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More and more Canadian businesses are welcoming an opportunity to have their commitment to respectful Aboriginal relations measured and recognized through their involvement in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program.

The PAR program, now in its second year of operation, offers participating businesses a framework for setting objectives relating to Aboriginal relations, developing plans to meet those objectives, and measuring the results.

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People around the world working to preserve and promote Indigenous languages now have a new tool at their disposal, thanks to the launch of the First Voices Aboriginal Languages Resource.

First Voices is a project of the First Peoples' Heritage, Language & Culture Council, a B.C.-based Aboriginal organization that has been working to support Aboriginal language training and preservation programs for more than a decade.

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A culturally-sensitive legal education program is changing the way First Nations youth perceive the Canadian justice system.

For more than 10 years, the Northern Native Public Legal Education program run by the Law Courts Education Society of British Columbia has been trying to build trust.

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Aboriginal chef and teacher Ben Genaille is gearing up to dazzle his first group of international guest with his unique blend of traditional First Nations and Western cuisine.

Prompted by an article in last June's Raven's Eye news publication (a sister paper to Windspeaker), the New World Renaissance Hotel in Kowloon, Hong Kong contacted Genaille and extended an invitation to him to present a special "Canada comes to Hong Kong" event at the luxurious four-star hotel.

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Declaring the time for studies over and identifying a looming crisis, John Kim Bell, president and founder of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation brought 200 corporate, government and Aboriginal leaders together in Calgary on Feb. 6 to discuss ways of increasing Aboriginal employment.

Citing demographic trends including an aging mainstream population and 920,000 Aboriginal youth predicted to enter the labor market over the next five years, Bell stressed the need to develop solutions quickly.

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Keith Duggan says that in his three decades of policing in Edmonton he has watched the Aboriginal population challenge the problems found in their communities, and more effectively create positive change than any other group in the city.

Superintendent Duggan of the Edmonton Police Service participated in the day-long Aboriginal Homelessness Gathering on Feb. 19. Of the 65 groups invited to attend, 40 agencies were represented.

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The National Lacrosse League will bring its top players to Connecticut this spring for an all-star game at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on April 21. The contest will be staged one week after the league championship final.

The Mohegan Sun Arena is owned by the Mohegan Tribe, and is part of the Mohegan Sun casino complex. The facility has become popular for gaming and entertainment events.

The site of the all-star tilt is somewhat of a surprise since Connecticut does not have an NLL franchise.

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A group of riders will take off on a cross-country journey this summer to raise funds to treat diabetes in remote Aboriginal communities.

The group will participate in the National Aboriginal Diabetes Awareness Ride (NADAR), a 7,700-km bike ride from St. John's, Nfld. to Victoria. The riders will set off in June, and hope to reach the West Coast some time in August.

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March is Nutrition Month across Canada, and this year's campaign offers advice on how people can include good nutrition as part of a healthy lifestyle.

That advice includes following Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating, eating a variety of foods, eating the right amount of food to suit your age, gender and activity level, and achieving and maintaining a healthy weight by eating well and keeping active.

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It took more than a century, but the Thebatthi (Chipewyan) people of Smith's Landing, Alta., finally held the Canadian government to its promise.

Determined to see the government honor an 1899 treaty, Francois Paulette devoted more than 25 years of his life to that cause. As chief negotiator for the Smith's Landing First Nation (located in northern Alberta on the Slave River), Francois and his brother, Chief Jerry Paulette, struggled to keep their land claim process going.