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A new student data system being brought online by Saskatchewan Learning will help the province and First Nation departments of education to ensure all school-aged students are in school and are getting the programs and supports they need to succeed.

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It's a long way to go for a family reunion.

About 20 First Nations and Metis people from Saskatchewan travelled nearly halfway around the world to discover a side of their family tree that they barely knew existed.

Two years of establishing contacts, fundraising and making arrangements ended in early September as more than two dozen Aboriginal men and women from Saskatchewan travelled to the Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland to trace their family heritage.

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The Four Directions, a sculpture featuring four stylized bows, their arrows pointing north, east, south and west, has been selected as the winning submission in the University of Regina's (U of R) search for a piece of Aboriginal art to grace its campus.

The sculpture, created by Red Pheasant First Nation artist Lionel Peyachew, was chosen from among 20-plus proposals submitted to the university by Aboriginal artists from across the country. This is the first major commission for Peyachew, who teaches art at the University of Lethbridge.

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Two hundred and twenty people from First Nation communities across the Prairies gathered in Saskatoon Sept. 21 to 23 to discuss innovative methods for improving a dire housing situation.

The Our Homes ... Our Future housing symposium focused on furthering economic development and asset management for First Nation communities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Workshops addressed the issues of alternative housing, energy efficiency, effective housing policies, property management and First Nation land development.

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Gerald McMaster, a Siksika (Alberta) member who grew up on the Red Pheasant reserve in Saskatchewan, occupies a senior position at the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in Washington, D.C., which officially opened its doors on Sept. 21.

Previously, McMaster was the curator-in-charge of the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Que. He is also a well-known artist.

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The Metis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) has put its recent election problems behind it and is ready to move on, but the provincial and federal governments aren't quite ready to follow suit.

Both levels of government are continuing to withhold funding to the provincial Metis organization, and that isn't likely to change until a final report on whether its May 26 election was conducted properly has been reviewed. That report, prepared by former provincial chief electoral officer Keith Lampard, was received by the province on Oct 13.

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On Oct. 1 the provincial government changed the way it deals with Aboriginal issues with the creation of a stand-alone department of First Nations and Metis Relations.

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Alberta's capital city has a high Aboriginal student drop-out rate and the Northern Alberta Alliance on Race Relations (NAARR) wants to do something about it.

In a recent study on race relations and equity in Edmonton schools, NAARR found that visible minorities, including Indigenous peoples, experience systemic racism that leads to frustration among parents and a higher drop out rates among students.

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Piitoayis family school and Valley View elementary school can proudly proclaim their Make a Connection leadership and conflict resolution project was one of the most successful in Canada.

Uniquely situated, the two schools, one Aboriginal, the other non-Aboriginal, share a building, library and playground. When the Piitoayis school moved into the building in September 2002, the principals immediately noticed a rift between the students on the playground.

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It takes special people to be able to open their hearts and homes to other people's children, care for them and want all the best for them that life has to offer; and that's what Laurette and Ken Vare are, special people.

They will be paid tribute to at the Alberta Foster Parents Association annual conference to be held in Red Deer in November. They have been chosen as this year's Aboriginal Foster Family of the Year from the southern region of the province.