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The quest to find out if there can or should be a global strategy to resolve modern, medical ethical dilemmas brought scientists, health care providers, sociologists and other interested parties to a four-day conference hosted by the Canadian Bioethics Society in Edmonton at the end of October. Prof. Madeleine Dion Stout, a member of Kehewin First Nation northeast of Edmonton, who teaches at Carleton University, was a keynote speaker.

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Veterans of past wars came home with wounds they received in battle with the enemy, but one First Nation warrior was attacked and wounded by an unseen foe while serving with a peacekeeping mission in 1993.

Master Corporal Philip Tobicoe, 36, a Mohawk from Ontario, has developed several health problems that he's certain are the effects of being exposed to soil and water contaminated by toxic chemicals in Croatia.

"I've got glaucoma and cataracts," Tobicoe said. "My skin is badly rashed and my joints are very sore. I think I've got arthritis."

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Traditional counsellor Margaret Wapass radiates warmth, humor and down-to-earth charm.

"But it takes more than a winning smile and a social work degree to be a good traditional counsellor - you have to know where people are coming from, how they were treated in the past," said Wapass.

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In recognition of Worlds AIDS Day, people all over the world were wearing a red ribbon on Dec. 1.

The ribbon is an international symbol showing support in the continuing fight against AIDS. It is intended to be a symbol of hope, towards finding a vaccine and a cure that will stop the suffering created by HIV/AIDS.

Page 19

Gordon Sinclair Jr. is angry.

"I've taken so much crap," he said, "and I'm still taking it."

The author of Cowboys and Indians: The Shooting of J.J. Harper was the only Winnipeg journalist to undertake an investigation of the Harper case.

Harper, a Manitoba Aboriginal leader, was killed in a struggle with police officer Robert Cross on March 9, 1988. His death was the subject of three judicial inquiries and sparked the creation of the Manitoba Aboriginal Justice Inquiry.

Page 17

Review

Indian Fall: The Last Great Days of the Plains Cree and the Blackfoot Confederacy

By D'Arcy Jenish

341 pages, $32 (hc)

Viking/Penguin Canada

Cowboys and Indians: The Shooting of J.J. Harper

By Gordon Sinclair Jr.

400 pages, $34.99 (hc)

McClelland & Stewart

Page 16

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"Since I have been incarcerated," wrote an Aboriginal inmate in a letter to Wawatay News in November 1997, "I participated in sacred ceremonies such as the sweatlodge, which is a very meaningful experience for me. I felt the healing power of this ceremony which left a great impression in my life, and I am determined to further my knowledge of Native heritage and culture once I am released."

This letter referred to the Native Sons, a support group that began at the Thunder Bay Correctional Centre in 1988.

Page 14

Dr. Cora J. Voyageur, a member of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation in Fort Chipewyan, Alta., is undertaking a unique sociology research project at the University of Calgary.

Her study, First Nation Women and the Traditional Leadership Role, will involve interviewing female chiefs across Canada to find out how they think they're doing in what she says has been viewed as a male role since the Department of Indian Affairs instituted elections on reserves.

Page 13

The Canadian Human Rights Act Review Panel came to this city Oct. 27 and 28 to get public input into the effectiveness of the 22-year-old act. The panel conducted a roundtable for non-governmental organizations based on a consultation paper the Canadian Human Rights Commission released in July. Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Anne McLellan announced the legislative review last April and gave the panel a year to submit recommendations for change to the government.