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Native soldiers have always played important roles in times of conflict. They fought in all the major battles in Europe and many became distinguished snipers, code talkers and reconnaissance scouts. They continue to serve today.

Tanya Barnes with the Department of National Defence said there are currently 67,673 self-identified Aboriginal people serving in the Canadian Forces, which includes regular and reserve force personnel, as well as Rangers.

Page 21

Native soldiers have always played important roles in times of conflict. They fought in all the major battles in Europe and many became distinguished snipers, code talkers and reconnaissance scouts. They continue to serve today.

Tanya Barnes with the Department of National Defence said there are currently 67,673 self-identified Aboriginal people serving in the Canadian Forces, which includes regular and reserve force personnel, as well as Rangers.

Page 20

A Short History of Indians in Canada

By Thomas King, HarperCollins,232 pages, $24.95 (hc)

Thomas King's new collection of short stories should be a slow read. These are small stories, so readers should take time in between each one to reflect on the compact commentaries and deft images that each story contains.

The stories in this volume cover a lot of ground. King touches on the history of displacement, racism and stereotyping, racist government policy, marriage and relationships, and Native-white relations, among other topics.

Page 20

A Short History of Indians in Canada

By Thomas King, HarperCollins,232 pages, $24.95 (hc)

Thomas King's new collection of short stories should be a slow read. These are small stories, so readers should take time in between each one to reflect on the compact commentaries and deft images that each story contains.

The stories in this volume cover a lot of ground. King touches on the history of displacement, racism and stereotyping, racist government policy, marriage and relationships, and Native-white relations, among other topics.

Page 19

Three Day Road, By Joseph Boyden

Viking Canada, Toronto

354 pages(hc) $32

Joseph Boyden has the literary world sitting up and taking notice. His first novel, Three Day Road, has thrust him into the limelight, earned him the McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book of the Year Award and put him on the shortlist for the Governor General's Literary Award.

Three Day Road is set in northern Ontario during the aftermath of the First World War. The story unfolds as the elderly Niska travels home with her nephew, Xavier, who has just returned from the war.

Page 18

PRO BONO

Dear Tuma:

I want to make a complaint against the RCMP. Last week I was tossed into the cells for "my own good" and I did not like the way they treated me. The RCMP should be more respectful when they are arresting someone and not just toss them into the drunk tank with everyone else. How do I make a complaint about the way I was treated?

Time Cross

Dear Time Cross:

Page 18

PRO BONO

Dear Tuma:

I want to make a complaint against the RCMP. Last week I was tossed into the cells for "my own good" and I did not like the way they treated me. The RCMP should be more respectful when they are arresting someone and not just toss them into the drunk tank with everyone else. How do I make a complaint about the way I was treated?

Time Cross

Dear Time Cross:

Page 18

NASIVVIK

In the course of life, we often have the good fortune to intersect with people of character, with a capital "C". People with Character seem to have a high "magnetic field" of human qualities, which inspire and touch others. Such people are blessed with the gift of being able to uplift other human beings by what they say, or what they do. They make life very interesting. Everybody knows Characters who are worth talking about, in the context of enriching any setting they happen to be in.

Page 18

NASIVVIK

In the course of life, we often have the good fortune to intersect with people of character, with a capital "C". People with Character seem to have a high "magnetic field" of human qualities, which inspire and touch others. Such people are blessed with the gift of being able to uplift other human beings by what they say, or what they do. They make life very interesting. Everybody knows Characters who are worth talking about, in the context of enriching any setting they happen to be in.

Page 18

THE URBANE INDIAN

Nothing makes an archeologist salivate more than finding a pre-contact First Nation pipe in a 600-year-old garbage dump. That's because the pipe ceremony is the most sacred and cherished of all the Native spiritual practices.

I've often heard Elder William Commanda, a pipe carrier from the Algonquin community of Kitigaan Zibi in Quebec, say that he does not himself carry the pipe. The pipe carries him. It is, after all, considered in direct contact with the Creator.