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An announcement of a new process to oversee implementation of modern day land claim and self-government agreements may come in early October.

If it does become a reality it will be in large part because of a document prepared by a coalition of seven Indigenous nations that have signed self-government agreements with Canada.

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Imagine a hockey game where one team gets to review every decision made by the referee and can then rewrite the rules to suit its own purposes even after the game has begun.

A well-placed source says that's going on right now in Canada with the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process for survivors of residential schools.

One team can move the net whenever its opponent threatens to score. The team with the advantage is the federal government; the team without any advantage at all is made up entirely of Native people.

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The national chief of the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and the federal Indian Affairs minister both came up a little short when they were asked for details about how the promised injection of money into Aboriginal health care-as much as $1 billion-will occur.

Prime Minister Paul Martin had announced the funding on Sept. 13, just before he and provincial and territorial leaders sat down with representatives from national Aboriginal organizations to discuss the state of Native health and health care programming.

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The National Mall in the United States capital was jammed with some 80,000 people on the morning of Sept. 21 as close to 25,000 Indigenous people from throughout the Americas and beyond-many in their traditional regalia-celebrated the opening of the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) with a spectacular procession down the middle of the Mall.

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Lawyers for the family of slain protester Dudley George, who was killed by police during the Ipperwash Park occupation in September 1995, appeared before the public inquiry into his death Sept. 29 to play a tape for Chief Commissioner Sidney Linden in the hopes of having it made public.

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Dear Editor:

How can we strengthen the national First Nations organization to be as representative, as inclusive and as effective as possible? The answers and views about this question vary from area to area in our great land.

National Chief Phil Fontaine is committed to posing this question to First Nation citizens and getting direction on how the AFN should evolve as it continues to lobby for the advancement of First Nation rights and issues that face our communities and peoples.

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Dear Editor:

Now that the venerable wise men in the Metis senate (Saskatchewan) have completed their investigation into the massive fraud alleged in the vote count during the 2004 Metis election, it is time to forget everything and accept their worthy adjudication.

Our revered Elders say that to properly "fix" an election, you don't stop just before the finish line. So they selectively disqualified crucial evidence and witnesses germane to the case, kicked out two area directors and completed the job.

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Dear Editor:

In the penultimate paragraph of your editorial on the Assembly of First Nations' charter you speak of "sides."

(September 2004-"The AFN exists-and absorbs millions of dollars every year-because First Nations people have a different way of looking at the world. If First Nations leaders want to act like Canadian elites, they've joined the other side.")

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Dear Editor:

Fear. Who wants to live in fear? I know I don't, but every time President George W. Bush opens his mouth I'm afraid, afraid there's a bomb overhead.

He says we shouldn't have to live in fear of the "evil-doers." He makes me feel as though bombs of mass destruction are coming down on us as you read this. His words are what frighten me. Really are they going to ever drop bombs of mass destruction on us, those "evil-doers?" I think not.

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When speaking after they've been assured their names won't get into print, many lawyers tell us frankly that public inquiries, at best, can only be about raising awareness. When the authorities set the rules for inquests into matters where they themselves may have some level of blame, the limits set are narrow and designed to protect jobs, pensions, reputations and the public purse.