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In a move designed to provide young Aboriginal athletes with an alternative to the on-again, off-again North American Indigenous Games, the Indigenous Sport Council of Alberta is planning to host a Western Canadian Indigenous Games this summer.

The 1999 North American Indigenous Games, originally scheduled for Fargo, North Dakota, have been cancelled.

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An idea first reported in this newspaper in October of 1997 has come to the 'put up or shut up' point and the man behind the idea needs to know if people want him to continue.

Gregg Lindros' Breakaway Hockey Foundation is still hard at work pursuing funding support for an on-reserve alternative independent school that will offer educational and athletic opportunities for Aboriginal young people from all parts of the province and the country.

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For a young organization like the Khowutzun Development Corporation, recognition for successfully creating jobs in the community is encouraging. So when the group won the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers 1998 recognition award in late November, it was a boost to morale.

Unemployment on Vancouver Island is a problem and unemployment of Cowichan members is of particular concern, said Myles McLeod, new general manager of Khowutzun Development Corporation.

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In her younger years, Violet Sampere's life was filled with tragedy, hardship, and despair. In her later years, she is experiencing a sense of peace and fulfillment in her role as an Elder.

Violet was born in 1925 in the remote village of Kitseukla in northern British Columbia. Raised by a blind mother, Violet had to work hard in her early life. She did not attend school and taught herself to read when she was an adult.

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Tina Keeper may appear to be keeping a low profile ever since North of 60 was cancelled last year, but nothing could be further than the truth.

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According to Statistics Canada, one in every eight women will experience abuse, and that number is on the increase.

Domestic abuse affects all cultures, including the Aboriginal community.

A program called Change of Seasons, supported by the Attorney General Corrections Branch, First Nations Wellness Society, Ministry of Health (Aboriginal Health Policy Branch) and the Squamish Nation, is available to men in North Vancouver who want to end their own abusive behaviors.

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Laughing at pain, poverty and oppression won't make them go away, but it will make those problems seem smaller and easier to handle. That seems to be the message that Don Burnstick brings with him when he speaks to young people.

You can see it working. At the end of a two-day youth conference at the Saskatoon Inn on Feb. 3, the hotel lobby was jammed with teenagers waiting for their rides back home. Burnstick was making his way to the parking lot after spending the two days as the undisputed star of the gathering.

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New Aboriginal Affairs minister

Gordon Wilson gave up the leadership of the Progressive Democratic Alliance party to become the new Aboriginal Affairs Minister in early February.

"I am very pleased that Gordon Wilson has joined our government. He has invaluable experience and new ideas to bring to the table," said Premier Glen Clark. "I believe the addition of Gordon Wilson to our cabinet team will ensure that the government responds more effectively to the challenges facing the province."

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In a part of Prince George's poverty stricken inner-city called the "hood," one man's vision could make life better for many desperate young Aboriginal people.

Donald Prince, the manager of the addiction recovery programs at Carrier Sekani Family Services, is working to open a drop-in centre that will bring health services closer and offer a safe place for Aboriginal youth.

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Several community leaders spoke at a press conference on Dec. 18 which was called to bring attention to the release of Ralph Rowe from Mountain Prison.

Rowe spent the last four years at the British Columbia federal correctional facility after being sentenced to a six-year term for sexual assault.

Federal law required that inmates be granted parole after serving two-thirds of their sentence, but United Native Nations President Viola Thomas is worried that a man with a history sexually molesting Native boys has been released into her community.