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If you walk into a classroom anywhere in Canada and pick up a book about Aboriginal people, you're likely to find that the subject is dealt with much differently than it was a decade ago. That's because educators have recognized the need to ensure books used in the classroom are an accurate reflection of Aboriginal people, rather than the Eurocentric portrayal often presented to past generations of students. And the best way to ensure that, the consensus seems to be, is to ensure that Aboriginal people are involved in some stage of the production process of those books.

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The first 30 years of my life, I must have been a boring life because I always tried to walk a straight road... It wasn't until I finished college and finished military that I had my first drink. . . I had a delayed life and today, I'm probably more respectful because I was raised in that way of respect by my grandparents...

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Athletes from the circumpolar region gathered in the Wood Buffalo area of Northern Alberta from Feb. 28 to March 6 for the Arctic Winter Games.

Participants came to test their skill and endurance in a wide variety of sports, but what they brought away from their week-long adventure was more than a week's worth of competition and a bagful of souvenirs.

The result of the gathering of people bound by an exclusive geography was that this northern neighborhood got a little bit closer, and a little more confident about its place in the world.

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While Sedna's realm is usually limited to the ocean depths, if Mike Brown has his way, her name will also be associated with the farthest, coldest reaches of our solar system.

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MUSIC BIZ 101

There is a plethora of music-related Web sites on the Internet. Here are a few I discovered on my cyberspace travels that are worth checking out.

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THE URBANE INDIAN

Mexico City is a fascinating place. I'm told it's a city of more than 20 million people. That's two thirds of Canada in one little place. A lesser-known fact is that, like the city of Venice, it is sinking in places.

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NASIVVIK

One of the strongest traditions of Inuit has been the preservation of culture through unikkaat (stories) and unikkaatuat (legends). A mere generation ago, most Inuit adults possessed the skill of storytelling, and retained impressive volumes of historical accounts and legends in their memory. Such skills were central to the maintenance of Inuit identity. Storytelling had served throughout the oft-mentioned "time immemorial" as a faithful record of happenings of importance to Inuit.

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PRO BONO

Dear Tuma:

I was wondering who owns the buildings that are built on cement foundations. My question is that in our community, a religious group constructed a house and now is no longer welcomed on the reserve. Can that group request payment if another band member wishes to lay claim on the building built on a foundation. Please advise.

Living in God's house

Dear Living:

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MEDIUM RARE

They say one picture is worth a thousand words. In public relations, it's called optics.

It's that one picture that can convey the will of an entire people or the pettiness of an individual politician. It can capture the hearts and minds of a nation and change the course of governments. Or it can cloak a dictator in the mantle of a holy man. It's about images and impressions, symbols and myths. It's the power of the superficial over substance.

Optics can dominate if we uncritically consume the images conveyed by the news media.

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Wherever Sondaky goes, the message to the audience is always the same. Its music and dance speak of peace, universal brotherhood and the protection of the earth.

Sondaky is a concept-dance group that has emerged from Wendake, the Huron-Wendat community near Quebec City. Its contemporary musical style is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, according to recent reviews in Europe. An innovative approach to traditional dance blended with contemporary media has garnered this young group much recognition.