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Each year Canadians from coast to coast to coast set aside June 21 as a day to recognize and celebrate Aboriginal culture and the contributions Aboriginal people have made to the country. But how many of us are aware of just how extensive those contributions have been?

Luckily, there is no shortage of information about the many things that are part of our every day lives that had their origins with our Aboriginal ancestors.

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People across the country are gearing up for an 11-day celebration of Canada. And considering the history of how Canada came to be, it is more than fitting that the festivities begin with a day set aside to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions and culture of Aboriginal people.

National Aboriginal Day has been celebrated on June 21 since 1996, although in Quebec the day was set aside to celebrate Aboriginal culture beginning in 1990.

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Three days of non-stop fiddle music, jigging, workshops and performances await visitors to the largest annual outdoor fiddle event in Western Canada.

The seventh annual John Arcand Fiddle Contest will be held from Aug. 13 to 15 on the Windy Acres Vacation Farm, eight kilometres outside of Saskatoon.

Last year more than 2,200 festivalgoers watched a record-breaking 53 fiddlers compete in the annual event, hosted by John Arcand and his wife Vicki.

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Ensuring the health and safety of employees is a priority year-round, but for one week this spring the mining industry in Saskatchewan decided to focus extra attention on the subject.

Employee Health and Wellness was the theme of this year's Saskatchewan Mining Week celebrations, held May 31 to June 5.

One of the things the industry had to celebrate was the new mine safety regulations that came into effect last year. Those new regulations were arrived at in consultation with all players in the industry.

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With much of the mining activity taking place in Canada today happening in the backyards of Aboriginal communities, it only makes sense that those communities should be benefiting from what's been taken out of the ground.

In an attempt to make it easier for Aboriginal people to get involved in the mining industry, a host of partners have joined together to create a mining 'tool kit' that will provide Aboriginal people with the information and guidance they will need to enter this lucrative sector of the economy.

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Carmen Pauls Orthner, Sage Writer, Stanley Mission

A chill wind blows through the clearing, ruffling the pines. A moose hide soaks in a large tub, and down the muddy hill strewn with rocks and undergrowth, a simple deadfall bear trap awaits an unwary beast. Further on, strips of moose and caribou are drying on a rack. By a crackling fire, blackened duck carcasses-still sporting heads and wings-await the scraping knife. Pots of spiced meat and vegetables bubble while walleye sizzles in a pan. The sound of laughter fills the air.

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Janice Morin has been appointed as an assistant chef de mission to Team Saskatchewan for the 2005 Canada Games, becoming the first First Nations person to hold the position.

Morin, who was chef de mission for the Saskatchewan First Nation Winter Games held ealier this year, works in the Sport, Culture and Recreation department of the Prince Albert Grand Council.

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While the North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) council struggles to pull the next games in Buffalo, New York out of the fire, in Saskatchewan the focus has shifted to the 2008 games.

The Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (FSIN) and the Metis Nation-Saskatchewan (MNS) are partners in a bid to hold NAIG in Regina in 2008. The bid also has the support of the city of Regina, the government of Saskatchewan and Sask Sport Inc., said Shirley Greyeyes MacDonald, director of sports, culture, youth and recreation with the FSIN and co-chair of the 2008 bid committee.

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They may have eaten well for one night, but it was done for a cause-to help children who may not get to eat at all.

More than 700 people turned out for the 11th annual Chili for Children fundraiser held at the Saskatchewan Centre of the Arts on May 7.

The event not only raises money for one of Regina's largest inner-city charities, but also draws attention to the issue of child hunger, said Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Chief Alphonse Bird.

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The Saskatchewan Arts Alliance hosted the 2004 Arts Congress in Saskatoon on May 7 and 8 with a variety of guests from the Native community, including Saskatchewan Minister of Culture, Youth and Recreation Joan Beatty and playwright Drew Hayden Taylor.