Pikangikum First Nation has taken a huge step forward in its efforts to preserve its natural resources while providing opportunities for future generations thanks to the provincial government?s approval of Keeping the Land, a land-use strategy for the Whitefeather Forest and surrounding area. The strategy received the stamp of approval from Natural Resources Minister David Ramsay on June 26.

An amazing new facility that opened in June celebrates the lands and legends of the Osoyoos Indian Band through historical time to the present. The $9-million Nk'Mip Desert Cultural Centre presents the story of the people in the context of one of the most environmentally unique landscapes in Canada.

"I'm not better than anyone. No one is better than me." Lillian George of the Wet'suwet'en Nation began the First Nations program for the World Peace Forum with a declaration of equality. George was addressing a crowd of international delegates gathered in Vancouver June 23 to 28 to discuss and promote peace.

A guest speaker for the First Nation's Wolf Sessions, George said everything starts with the individual. "Be at peace with yourself, be at peace with those around you."

You've heard many athletes who win MVP awards say it was a team effort, and that there were several other players on the team who could have won the recognition. Bruce Reece feels the same way.

Reece's team, though, was made up of fellow residents in Hartley Bay and the game was far more dangerous than any sport. It was the sinking of the Queen of the North ferry on March 29 near Hartley Bay and Reece, like it or not, has been chosen as a top Canadian hero by Time magazine's Canadian edition for his part in the rescue efforts.

After standing for 77 years in a foreign land far, far away, the G'psgolox totem pole is back where it belongs: in Haisla territory.

Hundreds of Haisla Nation members joined dignitaries and members of other First Nations in Kitamaat village July 1 to celebrate the homecoming of the G'psgolox pole. It is believed to be the first North American First Nation totem pole ever to be repatriated from Europe and it was welcomed with appropriate ceremony.

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Nearly half of the recommendations in the recently released Highway of Tears symposium report are focused on prevention, including one that proposes that a unique free shuttle system operate between Prince Rupert and Prince George.

Two years ago Sheila Swasson had a dream of cycling across Canada to raise awareness about family violence in First Nations communities. On May 28, her dream was set into motion as Aboriginal Women on the Move Cross-Canada Cycle departed Vancouver en-route to St. John's, Nfld.

Canadian Forces Recruiting Centre Vancouver reached out to urban Aboriginal communities in the Lower Mainland to strengthen relationships and recruit urban Aboriginal youth during a one-day open house.

The event, which celebrated Aboriginal culture and promoted employment opportunities for youth in the Armed Forces, was held at HMCS DISCOVERY naval base in Stanley Park on May 27.

Andrea Hardman, 18, an aspiring First Nations artist, who is one of six recipients of this year's YVR Art Foundation Scholarship, has always been drawn to the creative, from finger painting as a child to her preferred medium of photography as a young adult.

A member of the Nisga'a and Carrier Nations, Hardman incorporates her First Nations heritage into her work, viewing her subjects through a cultural lens. Through the scholarship program she will return to her community and create a photographic essay on traditional harvesting practices.

Aboriginal people in Canada are three times more likely to be victims of violence than are non-Aboriginal Canadians, according to Victimization and Offending Among the Aboriginal Population in Canada, a report released by Statistics Canada on June 6.

The report, which bases many of its findings on a general social survey conducted in 2004, showed that the risk of becoming a victim of violence was highest among Aboriginal youth, with individuals between the ages of 15 and 34 nearly two-and-a-half times more likely to be victims than individuals over the age of 34.