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Dear Editor:

I am a Metis who can speak for herself. I do not support Stephen Harper and the Conservative party. Never have and never will. I make sure that I vote in every election.

I am writing because I have been informed that the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples has endorsed the Conservatives and stated that they represent all the Aboriginals off reserve. They do not.

Sharon Cohan

Nanaimo, BC.

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Dear Editor:

I would like to respond to the article published in the Globe & Mail Jan. 16 that claims that the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples represents us or anywhere near the number of people they claim to. How does anyone represent more Aboriginal people than one country actually holds? The only governing body that can lay claim to represent us is the Metis National Council and the Metis Nation of Ontario as their affiliate.

Bonny Cann, Stephanie Cruise, Kim Sicker, Ken Morton

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Dear Editor:

For far too long has Mr. Jason Goodstriker has gotten away with comments that are derogatory to sensitive issues. We as powwow people have a way of life that exists for the purpose of preserving the way of life for all First Nations in North America. The powwow way of life is about song and dance of the proud First Nations people. I, however, find it hard to believe that an intelligent man like Mr. Goodstriker has forgotten his sole duty as a leader of the Alberta First Nation people [to] disregard a sensitive issue about the gang-related shooting.

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Windspeaker Editorial

Liberal insiders in the country will recover from the shock of Jan. 23 eventually, and realize their ride on the entitlement merry-go-round is over and the circus has left town. The Canadian electorate has spoken. Stephen Harper will be sworn in as Canada's 22nd prime minister.

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Cherie Shot Both Sides, a 15-year-old amateur boxer from Moses Lake, is fast becoming a positive role model for other young girls her age.

She is a Grade 10 student at Kainai high school in Cardston, where she resides. After graduation, she said she wants to enroll in a registered nursing program at a school in Calgary, but also wants to continue with her boxing.

Shot Both Sides began her training at the age of 14, but she said she was interested in boxing when she was much younger.

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There will be a number of things about the upcoming Saskatchewan First Nation Winter Games that will set them apart from past games, but the most notable will likely be the way the sporting competition will be scheduled.

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People living in northern Saskatchewan now have access to the same type of media training offered in the southern part of the province, thanks to the Aboriginal media arts organization Y'utthe Askiy's Oski Achimowin/Honi Gothe Elel Daholni, Inc.

The organization has already held two workshops teaching basic video skills, with participants writing, editing and shooting three minute long stories. In November, it added another workshop to its list of offerings when it held Cikastipayicikan Iskwiwak/Ts Ekue Yenathe Nare Tay/Women Standing in Front of Camera.

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For the third year in a row, Tracey George Heese has given Inuit, Metis and First Nation youth between the ages of 15 to 30 the opportunity to showcase their accomplishments and successes.

Heese is the creator of A Proud Generation, a calendar project that features young Aboriginal role models within its pages.

"We wanted youth that were living a healthy, responsible and productive lifestyle and what healthy means to me is living in good health, abstaining from things that cause bad health such as drugs and alcohol," said Heese.

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The past year was a good for Lionel Peyachew.

The artist from Red Pheasant First Nation had not one, but two major sculptures unveiled during 2005.

The first, The Four Directions, a 24-foot high piece featuring four bows created out of steel pipes and cables, was unveiled on the University of Regina campus in October. The second, Doorways to Opportunity, was unveiled in Yorkton in December.