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June 27 was a special day for Ashton Cody Kay. After a six-month wait the 14-year-old got his first glimpse of his family's van, completely overhauled courtesy of the Children's Wish Foundation.

Lyle Daniels wasn't surprised by Team Saskatchewan's first place finish at the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) held in Denver, Colorado in July. That's because Saskatchewan athletes have a history of dominating the games, placing on top of the standings at every NAIG competition ever held with the exception of the games hosted by Winnipeg in 2002 when they placed second behind Team Manitoba.

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Flags across the province flew at half-mast on July 21, the day that RCMP Constable Robin Cameron was laid to rest in her home community of Beardy's and Okemasis First Nation.

The 29-year-old police officer died on July 15, succumbing to injuries received on July 7 when she and her partner, Constable Marc Bourdages, were both shot in the head following a high-speed chase near Spiritwood. Bourdages, 26, died on July 16. Forty-one-year-old Curt Dagenais has been arrested in connection with the shootings and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

The following article was written by Mi'kmaq writer and historian Daniel N. Paul following the death of former Horton First Nation Chief Rita Smith. Written to honor Smith?s life and accomplishments, the story was originally published in the Halifax Herald in January 1997.

Chief Rita Smith, the mother of the Horton band, had the distinction of being the first woman (perhaps the first person) to have been chief of two bands' Annapolis Valley and Horton. And throughout her life she was a fighter who went after justice with a vengeance.

The Pacific Educational Press has published a book by Snuneymuxw Elder and storyteller Ellen Rice White, whose stories, though ancient, are ageless and have surprisingly modern relevance.

Legends and Teachings of Xeel's, the Creator deals in tales about how a mother can help her baby survive and thrive, how a community can prevent pre-teens from becoming angry and rebellious, how people from different cultures can learn to respect one another and how a man can learn to take responsibility for the children he has fathered.

A University of Victoria law student has garnered Canada's premier social sciences and humanities doctoral award & the Trudeau Scholarship.

Thompson Rivers University's Open Learning division has recognized the achievements of a national leader in Aboriginal education with an honorary doctorate in letters bestowed in Burnaby on June 15.

Nathan Matthew is a member of the Simpcw Nation. He attended the University of British Columbia, where he graduated with a bachelor of recreation education degree in 1972. He then went on to earn another bachelor's degree, education professional, in 1978.

The basic problem of the Native people of Canada is colonialism. This is the underlying problem of Native grievances. This is the government of Canada' s Indian problem. Jean Chretien, the prime minister during the years 1993 to 2003 realized this way back in 1969 when he was minister of Indian Affairs, when he presented the Indian policy statement in parliament, although he never mentioned colonialism.

Dear Tuma:

Can an office staff person contact maintenance enforcement without an employee's written consent and inform enforcement that the employee has started working full time? What about when the employee is in arrears? What about the staff from the welfare office? Can they request information about the new employee?s income without the employee's consent? Does the staff have to confirm that there is written consent before giving out information?

Between A Rock and a Hard Place

Dear Between:

I remember seeing the New Zealand film Once Were Warriors, and noticing it had an odd, uncomfortable resonance in my First Nations soul, even though it was a Maori story. Same with Rabbit Proof Fence, a movie about Australian Aboriginal children. All were films about different cultures that impacted me on a surprisingly Ojibway level. Little did I realize I was doing much the same thing with my own writing.