Windspeaker: What one quality do you most value in a friend?
Suzette Amaya: In a friend I value honesty. I believe someone who is honest with themselves and others is someone I can truly feel free to be myself with and share wonderful interactions with. Being true to oneself is a great quality and opens you up to self discovery.

With only a few months left until the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) holds its election for national chief (voting will take place in Calgary in July) the battle for the top spot is beginning to heat up, with three candidates declaring so far: John Beaucage of Ontario, Perry Bellegarde of Saskatchewan and Shawn Atleo of B.C.
While Atleo was unavailable for comment for this article, Beaucage and Bellegarde are claiming the campaign will remain clean and respectful. All they have in their political arsenal, they say, are big dreams, good intentions and proven track records.

In America, the beginning of this New Year was bright with promise. All the Americans were going nuts over their brand-spankingly fresh president, all new and shiny. Even our Native neighbors to the south were waxing poetic about Barack Obama and his possibilities.
During the presidential campaign, he was even adopted into the Crow Nation. It was so rare to see such enthusiasm in politics, anywhere. Since the inauguration, Obama has named six American Indians to his transition team.

If you believe in the hype, Canada would be described as peace-keeping, friendly or just plain nice. But much of the world is just not buying that bill of goods anymore.
"I think more countries are getting the picture now and starting to understand that Canada isn't the darling of the human rights world that many people think it is or that it maybe used to be," said Ed Bianchi, Indigenous rights program director for KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice.

Activist Rose Henry of Sliammon has a list of names she keeps close to her heart. On it are the names of the women who have gone missing from her life-Marnie, Agnes, Belinda, Bobby. She reads out the names on the steps of the BC legislature. Michelle, she says, was a street girl that went missing a few years ago.
"They found her remains, but they still never found who did this, who took her from us."
Henry was among a throng of concerned citizens who took part in the first-ever Stolen Sisters march and rally to take place in British Columbia's capital city.

The pressure to deliver on a revamped truth and reconciliation framework for residential school survivors is being dearly felt, Frank Iacobucci told Windspeaker in an interview in February.
"We are working as fast as we can on this and we know the survivors are very concerned about not having a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and so is everyone else associated with this," said the high-level facilitator named to get the TRC back on track after the sudden resignation of Justice Harry LaForme.

THE ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS IS

Canada plans to forge ahead with legislation to govern division of on-reserve real property when couples break up despite Aboriginal opposition based on a flawed consultation process and infringement of First Nations jurisdiction.
Ontario Regional Chief Angus Toulouse has been urging First Nations leaders to contact their MPs and federal party leaders to urge that Bill C-8 be opposed at introduction, or failing that, be referred to the Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs immediately after first reading.

Donna Cona, one of Canada's leading Aboriginal business technology solutions companies, pledges to fight recent allegations the company was involved in bid rigging and conspiracy.
Donna Cona CEO John Bernard called the charges an absolute travesty and said the allegations are completely bunk and unfounded.
"We are innocent entirely, wholly; categorically innocent and we are going to fight this." Bernard said.

Alberta's wealth should not be at the cost of one people. That's the message two First Nations from northern Alberta and a coalition of Canadian environmental groups delivered in a full-page advertisement that ran in USA Today's northeastern distribution last month.