The peal of church bells ringing throughout the country on June 11 marked more than the National Day of Reconciliation and a year since Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologized for Canada's part in residential schools.
It was also the recognition of an improving relationship between Christian churches and First Nations people.

thelabradorian.ca

thelabradorian.ca

Dear Editor:
I read your editorial in the May edition of Windspeaker. I would like to tell you about our demonstration in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.
Womyn 4 Social Justice organized a demo in 2008. We called it Broken Records. We had everyone bring old l.p.records, and we broke them, and wrote on them, what we the people think of this terrible situation in Attawapiskat.
We had hundreds of broken records. We had Charlie Angus, and Tony Martin, iocal NDP reps, at the demo. They were bringing the records to Parliament.

Dear Editor:
The Mohawk community of Akwesasne has remained peaceful since the border crossing on our traditional territory was closed more than two weeks ago. Since then, our community has kept six peace fires near the Canadian Customs Port of Entry on Kawehnoke (Cornwall Island). Our community maintains the Peace Fires and continues to seek a peaceful resolution to the bridge closure.
The border has been closed since June 1 when Canada's Customs Officers walked off the job. It triggered the closure of this international crossing by the U.S. border agency and Cornwall Police.

Windspeaker would like to congratulate the men who have put their names forward in the race for national chief of the Assembly of First Nations. A list of the eligible candidates was released on June 17 and Shawn Atleo of British Columbia, John Beaucage of Ontario, Perry Bellegarde of Saskatchewan, Terrance Nelson of Manitoba and Bill Wilson of British Columbia will be on the campaign trail until the July 22 election at the AFN's annual general assembly in Calgary.

"Nehiyawak oma kiyanaw. We are Nehiyaw, Nehiyawak. We are the Plains Cree."
The old man telling the children gathered around him about their proud ancestry and the spirits who worked for them now leaned forward to check their faces for signs of understanding.
Some were asleep, others yawned. He sought out the boy who had caught his attention earlier. This child had luminous eyes. This child was already showing wisdom beyond his years and the old man knew he would grow to be a great leader.

PETITION GATHERS SUPPORT
More than 1,800 people have signed an online petition to get former National Hockey League star Reggie Leach into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The petition can be found at www.petitiononline.com/TheRifle/petition.html
It was created by Steven Anthony Taylor, who lives in Leach's hometown of Riverton, Manitoba. He was also the first person to sign the petition, adding a simple comment:
"Great memories, Reg, Thanks."

One might assume a teenager from one of Canada's northernmost towns would have a difficult time adjusting to life at a big-city American university.
But that certainly has not been the case for Leah Sulyma.
The 19-year-old, who was born in Inuvik, Northwest Territories, is in her sophomore year at Boston's Northeastern University. She's also a star goaltender for the Northeastern women's hockey squad.
The population of Sulyma's hometown is about 3,500. Northeastern's enrolment alone is more than four times this figure.

It has taken five years of patience and perseverance, but all the hard work and networking has paid off for M'Chigeeng First Nation film-maker Shirley Cheechoo. The long held dream of establishing a film industry training institute on Manitoulin Island has finally been realized.
Cheechoo, an award winning actor, writer, director and producer, received the National Aboriginal Award for her work in theatre, film and fine art in March 2008. She was also honoured with a lifetime achievement award for her contributions to Aboriginal filmmaking in June 2008.