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The Papaschase Indian Reserve #136 Descendents are hosting a land claim meeting on Nov. 28 at the Ben Calf Robe School. They will provide background about their specific claim to a representative of the Indian Claims Commission and hope to have chiefs from Alberta support a Band Council Resolution that would begin the process for the descendents to receive compensation for lost lands and treaty status.

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The 1999 North American Indigenous Games will not be hosted at Fargo, North Dakota.

The planned Fargo version of the games was officially trashed by a decision of the NAIG council executive meeting in Fargo on Oct. 10.

"It is sad council had to make this choice but, for the sake of the games, council had to do something," said council secretary Roy Desjarlais, who represents the Northwest Territories.

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It was a highly successful Sixth Annual Dreamcatcher Aboriginal Youth Conference hosted by Edmonton's Grant MacEwan Community College Child and Youth Care Program.

Entitled The Heart of Our Nations: The Family, the popular conference attracted about 1,500 delegates from one end of the country to the other, including the northern territories.

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At a formal ceremony in October at the Alexander First Nation Community Hall, the governments of Canada and Alberta and the Alexander First Nation announced the settlement of a treaty land entitlement agreement.

The settlement will provide the Alexander First Nation with up to 15,140 additional acres of reserve land.

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On Oct. 4, the town of Lac La Biche celebrated the 200th anniversary of the arrival of explorer David Thompson to the area, but no one forgot to honor the people that Thompson first encountered there, the Metis and First Nations.

"Two hundred years is a long time, but I think what people have to realize is that before David Thompson arrived here, there were Metis people here," said Audrey Poitras, president of the Metis Nation of Alberta. Poitras was one of the special guests invited to take part in the 200th anniversary event.

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Just days after receiving a trophy from the Canadian Professional Rodeo Association for being the best of the best in junior steer riding, 11-year-old Ryan McDonald was riding with the best at the Canadian Finals Rodeo in Edmonton.

McDonald, a Grade 7 student at the Caslan School on the Buffalo Lake Metis Settlement, 200 km north of Edmonton, was Alberta's top rider in the junior steer riding category at the big show which began on Nov. 11.

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Tansi!

Christmas is just around the corner. Soon all those shopping centres are going to be one huge traffic jam!

I need your HELP! I am still trying to locate the whereabouts of Jim Thunder. If anyone knows where he is or knows a relative of his that I can contact, please call or write to me in care of Sweetgrass paper. Thanks. (403-455-2700; 15001-112 Ave., Edmonton T5M 2V6)

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Country and western music fans were recently treated to a show from one of the finest performers in music at the biggest show of the year.

On Oct. 15, more than 14,000 fans converged on Edmonton's Sky Reach Centre to catch four class acts, including the dynamic and popular Terri Clark.

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Here's a refreshing new theatrical group that does what comes naturally. In other words, members of Big Sky Theatre ad lib a lot. This became more than apparent in their Oct. 26 to 30 debut of Dance Between The Worlds, a comedy drama with lovable, laughable snippets that stream through a production that deals with spirituality, love, hate, trauma, arguments, and co-operation, as well as values, beliefs and cultural traditions.

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The annual Indian Arts and Crafts Christmas Sale and Show that has been a popular feature in the Edmonton region for some years will not be returning, at least not this year, says co-ordinator Martha Campiou.

Usually held at the convention centre in downtown Edmonton, the event has suffered financially over the past few years and just couldn't come together this time around. Generally, it relies, at least in part, on door admissions and booth fees, but often this is not enough.