga #8 First Nation signed an agreement July 15 which will see it get approximately $15 million in compensation for land lost in a survey error in 1852.

Chief Doug Daybutch said Ottawa has provided the First Nation with $7.5millii. The province will provide a similar amount n land and cash. Approximately 40,000 acres of provincial land will be added to the existing reserve. All monies are to be held in trust to provide for the long-term economic future of the First Nation.

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The delicate work of transforming an 800-year-old cedar into a totem sculpture for Commonwealth Place is finished. On July 19, artist Roy Henry Vickers paid homage to hereditary chiefs and Elders as the totem travelled through Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Coast Salish territories.

The 10-metre totem sculpture, The Legend of the Salmon People, was raised July 22 in a ceremony steeped in ancient tradition. It will remain at Saanich Commonwealth Place, the new swimming and aquatics venue built for the Commonwealth Games, after the international competition ends Aug. 28.

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The delicate work of transforming an 800-year-old cedar into a totem sculpture for Commonwealth Place is finished. On July 19, artist Roy Henry Vickers paid homage to hereditary chiefs and Elders as the totem travelled through Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Coast Salish territories.

The 10-metre totem sculpture, The Legend of the Salmon People, was raised July 22 in a ceremony steeped in ancient tradition. It will remain at Saanich Commonwealth Place, the new swimming and aquatics venue built for the Commonwealth Games, after the international competition ends Aug. 28.

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From the mountains of British Columbia to James Bay in Quebec, Cree people from all over converged on the small community near The Pas, Manitoba, for the Cree Gathering.

Joe Roan, from Pigeon Lake, Alberta, delivered the opening remarks and prayer.

"I hope this is the place to start something that will get the Cree Nation moving as one," Roan said to the crowd of 125 Elders.

The Elders took up the first part of the gathering. They met for three days trying to come up with a direction for the renewed Cree Confederacy.